Clothing Drive, Motivation

I'm going solo now in running the Women's Health Advocacy Committee of my student chapter of Physicians for Human Rights. So I've cut back on what I want to accomplish through the org this semester. One goal was to have a clothing drive for the Women's Club down in Portsmouth (20 mins away from Picard). 

Initially I thought it would be pretty lame, but after receiving unsolicited, but much appreciated, help from the head of Student Activities, the drive turned out to be a success.


Mark Sheakley (husband of cardio-phys prof Dr. Maria Sheakley) at my university contacted me about giving me an official donation bin. This may not sound like a big deal, but considering our org is tiny compared to other "more popular" ones like AMSA and Salybia, I was surprised that he even knew who I/we were. He graciously offered to allow to have a donation bin (industrial size, yellow, recycling bin) outside the library. This is prime real estate as far as donations go, and we've encountered issues with Student Government bureacracy in the past, so I was kinda elated that we were offered this.


After sending an email to Flavia who runs the weekly email announcements to the entire university, she placed an ad I designed to run for the entire semester to announce the clothing drive. By 1 1/2 weeks the bin was full to the brim. In fact I had to put a note on it the other day that we were no longer accepting donations. How awesome is that?


The Women's Club mainly needs work-wear and uniforms that they can refurbish and resell, but I think they will pretty much take anything. Today, when me and my loyal recruited volunteers, visited the Club, Ms. Kate was asking for book donations too. Give a mouse a cookie...


She also told me that she (cryptically) "had something for me". I'm trying not to be excited because for all I know it's a receipt for the gate installations that I raised donation money for last semester. I really need to go back there and take a picture next to the murals on the outside and with Ms. Kate. Damn, should have done that today. But I was too distracted by the bags of clothing and making sure we had a ride back. The local driver--nice Rasta man--was patient though and waited for us to unload the bags of clothing, then took us back to school. I have him a 20 EC note and told him to give me whatever change he thought fit, and he also gave me a business card--as usual. Except this time it was laminated! Haha. He must be doing pretty well, eh?











We only had 4 hours of class today, which I sat through starting at 8 a.m. I'm so proud of myself for making it to class before 9 a.m. I've been sleeping at 2:30 a.m. every day, after a full day of studying til midnight. Turns out 4th semester is just as challenging i.e. insane, as 3rd. When will it get easier??? *whines* I'm thinking Never. 


Motivation, or Lack Thereof


My friend, Amy, and I had a short conversation on the ride back to campus about what made us motivated to go to medical school. She said she's always wanted to be a doctor, since she was young...I tried to explain my philosophy. It starts with my desire to work in a non-profit public health/medical organization in the developing world. Idealistic and slightly romantic, it's true, but it's about the only thing I have left to "fantasize" about for my future. It's my dream, and aren't dreams supposed to be sort of "out there"? I told her that while there are many ways of going about achieving this goal, medical school is one of the better options that gives me more skills and preparation. 


I always feel like my answer to that question is weak, and over the last 2 years my desire and motivation to get through this has dwindled. Hell, I still don't know if I'll be able to make it through. But I hope I can. So I keep working hard and pushing myself a little more each semester. My main motivation stems from all the clinical interactions I have had on this island, and the awesome jobs I have had in the past. Hopefully this profession will end up matching my expectations. I dare not think of the alternative; I've read too many blogs and discussion board posts of people regretting their decision to enter med school and medical practice because they realized too late, "I guess I really don't want to this after all". 


For now I would like to afford myself the opportunity to be able to be in the position to reflect on my decision. I think it's too early in the game to decide now. Especially since the first 2 years is Not reflective of the following 5-6 years. (Hopefully)


Only 55 days left on the island! Just gotta keep pushing until the end!


I will be blogging again after my next hospital rotation in July.

Extremely Accurate

Very Accurate, especially my fantasy about being House.

The Ups and Downs

I have been feeling a bit "low" lately. Rationally I think this could be attributed to stress from back-to-back exams. However I think not having much of a social life is starting wear on me. Friendship and loyalty have always been things that I hold dear, but lately I wonder who my "true" friends really are. Back home there is a greater opportunity to socialize and of course there will always be best friends and people that I have grown up with. But here, in this strange, isolated, psuedo-home that we have established for the sole purpose of getting through medical school, the same rules do not apply.

Yes it has finally hit me. Missing home, missing family, missing friends. And even more missing people who I can relate to on more than one level (academics). The stark reality is that medical school is difficult. But medical school is even more difficult with out a significant other or strong peer support system.

How do yogis spend years in the forest in isolation? I guess these experiences are supposed to make a person stronger.

The Social Life of a Medical Student: Observations

Since I have some more time to blog and reflect I have come to make some new observations about the social interactions of medical students. It must be the anthropologist in me--the one who could have steered me towards a PhD in this discipline years ago--but I am constantly observing how people interact with each other. As a rule I am very open-minded in who I keep company with and try my best not to discriminate or judge my acquaintances. Sometimes I think this stems from the charming, extrovert side of my personality, other times I think it has more to do with evolution. But that's the biologist in me. In any case, I have noticed that many of my peers are a bit...how to put it lightly...socially dysfunctional.

Case 1: When I had Facebook there was a woman in my class who used to randomly comment on my wall. Had I ever interacted with her in the real world? No. I found this to be quite awkward because she seemed to be befriending me purely through social media and I wasn't sure how to interact with her social situations. Making these transitions from social media to the real world is awkward at best. I think somebody should publish an article about this phenomenon.

Case 2: I realize that we work hard (the second semesters especially) and deserve to unwind but partying and drinking to excess when you are 23 or 24 and on the path to an MD seems a bit immature. If no one has realized this already, the commitment of medical school causes people in our age demographic to mature exponentially over the years. A 23 year old medical student has the equivalent intellectual maturation, inner-drive and lame social life of any 30+ year old. :) We often complain about how we are "throwing" away our Prime years (our 20s) to the evil beast that is medical school. A common theme is: "But I'm in medical school, I don't have time to date!" "It's okay honey, medical school can be your lover."

Although I often wonder if having a significant other in your class is such a bad idea. I mean think about it. It's like having a 24 hour study-buddy, emotional and intellectual support, and most importantly someone to cook 50% of the time when you are cramming for the next Mini. It does sound great and strangely not One couple failed out or is having to repeat this semester. Hmm...


Okay back to reality...
I have realized that maintaining basic friendships is even difficult. It's quite sad really. You might run into a friend while going back to your apartment for a quick lunch/study break or in the library but the likelihood of every actually spending quality time with that person is slim. Is this the reality of the real world of "grown ups"? Is this what people in corporate America experience every day? Surely people hang out with their co-workers once and a while, even if it is to grab a beer after work. A suggestion of this sort would receive a laugh and a "uhh maybe Saturday? If I'm caught up for the week? Although I am working that clinic at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning so..."


Such is the life of a medical student.

Packed and ready(ish)!

I'm all packed (all 5 suitcases plus a carry-on) and ready to start orientation for medical school!
Packing was quite a feat; I constantly went back and forth in mind trying to talk myself into only bringing 2 bags but in the end I sided on bringing too much. I figure I need to be comfortable when I'm in medical school and creature comforts are necessary when one is under stress. Therefore...I'm bringing everything.

Moving on from packing...my madre is accompanying me on my initial trip. We have to stay over in Puerto Rico for one night because there aren't any direct flights to Dominica. My father will join us later. It feels weird having my parents with me but it will give them a good chance to see where I'll be living for the next 2 years and also they qualify me to bring more checked bags (haha).
Don't know what to expect at all as far as living situation, culture-shock and most importantly medical school-shock. These are the 3 main burdens on my mind right now (two of which a U.S. student never has to worry about). I'm "looking forward" to only having to stress out about medical school!
And so the adventure begins.
Stay tuned for more! :)

Getting Ready!

Over the past couple of months I have been preparing for my journey and epic adventure studying medicine at Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica. The island (gained independence from Britain only 30 years ago) is located 30 minutes South of San Juan, Puerto Rico and is the middle of the Caribbean Ocean.

• Big Questions:

1. Will I survive?
2. Will I be well-equipped to pass the first Board exam? (goes along with question 1.)
3. What are my chances of becoming a Caribbean-doctor-pirate?
4. Will I have any time at all to do the outdoor adventuring that the island is known for?

This is what I know so far...

• Living situation: All apartments are a 5-10 minute walk from campus and are located at addresses like "Hill Top Road" and other vague directions which highlight the rural nature of Dominican life. I expect my new home of the next 16 months to be akin to Brownsville...with less recreational activities. Damn. At least there will be plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables being sold at local stands on the main road outside of campus. Oh and the beaches do look amazing.
  
• Weather: Two seasons...rainy and sunny...average yearly temperature of 80 degrees F. Possible hurricanes and definitely expect torrential rains at some point.
  
• School: best to buy school supplies ahead of time because all foreign imports (paper, pens, etc) have heavily inflated prices due to import tax...about 3 times U.S. price for basic U.S. goods. CostCo here I come! The classrooms look super hi-tech and I'm excited about the prospect of videotaped lectures (in case I have to miss class for some reason).
  Student demographic: from the "welcome videos" and interviews looks like there will be lots of Indian kids *shudder*, 90% Americans and some foreign students. I was hoping there would be more diversity but I guess I'll just have to try extra hard to find non-stereotypical, cool people. Okay, that's a bit harsh and premature, but I really just hope that I can meet others who are as eccentric and non-square as I am.
• Dominican culture: formerly a French colony, fought over by the U.K. Natives speak Patois (a creole French dialect) which looks very similar to basic French except for the "r's" are pronounced like "w"...I know I am oversimplifying but this is all I've been able to find out from the web so far. Of course basic every day words like "mother", "father", "friend" have more African and creole twists on them that differ from pure French. Either way my Spanish abilities will not be useful on this island. Perhaps some of my 1 semester of college French will come back? *gulp*

I arrive in Dominica for medical school orientation on August 27th and will be spending my 23rd birthday on the island. Hooray?
**National Geographic fact sheet about Dominica