Distance
You would think that the facial dissection is the most traumatic, and you would probably be right. It's an area of "high emotional impact," they say, which means that you associate with it, or feel like it would be painful. That, our instructors explained, is why my medical school pushes it off until later. Some other schools, which shall remain nameless, BEGIN with the face, on the first day of school. Maybe it's to show the students that medical school is not easy, or that they have to be self-important showoffs to be good at their job, I don't know. But I do know that it's really nice of our course directors to take our mindset into consideration when designing the curriculum. It's further proof that our teachers are not trying to give us undue nightmares, or scare us into studying harder, rather choosing to focus their efforts on teaching us in the most efficient and useful way possible.
In any event, I said that you would probably be right. That implies that for some reason, in this case, you're not. The reason here is what I just described above. Because we've got three months of dissecting under our belts, we're okay. At least, as far as I know we are. I haven't heard any rumors of people throwing up, fainting, or crying in the lab during dissecting time. Which might just mean that my classmates are very understanding and don't spread harmful gossip. But as nice as everyone here is... I seriously doubt that.
If someone faints, sooner or later word will get out. Apparently it's pretty common for people to decide, after making it all the way to medical school, working hard for years just to get in the door, that medicine is not for them. Usually happens during Anatomy, "they" say. I don't think there's anything wrong with that - if anything, I'd guess these types had some idea they didn't like the gore, but figured they'd be able to put up with it so that they could become genetic counselors, psychiatrists or what have you. it is a shame, though, for them to only come to that realization now, especially if some earlier soul-searching could have found their dropping out to be an inevitability (which, I'm sure, is only rarely true).
Though you COULD question their motivations, (couldn't they just stick it out for a few months in Anatomy and later in Surgery rotation and then be done with it forever if they really wanted it) it's not my place to do that. It WAS my place to help people through their goriness issues when I worked as a pre-med advisor in undergrad, but I think the stakes are different for people who actually get in, arrive on the first day, and take out hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans to finance this education. Fortunately or unfortunately, there's no motivator like greenbacks.
What were we talking about? Distance? Whatever. Post over. I'm exhausted after all that surgery!
In any event, I said that you would probably be right. That implies that for some reason, in this case, you're not. The reason here is what I just described above. Because we've got three months of dissecting under our belts, we're okay. At least, as far as I know we are. I haven't heard any rumors of people throwing up, fainting, or crying in the lab during dissecting time. Which might just mean that my classmates are very understanding and don't spread harmful gossip. But as nice as everyone here is... I seriously doubt that.
If someone faints, sooner or later word will get out. Apparently it's pretty common for people to decide, after making it all the way to medical school, working hard for years just to get in the door, that medicine is not for them. Usually happens during Anatomy, "they" say. I don't think there's anything wrong with that - if anything, I'd guess these types had some idea they didn't like the gore, but figured they'd be able to put up with it so that they could become genetic counselors, psychiatrists or what have you. it is a shame, though, for them to only come to that realization now, especially if some earlier soul-searching could have found their dropping out to be an inevitability (which, I'm sure, is only rarely true).
Though you COULD question their motivations, (couldn't they just stick it out for a few months in Anatomy and later in Surgery rotation and then be done with it forever if they really wanted it) it's not my place to do that. It WAS my place to help people through their goriness issues when I worked as a pre-med advisor in undergrad, but I think the stakes are different for people who actually get in, arrive on the first day, and take out hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans to finance this education. Fortunately or unfortunately, there's no motivator like greenbacks.
What were we talking about? Distance? Whatever. Post over. I'm exhausted after all that surgery!
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