futrdrbaker said:
As far as I know, wireless internet is available in the library and the dental school lecture halls. They are working on installing it for the medical school lecture halls, but I don't believe that is available right now...but it might be for your class next year.
I can confirm that there is wireless in both the medical lecture halls. If you want to use the wireless system you have to first go to the computing resources center with your laptop/pda and have them authorize you on the network.
As for laptops and pdas, wait until you get to school to see what will work best. They are trying to integrate PDAs more into the curriculum, but I think it is pretty hit or miss right now. UTHSCSA has always been a pretty traditionalist place that emphasized lecture/classroom time as the best way to learn, and IMO they are going through a bit of growing pains since the LCME told the administration they should cut down a bit on that classroom time. So there is a pretty good chance that there will be extra/different requirements than even the current MS1 class.
Right now, your job is to enjoy the rest of your year before school starts, and just realize that there will be plenty of time for the obsessive-compulsive stuff later... and hopefully not too much of that either!
🙂
Do you guys think that the doctor-doctor divorce rate is higher than doctor-nondoctor divorce rate? The reason, AggieGal, for the high rates of divorce amongst doctors is the tendency for doctors to be workaholics.
What's really somewhat scary is that other doctors sometimes (erroneously I would add) view the ER medicine crowd as "not comitted enough" because of the shift-work nature of their practice. But the bottom line is that when you are a doctor, there is another relationship that enters your life which can intrude on the traditional relationships at home. This is the relationship with patients. Patients are there 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, their collective needs are literally infinite. They are there whether you are at the hospital or not. This is something I don't think we will fully grasp until it is we that are making the decision calls that help or potentially put them in danger. As medical students we are mainly just observers of this quirky process, with some degree of anxiety that it will soon be us on the line.
This is why I think it is really important early on to find and develop relationships with good role models. Because for every messed-up, dysfunctional doctor, there are others who are balanced and successful at home and at work. These people are some of the greatest resources to have, but unfortunately, there are no big neon signs pointing the way. You sometimes just have to hunt them down. I know that my own specialty choices have been influenced because I have found people who I want to be like both as a doctor and more generally as a human being.
You guys will all get assigned an academic advisor (usually just one of the faculty docs) when you get to school. They don't make you talk to them or even contact them, but I would encourage you guys to use that resource. Some are good advisors and others not so much. But don't be afraid to switch your advisor if needed and get with someone who has a real interest in helping you out. When you eventually get down to deciding on what you want to be when you grow up and residency issues it makes a huge difference having someone in your corner who knows the ropes, even if they aren't in the specialty you want.
Anyway, sorry for the rant.
I have a house that I am selling or will be willing to rent out as well. It is a 2000 sq ft 2 story home with 4 bedrooms and 3 full baths on a cul de sac, just minutes from the med center. Anyone interested please let me know. Great neighborhood if you have a family or if you want to shack up with a few roomates and split the rent which will be much cheaper, per person, that renting and apartment.
