Asked and answered

Cheryl asked a few questions after my last post. I will attempt to answer them here. If this is ridiculously boring, wander over to any one of the fabulous blogs on the right. Redneck Mommy has pierced nipples, and Maria from just eat your cupcake is wearing human pheromone that only works on lesbians--surely that's more interesting.

Still here? Okay, here goes (in the order in which Cheryl asked):

What kind of medicine do you want to do?

I'm not yet sure. I worked in a labor and delivery unit for a few years before med school, and when I came, I thought I wanted to be an obstetrician. I don't enjoy surgery, though, and Ob-Gyns do a fair amount of gynecological surgery. Now, I'm thinking that I may be able to find something that is an even better fit for me.

Right now, I spend one day a week working in a hematology clinic treating patients with blood disorders (people for whom the delicate balance of bleeding and clotting is out of whack). I'm not necessarily interested in hematology, but I am interested in that kind of work--work within a specialty.

In the end, I just want to be a great physician. I am not all that concerned with income or work hours. Many people (including medical students) say, "I don't live to work, I work to live." That is not true for me. I'm never as happy as when I am using my time and talents to do meaningful work. The hematologist I work with is an amazing older physician who feels the same way. In forty years of practice, she has maintained balance, rather than burn out, though. Balance is key, and she's a great mentor for me. (Wow, now this is boring and cheesy.)

How long have you been in medical school?

Almost two years.

The first two years of medical school are spent in lectures. It's like college on steroids. The second two years are spent in clerkships. These are the short white coats you see at the hospital--medical students in their 3rd and 4th years. Third year starts for me in July and is sort of about figuring out what I want to do when I grow up.

How hard is it (medical school)?

It's not hard--it's just lots. There is nothing I've learned over the past two years that anyone of average intelligence couldn't understand. It gets a little confusing because the knowledge builds on itself, and you have to keep up. The hard part is in the keeping up. This is not quantum physics, though. It's more like a pie eating contest. You have to be a disciplined and a little nuts, but not all that bright.

Cheryl didn't ask this, but the question I get most often is,
Is it anything like Grey's Anatomy?

Sadly, no. No one in my class of 150 students, none of the physicians who lecture us, none of the residents who the students date, none of our test proctors, none of our standardized patients, none of the real patients, no one is that good looking.

Also, the doctors on Grey's Anatomy know a lot more about certain parts of the anatomy than some of us seem to. Last year in anatomy lab, a student I call The Brain Cell (because he just uses the one) was dissecting the cadaver next to mine. We were working on the pelvis and perineum when a professor came over to answer some of his questions. The professor took one look at his dissection and said, "What on earth did you do here?"

"What do you mean?" asked The Brain Cell.

"Where is the clitoris?"

"Oh, uh, is that this flap of fascia?" he said, pulling it out from under the cadaver's right knee.

At this point, I could no longer hold in my laughter. The professor looked at me and said, "I'm not even sure where to go from here."

"It gets worse," I said. "He wants to be a surgeon. And he's newly married. I'm taking up a collection to buy his wife some batteries, would you like to contribute?"


See, that wouldn't happen on Grey's Anatomy. The guys on that show know the clitoris is not a flap of fascia stored behind the right knee.