Today was a bit different. Well for one, I left the gym at around 7:30 AM. Bad idea. I kind of forgot about rush hour. You see, when I had MPH classes, they were normally in the afternoons. What normally averages to a 28minute 45 second ride (that's right, I'm such a geek I actually have an average commute time calculated) took about 40 minutes. I was cut off by about 4 different people and I almost crashed into a construction cone on Euclid Ave.
Luckily for me, there was no hurry since orientation really did not begin until 8:30. I was looking forward to a nice hearty little breakfast with maybe a bagel, banana and some orange juice. Well, instead I had some cream filled pastry, but the good news was the orange juice was there. Perhaps the administration should consider the public health ramifications of feeding the next generation of expert clinicians, policy-makers and medical thought-leaders foods high in carbohydrates and hydrogenated fats. Sorry, the public health part of me is getting out-I'll try to contain it.
I spent the next 15 minutes chatting and introducing myself to one of my colleagues. Wait, did I say colleague? You mean, I'm going to be a doctor? He's going to be a doctor? We're both going to be doctors? Wow, life really is about to be different.
Soon enough 8:30 rolled around and the introductory speeches began. Enter Hogwarts School of Medicine. Case is different from other medical schools in that the student body is randomly organized into four smaller groups we call "societies." Each society has a leader, who is a physician/administrator to assist in any way with the personal and professional lives of students. The society deans, as we call them, each gave excellent speeches. Part of the reason I chose Case over other medical schools was the support system offered by the societies. I had great experiences in high school and college with similar systems, and from what I've seen at Case today, I think I'll have a positive experience here as well.
After the society speeches, a group of enthusiastic and helpful M2s gave us newbies a run down of the curriculum and how learning at the SOM works. One of the hallmarks of the WR2 curriculum, which supposeldy is like the greatest thing since sliced-bread, are inquiry (IQ) groups. In these groups of 8-9 students, we learn through reading and researching medical cases. There are 2 cases each week. In order to prep us for a tutorial IQ session in the afternoon, one of the M2s interviewed a real patient regarding endocrine dysfunction he has been experiencing throughout his lifetime.
It wasn't until lunchtime when I realized how lucky I was. We ate lunch in our society groups and I was able to meet the 40 or so students in my society including the 7 other individuals in my IQ group. What I realized was how diverse, talented and genuine each person was. I met students fresh out of college, older students who are married or have decided on a drastic career change, students like myself who have taken only a year or two off between college and med school. I met musicians. I met atheletes. I met people from California as well as people from Cleveland and even from around the world. What was awesome was that each person I met, from early in the morning through lunch and in the afternoon, was not only unique and gifted, but was friendly. It looks like the school picked a good bunch of people.
After lunch we split into IQ groups to run our mock case. Our IQ facilitator, a 2nd year, was great. We played a game called samurai slapper, arguably the most frustrating game ever, as an icebreaker. Basically, the group forms a circle with one person in the midle. Everyone on the perimeter sticks their hand out with their palm facing up. The person in the middle starts the game by picking somebody. This person who is picked must say the name of another person in the group before the guy in the center slaps his/her hand. The person whose name was said aloud must say another person's name before the guy in the middle slaps his/her hand. If anyone on the perimeter fumbles by failing to say a name before his/her hand is slapped they assume the position in the center.
When I was in the middle, I died. This game was tough. The thing is, it worked. I now know all the names of my IQ peers. Overall, the IQ session was great and I think my group really clicked. It's a good thing our group looks like it will work out, since we will be seeing a lot of each other over the next 4 years.
I was kind of wiped out after the IQ session, but I decided to head over to the campus bookstore to attend the medicine open house. Honestly, I wasn't really interested in purchasing any books, nor eating the pizza or cookies they offered (books are cheaper online and I had too much junk food in one day!). I just wanted to get a chance to meet some of my other classmates. It seems like a lot of them have already met each other since there have been some social events earlier in the week. One of the drawbacks with living far away from school is it's difficult/not economically feasible for me to drive down to school or bars/clubs in the area to hang out with other students. So this was my first time getting to meet some people and I'm glad I did.
Honestly, I wasn't too excited about starting med school, but my tune has changed somewhat over the past 12 hours. I think the people you surround yourself with on a daily basis have a huge impact on your outlook. It seems as if I've got a great group of people to help me get through medical school and into residency. Hopefully, I can do my part to help them as well. We'll see how tomorrow goes.
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