1/4 MD

I officially finished my last exam of my first year of medical school yesterday which makes me able to declare that I am 25% done my MD! It's a strange feeling knowing that a year has already passed and I've learned so much (how much I'm going to retain when second year hits is debatable) both inside and outside of the classroom. My first year of medical school definitely had its ups and down with me moving out of my parent's house and living on my own for the first time, the death of my grandmother, and integrating into a new environment. Needless to say,  I've met some pretty stellar people in medical school who've made this transition a lot easier.

Here are some of the interesting "things"/"quirks" of medical school:

1. Stock up on binders - preferably the bigger, the better - you'll have so many notes that at the end of the year you're going to wonder how in the world you managed to study everything.
2. Pass/Fail is my saving grace
3. Our feedback about the curriculum seriously matters and causes change
4. Clinical skills are my favourite part of medical school. My stethoscope, BP cuff, reflex hammer, tuning forks, penlight, and vision card make me feel like a doctor but in actuality, I still have so much to learn
5. When looking for a place, telling the landlord that you're a "medical student" would almost seal you the deal (and sometimes even score you a discount in the rent!)
6. Medical students party a lot more than I thought - but we still manage to squeeze in studying
7. Everyone is so helpful in the class - creating flow charts, providing journal articles to clarify ideas, and much much more. I love my classmates
8. There are always going to be the gunners in the class who are aiming for ROADS. 
9. There is always going to be 1-2 people who ALWAYS ask questions during class
10. Weboptioned lectures are also my saving grace - it gives me the flexibility of 1) sleeping in 2) shadowing 3) watching lectures on 1.5X-2X repeat to get twice the amount of work done 
11. I love how all the medical students across Canada get the same coloured backpacks so we can automatically identify our friends/colleagues. My friend was actually identified by a senior medical student with his backpack when we were vacationing in the Bahamas this year! Talk about a small world.

And that's a wrap for first year! I can't wait to see what second year has in store but until then, it's summer vacation for me!