Summertime at Trauma 1

First year of medical school is over. The final anatomy exam was a breeze compared to the 3 days of studying without sleep (5 hours of sleep total, actually) that preceded the exam. I really liked anatomy, and I think I will miss it dearly. I'll sleep when I'm dead.

Speaking of not sleeping, I will be shadowing an anatomy professor of mine who also happens to be an ER doc at MGH. I will follow him on his overnight shifts, and will possibly do some triage work with him as well. And unlike humbling experiences of anal premeds who volunteer for the ER and end up pushing carts/delivering flowers, I will have my white coat and the pretense of knowing what I'm doing to fend off these menial tasks. Oh, and Dr. S will protect me. I hope.

In the day time, I've signed up to do some clinical research over at NEEC. I'm honestly much more excited about the ER gig, if anything, for the chance to really see what it's like to live the life of an ER doc who's relatively young and married, with a newborn daughter that is beyond cute. I like ER docs, and I don't mean the ones on TV. In real life they tend to be sharp, inquisitive, athletic-looking, funny, and um...cute. I suppose I shouldn't pick a profession based on the advertising, but hey, a little bit of projection and self delusions now and then can't hurt. MGH is a trauma one center and Harvard affiliated, which means they get all kinds of interesting cases. The 'Havaaad' bit, meanwhile, makes them *the* preferential care center for any celeb or politician. I don't know why this last factoid matters, but in the words of an ER doc at BU talking about the ER at MGH: "They get all the hot socialites in car accidents!" Hmm, interesting.