MS3 Isolation

There is a definite sense of isolation in the third year. We are scattered among different rotations at numerous sites, and even within a single rotation, we are assigned to many different teams. The dynamic between classmates really changes. My close friends are doing completely different rotations in different hospitals and I seldom see them, except for the rare review session or extracurricular event. After the camaraderie built in the first two years of pass-fail classes, this dispersion is sudden and surprising. We're really on our own; our expectations are the yard-stick by which we judge ourselves because no one else is going through the same experience. We're at the bottom of the totem pole, and our support system throughout all the classroom years has vanished. Where are the people I usually rant to? Who can I ask where the nearest bathroom is? Am I learning as much as everyone else?

Though in many ways distressing, I also like the independence. It feels more like work than school, an apprenticeship in an environment where friends would be nice but aren't necessary. Probably more growth happens when we have to find our way on our own. When I see and talk to my friends, it's fascinating to listen to their trials and tribulations, passions, unbelievable stories, and incredible intellectual and personal growth. It's nice to think that perhaps the same is happening to me.