On some down-time waiting for lecture to begin. So I'll continue updating my life :). It's a nervous time right now because although we're not in final med yet, all the rotations/study/tutorials are being geared towards doing the obs/gyne and paeds finals in November, then the medicine/surgery finals in April. Lecturers are going through what they're looking for when you present, how to make yourself shine, and all the stuff they expect you to know...and some of the things they want as basic knowledge seem like honors questions! That plus trying to figure out what you want to do and narrow down your field choices.

I'm definitely more a surgery person than medicine. Medicine's too boring for me, can't stand the 4+ hour ward rounds and 2+ hour conferences. Guess it won't be a life of free pens for me :). So I'm considering more active medicines like Emergency Med (which I really enjoyed) and am also interested in musculoskeletal medicine (PM&R), following on my natural inclination to fields like anatomy and exercise physiology. Problem being that physiatry doesn't really exist anywhere other than the US, so I haven't had any real exposure to it yet except for 2 days shadowing I did at Christmas. I also would consider general surgery, but I haven't heard anything good about surgery in the US in terms of lifestyle and colleagues. Lifestyle I wouldn't have a problem with. People being dicks to each other for absolutely no reason, or trying to one-up each other all the time, I would have a big problem with. I always think people work best when each person tries to be cooperative with everyone else, and I would not deal well in a situation where everyone keeps to themselves and hoardes info/ambitions. I'd really like orthopedic surgery (more an jocks/boys club than anal surgery) or even ophthalmology, but those are impossible fields to get into especially for IMGs like me.

Right now, planning on returning to the US for internship/residency. That's where the best post-graduate training and resources are, even though primary med ed is pretty standardized universally. And a life of large space, luxury and efficiency is appealing. To be honest, I like the european lifestyle (and dare I say people) better but it would be nearly impossible to advance career-wise over here, since I'm non-EU and non-Irish. If I could stay in Europe with an equal chance for career advancement I would, though probably would explore somewhere other than Ireland. Wouldn't mind doing a bit in Australia either, and I think eventually I would like to join one of those groups like Doctors-without-Borders to explore a different side of medicine and expose myself to problems/issues that I would never encounter otherwise.

But first things first, I've got to pass this damn USMLE first. It's an annoyingly difficult exam, and my studying hasn't been the best for it. I can't seem to concentrate very well, and it's a bloody 7+ hour exam! Each subject you study in medicine is huge as it is, and this exam combines them all! Whoever devised this exam must've been a big time nerd with a chip on his shoulder who's getting payback on those docs who've managed not to have social problems. Well it's working, it's KICKING MY ASS.