First Year Category
Airway Management Workshop
Dec. 10, 2018—by Alice Liao The Anesthesia Interest Group (AIG) held an airway management workshop in CELA last Wednesday, introducing first-year medical students to the first part of our ABCs — Airway! The workshop also gave upperclass medical students a chance to review. Anesthesia residents (Drs. Jared Cummings, Katherine Williams, and Simon Martin) taught the basics of...
My First Year of Med School: Expectations vs Reality
Sep. 17, 2018—by Karampreet (Peety) Kaur No matter where you go to school, try to imagine yourself being there for 13 months straight. If you are still loving life (despite mild sleep deprivation), you’re in the right place. Here’s a glimpse at my amazing first year at VUSM! (View image as a PDF)
Transitioning to Medical School: Advice from the M2 Class
Jul. 9, 2018—MSTP student Danny Sack shares advice from the M2 class on transitioning to med school: "The dizzying pace that accompanies your next ten months will be frustrating, infuriating, and, at times, draining. It will simultaneously, however, fuel your curiosity, provide opportunities for discovery, and offer moments of inspiration. Instead of telling you what to do...
Pushing Past Boundaries
Dec. 4, 2017—I had been accepted to medical school, hard work and careful planning had paid off, and I was ready to start the next chapter in my life. I learned that one of my parents had been diagnosed with a terminal disease. I thought about all of the times they had passed on opportunities to travel...
In Anticipation of Med School
Nov. 27, 2017—It’s amazing to me that I’m sitting here writing this post on my feelings and thoughts of entering med school. Why, you may ask? Well, because I wouldn’t be writing it if I had not gotten into medical school. I wouldn’t be writing this at all if my expectations of a potential future, dreamy aspirations, and academic...
To Live is Incredible
Nov. 13, 2017—Vivir es increíble. The words on the leather and metal wrapped around my wrist speak for themselves: To live is incredible. I happened upon this bracelet in a bustling street market in Madrid this past summer, and could not help but take it as a sign. Similar potent words by Oscar Wilde have served as...
Homeostasis
Oct. 23, 2017—Wait, medicine isn’t all zebra metabolic diseases and killer bugs? Welcome to Homeostasis, the third block of the FMK phase. Homeostasis is the first 12-week block at Vanderbilt and it hits the ground running, covering hematology/oncology, cardiology, renal, and pulmonology. That sounds like a lot, and I am not going to lie, it is definitely...
Med School: Am I Ready?
Oct. 16, 2017—“You are never ready, you just run out of time.” This statement, out of every advice I was given in the weeks prior to starting school, has stayed with me the most. It is true, at least for me. I am as ready as I will ever be, but it is difficult to measure that...
First Year Wellness Retreat
Oct. 9, 2017—On Friday, September 29, the first year med school class embarked on a full-day retreat to Deer Run camp in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee. The theme of the day was Wellness and the students were ready to embrace a day away from the classroom, so spirits were high! In the morning, Dean Fleming, Dr. Yakes, and...
The Med School Traverse
Sep. 25, 2017—Having grown up in New Hampshire, I’ve spent my life playing in the mountains—from bushwhacking on hot summer days to backpacking in the dead of winter. Every adventure has been uniquely memorable, but earlier this summer I completed a hike that was especially meaningful to me. The Presidential Traverse is one of the toughest day...