On Becoming a Physician with a Heart: The First Heartbeat (Part 1)

So you want to become a physician with a heart; good for you. However, before you make your name two letters longer with the "M.D." and before you take the lifetime commitment to save lives, you will inevitably go through fire (figuratively and/or literally, depends). 

I have some tips for you, incoming CIM freshman.

You better be sure that you want to be here

This just has to be the first tip here; not to put you off but for you to think and rethink your decision to become a physician. Reality: you will be spending your prime years within the classroom's and the laboratory's four walls instead of seeing the world. You will be spending hours studying books with combined weights heavier than yourself. Financial emancipation from your parents will not be achieved until you're 30 (this, coming from a dermatologist I chatted with last year). It will demand so many things from you, so you better take it or leave it as early as now. This is my lengthier version  of "run while you can", really. 

You're smart and you can ace everything, as usual.

You think that it is your purpose in life. 

You want to save lives and be a superhero.

You'd like to see for yourself what the fuss is about in medicine.

I am not in the position to say which reasons are valid, but please remember why you are taking up medicine in the first place. Write it down and post it in your cork board, make a song out of it, and just remember your reason when you are in the questioning phases of your journey (they will come by more frequently than expected!).

It's everybody's game

I used to think that there were certain bachelor degrees that gave someone an edge in medical school. I have to admit that I was wrong. In our batch alone, graduates of mass communication, physics, and even engineering perform fairly well with the graduates of nursing, medical technology and other allied medical professions. I think that those bachelor degrees are supposedly preparations for the future professions intended for them, not as prerequisites of medicine. Sure, non-medical degree graduates need to go the extra mile to study unfamiliar medical terms but once they get the hang of things, they perform pretty well. The point I am trying to make is that more than your pre-medical degree, you need to work on your current efforts and study habits. This is instead of banking on your prior knowledge and being complacent throughout.

Also, since you are in one of the top-performing medical schools in the country, expect the smart ones to flock here. Do not be surprised with the 50 latin honor graduates, 25 board topnotchers, and the quiz bee legends whose names you only used to hear about. News flash, you are part of the flock of smart ones so do not be intimidated early in the game. It's all about your staying power.

Three things you can never get enough of: 
Prayers, Pep Talk, and Preparation

Just like essential amino acids, these three things are essential components in your journey to become a physician. A strong support system will be your rock when you feel like walking away from it all. Sometimes, our own strength will fail us so we need those extrinsic sources of motivation as much as possible. A hug from your parents after a long day dissecting for the muscles of the body, a listening ear of a friend for your rants regarding the latest hardcore exam, and just about every source of comfort and strength are important morale boosters.

This, on our dining table/my study table. A daily dose of quotable quotes to get by. LOL

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I realized that I still have so many things to talk about so I decided to write a series instead of one lengthy post. This is beneficial for both of our attention spans, as we may have some other things to do (like checking out that cat picture on the internet or watching a YouTube video of babies dancing or stalking our crushes or all of the above simultaneously, in multi-window mode).

I will be writing about some practical tips next time, now that the #char is out of the way. Haha.

Until the next adventure,

Dena