#finalmed

Year 5 officially started roughly 2 weeks ago. Not gonna lie, it has been pretty hectic, with all the online lectures. On the other hand, I am feeling really bummed out by the fact that hospital ward rotations have been reduced to just 2 weeks, this semester. I do understand that this is for our own good, as well as for the public’s safety. But being in my final year, I don’t get to practice my history taking or examinations on any patients. Seems like this is going to be the case for a prolonged period of time. And this just breaks my heart. 

I am trying my best to be as optimistic as possible, in this very unpredictable time. But with everything going on, I felt myself going down a mental spiral. Being stuck at home didn’t help at all. But after having some important conversations with my loved ones, I felt so much better. I guess it is important to share our feelings once in a while, so that we don’t crack under the pressure. 

This is a difficult time for all of us, in one way or another. Some days, all you do is take a shower, have your meals and talk to your friends, without having done any work. And that is alright. 

Final med is finally here.

How you see it: This is the year that will completely prepare me to be a confident physician. This the year where I have to learn all the diseases out there, all the medications and remember all the doses.

I hate to break it to you, but it is not.

I came to realize that a big part of the fear we carry when starting final med is not because it is tough, but because it is FINAL MED.

You are under the impression that this the year that will somehow transform you from being “just” a medical student to being a fully independent doctor. But it’s not, it’s all the previous years combined. Every lecture, every tutorial, every exam you took and every patient you have seen that combined together will simply take you to the next step. Being an intern, a supervised licensed physician.

So take it easy. Work hard, but don’t be hard on yourself.

In the coming days I will go through SC2 in the following headings:

1-    General outline on how I planned the year

2-    Resources used

3-    Daily plan, what to do in the hospital and what to do with the rest of the day