On starting 3rd year of medical school

It’s been two weeks since I’ve started third year of medical school and the transition back has been ok. I know “ok” is very middle ground (like saying someone is “nice” or a food is “interesting”) but it is honestly how I feel. I was very stressed/panicked during orientation because of the gloom/doom feel of the lectures and it was hard joining a new class. But, just getting in and doing it has calmed my nerves.

I started with pediatrics where I am doing 3 weeks of outpatient followed by 3 weeks of inpatient. Since the inpatient part is busy, I am studying a lot right now. The first week, I had well-baby nursery, which was kind of fun. I got to hold babies, go in on some deliveries, and see some circumcisions. It was very relaxed. Last week, I was in clinic where we saw a lot of well-child checks and kids presenting with diarrhea, vomiting, and failure to thrive, etc. It was very bread and butter stuff and to be honest, I found it a bit boring. I guess the 9-5 hours were nice but I found myself looking forward to the end of the day and the end of the week.

Last week, I only got one day off but this week, I got the whole weekend! I studied most of the weekend it was nice to have some uninterrupted studying time and to hang out with my husband (still not use to that word). I start on hematology/oncology next and will transition immediately onto inpatient so I wont have a weekend for a while. Sad.

Overall, I have been liking pediatrics so far. I don’t like the studying but I do like knowing things so there’s the trade-off. Taking care of patients is kindof fun when you don’t have the sole responsibility for their care. This will change when I am on inpatient because at my school, med students get to act like “interns”. It is a bit daunting since I am just learning how to act like a third year medical student but hopefully it will work out.

I just realized I haven’t taken any pictures lately so I am going to try and take some to add to this post later.