Halfway Through.... Tales from a med student

By Andrew Vaughan, SCMA Medical Student Trustee

Last summer, on a cloudless June morning, I leapt from an airplane at 14,000 feet.

It was my first skydive and, while the whole experience was memorable, there were two specific moments that will always stick out in my mind.  Of course the 60-second free fall - helplessness, exhilaration, and gravity all culminating in adrenaline induced stupor.  Just as memorable though, was the ascent – that 10-minute ride to 14,000 feet which was nothing short of an eternity.  2,000 feet; 5,000 feet; 10,000 feet and my brain was becoming acutely aware that jumping from an airplane is by no means a good idea.  The rest of my body was in full mutiny just as my tandem instructor tapped my shoulder and we made our way to the door.  While I will always look back on that day as one of the most exhilarating of my life, I will always remember the most difficult part of the day was the waiting to jump.

With my medical career journey still in its relative infancy, I find myself at a very specific and unique mile marker – a rising M3.  I am halfway there.  I’m done with the pre-cynical . . . I mean pre-clinical and getting ready to go to work.  Medical school’s first two years seem to be a blur of vignettes and dissections; while war stories of the third year could be likened to tall tales of corridor mazes, alarm clocks blaring at 4 a.m., and merciless pimping. I seem to be in this medical school purgatory right in between the two divisions of medical education.  It is the calm before the storm, it is the post Step1 R&R – these few weeks are indeed the waiting to jump.

Just like the accent last June, there is plenty of excitement.  I am excited to be a part of patient care.  I am excited to learn by doing rather than by reading.  I am excited to explore different possible career paths, figuring out where my strengths fit best into the meshwork of medical care. 

With all my excitement though, I am trying to be realistic.  I realize that not every patient can fit neatly into a three-sentence vignette, and that the hospital is a not exactly a low stress working environment.  I understand that I will be wrong more than I am accustomed to being wrong, and that each mistake is a learning opportunity.  I know that I will not be ready for every situation, and all the classroom work can’t prepare me for every situation.  I understand that many mornings, rounding at 6:30 a.m. is a war against fatigue, but it is one I plan on waging nonetheless.

With all the pre-clinical knowledge that has been drilled into me the past two years the great gem of wisdom that I take with me into the wards comes from my mother: “Just do your best.” Well that’s exactly what I intend to do.  The ascent has been a long one.  The waiting to jump is brutal.  But, through all of it, I know the free fall will be one I will never forget – although I’ll still be glad when my shoot opens, that’s 4^th year, right?