I got another huge envelope the other day. Still no financial aid package. No super-slick magazine this time, either. Nope, this time, it was all business. Dozens of pages instructing me to fill out this form or that form, get this or that signed by a doctor, etc.
I understand that the process of becoming a doctor is essentially an extended indoctrination (some might call it a hazing) into a professional culture. I’ve never had any illusions to the contrary. But I guess I was hoping that I could at least wait until I was in medical school for the hazing to begin.
But alas, that won’t be the case. Considering all the paperwork I will have to complete, and all the bureaucratic hoops I will have to jump through in the next month–before even beginning classes–I guess my professional indoctrination has begun. (Then again, I suppose it already officially started last summer when I took the MCAT, filled out AMCAS, and then proceeded to copy, essentially verbatim, all the information contained on my primary application onto 20 or so secondary applications. Pointless.)
Anyway, here are a few of the things I need to figure out how to do in the next month or so, before starting med school :
- Vaccinations (I can’t find my vaccination record anywhere, so I’m probably going to have to have a titer for every known disease for which a vaccination exists. Awesome.) Also, I have to get a tetanus booster. Double awesome.
- Physical. I don’t think I’ve had a proper physical examination since junior high school. (I’m honestly not even sure how that is possible, but it’s true.) Well, that’s about to change, because in order to start medical school, I need to pay some doctor to tell me that I’m perfectly healthy. Sweet!
- TB skin test. I suppose this kinda goes with the other two above, but I haven’t had one since I worked at a hospital in college, so it’s time to get another one.
- CPR Training. I don’t technically need this until December, but once I start school, I imagine it will be exceedingly difficult to get it done. That means I get spend one of my last truly free Saturdays in a hospital re-learning CPR because I was stupid enough to let my certification expire, necessitating a full re-certification. Way to go, me!
There are a few other things to be done before orientation in August, but these are the ones that come to mind. I know it’s no big deal… I’m just a bit agitated because I’m not sure how I’m going to find the time to do all this. Between work, and volunteering (yes, I still do that), and also trying to find a place to live, and moving, it’s gonna be tough to find the time to get anything else done.
Oh well, I might as well get used to it now!
Tags: crap I have to do before starting med school · mail · whining1 Comment
hello! i just found your blog and just wanted to tell you i’m putting you on mine…
i remember having to get all that stuff done before school started. i think i went to one of those “walk-in” clinics for the physical and then hit up my health department for some cheap vaccinations and TB test. That stinks that you have to do CPR training on your own…where i go they build that into the first year curriculum (and they pay for it too, or i guess we paid for it in tuition).
i’m looking forward to reading your blog!