BBBRRRRIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!!

6:00 AM
Wake up alarm goes off.

6:45 AM
Ten snooze buttons later…. the time you really wake up. You wash your face and brush your teeth. Quickly iron your clothes and then jump in the shower. Chomp down breakfast while reviewing some notes for the upcoming day.

7:30 AM
You make that breakfast “to go” by throwing the last huge bite in your mouth and run out the door. WAIT… STOP!! Quick u-turn, run up to your room to grab your white coat, and now you can hussle your way out the door and into your car. Off to the hospital.

8:00 AM
You’re honking your horn like a madman on the road. Don’t these people know I have patients to write SOAP notes on before the consultants get there for grand rounds!?!?!!

8:45 AM
After frantically fidgeting through patient files, and with a little help from the residents, Dr. XYZ gives you the OK. You’re clear. Phew, that was close! Time to relax a bit in the seminar on patient ethics in 5 minutes.

10:00 AM
Off to the wards to check up on patients… this time thoroughly. Make sure you greet the nurses, after all, they are a med students best friend.

1:00 PM
Lunch break and preparation for case presentations in the afternoon. Remember to SIT DOWN and take a load off those feet. Your gunna be on them again for the next 4 hours, minimum.

4:00 PM
Hit the library. If you’re lucky, you can get a couple of hours of some solid textbook studying in.

6:30 PM
Clinics and OPD. You better hope these patients sitting in the waiting area have exactly what you studied back in the library because that is all you can remember. In the likely case that they don’t, you’re screwed!

11:30 PM
Back at home now. Fresh pair of pajamas on after a warm, much needed shower. Stomach is satisfied, the room is quiet. This is THE IDEAL time to study. You open up your books and identify the chapters that need to be covered before the night is over.

11:45 PM
You’re desperately trying to fight the inevitable…. Flipping through pages without even reading them. And then that little voice in your head gives in. “Who are you trying to kid buddy?” ………

11:50 PM
……

11:52 PM
….........………..

11:57 PM
zZzzZzzzZZZzz!

Does some of the above sound familiar to you? It should if you’re a senior med student. Ahhh, alas. SENIOR YEAR! Congratulations, you’ve finally made it. Only one more year to go. WOOO HOOOO…… NOT!!! This is more like the biggest reality check of your life. It feels like somebody just hit you in the face with a time machine brick and the clotting factors are just not kicking in. Dang that Christmas factor!! Time is going neither too slow, too fast, or just right. It’s just wrong! All wrong! Haha.

What I’m trying to say here my fellow colleagues and friends, is that it’s time to saddle up. In approximately one year’s time, you will be a certified doctor. Thaaaaat’s right. Patients will be your customers, and your brain is what’s in demand. Remember all that nonsense you said in your interview to get into med school?? “I want to become a doctor so I can help the sick”. HAHAHAHA. I gotta say, that sounds like something I said decades ago.

All jokes aside though, I think it’s prudent to remember why exactly we decided to slave ourselves for such a profession. As corny as this may sound, our patients need our patience. And this starts way before they step into our clinics. In fact, it started the day we entered medical school, if not earlier. It’s a tough life, but if you ask me (and yourselves for that matter), the rewards are indescribable. Knowing that you eased somebody illness is a high in itself. Not to mention if you’re honored enough to save a patient’s life. Talk about cloud 9 right?

This post was just a simple reminder to everyone (and mainly myself) that the hard work pays off. Our patients need it, and more importantly, I think we ourselves need it. Self satisfaction always trumps any paycheck. Sometimes we just need to sit back, gulp down a mug of coffee, maybe even two, and give ourselves a very much needed and well deserved pat on the back. Everything’s going to be just fine.

Good luck to all medical students around the globe with a special shout out to the senior med students of ZMU, class of 2010!