So it’s….. July

I really truly intended to post on a somewhat regular basis and the last few months went by in a blur.

One of the things I have yet to mention is that my acceptance to medical school was conditional in that I was required to take (and pass) a summer prematriculation program.  A med school boot camp if you will.  The program I completed was a 6 week hell in Zoom format on Earth.  I will say that I was super thankful that it took place on Zoom (so that’s the one thank you you get, COVID) as it made planning care for my children and actually attending the classes more flexible and realistic.  

This started mid May and consisted of four classes:  Histology, Anatomy, Physiology, and Biochemistry.  It really wasn’t that bad, and I really have my nursing background to thank as far as some of the material went.  I say it wasn’t that bad, though I vividly remember complaining to anyone that possessed the capacity to hear my voice that it was brutal.  The material wasn’t difficult, it was just the amount.  You’d spend roughly seven hours in class or watching asynchronous lectures Mon-Fri.There was the occasional Saturday review session.    I spent an additional…. 10-15 hours per week studying.  There was an exam halfway in, and at the end.  You were given well over 200 slides of new information… per day.  It was exhausting. 

But I made it through!  With my sanity nearly intact!  

One really awesome thing that took place and was a really great break from the summer program was my RMED orientation.  

RMED stands for Rural Medicine, which is a special tract offered by some medical schools that allows students that wish to practice in a rural area to get exposure to rural clinical sites and specialized knowledge related to practicing medicine in a rural area.  More on that later.

The orientation was pretty cool.  Despite being the opposite of a social butterfly, I really enjoyed getting to know the people who I will be spending a whole lot of time with in the upcoming years. During the two day event, we were able to speak with upperclassmen in the program, learn more about the curriculum, and most importantly, get to know each other.  I am acutely aware that the unique journey I am about to embark on will be grueling, frustrating, exhilarating, and terrifying.  As much as I tend to be a very independent introvert, I am also trying very hard to recognize the value in forging relationships with these people that are going through the same thing.  I can complain and explain until I’m blue in the face about my med school woes to my husband, my mom, and even my healthcare friends, but no one will truly understand the experience as my future fellow classmates will.  So I really plan on trying my best to get to know these people.

So that pretty much brings me up to date.  I have the month of July and the first week or so of August to mostly do what I please.  So this has consisted of working a little extra (in preparation of having to cut back my work hours this fall), spending time doing fun stuff with my kiddos, and doing all the odds and ends required prior to matriculation, like submitting immunizations, background checks, financial aid stuff, etc.