100

It's my hundredth post! Wow! Too bad it's not gonna be anything long, exciting or profound. Just a little update.

So... I've had a few more days of school, and it's still great! Our second-years have been awesome - I went out on Friday night to one of the zillion events they planned for us and had a blast meeting people! Today we were matched up with our "big siblings" (basically a second-year buddy to give us the inside scoop on how to survive!), and mine is a SUPER sweet girl named Christina. I think we're going to get along marvelously. And she's already offered to give me whatever textbooks I decide I need as I get started with "real" classes (next week) - at least the ones I don't want to buy to have long-term. SWEET! That'll save me some serious money. We've already been told by many second years that most of the "required" texts are unnecessary, if not completely useless, so I'm gonna try to save some money there. We also had reps from Welch Allyn and 3M Littman give a presentation today on medical equipment that we're supposed to buy (stethoscope, oto- and ophthalmoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, reflex hammers, etc). THAT was a nice big slap in the face. Especially considering they haven't given us our financial aid money! It's over half way through the month and our budget was supposed to include this month! Grr. $650 of our included budget is set aside for equipment, but even if I bought all mid-grade to crappy stuff, I'd still be spending nearly $800. I'm at least getting a nice stethoscope. And the second years are all telling us we won't even pick up the other stuff once all year, but do I really want to be the jerk who goes in to do a physical and has to come back out of the room to borrow someone's otoscope (the light/magnifier that docs use to look into your ears)? PROBABLY not. But the oto/ophthalmoscope set is like $360 at the cheapest (which is a AA battery powered piece of junk, more or less). I don't know... I'm gonna have to feel this out a little more.

I've had a few cool lectures, particularly today - one on CRAZY new radiology teachnologies, one on robotic cardiac surgery... good stuff. I think they're trying to ease us into the endless onslaught of information by giving us some "fun" lectures first. How nice of them ;) They REALLY do seem to care a lot about student well-being, I have to say. So much of our orientation has been directed toward making sure we're aware of all the resources available to help us de-stress, keep up, do better on exams, keep a decent social life, manage our time... I feel very lucky to be at a school that gives a crap about our quality of life (as opposed to "that other medical institution across town" as it's affectionately referred to by our professors... lol). And I'm learning so much about the areas in which our school and our medical center are leading the country (and in some cases even the world), which is cool and encouraging and exciting :) They also sent us on a Duck Tour of the city yesterday (those boat/bus-looking things that cruise the streets carrying tourists with quacking whistles - they drive on land and right into the water where they act as boats and carry you around the harbor). That was pretty cool and I actually learned a lot about Baltimore that I didn't know!

Tomorrow I actually have a full day of ICM (lectures and small group) so it'll be much more like a "regular day" of class. And by "full day" I mean 8-12 :) We're talking about health issues around the world, medical ethics... fun topics like that (and I'm not being sarcastic - I like that stuff! I could definitely see an MPH (master of public health) in my future if it weren't for having to take out an extra year's worth of loans). I actually am seriously considering taking some health poilcy classes at our Law school (across the street). a) I'm really interested in health policy, and b) it'll get me some elective credit to give me either more flexibility or time off during 4th year. We shall see. Anyway, about this post not being long... I'd better go. I suggested we get in bed and fall asleep watching TV early tonight (which we always said we'd do, but really haven't done much), and now my poor hubby is in there waiting for me. Later kids!