Update!

Hello All,

I am currently in my rural medicine rotation. I just finished up the first week of that. It is going really well and I feel like I am relearning the basics. My first few rotations were: Peds, Surgery, and Psych, so naturally I didn't directly deal with a lot of the typical disease states that one commonly sees in a primary care office such as: Diabetes, Hypertension, Low Back Pain, etc. It is really nice because as it is I really think I want to work in the primary care sector initially and then possibly specialize. It was a little strange doing specialty medicine for the first few months of my clinical year. (I guess peds could be looked at as sort of a primary care practice.) It was strange because instead of building on the basics I sort of skipped that and went right into specific areas of medicine, two areas of which we did not get a huge exposure to during the first year.

Oh well, the second year has been a blast so far. Some 1st year students asked me if the second year is easier than the first year. I think it is/can be to a certain degree. However, I think it is difficult as well, just a different kind of difficult. Yes, you don't have to sit in a classroom all day everyday for 40 hours a week, on top of having to study for the constant parade of tests and quizzess. However, you do have to go to "work" everyday and really stretch your brain and learn as much as you can. You also have to stress of not completely screwing up something very basic or missing something really important and making a fool out of yourself. (More on that in a bit.) Plus, if other programs are like mine, you have end-of-rotation exams after every 'core' clinical. Since you aren't in class anymore you are sort of on your own to figure out what you need to be studying and how best to use your time to study for an exam of which you aren't too sure what is actually on it. Sure you get a 'reading-list' and a 'study guide' but that doesnt necessarily mean that those things are exactly what the exam is going to cover. In fact in most cases, it isn't.

All of that may make it seem like I am not enjoying the second year. However, as I already stated, I am. I much prefer this to the first year, hands down! I enjoy not only just talking about medicine, but beginning to practice it as well. Plus, reading takes on a different meaning for the most part in the second year. You are not reading so much for an exam anymore, but rather reading up on things you are seeing in the practice you are at. I think this makes the reading more meaningful. For example, in the clinic I am in right now we see a lot of low back pain. When I read about this in my books I am able to retain the information better because I can apply it to the patient(s) I have seen. I also get excited about the fact that the next time I see a patient with low back pain I will be much more informed and be more efficient when I am in the room with the patient.

During the 1st year everyone is generally on the same page, and experiencing many of the same things. However, this is not so much true in the second year. Everyone really has their own unique experience, even if they go to the same site as another. There have been rotation sites that I have gone to that I loved. However, someone else went there and really had a hard time adjusting to it. -- I really believe that the experience you have at a rotation is largely up to you. Not only do you get out what you put in, but your attitude says a lot about what your experience is going to be like.

If you are in the first year now, keep your head up. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and no it doesn't have to be a train. Study hard and keep a positive attitude whenever possible.

'Til next time!

M-R