Reflections of a Fourth-Year Medical Student

Reflections of a Fourth Year Medical Student

One of my fondest moments in medical school was the day during my Sub-I in Medicine when I traded in my old numeric pager for the Intern-style Text-Pager. Let me explain: the text-pager, though one of the most archaic forms of communication was definitely an upgrade from our old pagers that can only transmit numbers. This was when I finally felt I crossed the imaginary line of being a medical student to a physician whose actions and decisions have consequences. Everyone has their moments, some people experience this when they get their white coats (long or short), other as they first enter their clinical years, and for me, it was getting my first text page regarding my patient having a temperature. Unfortunately I realized this at 4a.m. when I was woken up in the middle of sleep and cursing at myself for forgetting to sign out my pager to the overnight team.

Whenever I have friends or family ask me that timeless question of, “What’s Medical School like?” Depending on the rotation I’m on or if I’m enjoying some beers, the response can range from anywhere between, “OMG-ISH I LOVE IT!” to “SHOOT ME NOW!”. However if you catch me on most afternoons my honest answer would have to be, “It’s like a one roller-coaster, one of the bigger ones in Six-Flags, where the highs are really high and the lows can get pretty bad.” For example here are a couple of LOWS for me: Failing my first Histology exam, studying for Step-1, and probably the lowest of the low was the day I had to dig my car out of the snow at 3AM for Surgery. But then again, my list of highs are just as numerous: I remember passing my second histology exam, actually passing Step-1 and
Step-2 CS and CK (Unbelievable I know!), and the day I fell in love with Anesthesiology.

So in final partings from an almost to be complete 4th Year Medical Student, I would like to thank the people who has helped me to get where I am now: my parents, friends, my mentors, faculty, the Alumni Association and especially the Starbucks on Tremont who always gave me a free shot of espresso without me asking. To all the faculty of BUSM, I would like to thank you for all your work and patience as I’m sure there has been times where you’ve shaken your heads in disbelief. To all my fellow classmates, take comfort to know that you are in a great institution with a support staff that will not let you fail. And finally, to Mike Kim BUSM MS4, you still owe me a 25lbs bag of rice for the multiple times I’ve picked you up from the airport. Thank you.

Yuhong Yan MS4 BUSM
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Yuhong Yan
M.D. Candidate 2010
Boston University School of Medicine