It’s 4 am, and I can’t sleep so I figured I might as well write a blog post.  We had case presentations in Medical Microbiology yesterday, so last night I was up all night worrying about getting my case right, and I am up all night tonight stressing about the fact that I didn’t.  I really wish I was the kind of person who could let little things not bother me, such as missing half a point here or there for things that don’t matter, but I’m just not that kind of person.  Med school is helping me learn, though.  There just isn’t enough time in the day to stress about the small things.

This quarter has been brutal thus far.  First quarter I was like Hey, med school isn’t so bad…I can handle this.  Then second quarter came, and I was like Okay, this is hard, but I can manage.  And now, all I can think is Aaaaaahhhhhh!  The last few weeks I have just had so much more information thrown at me than I am used to.  I just had to memorize all the viruses, and that was for one class alone.

I have had to adapt my study style.  I no longer go to most classes.  Instead I listen to them on double speed at my own convenience.  I used to write out shortened study guides based off the professors handouts, but I no longer have time for that.  In fact, I don’t even have time to go through most handouts, and I am instead using the Powerpoints from class.

Meanwhile, all of our classes have decided to give quizzes, and even though they are “open note,” it doesn’t help because the professors don’t actually have the information in there.  Pathology has just decided to not teach us anything, and instead refer to a book that I don’t have time to read.  I can’t stand it when professors think their class is the only one we’re taking.  I mean…fifty pages of reading material for one lecture?  Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Pathology has also decided to teach us the life lesson that sometimes there are more than one right answer.  The trick is, there is only one right answer that will give you points.  So, even though your answer is correct, it might not be most correct, and, therefore, wrong.  Which is frustrating, to say the least.

It’s 4:30 now, and I have to decide if I try to get some more sleep or try to catch up on everything I am behind in.  I have a block exam on Monday that is going to be over four hours long because of how much information we’ve covered this block.   It is also worth 72% of our grade in physiology, and there are way too many hormones that influence other hormones, and I don’t know them that well, so things could get interesting.

On the bright side…I get to go home to Nebraska next weekend, which, on one hand is awesome, but on the other hand I can’t stop worrying about how much a weekend off from studying will set me back…Ugh…med school problems.