January Newsletter

I was very excited this past month to have finally begun surgery. I took General Surgery and liked it a lot more than I expected to. I still want to become a trauma surgeon, and have not decided between general and ortho trauma, so I'm glad that I have just today begun an Orthopedic Surgery rotation. During my General rotation, I was able to tag along for a couple ortho procedures and I was grinning the whole time. Sawing bones and popping hips out of socket is really exciting, so I have high hopes for this coming month. I'm starting to feel some pressure to decide on a specialty, since my previously undecided classmates have started deciding on specialties and others have even started setting up audition rotations. Audition rotations, or subinternships, are taken at the site at which one would like to do residency/internship in an effort to show off one's abilities and get one's name and face known. I need to start applying for these, but I need to figure out my specialty first, so it's good I'll have ortho this month to help decide.

Personally, I've been about average. My dad is living with me for three weeks, which is stressful on both of us I imagine. I guess if nothing else, it's good confirmation that not having a roommate is my ideal. In regard to my future, I'm worrying about whether I'll be able to handle residency and whether medicine was the right choice for me. Several classmates have expressed similar sentiments, so I guess it's a common doubt to have at this stage of the game. In fact, it's not the first time I or my friends have felt this way, so if you're a new medical school student or aspiring to become one, hang in there when you have nagging doubts.

Well, I've a lot of reading to do, so this newsletter will have to be pretty short.

Scott