Last Day of Classes

The last day of classes went not with a bang, but with a whisper. We had an ethics small group and a patient interview with a woman who was key in starting Medicare. There was a wrap-up session which was nice; the deans gave quick speeches about this transition in our lives, moving from a classroom and lecture based learning to experiential patient-centered education. I think this transition crept up on me and I haven't really come to terms with what it means.

But really, things finished in a trickle. People hurried out to continue their studying. Some people stuck around and chatted a bit, but the atmosphere was not one of celebration, but rather one of stress.

It is an interesting moment though, finishing my second year of medical school. As always and as expected, it has gone by amazingly quickly, especially this year which is only comprised of two quarters. But I think the learning has been tremendous. For example, at the beginning of last year, we learned to do the patient presentation in a specific order. Whenever I deviated, my preceptor would always remind me about information that should have been included in the history of present illness or to include medications after past medical history and not at the end. I didn't really understand it. Now, when listening or reading a history and forming a differential diagnosis, I get thrown off when I hear things out of order. I've somehow been indoctrinated into this culture of thinking.

It's been a rough and tumble two years. The volume of information is overwhelming. It's way more than I can master. I've also started developing patient-doctor skills, but they won't be honed to perfection by the time I get to wards. The first two years haven't been easy, but I've gotten a lot out of them. Am I ready to move onto the wards? The administration say I am, and I have to defer to their experience because I really can't say for sure.