return to Belltower Online  return to Latest News  return to CBU Home

Diary of an M-1:
Med-school missives from our own "Dr. Laura"
by Laura Haskins
Biology, '00

Laura Haskins (pictured with daughters Sara (age 17, CBU '05) and Rebecca (age 5) and husband Gary, at her white coat ceremony) is a first-year medical student at the University of Tennessee-Memphis. These "diary entries" first appeared in Caduceus, a weekly online newsletter prepared by Dr. Stan Eisen, CBU Director of Preprofessional Health Programs (www.cbu.edu/~seisen/Caduceus.html).

Week of September 11, 2000
Well, the you-know-what hit the fan this week. We started our classes and, boy, are they covering a lot of material really fast. And we are in class until late afternoon many days. On Tuesday/Thursday we are in Histology lab til 5:00 p.m. So that only leaves evenings and weekends for studying. And I have already put in many hours of study time.

Gross Anatomy is most M-1s' favorite class/lab. We attend lecture and then go to the cadaver lab to see for ourselves if the Professor was telling the truth. The lab has been most interesting and puts one in awe of the Creator. There is such intricate detail and purpose under the skin, it's amazing.

Another of our classes is Histology with a microscope lab. Tuesday and Thursday we have lecture from 1:00-3:00 p.m., pre-lab 3:00-3:30 p.m., and then lab til 5:00 p.m. Long afternoon.

And our third class in Cell and Molecular Biology. Pretty straightforward, and I'm thankful that I took several of Dr. Ogilvie's classes.

We all have the same schedule of classes. All our classes are in the same auditorium.

Anyway, things are getting busy and we will add Physiology after the first block. Challenging, yes. Worth it, you bet! And, by the way, Medicine Admissions launched a new website recently:
http://www.utmem.edu/com_admissions if anyone is interested.

Week of September 18, 2000
Things continue to be hectic. We are receiving so much information, it is difficult to digest. Today we had two practice practicals. I did fine on the Histology. It was pretty straightforward. In fact, I wish they would count that grade.

BUT, Gross Anatomy, Oh, ME!! None of us did very well. Upon reflection, I have decided the problem is we expected to be asked to identify structures, etc. But the questions were secondary and tertiary, if you know what I mean. The string would be tied around a structure that looked very similar to all the structures in the area, and the question would read: "Where does this structure originate or terminate or what is its action or name all the muscles this nerve innervates, etc. So, first you had to determine if it was a nerve, an artery, or a vein; then which one; and thirdly, what did it do.

I know there will be many M-1s in the Gross Lab over the weekend studying. It was good to have that practice practical because at least now we know what they are expecting us to know.

The lab is very interesting. I look forward to seeing all the intricate details of the magnificent human body. The smell kind of gets in your nose hairs, though, if you know what I mean. I have officially become a vegetarian at least for now.

My classmates are neat. We have already built a kind of camaraderie. We complain about the same things. For example, we have to park in Asia. I clocked it..3/10 of a mile from our parking lot to the Gen Ed Building. At least the temps have come down. It will be a new adventure when the crazy Memphis winter weather arrives. We complain about the notes. I don't know if you know about the note system. But if you wish to participate you pay a fee, about $60 to get a typed copy of notes from every lecture. The catch is that sometimes it's your turn to take fastidious notes, include diagrams, copy to disk, and have in on time. There is a Quality Control Board that proofs the notes and you get fined for errors. Spelling errors are $1, misinformation is $5-10 depending on how much or how bad, an omission is about the same. But it is great to have these to study by. Someone else has organized all this info and another team of students has proofed it. We commisserate about how busy we. It seems every time we think we are free for the morning or have no afternoon classes, they fill it up with something. (They own us.) We complain about being in the same auditorium ALL DAY. No windows, no sunlight, etc. So, as the saying goes, misery makes quick buddies or something like that.

All in all, I am enjoying the journey. I am learning the coolest stuff! But I am beginning to think Med School should be about a 6-year program. It's tough to absorb all the info so quickly

Rebecca started kindergarten last week and Sara is a senior this year. We all do our homework together. My poor spouse. He's taking it with a sense of humor, though. He comes in everyday to ask what part of the body I dissected today and hear all the ups and downs of Med School. Life is rich.

Week of September 25, 2000
I am so jazzed! Finally, getting to the stuff I went to Medical School to see! Today we opened the thorax on our cadaver, Millie. (We named her Millie for the millennium.) Anyway, it was too cool! Wrapped my finger around the aortic arch! I "squished" her lung between my fingers! I have never felt tissue that soft before. It was unbelievable. The color of the lung was pale grey and had random curvy lines of black. When I asked our prof about it, he said it was from carbon, smoke, etc. That she couldn't have been a smoker, her lungs were too healthy-looking, but that it was just due to living, breathing our air. Interesting. The diaphragm was thinner than I imagined, but very tough. The lungs were higher up beside the neck than I realized and the infamous vagus nerve very small. It was great! Next week we will be opening the heart, and the lungs and stuff. The "Biomedical Engineer" of the human body is awesome!

We are gearing up for block exams, not next week, but the next. I think I explained how we have exam blocks three times this semester. That week we have to schedule a time to go to the computer lab and take each of our exams. Our lab practicals are also that week, but scheduled by the professors. Anyway, it's kind of like having finals every four weeks or something. Embryology exams are to be taken within a ten-day period before block exams. I did fine on my test. (Thank you, Dr. Ross.)

So, we are busy. But, there are many extracurricular things available for us. (If you can find the time.) There are various clubs geared towards the type of practice one might like to have (ex: Family Practice Association or Surgical Society, etc.). There's a Phi Chi, BSA, Women's Organization, etc. And there is always a party or get-together. Seems like every few days there's a flyer on the bulletin board or in my mailbox. Yesterday, I got an email inviting us all to a "Pre-Block Exam Sangria and Salsa Festival." I better not kill any brain cells until after block exams.

Hope all is well at good ole CBU.

Week of October 2, 2000 
Cramming for block exams this week, so note is brief.

Good stuff: Most of us got upgraded to a much closer parking lot, Yeah!! Almost a third of the way through the first semester, Yeah!! Building some friendships I'm sure will last a long time. Block exam week lasts only a week.

Bad stuff: Tension is up. They're adding another class (Physiology) after block exams. I think constantly about Anatomy, Histology, and Cell & Molecular Biology.

Week of December 11, 2000
Sorry it's been so long, been kinda busy. Nobody could have prepared me for how intense the workload would be. Recently, an M-2 (a year ahead of me) said, "When I got here, I was kind of mad at those already here for not preparing me. Aren't you?"

Now that you mention it

Well, truly, I've decided it's like childbirth. Nobody can prepare you. You just have to experience it for yourself. Is it intense? Yes. Is it stimulating? Absolutely (at least most of the time). Do you feel overwhelmed sometimes? Yep. Does every success you achieve make your self-confidence soar? Does every not-so-successful moment make you ever more determined to realize your goal? YES! YES! YES!

I am so glad to be here. Everytime it gets tough, I just imagine myself delivering babies, or writing prescriptions, or analyzing
lab data Folks referring to me as Doctor. I feel priviledged to study medicine.

And, like I think I've mentioned, my classmates are the greatest. We have bonded so much. It's like Army buddies, I guess, friends for life. It's a definite all-for-one and one-for-all attitude. The camaradie makes it so much more bearable. I mean, I'm at UT almost seven days a week; at least I'm with folks I like.

A couple of months ago, I made an appointment with a professional at Student Academic Suppoort Services to help me find more than 24 hours in each day. (There's never enough time. Remember I have a 5-year-old and a 17-year-old.) She helped me come up with this super schedule, that has worked so well for me. To my classmates, it's shocking, but I go to bed at 8:00 p.m. I read stories to Rebecca, then I get my beauty rest. The alarm clock
goes off at 2:00 a.m. (Thank God for Automatic Mr. Coffee Machinesthe coffee's ready and waiting.) I study til 6:00 a.m., get ready for school, and head to UT.

My reward: After my last class in the afternoon, I am free. I
get to have dinner with my family, hang out with my daughters and spouse and catch up on the news of the day. Another reward: that is such productive time-no phone calls, no interruptions, I'm not tempted to run the vaccuum. It's been working great. I am a little tired by the end of the week, but I reward myself by sleeping til 7:00 a.m. on Saturday!!

Anyway, things are going well. We've almost finished our first semester. We have only four more days of dissection in the Gross Anatomy lab, and yes, my locker smells like that funky lab. We're going to have a scrubs-burning party at the end of the semester, I think. It's been such an interesting class. We've seen all the organs of the body, all the muscles and nerves and it has been awesome. We have a real soft spot for Millie (our cadaver). And are grateful everyday to the woman (and her family) who gave us this neat
opportunity to study the human body. To most Med School students, the cadaver is their first "patient."

Hope all is well at good ole CBU.