En Masse En Classe

The first two years of my medical school program are spent in the classroom, doing the scholastic work required to lay a good foundation for practice. I've enjoyed the past three days very much, actually. My last year of undergrad was a bit of a wash, academically; I did well, but I didn't learn much. I took courses that were largely self-directed, and I coasted through them, being too busy worrying myself to pieces over med school admissions, watching endless hours of procrastinatory TV, and moping around missing Answerboy. All in all, I did what it is so easy for me to do: I screwed myself out of a year of education. Now, I can feel my brain turning back on and getting back into gear.
Some impressions:
-In some ways, med school is similar more to high school or even middle school than to undergrad. For one thing, all 139 of us sit in the same room, every day, all morning; the professors rotate. For another, we have class every day, with an hour-long break for lunch (although we do get two afternoons a week off). For a third, no meal plan means I'm trying to bring lunches and snacks from home instead of buying them on campus. Finally, there are many more daily "self-study modules" (read: homework) than I'm used to from undergrad. All in all, I sort of feel like I've gone back in time a few years, in terms of how my day is structured. This is not necessarily a bad thing for me.
-I'm coming to the realization that medical students represent a huge investment for the school. They don't want us burning out and leaving. They also don't want us becoming cynical and sadistic. Hence, we are well taken care of here, and the faculty and admissions office are very accomodating and welcoming. I get the sense that they want to nip any stress and/or anxiety issues in the bud, before they get out of hand.
-I'm so fascinated by how willing all of the profs I had so far are to say that they don't know things. No hesitation at all. I was especially riveted in a genetics lecture today, when the prof was relating that she had a patient come into her practice, and had no idea what was wrong with the girl. So she looked up her symptoms on a genetics disorder database...and had never before heard of the disorder that came up. This was not something she had a problem talking about. It's like they all know what a huge field this is, and their confidence comes not from knowing everything, but from knowing that they have the skills to research what they need to when the time comes.
-It's so, so, so very easy to fall behind. As it is I have a crapload of genetics homework to catch up on....

Semi-formal tonight, though, so no time for that right now. :)

~isolde