For anyone who’d like the Cliff note’s summary of what I’ve been up to since moving to Metropolis – or, alternatively, the ability to scan through old posts to find the embarrassing ones (Don’t worry, I have no shame! They’re totally here) – I’ve chosen 10-15 posts to represent each semester.
(Edit 8/27/11: What was I thinking in starting this page? Now I have to actually keep updating it. I made work for myself. But, okay – we’ve now got Summer and the rest of 2nd semester up.)
(Edit 6/21/12: Added the rest of summer, 3rd semester, and 4th semester.)
First Semester / First Year
Transitioning from Undergrad to Med School
Lessons Learned From Orientation
Our First Test I don’t think any subsequent test has ever matched up to the anxiety we felt about the first one.
Things I Do Not Know I still don’t know these things.
Scrubbing In While Impossibly Clueless: A Beginner’s Guide This was truly a shining moment in my life. (Some people are born to be surgeons, some are born to stay as far away from ORs as possible…)
Med School Post-Test Discussions: Like Poking A Bear With A Stick
The Decision on Whether To Do Real Research Or Not I still think this is the best advice I’ve ever gotten.
Med School In Graphs #1: The Student Budget
Anatomy Quote Round-Up: Celebrating The End Of An Era
Med School And The Art Of (Not) Cleaning Just so you know, the state of my room has only gone downhill from here.
Med School In Graphs #2: The First Semester
The nerdy truth (Or: why I will never be a fashion icon)
Second Semester / First Year
Don’t make med students introduce themselves
In Which Med School Becomes A Parody Of Itself This is where I start to lose it.
I can’t study because med school keeps getting in the way This is clearly going nowhere good.
Friends are also getting in the way I think you can see a pattern here..
Dx: Med Student, Tx: Valium Aaaand bingo.
“I feel like there’s water halfway up to my ankles.” Tough stuff.
In which I solve all of microbiology
In which I attempt to solve all of medical education
The feeling of finally knowing something even if it is just how to answer multiple-choice micro Qs.
Med students and mental health Turns out I wasn’t the only one who had a tough mental health patch in 2nd semester.
The idea that psychiatry is made-up and arbitrary
How not to break bad news This is where I’m informed that I only have 1 ovary and may never have children. (Lucky for them, I’m okay with that.)
Watching yourself interview a patient on camera It kind of sucks. Like, “put it off for 6 months” sucks.
That time I googled “necrotizing fasciitis” On the bright side, didn’t have it.
Learning the physical exam … I didn’t have thyroid cancer either. Also, we hadn’t learned about hyperchondriasis yet, which is probably for the best.
Med School in Graphs #3: Documenting the waking hours of my weekend. As one does.
Scientists! They are just the best. Lecture slides from hell.
Med School Essay: A play in 2 acts.
Endocrinology Reflections: Featuring the world’s worst bone mnemonic. You might remember it for its sheer dedication to overthinking it. (But probably not.)
Personality Disorders, As Defined By Characters from Harry Potter: Cluster A, Cluster B, Cluster C
Online flashcards: Quizlet is the best thing.
So very close to the end: Featuring terrible home repair ideas.
In which my laptop honestly almost gives me cancer: I now use a dorky looking lap desk. (Which probably isn’t trying to give me cancer… that I know of.)
I’m a second year med student! (Somehow!) What it feels like to make it through first year.
Last Summer Ever
Now that 1st year’s over: Questions I want to ask my doctor
Losing my cool: 5 memorable M1 moments
The worst time management tricks I’ve ever tried
Another cancer that I don’t actually have
How to get financial aid for med school: Part of my “Unhelpful Advice for Pre-meds” series.
Boyfriend’s studying for Step 2: And I’m not.
How to study for med school: This was going to be part of my “Unhelpful Advice” series, but then I was told it was a little too honest to be totally unhelpful.
Chronically happy people have a superpower: And I think the DSM should recognize that. There is something up with those neurotransmitters, I swear.
Primary Care: The Reality TV Show: In which I pretend to solve the entirety of the primary care problem.
Dermatology is like the dark side of the force
How to give a lecture that will break your students’ spirits: Part 3 in “Unhelpful Advice”.
Med School Relationships: This post is basically all the pros and cons, wrapped into one conversation.
M2s telling M1s to not worry about med school: Doesn’t always work. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.
Summer Research: If at first you don’t succeed…: In which I start my summer research project on the last day of summer. Sigh.
Second Year
I finally learned knee anatomy. Probably should’ve just learned it right the first, second, or third time, but it looked complicated.
Class meeting about 3rd year. It was predictably terrifying and non-informative.
Med students with mental illness. Hardest entry I’ve ever written – but the comments made my year.
Life-blogging the night before the neuro test.
My first OSCE. It did not go well.
A short guide to every dermatologic disease ever.
My OSCE Final. … Luckily, I came a long way from the first one, where 90% of my time was taken up attempting to take the blood pressure.
Saying goodbye to the pre-clinical years of med school.
Clinical Rotations!
3rd year orientation – in pictures. It was rough.
Getting certified in Doing Real Things is the best.
Surgery: An Unhelpfully Honest Guide. One of the more honest things I’ve written, I guess – so don’t show this to anyone who’s actually planning on being a surgical patient anytime soon.
Internal Medicine: SO MUCH BETTER.
The SOAP note of quiet desperation. Or: getting used to invisibility.
The low point of Internal Medicine. I felt so dumb.
Just kidding – the REAL low point of Internal Medicine. I felt so sad.
Pediatrics: Newborns are boring. There went neonatology.
Examining the patient from the left is… wrong? I dispute this. Lively debates in the comments.
My first day of Neurology: In pictures. It was not the best.
Wait, no – neurology is DEFINITELY the best.
Aaaand gynecologic surgery? Is the worst.
In fact… it was kind of awesome.
Shelf exams: Where awesome is average. Damn that grading scale.
Sleep deprivation level: Med student. It was not a good day.
Taking pediatrics seriously. I still am. I’m shocked, considering it was essentially the first specialty I ruled out.
Things I learned from Hand Clinic. Probably the most wisdom I ever accumulated from one place.
How waitressing prepares you for the ED.
The Science of Statins. Because I was bored and needed to know.
Action Potential 
It seems an interesting blog archive. I think I should read some of it in the near future! Good luck 🙂