First year of Med School...DONE!

It’s been particularly a very demanding year since my first day when I was handed my white coat and swore my medical oath. Holidays and breaks were almost non-existent considering the amount of pressure and work you have to invest in.

Now here we are, at the end of year with exams upon us like hungry vultures. I have been preparing for this moment the whole year therefore it was time to tackle each one at a time. In total, I have 9 subjects to successfully pass and get my credits. Which include Anatomy, Nursing I, First Aid, Latin, Czech I, Medical Biology I, Introduction to Human Studies, Biophysics and Histology and Embryology I. There a total of 60 credits needless to say each subject has different amount of credits depending on its demand and difficulty. Anatomy has the highest amount of credits, 16 credits. It is further divided into theoretical anatomy and dissection training in anatomy. The rest of subjects have similar pattern but instead of dissection they have practical or such. 

I already tackled two of my final examinations in the first semester which includes Biophysics and First Aid. That meant in a span of 5weeks I had to do 7 examinations. The waking hours were horrendous and sleeping hours were even brutal. My typical day would start at 6am and end at 2am with exceptions during the weekend. Of course there are days when I have to leave the library early in order to take part in some sporting activities (football) or go to the gym. Trust me, when you have such an intensive course doing extra-curricular activities are highly productive…well as they say all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!

Looking back at the 8:00 am lectures sometimes 7:20 am in the second semester, compulsory seminars that go on for 2-3 hours, dissecting cadavers for hours to get to the underlying organs, arteries, veins or nerves, all the countless test that happened on weekly basis sometimes more than one in a week, going to the intensive care unit in the hospital for the first time and scheduling for consultation at ridiculous times of the day…I’d say it was all worthy it especially when your index book gets signed and you know you are going to the second year of medical school.

The second year is not going to be any less different but however it may be I am definitely up for the challenge.