how are the fellow horsemen(women) doing?

[wooo]

I'm taking a brain fart night and skipping the studying routine. How are all you M1's doing in school?

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[kris]

Hi wooo, thanks for asking.

I think things are going fine. So far my grades are decent (against the curve since we're totally graded by standard deviations), but I'm studying way more than I ever thought I would--but so is everyone else here.

I've still managed to stick to my workout, and I'm eating well. I think I could use a bit more sleep.

Overall, I'm pretty happy here despite the stress. I guess I just like what I'm learning.

So how are you, wooo piggy piggy? And what are horsemen?
--kris

 

[wooo]

several months ago there was a topic asking about who was going to give it their all when med school starts. It was worded something like "who is going to try to keep up with the horsemen" or something like that.
So, horsemen/women are the people who are trying to do their best. A politically correct way to say "gunner" I guess.

By the way....I'm doing fine, but it really takes alot more studying than I had presumed.

 

[ckent]

"horsemen" sounds even more evil then "gunner" to me. At least you know when a gunner has got you in his sights and is shooting at you, a horseman would probably ride up behind you while you are walking and whack you with his sword or something. Like the headless horseman or something.

 

[lilycat]

"Who's going to run with the horsemen?"

I think that was the quote that inspired it all. Anyways, things are okay, but not great. I'm with everyone else in that studying is taking far more time than I imagined, and that's just to keep my head barely above water. However, I still don't feel like I've found my "groove," so hopefully things will get better once I find a schedule/plan that really works for me.

Good to hear from you wooo.

 

[Starflyr]

Things were good until I got sick this week - I missed HALF of our pelvis and perineum lectures and lab (2 of 4), and Im not sure Ill be able to catch up. Our GAR final is Friday. We had a practice of medicine exam today. We have our clinical skills exam in 2 weeks (1.5 for me). Oh well. I anticipate GAR being my hardest class - mostly cause I SUCK at lab practicals and always have.

Star

 

[Cobragirl]

I'm with you Lilycat...I haven't found my "groove" yet. Grade-wise I'm doing fine (upper 1/3) but I don't feel like I've "bonded" with any of my classmates yet. I have a few that I'm pretty friendly with, but for the most part, I kinda feel like I'm all alone with all this material to learn. I hope I can find a good study partner soon...I don't think I can keep up this pace forever, by myself. I'm not big on study "groups" but I always did REALLY well if I had one or two other people that I could consistantly study with and bounce ideas off of...hope I can find someone soon!

 

[kd]

I'm doing alright- high Bs in most of my classes, which is perfectly fine with me. I'm 8 weeks pregnant and have been having a really tough time with morning sickness, so at this point I'm just happy to be getting by at all!

I've realized that doing well in anatomy has virtually nothing to do with intelligence- it's all about how much time you put into it. Some of my classmates virtually live in the lab- every evening and every weekend...more power to them, but personally, it's not all that important to me.

Starflyr- not sure how your anatomy course is set up, but I wouldn't sweat missing those 2 labs too much. I missed over half the labs in our Head & Neck unit due to severe nausea, but still managed to do relatively well on the practical. I just studied by using the dissector and looking up every structure in both Netter's and Rohen's. Also, it helps if you can go in on your own and get someone to show you what you missed- or better yet, maybe get a group of students together and set up a "practice practical" on your cadavers. I also did some virtual dissections on the University of Florida's Anatomy course at the Integrated Medical Curriculum www.imc.gsm.com It costs $20 or so for a 6-month subscription, but I split the cost with a classmate and have found it helpful for the times when I can't make it to lab. Good luck!

 

[nochaser]

WOW---I'm really impressed with how you guys stay in touch here. Did you all know each other from these boards before you got into medical school?

 

[Starflyr]

kd - thanks for the tips I actually DO have a lab tutor, DID take a practice exam for the 1st practical, didnt miss any labs for the 1st practical, studied my arse off and STILL got a 75. Thats why Im so nervous this time round. But...so long as I pass the cumulative exam grade (which shouldnt be hard, cuase I got an A on the 1st lecture exam), I'll still pass gross. Ill be SO glad when next week is over. Also - does anybody else use the McGill atlas? Ive found it to be a nice way to study cadaver dissections WITHOUT being in the lab.

Star

 

[kris]

Wow, kd, you're pregnant! I hope you're super-happy about it. Congratulations!

It sounds like things are going well despite the morning sickness. I hope it goes away soon.

nochaser, we did meet up here on the boards. It may seem ridiculous to say, but some folks here are kind of like old friends to me.
I guess we all just have a history together and shared experiences. Well, this just gives me a warm fuzzy!

--kris

 

[kris]

By the way, I just HAVE to share this with you. As many of you know, my husband lives in Cincinnati while I'm here in Omaha. Here's a recent email exchange:

me: I'm learning all about the gross anatomy of the penis and testis.

his reply: Just put the magazine down and get back to work.

I just about died laughing!

--kris

 

[kd]

kris- LOL! And thank you! We're both thrilled and very excited about the baby (though I'll confess, I'm also worried- it's REALLY tough taking embryo right now and learning all about every single thing that could possibly go wrong!) My husband lives in another city, too, though, fortunately, he is close enough to make it every weekend.
BTW how ARE everybody's long-distance marriages going? I seem to recall there were a number of us in similar situations. Any prospects for living in the same city anytime soon? So far, the separation hasn't been too bad for me- we each stay so busy during the week, we barely have time to miss each other. However, I live for weekends- it's really nice having someone to bring me my crackers and dry toast (morning sickness remedies) in bed! Once the baby's born, he's going to quit his job and be a stay-at-home dad for a year or so, so we're both looking forward to that.
Cobra- how did things go for your hubby? Is he still shipping out soon?

 

[Cobragirl]

Wow, I forgot how many of us would be doing the long-distance thing! My hubby is in Chicago right now and will be getting deployed in mid-November (active-duty Navy). Not fun to be separated, for sure, but sure leaves a lot more time for studying....

Congrats on the baby Kd! What timing huh? I can just imagine how paranoid you are while taking embryo right now! I have been quite amazed that ANY of us turn out normal with all the stuff that goes on! I'm sure you're taking care of yourself, and everything will be fine! And if it gets to be too much...DEFER. Don't stress yourself out...won't be good for the baby or the grades!

PS- Isn't our anatomy program great?!!!! We have (free) on-line access to it, and quite frankly every other class we take (we have similar AWESOME programs for Histo, Radiology, etc...all written by our Profs). We sometimes wonder why we even bother going to class at all! In all seriousness, I passed my last Histo practical with a 98 and I spent NO time in the lab working with scopes...I spent all my time looking at the on-line images (which are blown up versions of what they would test us on) and did awesome. All of our anatomy dissections are on-line, step-by-step, so we are usually WELL prepared for lab and practicals.

What can I say...Gators Rule (oh, wait, this goes on the "football" thread!)

 

[Katie]

I'm enjoying life at Tufts for the most part. We don't start Anatomy until second semester so everything is very low-key here. I passed my first two exams (P=M.D.!!) and have two more this week. nice to hear from the rest of you, now back to studying..

 

[kris]

Okay, I guess I've been away for a while. I'm pleased to report that I had my last anatomy/embryo etc. conjoint a week ago, and I'm now deep into biochem, cell bio, histo, etc.

We have our anatomy core for 10 weeks, and then the last 6 weeks of the term is our cell bio core. All I can say is that it's hard to sit in lecture for 4 straight hours! Our second years always talk about getting "med school-induced ADD!"

Is anyone else surprised at how happy they are? After I finally adjusted to med school (week 2 was extremely depressing for me), I found myself going to bed with a big grin, just thinking about the day. I don't think I've been this happy in years. Strange.

By the way, I was wondering what other people mean by "block exams." Our exams are called "conjoints" and are on Saturdays from 8am to 1pm (not every saturday). So what are block exams--the same kind of thing?

We have a class called living anatomy where we find everything inside from the outside (heh). Did anyone else's anatomy chairman drop his/her pants to demonstrate gluteal folds to the class?

Stay healthy everyone!
Kris

 

[kd]

Bump...I haven't been on this board in over a year, but just remembered this thread and thought it'd be fun to see what everyone's up to.
Here's my update: I'm about 5 weeks away from finishing up 2nd year...then taking Step 1 on the 23rd and 3rd year starts June 30. I also have a happy and healthy 11-month-old son.
So are any of you guys still out there?

 

[kd]

Since it's match week, just thought I'd check and see if any of you guys were still out there...

 

[irlandesa]

hey, I have posted on this board on and off over the years under several monikers.. The first year of med school seems like eons ago, yet it also feels like med school went by ridiculously fast.. Glad to know that someone resurrected this thread and is still out there. I found out today that I matched in Internal Medicine and will be happy wherever I matched. There is one program that I'm a bit concerned about b/c it is such a young program, but hopefully things will turn out for the best. Congratulations to all my fellow M'05ers on making it through! And please post how you did on the 17th..

 

[kd]

I matched in IM myself- only ranked 2 programs, but really hoping for #1, since it's in my hometown. We have 2 young 'uns now, so really need to be close to family during residency! I'll be graduating a couple of weeks late pending stupid frigging Step 2 CS, which is now required for graduation (THAT SUCKS!)
irelandesa- what was your old handle?

 

[irlandesa]

hi kd,

You are really brave to rank 2 programs and take on 2 little ones during med school, good for you! I'm amazed that I'm capable of taking care of my neighbors' cat from time to time! I'm not sure I should list my old moniker in full on here since I kinda got moody and pi$$ed people off at times while using it, but I'll hint that it begins with K and I go to Tufts, and I now hang out on the IM forum quite a bit.

I definitely agree with you on the importance of family support; my parents now live in Boston and I'm really hoping to stay nearby. I have a good hunch that I will be at BU, Brown, UMass (in beautiful Worcester hehe), Yale-New Haven, or Maine Medical center. Couldn't be happier with those choices. So, any of the old school folk on here, like lilycat, Cobra, Foxy, or anyone listed on this thread.. y'all seem pretty familiar..
congrats to all who matched or successfully scrambled, and best of luck!