NOVEMBER 11, 2007

There's different types of tired. There's just-had-a-crazy-intense-workout tired (which I actually enjoy). There's running-on-too-little-sleep tired (which I definitely don't enjoy). There's an emotionally drained tired. There's a been-running-around-all-day tired.

Right now I'm feeling a wholly different kind of tired. My brain is tired.

I am currently about to start the second week of a three week gauntlet where we have an exam each week.  As I have already covered, preparing for a medical school exam is like preparing for 4 college exams in the same day - it's a week long process that requires a great deal of time and energy investment.

My previous strategy for surviving these draining cram-and-purge periods was by mailing in the week of school after the test. Not studying much (ok, at all). Maybe catching up on study objectives for a couple hours max on saturday. It worked well, gave my brain a nice break, gave me a chance to hit the gym, and when it came time to get back to work I was more than happy to jump right in. I really liked mailing it in.

I took my final GIE exam last week, a grueling exam on 3 weeks of material that was easily our most difficult challenge yet. This week I have a cumulative exam for our Principles of Clinical Medicine class. Next week is our first exam for our new Cell Structure and Function curriculum. Basically this requires me to be in full balls-to-the-wall study mode for 4 weeks straight. I can now understand why Pheidippides fell over dead after his sprint from Marathon to Athens.

So what's it like to be brain tired? Pretty easy to describe actually. Motivation? You lack any of it. Sense of humor? Well lets just say I have no problem perpetuating my blonde hair stereotype at the moment. A little slow on the uptake. Energy? Good luck, even on the back end of halloween and its copious amounts of candy lying about - no sugar high can touch my fatigue. Quad venti caramel low fat peppermint mocha latte extra hot? Please, I'm not even sure a line of coke could move my flatline.

Thankfully, at the end of the tunnel is a four day break for thanksgiving where I get to mail it in and not feel guilty about it. I think someone on our med school curriculum board has a soul. And if there's one undeniable truth, its that I will eat my weight in stuffing, park my butt on the couch, and have the most amazing nap of my life. Just got to get there first. Anyone got any coke?