Kicking Off Hospital Life

Perhaps you are not going to believe it. It is wee hours of 2:03 now but I still have no inclination of sleeping although I do have heavy required courses tomorrow morning. No worries! I am not writing this article for grumbles. The initial idea of writing it has rooted in my mind since the day I stepped into this hospital. Changes like classroom, dormitory, canteen, more importantly the fact of seeing patients in person caught me off guard. It seems that I requires certain period of time to fit in this new surroundings and afterwards kick off my life in hospital fanatically.

For those who are curious about what a medical student learned in school of medicine, the first two years are what we called medical basics, which sounds quite preliminary but absolutely useful in not only clinical work but also daily life. The courses cover biochemistry, anatomy, histology, physiology etc. After learning all of them, you will understand that why a female can deliver a baby and why prostate cancer only haunts males. You can also explain the phenomenon of a sudden dizziness when standing up too soon from a squatting position.

After two years of training in the boot camp, carrying the hope of giving all play in hospital, I have to admit that I am still far away from being full-fledged to see a patient well. The giant gap between basics and clinical practices leads to a connection part, which we refer to as one and half year of bridging curriculum. The most exciting part in it is in contrast with the tedious lectures in classroom, that we are now authorized to walk into the wards and observe the whole system in our hospital now. On the other hand, the set courses are directly geared to clinical work like Diagnostics and Imaging. Perhaps you still recall the picture of a doctor taking out a stethoscope and checking your lung and heart. That is exactly what we are learning in Diagnostics. If you suffered from sprains before, you must have close contacts with Imaging, a course dealing with the function of X-ray, CT and MRI. Comically, the only two “loyal patients” I have now are my parents. Thankful to them, I am confident enough to see a real patient now.

Now my computer screen shows the BJT as 3:11 while I am still immune from sleepiness. There is a library that convinces me to go to bed right away. I have no choice but to cave in. Yet, you should know, I WILL BE BACK! It is not a closure but a kick-off.