It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint

As my third year of medical school begins to end and I look forward to residency applications and Boards Step 2 (details to follow), I consider the mantra that I would proclaim to my classmates two years ago:

Medical School is  Marathon, not a Sprint!

It is a race of endurance and this has been proven by my third year, with 36-48 hr shifts, 2 days off a month, and over 1,000 pages to read per rotation. But these are the things that are expected. Here are some other challenges: going without clean underwear, use the hospital scrub service for your laundry service, have to make a decision between sleep and food, have to make a decision for your future, oh and you get two weeks, but most of all be prepared for a loneliness of the winter that will be your life.

I cannot imagine what it is like to go through it with a wife or family, but to go through as a single man there are days in which you talk to different types of people: medical professionals and patients. Vacations are wrought with studying for exams and career planning, and there is only one piece of advice to help you weather the storm of medical school:

"Brace Yourself"

2nd Year done and now into 3rd year

With the conclusion of the USMLE Board Step 1 I now enter into my third year and am halfway done with the school part of my medical education. To sum up the second year of medical school in a short post is not as hard as it sounds. Most days I have spent reading, studying, going to clinical opportunities, and not much else. The second year of medical school was increasingly more difficult that the first year and I am looking forward to not sitting for the next two years.

It is hard to imagine that two years ago I new nothing and now I know just enough to make things worse. In the next two years I will be completing my clinical rotations on the wards in various hospitals throughout Cincinnati, beginning with OB/GYN. I will now enter into wide world of patients.

Stories from the Summer: The Flag

Twice a day everything  on Fort Sam slowed to a halt. Cars would stop driving and pull over to the side, people would stop running, and each soldier would turn to the south, stand at attention, and salute the flag. The procedure for this was outlined very specific with specific bugle calls. I am sure there were some that found this an annoyance, but for me it was a time to remember who I was, why I was there, and those who had come before me.


"The Soldiers Creed"

I am an American Soldier.

I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.

I am an American Soldier.