MedEx Day 16

Today started off with a panel of M2 students, who I remember from a week ago when we did IPMs! They answered any and all questions we had about being a pre-med, medical school, and beyond. When they mentioned that the interview process is more conversational than "grilling" when they did them for the USC Medical School of Greenville, it made me more relaxed. I always pictured the interview process to be way more intense and serious, but they make it sounds like the program just wants to figure out who you are! I also realized it is WAY more traditional to take at least one gap year in between undergrad and medical school. I have recently thought about taking a gap year, but this conversation made me feel more comfortable with the idea, especially since one of the M2s did research with the CDC for his gap year (which sounds super cool) and is now interested in pathology (like me!). I also realized that it is perfectly okay and normal to have taken the MCAT more than one time, so I now feel more comfortable that taking it once isn't the end all be all. However, I am pretty confident now that it is probably best to take it during the summer as those who took it over winter break mentioned that they struggled. After the M2s finished their discussion, we had some work time on our Great Collaboration projects, which was super helpful! My group was able to delegate out roles more on who was saying what and finish the final pieces of the research we would be using!

After lunch, we heard our fourth ethics presentation from Dr. Epright, which continued on the discussion of who has the right to make the final decision on continuing treatment on a patient. It was heartbreaking to hear that patients such as Terri Schiavo were forced to keep on nutrition and hydration despite the wishes of her surrogate by law, her husband, for fifteen years. Although I understand where Terri's parents were coming from, and the heartbreak they must be experiencing, I believe they took it too far for too long. At the end of the day, I truly realize just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should. I can see if being hard to remove "life sustaining" treatment from a patient with PVS such as Teri, but at the end of the day it isn't "lifesaving", and a life hooked up to a machine isn't one at all. It was also interesting to learn how nutrition and hydration is medical care at the end of the day rather than just the "basics" as we think they are. I do feel as though I always thought removing a feeding tube would result in starving the patients, but I have come to realize that the patient never dies from starvation, just their disease, and they probably will pass more peacefully without one. After learning from some of these cases, I would hope that I would completely understand and respect the patient's family's decision regardless of my belief that I can continue to treat them to keep them alive. We also learned a heartbreaking story of a woman who suddenly became brain dead, but the state wanted to keep her running on a machine in order to keep her 14-week baby alive, despite already having an advanced directive. Part of me can see how keeping the baby alive if it extremely close to term would be a good idea, but a baby that young at 14 weeks will likely not be able to develop right/survive. I can't believe the hospital was okay with this, even though eventually they were able to take her off the machinery. At the end of the day, through this lecture I have realized that LEGAL DOCUMENTS matter, and they should be respected fully by everybody! I definitely need to get my own documents as you never think it will happen until it happens to you, and I never realized how important they were.

After the ethics presentation, some of the M2 students came back and we were able to take part in a fun activity of asking patients questions about their illness/pain and learning the steps of a real physical exam! As the M2s were going through the steps of examining each part of the body, I recognized these steps as things my own pediatrician goes through when I undergo checkups! It was interesting to see the reasoning behind certain motions and steps such as listening to the four quadrants of the lungs bilaterally. It was especially interactive to go to different stations with one of the M2s and put together all of the patient interaction steps we learned such as AIDET (introducing yourself), OPRST (symptom related questions), and then the full physical exam. Doing this multiple times really helped you get a hang of it, and I really enjoyed trying to decipher the illness with others in my group through asking different questions and determining the areas of issue. I can see how knowing this process can be EXTREMELY helpful for someone interested in medicine!

I also was able to meet with the Furman advisor during this time in order to ask any questions about required pre-med courses, what I should be doing, etc. I had always worried I was behind on the pre-med track, but my advisor stated that I seemed to be on the right track and that experience within the healthcare field, including shadowing, is crucial. I also know that I tend to over involve myself in multiple clubs, especially in high school, and she stated that it is more important to be really dedicated to a few clubs rather than only be somewhat dedicated to many. This made me more relieved, and I started to think about what organizations I could be passionate about in Clemson and that I could dedicate my time to!