Third year: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Yes! I passed my board exams and I've started clinicals. This is the year where I decide what I want to do with my life (very scary sturves). Right now, I pretty much am as undecided as i can be. We rotate among Pediatrics, Surgery, Medicine, Ob/gyn, Family medicine, Psychiatry, and a couple that ive forgotten jare.

So this blog will feature either a Rate this section for each clerkship I do- pretty much a summary of the rotation, interesting stuff ive seen etc. That way I guess it'll help me narrow it down. Anyways back to:

The good

1. I'm 1 year 10 months away from that M.D. Actually from now on, you can call me Bumight M. cos I'm already halfway there, lol!

* No more lectures! Third year is strictly clinicals. Pretty much like you're working at the hospital, but instead of getting paid, you pay the school tuition!

* Seeing Patients. Very different from the whole first and second year patient contact. Its like the training wheels are off.

on my first day, my attending pretty much threw me in a room with the patient and told me to go for it! you learn as you move on. Now im getting used to seeing patients by myself without little or no supervision.

* Shopping! yes since you have to dress proffesionally everyday, it means my everyday wear of jeans doesnt work. I've had to go get some work savvy clothes and sensible cute shoes. The people on twitter will bear me witness to what happened when i chose cute over sensible!

* An excuse to get a new phone. Actually, i need a new phone jare, Tmobile is messing up with my love social life with their no-service bull! And since I need a phone that i can put med applications, organize my life, etc...perfect timing! why am i even trying to justify myself? :)

The bad

* They tricked us! For each clerkship rotation, there's one day of lectures per week. I know its only one day, but I dont think i went to any lectures since the second week of second year. For the past two weeks I've been struggling to stay awake in class.

* Sleeping in is not an option: you have to wake up everyday and go in to work whether u feel like it or not. Gone are my days of waking up whenever I open my eyes, now my alarm clock is working overtime!

* Because you are graded subjectively, you have to always be on your gaurd when interacting with attending physicians, cos you dont know what you might do and someone puts it on your evaluation and then u're screwed!

The ugly

* Pimping: being pimped is not fun my people. Pimping is when your attending physician randomly fires you with questions. So you have to be prepared at all times which means reading extensively on certain subjects you might get pimped on. (naija people call it viva)

*Scutwork : Scutting is when people on the higher rungs of the ladder (interns, residents, attendings) send you on random errands that have nothing to do with medicine, like sending you to go get coffee, faxing stuff, getting xrays, etc. You dont have to do scutwork, but sometimes it cannot be avoided.

That's it so far!