It hasn’t even been a month yet, and already the excitement and thrill of “arriving” in med school is beginning to wane. It could be due, in part, to the fact that this weekend is full of first exams (Biochemistry on Friday; Anatomy on Monday). To say that the “honeymoon” is over may still be a bit premature — as is evidenced by the following exchange (which took place the first week of classes).

Me: “Dr Rhodes [histology professor], I understand that you really turn up the heat in the 2nd quarter?”

Dr Rhodes (smiling wryly): “The heat is already on; the 2nd quarter is when you reach boiling point!”

Perhaps that explains the feeling that has permeated the campus these past few days. Tension, unease, unrest . . . the prospect is grim: sitting in a pot of water, waiting anxiously, knowing that the temperature is slowly rising and will soon be unbearable! It is quite unsettling; yet, I find it somewhat reassuring! For, unlike the frog that finds itself in a similar predicament, death is not the intended outcome!