And just like that, the holidays are over. Well, I guess for most people it’s been over but I on the other hand just began school yesterday. Almost 4 weeks at home, and it still didn’t feel like enough time.
I laugh at my 4 weeks ago self who said “I’ll dedicate one hour a day to USMLE studying. Just an hour” …. ha. Yea, that didn’t happen. A part of me feels really guilty about it, I know that the USMLE will pretty much kick my ass from the moon and back but I was just so damn happy to be home – I couldn’t think of doing anything but sleeping and eating. I know that once my official first year of medical school is over, that attitude will have to change. But hey, what’s done is done.
I walked back to campus yesterday and I felt great, I was one of those students who survived their first semester and as I attended my first class the room seemed obviously less filled than when I first came here. I’m excited to see what this second semester brings me – hopefully more interesting classes.
The first two weeks are primarily focused on ethics and preventative medicine and we had our first small group discussion yesterday and I was hit with some pretty hard questions. I’ve always had specific opinions on the topics, but when asked what my reasons were – I fell short. A few of the topics that were talked about was:
Should we prescribe adderall to students or professionals who simply want it without having ADHD?
How to handle an overbearing parent when their child is the patient
Is it ethical to end the life of a terminally ill patient?
It was really interesting to talk about these questions with my peers, but it just made me think about what I would have done if it were me in the situation. As a potential doctor, I think about all of the rights and responsibilities that come with those two letters after my name on the white coat. It’s my judgement that can make the difference between life and death. I guess just knowing that I can (and probably will) make a bad call just plain scares me.
This was an article I came across and I thought it was really thought provoking, take a read…let me know what you think:
http://web.missouri.edu/~bondesonw/Quill.HTM
..Makes you think, huh?
TenaciousMD
PS
title of post is from an Avicii song that I’ve been digging recently. Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtF6Jej8yb4
-Should we pre
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