Medicine at Michigan Student Blogs

It has been a while since the
last update!!

Today marks the official end of
my first month as a doctor…challenging & amazing!

Fourth year of med school was one
of the most exciting time of my med school career. Once I made the decision to
pursue a career in internal medicine, I had to pick my ideal place with an
excellent training program, good people and of course better weatherJ !I traveled
from Ann Arbor to Denver, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Chapel Hill, Atlanta,
St Louis and Nashville. Had so much fun on the way…seeing new places, meeting
people and trying local foods and beverages. After travelling to all these
places, I came down to one tough choice at the end…to leave or not to leave Ann
Arbor..my home away from home. I have grown to absolutely love Ann Arbor…from
my fond memories as undergrad to the challenging times as a med student,
Michigan has been a great place of growth and maturity.

As the end of February was approaching,
I had to make my choices.  It was becoming
clear to me that it was time for me to get out of my comfort zone or maybe also
go to a place with better wintersJ I finalized my rank list putting
Vanderbilt at the top; although deep inside I would have been happy to either
stay at Michigan or move to Nashville.

After anxiously waiting for three
long weeks, I found out that I was going to be a resident at Vanderbilt University
Medical Center starting July 1, 2012. I don’t think there is a phrase that can
capture the emotion that med students feel on match day. I for one was very
grateful, felt blessed and ecstatic. I laid all my worries about what the future
holds to rest for that day and just enjoyed the moment.

Things moved pretty quickly after
that. I had to start planning for my parents’ arrival for graduation and of
course my move to Nashville. It was a busy, yet exciting time. Both my parents,
all of my uncles, aunts and cousins came from various places to celebrate
graduation. I cannot describe my parents’ joy and pride at the graduation
ceremony. My father couldn’t stop taking pictures of me and my mom would tell
everyone to call me Doctor Fasika J …puts a smile on my face whenever I recall
the day.

Fast forward two months, and here
I am after completing my first month as a doctor at Vanderbilt. It’s amazing
how much there is still to learn about medicine. The more patients I see the
more I realize how hard I have to work. Bottom line, the journey will continue
and I hope that on the way I will grow to love and cherish medicine even more!

It’s been a month since we started M2. I must admit that I like it better than M1. the material is more clinically relevant, PLUS we don’t have a quiz every week big plus! So this weekend was one of the quiz free ones which gave me an opportunity to celebrate the Ethiopian new year. This might be a concept that most people may not be familiar with…so I will go ahead and give the abridged version of the history of the unique Ethiopian Calendar. Enkutatash or Ethiopian New Year is celebrated on September 11th according to the Western or Gregorian calendar. Ethiopial follows the Orthodox Julian calendar which consists of 12 months of 30 days and a 13th month, Pagume, of five or six days, depending on whether or not it is a leap year. The Ithiopian calendar is seven years and eight months behind the Gregorian calendar, so September11, 2009 is Meskerem 1 2002 in  Ethiopia. The way Ethiopians measure time is also different from the West. The way the numbers are used to represent the time of day is different. Early morning i.e. 6 am is labeled 12.00, 7am would be 1.00 and count to 12.00 which is 6pm. Because Ethiopia is close to the Equator the sun rises at around 7.30 Ethiopian time and sets at around 12.45 in the evening (6.45 western equivalent) all year round. Ethiopia is 3 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) and 7/8hrs ahead of U.S eastern time depending on the time of the year. Well, I hope that helps understand the Ethiopian calendar better.

Ten months and over ten sequences later, M1 year ended about two months ago….well I know I’m super late on updating you on my progress throughout the year. As you saw from the summer issue of Medicine at Michigan, I’m still part of “the journey of a thousand miles…”

I don’t have enough descriptors that can encompass the experiences and emotions I have experienced as a first year medical student. The way things are done around here have made my life as M1 a lot easier than it would have been any other place…in my opinion.

I was able to establish my support system at school earlier during the year. I made friends that help me get through everything and learned the value of relationships throughout the year more than ever. Even though getting through sequences had been my main focus, I always had time to celebrate my relationships….friends’ birthdays, occasional movie outings and above all my Sunday night after quiz traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony gatherings have been the highlights of my social life.

Left: Danny, Hela, Grettel, Fasika, Ekua (Go Mediversity The night of Fall Ball....we had our own gathering at Melange.

Ekua and I

 The year went by so quickly. The way the curriculum is set up makes integrating the seemingly infinite facts easily and made the time seem shorter than it actually was. The CFM weeks that were scattered throughout the year also made the transition between the more difficult sequences somewhat bearable. Each sequence came with its own set of challenges that made me think differently each time and teaches me not only new facts but novel ways of thinking. However, the overwhelming amount of time I spent on lecture videos and powerpoint slides didn’t leave me much time for extracurricular activities and clinical exposures. Regardless, the few exposures I got through the Clinical Foundations of Medicine have given me some of the basics of clinical medicine such as taking history and physical from first time patients.  I recall the mixed emotions of uncertainty and excitement I felt during my first interview of a standardized patient. While putting on the white coat and assuming my future role always excited me, the fear of not being able to perform to the standards always made me nervous. However, the standardized patients give candid feedbacks that helped me recognize my flaws and help build my confidence. Doing a physical exam also came with its challenges. Despite knowing the steps to the different parts of the exam, performing each one was not an easy task on all patients.

The Family Centered Experience was another aspect of the curriculum that allowed us patient exposure in a slightly different manner. I was partnered with one of my classmates Tyson and we were assigned to a family whom we visited a few times throughout the year. The purpose of the assignment was to understand patients’ perspectives on their disease when they are not at the hospital and how it affects their daily lives, their past and their future. Our assigned family was very gracious and helped us learn the aspects of medicine that we don’t get taught in the classroom: caring and compassion. Even though these are the inherent ideals that most medical students came with, they tend to get lost in the facts and figures that we have to memorize to become competent caregivers.

The intensity of M1 year has taught me to utilize every bit of break time I get in a meaningful way. I planned a few vacations throughout the Winter term to alleviate the stress from school and the harsh Michigan winter weather. Attending the inaguration of President Barack Obama was one of the highlights of my semester. My close friend Omonye and I decided to take an overnight trip to D.C. to be part of history. Standing outside the National Mall with millions of people was a phenomenal experience. Even though the cold weather took its toll on everyone, the words of encouragement and inspiration shared amongst people kept us all going until the end of the inagural ceremony. 

 Luckily spring break still exists during first year of medical school. So I decided to go to California for the first time. After the end of immunology, which was one of the most challenging sequences for me, I decided to take it easy. San Franciso weather is similar to the temperate climate of Ethiopia. I was able to walk outside in t-shirts for the first time in February. It was absolutely wonderful to get away from the 12-inches snow in Ann Arbor.

Fasika, Omonye and Mode

My next trip was to New Orleans for the Student National Medical Association conference during the second week of April. The Student National Medical Association is a student-run organization that focuses on the needs and concerns of medical students of color (www.snma.org). I went with a few members of the Black Medical Association representing Michigan. The conference was a nice opportunity to share experiences with other medical students of color throughout the country as well as learn about the issues surrounding minority healthcare. I have been a member of the Black Medical Association since the beginning of M1 year. The members have been very supportive in a number of aspects. Even though I have not been able to actively participate or organize activities for the group, I always knew  that I have the support of its members who are willing to share their unique experiences.  Despite the dramatic decline in minority enrollment in the past year and this year, we are still able to sustain the organization.

SNMA Conference

 My last trip was to Richmond, VA to attend a graduation of a close friend from Virginia Commonwealth University. The event was perfectly lined up with the end of the Infectious Disease sequence and a week after which was the first M1 weekend without a quiz I also made a quick stop at Herndon, VA to visit my aunt.

Well…..that was my reflection of M1 year. I have numerous hopes and fears for M2 and I’m very excited to experience them all…as they all get me a few steps closer to the end of the thousand miles. 

Hi everyone,

Two months since the official beginning of Medical school. I felt like I lost track of time somewhere in the middle when I started feeling chilly in my summer clothes and saw the leaves changing their colors. Well, autumn is officially here, which means that you need to get your warm sweaters out if you live in Michigan. Regardless, I admit that it is my favorite season in Michigan.  

The past month was somewhat academically challenging. We had an intense sequence of molecular biology and some biochemistry with anatomy and histology. The good news is that we had the wonderful Clinical Foundations of Medicine week where we got the opportunity to see what doctoring is all about. It was like a reward for all our hard work the past month. Let me tell you a bit about the CFM week. The first couple of days we had overview lectures about Complementary and Alternative medicine and talked about healthcare economics and poverty issues. Then we were sent out on field visits where we get to observe alternative practices, clinical practices as well as poverty sites.  I had  such a wonderful experience at all the sites. My best time so far was at the alternative practitioner. Even though her practice resembled our conventional system, her personal connection with her patients far more exceeded one that I observed at the allopathic clinics. She listened to their physical and emotional concerns carefully, which in my mind began the process of healing right there. That is the ideal kind of doctor patient relationship that I wish to have. While the site visits were the highlights of my day, visiting friends and catching up with my social life were the highlights of my evening. I got to talk to my parents and my long term friends who were probably wondering about my reticence for a while. Overall, it has been such a wonderful week. I’m now enjoying the last day of my CFM week and getting ready to hit the anatomy lab tomorrow with the beginning of the Musculoskeletal sequence. Until next time, I wish everyone a wonderful fall. It’s still beautiful outside, so enjoy the sunshine while you can

Fasika

Journey of a thousand miles….

I can hardly believe that it’s been a month since I have officially been inducted into my amazing medical school class of 2012… and hence started “The journey of a thousand miles….”

It actually started about a month and a half ago when I decided to start Medical School earlier than my 150 other classmates. After graduating from the University of Michigan in April, I decided to spend a month and a half with my parents whom I did not see for the past five years. They came from Ethiopia to attend my graduation. After they left, I did not have much going on for the rest of my summer, so I joined the pre-mat program to get a head start on Anatomy.

We ventured into anatomy lab the second day of class. I had no qualms about dissecting a cadaver despite the fact that I was utterly scared of dead things. The Professors refer to the cadavers as our first patients, which definitely helped me build that respect and spiritual connection with the “them” and hence reducing the discomfort I might have felt cutting through a cadaver. Cutting through it felt like navigating through a maze. Everything looks the same. I could barely tell an artery from a vein or a nerve….I still wonder if I’ll ever be able to. A week into premat, I learned as much information as I would have in a month of one of my undergraduate classes. Above all, I appreciated the subtleties of the human body. Pre-mat was definitely helpful in giving me a glimpse into what I’ll be doing for the next four years.

Orientation week was a blast. The rest of my classmates arrived for the anticipated White Coat Ceremony. While I was tempted to click with my buddies from pre-mat during orientation, I tried to push myself to get to know the rest of my classmates as well. The first day was filled with activities and a free lunch in the middle. The most interesting part was when all 170 of us had to introduce ourselves and say interesting facts about ourselves. While I was amazed by the numerous talents and experiences of my classmates, I couldn’t think of any accomplishment that was even close to some of their experiences.

   The first couple of weeks were somewhat relaxing. Our professors are amazing. Their wit and sense of humor made our classes a lot more fun and enjoyable than my undergraduate lectures where I struggled to keep my eyes open. Even though lectures occupied the majority of our days, we occasionally got patient presentations that were related to topics we cover that day. Those are the days we dress professionally and put on our wonderful White coats. Now that I’m used to wearing my coat, I forgot to mention the way I felt when I first put it on at the ceremony. Looking at it in the mirror, I realized the amount of trust, responsibility that is ensued upon me by society. Even though it seemed a bit intimidating at first I have come to realize that I’ll gradually “fit into the coat” and be ready to discharge those responsibilities.

After two quizzes and an exam, we’re officially done with the first sequence of the year. Summer is ending and we are getting into the harder sequences. I don’t know what to expect for the next sequence but I’m definitely excited to go back into anatomy lab. The past month has been amazing. Knowing my professors and my classmates and above all learning to adapt to the social and academic aspect of medical school while trying to balance the other aspects of my life has been somewhat challenging but fun.

Thanks for reading my blog. I’ll make sure to update you with more interesting encounters in the coming months. Until then here is my email address faberra@med.umich.edu if you have any comments. Have a wonderful month!!