Finals and Furanose

I went to Wayne State today for a financial aid seminar, and I realized what I am in for in med school. I have always considered myself old-school as far as education goes, and today showed me just how old school I am.

The seminar included about 30 students, many of whom had parents with them. The parents mostly asked questions about post-med school income. The students mostly asked questions about what can be paid for with their loans. Money. Understandable at a financial aid seminar.

The trouble hit when an Army officer gave a little presentation about the Army Medical Corps. It seemed a bit out of place, but it's something I'm interested in so I didn't mind. At one point she made a joke, something along the lines of "in the Army program you won't have to worry so much about making a big income to pay off debts, but you guys would do this for free anyway, wouldn't you?" I nodded my head at the remark while everybody else laughed at it. I realized just what it looks like to go into medicine for the money. Most of my clinical experience has been without payment, and I intend to keep my paid/unpaid ratio as small as possible. I think John Donne (and Hemingway, sort of) sums my feelings up well. I guess those people who are in it for the money have a miserable future and a very difficult job ahead of themselves.

I've deviated from my topic, though. Old school. To me, schooling should be focused on education. I have always had a little problem with medical school (rooting back probably before high school) because it's so vocational. You struggle through the 4 years and get wedged into a job. Law has always appealed to me because it's so applicable to everything. You leave law school educated, coherent, and intelligent. You leave med school with a job. I guess I just saw the manifestation of that today. I've looked into some MD/JD programs just for kicks, but it kind of looks like a lot of work for nothing. Since I don't intend to stop going to school maybe I could knock out a law degree later on in life. Could be fun.

Final schedule: Biochem and Capstone test Monday. Geology paper and poster due Tuesday. Shakespeare paper due Thursday. Pretty easy finals week ahead of me.