Drowning in a tub of anatomy flavoured treacle...

So we finished exams the first day back. And for that I am eternally grateful. I can't imagine having endless weeks of the things, like some unis. The only problem is that since that blessed Monday (at 3:30 to be exact) it's been nonstop. Seriously. It feels like I haven't even had a chance to breathe. Going to Tesco on Saturday was the highlight of the fortnight. And then I immediately felt guilty because I should have spent that 2 hour field trip doing work. We have about four essays due in over the next few months (a lot for a medic). I have one due in on Thursday that I haven’t done yet. And for that to be sufficiently shocking you have to realise that I’m a geeky goody-two-shoes who always gets everything done at least a week (alright, at least a week-end) in advance. I’m planning on doing it on Wednesday afternoon.

And then there’s the anatomy. I kind of like anatomy. In some ways it’s easier to learn than physiology and it’s wayyyyyy better than histology. But in the past 2 weeks we’ve had 9 anatomy sessions. Nine. That’s like a two fold increase on last year. One of our modules is pretty much just learning every bone/muscle/tendon/ligament/joint in the body. It wouldn’t be so bad but the prep reading (and for me, geek as always, note taking) takes hours. Hours. HOURS!!! And it’s boring. I’ve taken to playing videos on I-player or youtube on my laptop whilst I write to try and make it a little more enjoyable. But I can’t watch something new otherwise I get distracted. And I find it hard to find programmes considering I’ve exhausted almost everything I can think of. I've watched every episode of every series of 5 Disney Original series. Next thing you know I’ve just spent forty minutes scouring the web looking for something that fits all my criteria. Bad times.

Little things are getting me excited now. It’s the same for all medics at my uni. Like the fact that next Monday we finish at 2. And the Tuesday after that we finish 12!!!!! I’m even looking forward to opening my brand new pack of revision cards. This is a new strategy for me. Normally I write up all my notes on plain paper using coloured pens. In addition, this term, I’m going to have a card per bone/muscle/tendon/ligament/joint/nerve. Every little helps. But I think it’s a sure sign that I’m going steadily crazy.

My brother keeps saying to me “you chose the profession, stop complaining about the workload” (apologises if I’ve already told you that. Anything non-medical passes straight through my brain. Anything medical passes straight through too, to be honest). And although it pains me to admit it, he’s so right. And I know it’s all going to be worth it in the end. We had a hospital day last week. I spent a day shadowing a fifth year. The whole idea is to make us see that the two-year science degree that is pre-clinicals is worthwhile. My fifth year said she starts work in about 6 months. And she wasn’t scared or nervous at all. She couldn’t wait because in 6 months it’ll all be worth it. The thought of working absolutely petrifies me. I’m going to have people’s lives in my hands. One slip of the tongue/wrist and I could have killed someone. You do realise that giving us that level of responsibility is like giving an arsonist a box of matches and disconnecting the telephone lines. And yet, I can’t wait. One of the patients called me doctor. Hyperventilating aside it was really kind of nice. Maybe that much responsibility should be seen as a privilege, and not a curse.

And until then it’s late nights, moments of happiness found in the most unlikely (geeky) of places and mugs and mugs of Tesco’s instant mocha sachets.

P.S. For everyone who still has exams, good luck. For anyone who comes to my uni, good luck for Wednesday. If you don’t hear from me over the next few months it’s because I’ve dropped out of medical school and have started work as a bin man.