Rationed Time

The long days that never seem to end are certainly anticipated experiences. Only in the beginning of the whole process, I am learning to ration my time to the many tasks that demand my attention.

New Home

We finally closed on our new home and moved in last week (hence the missed post). It took our mortgage broker a long time to finalize the transactions and was more than a headache with a new problem or delay every day. Being first time home buyers has been quite the hassle and I know many medical students wrestle with the decision to become home buyers or simply rent.

In making our decision we had learned that renting a unit in Las Vegas would cost nearly the same as a mortgage. Our struggle was mostly with the mortgage lenders being flexible once we found the house we wanted. We waited until the very last minute before making the deal official.

All I can say is that if you are entertaining the thought of home buying, start well before matriculating. We ended up staying with family for almost a month. It was great to spend time with them, and we will forever be grateful for their hospitality. We just hate to have out-stayed our welcome. Renting sure sounded tempting on occasion, but our new home was worth the effort.

Student Loan

Reimbursement for the expenses of medical school cannot come too soon. With all the costs of living increasing and becoming more abundant, staying financially afloat is a rather fancy dance. I can come up with a lengthy list of debts, but if you are reading this you could name them just as well.

My financial institution is finally funding my tuition and reimbursement checks. It is a huge relief to know we will be able to buy groceries next month and have a roof over our heads. Visit the past post for more student loan info.

Exams

I knew medical school would move quick, but I had no idea we would cover an entire book in less than a couple months. Midterms were only one month in and next week will be our first week of exams. "Block week" as they call it, occurs three times a semester, testing our memory and endurance skills. With 24 credits this semester, I should start having nightmares any night now.

Somehow I managed to make it through my first couple tests despite the late...late nights of studying. This method is not recommended for two reasons: 1)Taking a test while fatigued makes information recall ineffective and 2)It's bad for your physical health. Of course I would like to have performed better, but the information was spilling out of my head by the time I took the test. I think I need to reformat my cerebral hard drive and free up a little space.

Student Organizations

I have been blown away and slightly annoyed by all the organizations vying for my money. Who knew there were so many student medical associations? Each one asks for membership money but none really have a significant impact that seems evident. The benefits they have expressed usually include free meals, discount suture clinics, and the ever popular screen printed tee-shirt.

I may be new to this medical school thing, but I'm not an idiot. My intention is to pass and earn a degree. If that means I cannot join an organization my first week of school, please support me in that decision. Perhaps down the road I will share a portion of my student loan with you so I can say I belong to your club. Maybe in the meantime you could come up with better reasons than a free lunch to be a member of your organization.