ken asks the audience: What are you doing this summer?

Last week's question was: What are you doing this summer? I asked classmate Paras Patel for his answer, and he'll be continuing to write for sidenote through the summer about his experiences:

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I don't know if I have the most interesting summer lined up or not but I am very excited for the good times ahead. This summer I am going to Argentina and India. Two opposite ends of the earth for two very different reasons. In Argentina I am living in a town called Cobalanga. Surprisingly, it is not on Google maps. I’m living with two doctors and their three little boys. I’ll be working in the hospital doing weekly rotations in areas like family medicine, surgery, pediatrics and hopefully some specialties. In the afternoon I’ll volunteer at my host family’s private practice. My goal is to learn as much as I can about their healthcare system and have an opportunity to become fluent in medical Spanish so I can get certified once I’m back in the states. 

After six weeks, I’m meeting up with two friends and we will travel to Buenos Aires, Uruguay and go skiing in the Andes. Two days after I get back to the US, I’m leaving for the motherland. This will be the first time in 10 years. I am excited to see how much has changed and partake in my cousin’s wedding festivities. 

I think this summer will be an opportunity for me to get away from everything and just reflect over these past 23 years before all hell breaks loose. I’ve come a long way and I really want to just think about where I’m going. Ken always refers to “deep conversations” and how often our conversations are superficial. I agree. It’s been a while since the last time I had a deep conversation with myself…

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Next week's question: Was med school what you thought it would be like?

see you on the other side,

from ken

Want to provide the commentary? Let me know. 

ken asks the audience: how have your perceptions of medicine changed?

This past week's question was: How have your perceptions of med school/medicine changed since August? I asked classmate Mallory Roberts this question, here's her answer:

How have my perceptions of medicine and medical school changed over the past 8 months?  For starters, it’s a lot less scary.  I forget who said “We fear what we don’t know”, but I’ve found this to be very true.  I remember shadowing at Emory University Hospital last year and thinking “Wow…these third year med students seem to know a lot and they don’t seem to be struggling at all…how the hell am I ever going to pull that off?”  It seemed that there was some sort of chasm between the superhuman “I-know-everything-and-I-never-sleep” doctor (or med student) and the rest of us.  But I only thought that because I didn’t know what it was like to be a med student or a doctor.  I didn’t know that you have roughly 150 comrades to commiserate with and an army of faculty to support you.  I didn’t know that there were schools where the students were not self-obsessed and competitive.  The more I interviewed the more I got the idea that I might be wrong, but I didn’t truly believe it until becoming a med student myself.

Because we have a tendency to fear the unknown, the first time you do something is always the worst.  I remember being really stressed at our first “small group” meeting, because I didn’t understand what they were.  I was apprehensive of my first “hospital visit”, because I didn’t know how involved students were supposed to be.  Looking back now, I can see that what scared me was simply not knowing what people wanted from me.  I’m learning as I go, and trying to get rid of the stress by finding out what is expected and then working towards that.  As I get a more behind-the-scenes view of medicine, the reality of life as a doctor, and a med student, is becoming way less ominous.  Before medical school I saw academic medicine as being a grueling lifestyle in a world run by intimidating men.  I’ve been happily surprised by the realization that medicine can give you whatever type of life you choose.  There is no stereotypical doctor, and there is room for women to have significant influence and voice.  There are doctors who have families, hobbies, and friends that they dedicate time to.  There are men who are smart but humble, and women who are strong but nurturing.  There are also a whole lot of doctors, nurses, etc., who are not perfect at their jobs.  The more I see of doctors the more I realize they never get that “I-know-everything” feeling that intimidated me so much.  They are walking the same trail we are, they just happen to be far ahead of us.  Medicine is far less perfect than I imagined it would be, but thank God, because now I know that it’s human.  I’ve peeked in to the world of the unknown enough to say that, despite my worries, I can totally pull this off.

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Thanks Mallory!

Next week's question: Who has the best summer lined up? I have a guess.. but if you think you know someone who has the best summer lined up, let me know. People need to know if you're doing something awesome. 

see you on the other side,

from ken

want to provide the commentary? let me know

Ken asks the audience: commentary on - what is a date?

Last week's question was: what counts as a date?

Here's some commentary from Christian Baker and Trevor Henry:

CB: I'll send you what Rose and I think. We're working on this as the two of us...which brings me to point 1. In order for it to count as a date it must be just the two of us. (exception to the rule: double dates). One party pays. As a southern gentleman I'm inclined to say the male pays for the date...but as a starving medical student with a working fiancee, she will take over that role for a little bit. That doesn't mean we wont be going on any dates until I make a paycheck though. Thanks Rose! Moving along. I think for it to be a full blown official date it must be something special. It has to make the girl feel special like you went out of your way to do something nice. You've got to be intentional about it. That's Rose and my two cents worth.

TH: What is a date? The meaning of the word “date” depends on who you ask. Some of my friends consider the night they meet someone at the bar, share some laughs, and spend the night together as a first date. Some of them consider a date to be a personal encounter of 2 mutually romantically interested people, which begins with a formal invitation including explicit romantic intent. Some say a date is simply an intimate interaction between two people, a shared experience by two people in communication. Some see a date as a catch-up between people, whether the catch-up-ers are romantic or platonic. How many times have you heard “It’s a date!” as a confirmation to planning a get-together with an old friend?

I wrote a segment of this blurb on a plane last Sunday, sitting across the aisle from a talkative, particularly loud sophomore in college and her newfound friend, a businessman with a family. By the time we landed, I knew the girl’s hometown, family structure, professional goals, humor style and even some of her personality nuances. I had a formed opinion of the type of person she was. Was I on a date with this girl, unbeknownst to her? Had she and her seatmate shared a date with each other? They were laughing and telling personal stories…


Personally, I think a date is best defined as a feeling rather than an experience. I reserve the term for times I feel a reciprocation of enjoyment. In my world, the criteria contributing to a date are twofold. When 1) I feel someone takes special pleasure and satisfaction in experiencing me as a person, and 2) vice-versa -- a date has transpired. Now, feelings are subjective entities sensitive to misinterpretation and the complexity of the human brain. As humans, our emotional circuitry is ill-defined at best. The scientist in me would prefer a more discrete and objective description of a date. My definition involves the personal feeling that the other person took unique pleasure in experiencing me as a person; however, I can more easily determine whether or not I found enjoyment in my date. I’ve certainly told friends, “We had a pretty good first date!” followed by white noise when I reach out for the second date. In my 26 years I am nearly positive I have incorrectly felt that my date took pleasure and enjoyment in me, when perhaps the reality was that my date was smiling because they were uncomfortable to be sitting near me, or maybe that sweet laughter I thought was in response to my story was really their internal reaction to the ridiculousness of their escape route. Maybe that soft twinkle in their eye and slight twitch of their smile was in reality an allergic reaction to the cucumber in their cocktail manifesting itself at an inconvenient time. Would that make me a clingy, stage-15 psycho? Maybe. But hey, it’s my world – I call the shots.

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Thanks Christian and Trevor!

I can't get the polling function to work. One day there were 9 results, the other day there were 2, now there's 6. So I have to scrap that, and I'm going to replace the poll with a 'Ken asks the audience' segment on Wednesdays where I'll just pose a question to y'all. This week's question? Something I've been wondering more and more as I reach the end of the year. How have your perceptions of med school/medicine changed since August?

see you on the other side,

from ken

want to provide the commentary? get at me.