When you start med school they warn you that you’re gonna have to make sacrifices…I guess that means different things to different people…Like giving up something you really want now for something you’ve wanted your whole life…Or spending less time on yourself so you can spend time with someone you really love. At some point, you might even have to give up your own sense of safety and well-being…But after a while, it doesn’t feel like you’re giving up anything at all.
-JD, Scrubs Season 1
It’s been nearly 10 years since I watched my first episode of Scrubs. Back then, I was a college sophomore, studying the basic sciences and wondering just how much of what I was learning would actually be useful if/when I were to become a doctor. Scrubs was just a parody of a distant life (in a galaxy far far away). It was entertaining an all, but it was just that: entertainment. I just recently started watching episodes again on the occasional post-duty day and have run into an interesting revelation: Scrubs, the second time around, is a completely different show.
Med Clerkship (4th year) so far has been a blur. They say “time flies when you’re having fun.” In my experience, when your life shifts 24 (and sometimes 36) hours at a time, time “flies” even faster. Despite the hectic schedule, I’ve found myself making time to watch Scrubs again because if it’s uncanny resemblance to my experiences so far at PGH (I won’t go into detail in this post but just know, the resemblance is “uncanny”).
…giving up something you really want now for something you’ve wanted your whole life..
Although Scrubs is quite prolific when it comes to “quotable quotes,” I found that this quote (above) particularly sums of much of my med school experience. The idea of giving up something you want now for something you’ve wanted your whole life is a concept I’ve struggled with most of my life. Med school has magnified this difficulty. Since high school, I’ve always had several extracurricular activities. Having multiple extracurriculars was encouraged in high school (to get into college). It was encouraged in college (to get into med school). And now it’s encouraged in med school (to keep yourself from going insane). The problem is, theres not enough time for ANYTHING in med school. No time to study, no time for exercise, no time to eat right, no time to do rounds, and of course, no time to sleep. “No time”, is of course hyperbole, but it’s accurately portrays the sensation. With such little time to distribute among so many activities, naturally some will be neglected more than others, which brings me to the second part of the quote.
…spending less time on yourself so you can spend time with someone you really love…
It is ridiculously hard to stay in shape in med school. My weight has fluctuated so regularly between 150 and 170lbs that if my weight were plotted as fetal heart rate in intrapartum monitoring, I’d be a Category III: sinusoidal pattern (Can you tell I just finished my rotation in OB/Gyne?). At least in undergrad, my gym was 24hrs. Here, 6am-10pm just doesn’t do much when my shifts are 7am-7am(next day). Postduty days are usually spent catching up on work missed or sleeping from sheer exhaustion (or watching Scrubs). When the choice comes up between staying in shape, and spending time with my love (Hi Lyz! :) ), there’s no contest.
At some point, you might even have to give up your own sense of safety and well-being.
Regarding the part in the quote about giving up safety and well-being, there’s an episode in Scrubs, when JD has severe abdominal pain and ends up being admitted in his own hospital as a patient. I had nearly the same experience 2 weeks ago when I was admitted in my own hospital for…abdominal pain. Although it turned out to be just NSAID gastritis (and Acute Tubular Necrosis) not Appendicitis, I still was able to see my hospital for the first time through a patient’s eyes for a week (it’s not pretty). I’d like to think it’s improved my bedside manner with my patients.
…but after awhile it doesn’t feel like you’re giving up anything at all.
Despite the sacrifices, the late nights, the IVs, the mistakes, and the unappreciated effort. It’s all been worth it (and hopefully even more so when it’s all over).
- I’m now fairly confident in my procedures.
- I’m in a healthy relationship (Hi again, Lyzzie!).
- I’m now relatively fluent in tagalog (from a baseline of zero).
- I’ve made dozens of new friends (Hi 2012, 16i people, Block 2, “Team Squishy”, Brods & Sisses!)
- I’ve managed to learn and use four graphics programs: AE, C4D, PS, and Maya (from scratch).
- I’ve joined a Medical Fraternity (Mu Sigma Phi) and am now part of a network of fellow doctors (including my parents).
- I’m a member of our UP Med Basketball team that’s won 2 championships.
- Last month, I received my first “professional fees” from patients: a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts from my Pedia ER cardio patient, and Greenwhich pizza from my Pedia Neuro ward patient (names not revealed for HIPAA reasons :) ).
- Last but not least, I’m happy. (I do miss my family and friends in TX quite often, but thank God for Gmail, Skype, Magic Jack, and Facebook. BOO, however, to Hulu & Netflix for not streaming internationally)
