Since Christmas, I've finished two more modules of my medical school curriculum.
Medicine Across the Lifespan, which was intended to be a transitional and summative module integrating what we have learned so far into actual clinical practice, was actually more of a train wreck. We covered principles pertaining to geriatric, adolescent, and pediatric medicine, and revisited embryology. Sounds great, right? Well, imagine a 50 minute lecture which could have easily been condensed into a 20-30 minute lecture. Now, imagine sitting through 3 variations of the same material in 3 separate lectures given by 3 different professors. Did I mention it was all review-- we had seen it in some other module before?
But wait-- doesn't that mean an easy A, you ask? Actually, not at all. We were tested not on core principles which will carry us through our clinical years, but on detail, minutae, and things requiring rote memorization. So, the exam was surprisingly hard.
And finally, Infectious Disease. Oh, how I have grown to love infectious diseases. About as much as I would like to have anthrax or cholera. At least we were warned that this would be one of the hardest modules of the first 2 years. In 6 short weeks we covered every pathogen known to affect humans (and some that only affect animals, just for fun I guess) and how to treat them. One word: virulence factors. If you know what I mean then a chill just ran down your spine. We had to memorize a bowl of alphabet soup for each pathogen-- components of the given pathogen that actually cause harmful effects in the host that they infect. Protein A, toxin A, alpha toxin, SpeA, OspA, Opa... the list goes on and on and hits almost every letter of the alphabet. It was painful. I finished with my lowest exam grade ever, but I still maintained the overall grade I needed, so I should be thankful that I am not one of the 3-5 each year that fails and must retake the module the following year. We finished with an NBME Microbiology shelf exam, which was refreshingly easier than the course exams. I'm looking forward to seeing how I measure up to other medical students next week when we get our grade for that, which is a standardized exam.
One module to go, called Integration and Consolidation, and then I'm done with the first phase of my training. It's a mix of pharmacology and physiology review, designed to prepare us for the USMLE Step 1 exam. As much as I dislike pharmacology, I'm actually looking forward to it.
After IC, I study intensely for a month for Step 1, which I take on June 1. Then I'm done for 2 glorious weeks until 3rd year orientation brings me back to reality. And then, with clinicals, I begin to dominate the class of 2014. That's the plan at least.
I'm going to need prayers. Lots and lots of prayers.
No comments:
Post a Comment