1.5-Day Breather

Professor: "So. Do you know what they call those who graduated last from medical school?"
Student: *shifty eyes* [silence]
Professor: "They call them 'doctor'."

Everytime they see our stressed-out faces studying for an exam, our professors would remind us of that simple yet profound fact, and it would make me feel a tinge bit better whenever I hear that. It doesn't necessarily change anything or make us less nervous about exams, but it cracks us up a little, or at least it does me.

It's been six months since I started school, and I have to say, it's really different from the college life I used to know. Back then I studied just as hard, but there was never really any pressure to retain the stuff I learned, whereas now the notion sits there, at the back of my mind. Not that anyone is enforcing it in any way, but because we're learning knowledge that will serve us for the rest of our professional lives, we need to constantly remind ourselves that we have to internalize the knowledge - ideally, that is - rather than just memorize and regurgitate for the sake of passing exams. And so, as we adjust to this mindset, learning has been fun, interesting, and rewarding. Exams are still a dread, we still have to work hard for it, we still need to pass all of them, but it's no longer a deterministic factor in anything we do. I like it this way so much more. And thank goodness it's only pass-or-fail grading system!

On Monday we completed our first Genes to Society (GTS) block on immunology/microbiology, and our professors were kind enough to give us a one-and-a-half day break before we start our global health intersession tomorrow, which will go on for the rest of the week. Next week we'll be diving into hematology/oncology and though I have no idea what the schedule is like, or how tough it's going to be, I look forward to it. Today has been a lot of fun- I learned how to photoshop my photo and create the pic below; I went to Sg Buloh Hospital for a briefing on an HIV awareness event coming up soon in Brickfields (in which we will be volunteers); then ended the day with a nice dinner and dessert.

The next few days will be full of lectures and group discussions back-to-back from 9-5, and tomorrow I probably would regret not spending today reading up on all the articles on global health, but for now I couldn't care less. Shall savor this moment for a few more hours. :)