Yesterday, I hung out with my friend Mark and a bunch of other med students. They told me a crazy story about a M4 who neglected to log any hours on most of his rotations. The computer log did detail that he had completed 80 hours of breast exams. It is unknown whether it was a clerical error; however, the general consensus is that it is quite possibly true. Just your friendly reminder that doctors are just (sometimes creepy) humans.
In all seriousness though, I have great respect for aspiring medical professionals of all kinds (docs, nurses, researchers, etc). And I really enjoyed my time hanging out with them. I attended several different types of classes, sat in on a pathology lab complete with 3 formaldehyde drenched displays (brain, heart, and prostate gland if you're curious), and stole pizza from an M1 orientation lunch. I even attended a minor league baseball game to round out the evening. Of course, that last part of the day would be substituted with studying normally, but it's early enough in the school year that everyone is relatively carefree.
There was a certain comfort in the experience. While I don't think it would be a good strategy to base my decision about whether or not to become a doctor on what med school is like (as opposed to what being a doctor is like), there is some peace in recognizing that I would probably appreciate the educational experience. It's not good to hate your life for 4 years if you can avoid it. Because if you do, you might end up giving 80 hours of questionable breast exams.
And let's be honest.... that's not healthy for anyone.
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