The March Continues

It's been awhile since my last post. I've been a busy little bee. I've come to find that a portion of this process is just plain old networking with people. But then again, isn't that the way the whole world seems to work?

So, I've had some concerns regarding shadowing. Doctors don't seem to be too keen on the concept of having non-medical personnel watching them work. My primary physician wasn't interested at all. He told me if I were a medical student it would be a different story. But, technically I'm not even a premedical student yet, as my wife so graciously pointed out.

I guess I'm jumping the gun a little bit. Over-eager to get started, as I've been my whole life. My wife is afraid I'm going to fizzle out on this like everything else I've attempted. I don't have anything to say to that right now. What can I say? She's got every reason to be suspicious that I'm going to drop dead on this like everything else (well, except for the Marines. They dropped me).

Anyway, I've begun the process of networking. I'm doing my best to be tactful about it. I don't want people to feel like I'm just using them to further my own personal gains, even if that IS all I'm doing. I finally spoke with a high-level admissions member at the medical school I've set my sights on attending. So far they've been nothing but helpful and willing to work with me. I had some questions regarding the Early Identification Program and not only were my questions answered, but the answer was quite prompt, considering how busy that office can be. The part that blew me away though, was the fact the woman who I had spoken with initially a week prior had remembered exactly who I was when I called back again. She even apologized for not getting back to me sooner. I nearly hit the floor. That's not something you get from people these days, let alone somebody from the admissions department of a high tier medical school!

So, the Early Identification Program will probably be a bust, unfortunately. It requires the student to maintain full-time status and to apply for consideration to the program no later then your sophomore year. Now, considering that I can only attend on a part time basis right now, I'm already out of the running. The other issue, though, is that even if the full-time stipulation wasn't there, the lines between freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior get a little blurry when you are attending on a part-time basis.

Good news, however, is that I've found a medical practice that IS willing to allow me to shadow. I'm so excited! They're my son's pediatrician. I went with my wife to my son's last checkup and simply asked if they allowed premedical students to shadow there. She was confused by the question initially because she had no idea I was interested in medicine. So, I clarified the situation and she said that for the most part she has medical students who shadow, and occasionally she has premedical students. She said that there wouldn't be a problem with me shadowing and to let them know if/when I was interested.

She seemed genuinely interested in what I was doing, as she was asking questions regarding how far along into my schooling I was and what school I was going to. I always feel a little embarrassed at this point. People ask me what I'm studying and how far into my studies I am, and I feel like if I tell them I've barely begun they don't take me seriously. I don't know why I care. I guess I've fucked up enough times that I embarrass myself.

I'll be starting my volunteering soon too, hopefully. I've decided to volunteer the majority of the time I've set aside for volunteering to the Rhode Island Hospital. There, I'll be trained as a patient advocate and I'll also be helping the medical staff to keep the patients comfortable. There's a ton of stuff you can do and I want to try it all. You get to work with cancer patients while they're going through their chemotherapy, or you can even work with children! You can work with the surgical staff to give patient's families updates on how the patient is doing. I'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty in this. Albeit time that I'm spending away from my family, I think it will pay dividends in the end.

Anyway, I think this is a good stopping point. Boy, I sure typed quite a bit today. It's been a little while since I've logged anything, so I guess I had a lot to say. Have a good night.

-Merlin