And I thought the MCAT was hard... Exam 1

Ok, so we took our first test, and lets just say it could have been worse. 2 weeks of studying 6 hours a day (outside of class) and a whole weekend of studying for 24 hours, and, well, Basically I got a D! So looking on the bright side I didn't fail. LOL! Hunter however got a C. You all know how that went. I studied twice as much as he did and he still did better than me. It's a good thing I like him, cause that really makes me mad. So here's the break down: We had 3 and half hours to answer 134 questions. It took me 3 hours... it took Hunter 1.5. Disgusting I know. When he got up I was thinking to myself, he better be going to the bathroom. 10 minutes later, I was thinking, That Bastard! He's finished!! I hate him! Its basically 3 hours of excruciating pain and when you hit submit, there's your score. A measure of how much you suck at life. Or how awesome you are, I just happen to be at the suck end! But its not over yet. See, we are on an integrated system. Meaning of the 134 questions, 58 of them were from Cell, and 76 of them were from BioChem. So now the computer has to break down my percentage from each category. So even though I got a D overall, that's not my final score. So its gonna get a lot worse. I dont have those scores yet. Then Hunter and I decided the perfect way to relax after a long, upsetting day would be to go Grocery Shopping and pay some bills. Isn't the real world Great! You should have seen us at WalMart. We were pathetic. It was not a good idea to go anywhere involving brain power. What should have taken us 45 min ended up taking 2 hours. We just walked up and down the isles, staring off into space, picking things up, putting them back down. Hunter kept walking really slow. We couldnt remember what we needed, even though i had the list in my hand the whole time. So later that night, we end up going out with the rest of our class. We all needed a few drinks after today. So ofcourse everyone wants to talk about the test, and how they did, which is the last thing I want to tell people. But here it is, the light at the end of the tunnel: So i'm feeling bad hearing all these people tell me how "great" they did, and then one guy (named Hunter als0) is like, "well you looked at the old tests, right?" And i said no, why would I, we're on a new system, so the old tests wouldnt help, would they? Uh yea! Apparently they did. Hallelujah! Thank God! I'm not stupid, all these people aren't way smarter than me, they just had a competitive advantage. Well, don't worry. I'm gonna get my hands on those for next time. I guess I just didnt realize how Med School was going to be like the undergrad. But if they are going to use them, then so will I. Grades are everything if I want to be Matched w/ a Good Residency program!

Remember why you're here???

So here lately I have been picking up on a theme with the professors and upperclassmen: Getting involved in activities that will remind you of why you are here.

They keep talking about volunteering and getting involved in the community so you can stay motivated. Of course I think volunteering is important and all, but this has gotten me thinking:

Is this going to really be that bad, that I sink so low, I can't even remember why I signed up for this in the first place???

And then I think that it will be. I think it will be the hardest thing I have ever done. I think it will be daily challenge.....

Well, I guess its a good thing I am addicted to challenges.

LOL!

Answer for Kacee

No, I'm not taking Spanish classes. I just feel sometimes that they are speaking in another language. Which i guess technically they are. But I look around the room and people are nodding their heads and Hunter says, Ya I've already heard this stuff, and I just feel so lost!!! I mean I know some of the stuff they are talking about. Take for instance Mitosis and Meiosis (cell division). You may remember some of that from college Biology or even high school biology. But remember all those times your teacher said, "Oh were not going to get into specifics, just know the basics....." Well now I get to learn all the specifics, down to every minute detail! And then they start talking fast cause they have 45 slides to get through in an hour and my head starts spinning and I just feel like I stepped into an intermediate level foreign language class.

Hope that helps clear things up!

10 Percent

So you know how after a really hard work out you can get muscle cramps?... well the other night after a long night of studying I was laying in bed and my head started to hurt. But this was not your typical headache, I swear this was a muscle cramp in my brain!!!! Seriously! So I started thinking about how they say we only use 10% of our brains and I've decided that has to be incorrect. I have to be using more than that! At least 11%.

PS.

My grades did finally post. I made A's on both my quizzes. But before you go off acting all proud and stuff. This was just a gimme quiz. It was only 18 questions and some of them were just plain easy. It is in no way any indication of how I will do on the first Exam. Which is next monday by the way. Am i scared... NO, I am terrified. I sit in a room full of people who already know all this stuff, or at least they act like they do, and its all new to me!!! Nothing like going to med school to make you feel really stupid.

Speaking of feeling stupid or at least inadequate. Today our lecturer was an orthopedic surgeon discussing Stem Cells. (dont worry, not going to use this post as my soap box, at least not today!) And alot of what he is saying is Super interesting, about what they can do, what they cannot do, and the research people are still developing. Then after about 15 minutes of lecture he says, "Now don't worry about some of this stuff, you wont be tested over it, I just feel it's important you know about it since your in medicine." And I'm like DUDE! I only have 10% of my brain to fit in all this information. Do NOT start clouding it up with things I wont be tested over!!!!!

What is it like?

So in case you were wondering what it is like to be a med student, here is the best example i can come up with. Lets say you look at the syllabus and tomorrows lecture is over "The Princess and the Pea". And you think to yourself, great, i remember that story. Maybe not word for word, but prince looking for wife, puts pea under the bed, marries the girl that is honest about it... blah blah. ok, then you get into class and the slides look like this:

Érase una vez un príncipe que quería casarse con una princesa, pero que fuese una princesa de verdad. En su busca recorrió todo el mundo, mas siempre había algún pero. Princesas había muchas, mas nunca lograba asegurarse de que lo fueran de veras; cada vez encontraba algo que le parecía sospechoso. Así regresó a su casa muy triste, pues estaba empeñado en encontrar a una princesa auténtica.

Una tarde estalló una terrible tempestad; sucedíanse sin interrupción los rayos y los truenos, y llovía a cántaros; era un tiempo espantoso. En éstas llamaron a la puerta de la ciudad, y el anciano Rey acudió a abrir.

Una princesa estaba en la puerta; pero ¡santo Dios, cómo la habían puesto la lluvia y el mal tiempo! El agua le chorreaba por el cabello y los vestidos, se le metía por las cañas de los zapatos y le salía por los tacones; pero ella afirmaba que era una princesa verdadera.....

AHHHH!!! Scary right! so i'm listening to a lecture in a foreign language, and now i have to go home and try to look up all this stuff. Try to memorize it, Try to understand it. and then be ready for even more tomorrow. Oh and did i mention that there are literally 1000+ slides that i will have looked at before my First Exam? And you have to know every single one cause they are all important.

How am i supposed to manage this, i have no idea!!

Day 3, Quiz 1

So we had our first Quiz today, 18 questions. I'm gonna be honest. i studied harder for this quiz, than i did on some of my Final exams during my undergrad. I hope that is NOT foreshadowing of things to come. I hope that I just put in more effort than necessary and that as we go along, i wont have to work as hard. Yea Right!!! Wishful thinking on my part. No grades posted yet, i'll keep you updated though.

Back to the grind.

Mission

This mission should we choose to except is as follows:

Graduate from Med School in 4 years without hating eachother!

Seems simple enough, right? Wrong! With the divorce rate in this country already at 50% and even higher for people in the medical field, we are starting with a huge disadvantage with both of us wanting to become doctors. So far we have been happily married for 7 wonderful months. High school sweethearts and all that cute stuff. Most people say we are crazy trying to go through med school at the same time.

But, we are bound and determined to find a way.

So, feel free to follow along on our journey as we attempt to make it as the Newly Meds.