Geez, I thought time passed quickly last year… It's already mid-October?!? We've plowed through three sequences since the beginning of the year: cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal. Tomorrow we start with the first of two weeks of clinically-focused activities and, while it will be no walk in the park (pretty sure revisiting physical exam techniques is going to prove embarrassing), it will be very nice to have a break from the deluge of powerpoints. I'm particularly excited about the short elective courses we have the opportunity to take during these two weeks. I get to learn how to do some basic procedures (think lumbar puncture type stuff) and see fancy neurosurgery toys. Any sort of fancy toys tend to equal good times, but fancy brain toys? It's going to be super sweet.

Since last I wrote, I've officially started working as a TA for an undergraduate anatomy course run by our own beloved anatomy faculty. So far it's been tons of fun and nostalgia overload. It's… also been a little scary in regards to how much we've forgotten. Oops? But hey, silver lining: we're getting paid to remember! It's nice to be able to utilize all the skills I picked up last year while working with my classmates and, as always, to be teaching. (Teacher nerd to the max.) It's pretty much the only teaching experience I've found that blends in well with the demands of being a medical student and I'm really grateful to have received the offer.

I've been trying (and I do mean trying, as opposed to actually doing) to spend some time with Step 1 (hissssssss) resources in conjunction with our regular course materials. Time is tight and it makes things really tough. I'm well aware that this test is still several months away, but I know that time is going to fly by every bit as quickly as it has the first part of this year. I want to at least familiarize myself with the books that I'm going to be surgically attached to come March and April. I've finally made some progress this past week and I already feel immeasurably better about the whole thing. This is further proof that I need to continue working to find time to make this happen. Booger.

One other thing that's been lurking on my to-do list is the final requirement from my summer research experience. There's a poster presentation for all students who received funding through SBRP in the very beginning of November. This is my first time ever creating a scientific poster and I kind of (by which I mean absolutely and completely) have no idea what I'm doing. I've got a pretty good narrative going and a solid idea of the images I'll need to include, but putting it all together is going to be interesting. If all else fails, I have faith that I can make it look pretty. That counts for something, right? …Right?