Hey everyone,

Sorry it's been a while. I've been on my internal medicine rotation, so everything for the past two months has been a major blur. It's three months long and considered the most difficult rotation of the year (up there with surgery). It deals with nearly everything we learned the first two years of med school, so it's an overwhelming rotation to take on.

I'll admit, it's a little draining. It's also a tough balancing act to stay on top of patients and work, but still remind yourself to study when you get home. I think that's been the most challenging part of M3 year overall: you work long hours, which I've thankfully found to be tolerable and not excessive (so far), but then you come home and need to prepare for the next day or prepare for the HUGE test at the end of the sequence. It's tough man.

I have had some fun outside of the hospital, though. On Labor Day weekend, which we had off, I went with friends to Sister Lakes, Michigan, on the west side of the state. We rented a house on a lake, and just rested, read, and ate good food (see photos below). The weather was nice, the phone service was terrible, and it was perfect. The area's serenity was so contrasted with the chaos of the inpatient month at the VA that I had just completed. And a week later, I traveled to LA for the first time for my brother's engagement. Very exciting stuff!

Today I began my first day of my last internal medicine month. I am at St. Joe's Hospital in Ann Arbor for inpatient general medicine. I'm looking forward to being in a new environment, learning a lot, and having a good time. Wish me luck!

Take care, Shaza