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A Short Reflection

A Triple Sonet

The Finals Flu

Traditional
WWAMI Song

Never Lose
Your Wonder

Time

Balancing Life and School

Nothing in life is more wonderful than faith the one great moving force which we
can neither weigh in the balance nor test in the crucible. ~ Sir William Osler

A Short Reflection

--Ward Naviux E-96

Medical school has been probably the most intense experience of my life. You go through incredible highs and lows, sometimes on the same day. The best description I've heard is that at times you feel like you're trying to drink from a fire hose. Don't worry if you feel overwhelmed, because you will be, and you'll get through it. There will be times when you will look in the mirror and think What the hell am I doing here. And there will be times when you are in the delivery room for a child's birth, or in my case be a part of a 6 hour surgery to fix up an auto accident victim, and you will think to yourself How could I ever want to be anywhere else?

So if there's one piece of advice I could give to you, it would be try and keep your perspective. The world does not revolve around doctors or medical school, as much as we (and I definitely include myself!) would all like to think it does. Don't stop doing the things you enjoy just because you're in school and have a zillion things to get done and nowhere near enough time to do them. Is the stuff you learn here important? Absolutely, if you want to be a good doc. Is it possible to learn it ALL? Absolutely not. So don't be hesitant to take time for yourself. I personally recommend skipping school to ski Schweitzer on powder days with a few of your closest delinquent friends. Have fun and keep smiling.

Reflections of a WWAMI Palouser or JJ's Unofficial Triple I Project: A Triple Sonnet

--Jasper James Chen E-03

Let's recap both our WWAMI semesters

And relive many a golden highlight.

So, where are the UMAMI receptors?

No, your Momma let's go take this outside!

We would all undoubtedly die to see

Drs. Eroschenko versus Mallat

In Celebrity Death-match on MTV.

A Farside cartoon would capture that thought.

Dr. Mohan would have us all believe:

We did all have a lot to begin with.

Freud or Erickson, who should we reprieve?

Their theories are most certainly not myth.

It's pronounced not Frankenstein but Frankenstine!

Oh, those luscious ties of Dr. Laskowski.

II.

Who's the latest basketball casualty?

Oh, it's ICM to round out our day!

Let us not break slides in Histology!

Where cats are, Dr. McKean will go play.

Have no fear, it's only anatomy!

After all, Jonnie will break you down and

Build you back up with Embryology

Our distinct pleasure here in WWAMI-land.

(Oh!) it's time for yet another photoshoot,

And sorry, JJ, you can't volunteer!

It's okay, we know you do give a hoot,

(But) everyone's photogenic, have no fear!

Now let's go spend time with our preceptors;

Maybe they'll find our UMAMI receptors!

III.

Let's explain it with Embryology!

Yet another topic for Triple I!

Let's race through all our Immunology

That's what we get for always asking why.

Ubiquinone or ubiquinone, which

Is it? It's tryptophane, not tryptophan!

Sorry, guys Rustina's stuck in a ditch!

Laying down your coat, JJ, is (but) one plan.

Halo party versus shower party,

Every day's a party with Dr. Pall.

How ëbout a hot tub party with Marty?

About time we had a party for us all!

(Oh, and I almost forgot to mention):

Dr. McKean's endless love for felines!

I hope you have enjoyed some of these rhymes.

Let's race through all our Immunology

That's what we get for always asking why.

Ubiquinone or ubiquinone, which

Is it? It's tryptophane, not tryptophan!

Sorry, guys Rustina's stuck in a ditch!

Laying down your coat, JJ, is (but) one plan.

Halo party versus shower party,

Every day's a party with Dr. Pall.

How ëbout a hot tub party with Marty?

About time we had a party for us all!

(Oh, and I almost forgot to mention):

Dr. McKean's endless love for felines!

I hope you have enjoyed some of these rhymes.

E-97 WWAMI Song The Finals Flu

--By Rick Parry, a WWAMI lament to the merry tune of Sleigh Ride

Just count those T-cells signaling, B-cells class-switching too.

Come on, it's lovely weather for a brand new case of the flu.

Inside the stress increases, as those who teach us say, You

Will love two weeks of finals and one more ICM interview.

Hurry-up, hurry-up, hurry-up let's go;

Three more days of snow [i.e. lecture]

We're learning more than we'll ever know.

Hurry-up, hurry-up, hurry-up let's exam;

We're all in a jam

Stuffing numberless facts in our brains faster than they can expand!

Our cheeks are hot and rosy with fevers cozy are we.

We'll make a great case study for epi-dem-iology.

Let's not forget we've taken three finals that's not a few.

Perhaps a surgical specialty isn't for you.

There's a little H for honors if we each do well,

Though price often for trying equals life in h .

As we study proteins, S-H-B, Stats, and the reflex hop,

Neurons fire so fast you can feel them start to pop!

POP! POP! POP!

There's a happiness no money in the world can buy,

When you realize U-W wants you to pass, not die.

Though the pressure can induce migraines, insomnia, and hives,

Stress is what we've come to expect throughout our professional lives!

Just hear those sleigh bells jingle-ing, ring-ting-tingle-ing too.

Is it exam delirium or just a bad case of the flu?

Traditional WWAMI Song

--Updated from the E-93 and E-95 version by Anjali Kumar E-96 and Jon Boyum E-96; sing to the tune of Billy Joel's Piano Man

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday

the regular crowd shuffles in.

DK's sitting next to me

quizzing me on the pelvic brim.

He says, "Son, can you show me the seminals?

I'm sure you know where they be.

Well they're short and their sweet and you knew them complete

Tuesday at lab station three.

CHORUS:

We'll sing you this song, we're the WWAMI class

We'll practice our keg stands tonight!

Cuz Friday is here, and its time for a beer,

and soon we'll be feeling all right.

Well Jon Mallat is a friend of mine

He gets me my laughs for free,

He's quick with a joke or a "touchy-feely" poke,

But there's someplace that he'd rather be.

He says "Phil I believe this is killing me..., killing me"

As the smile ran away from his face.

"Well I'm sure that I could be a comedian,

If I could get out of this place."

Oh, la la la ladadada.... la la ladada, dada!

Now Phil is the WWAMI group therapist

Who always has time for a chat.

He talks with McKean, who's not really mean,

Though he likes to decerebrate cats!

And Victor's explaining the Far Side

While student's snores fill the room

We're sharing a lifestyle called WWAMI-land

'Cause its better than Seattle gloom.

CHORUS:

We'll sing you this song, we're the WWAMI class

We'll practice our keg stands tonight!

Cut Friday is here, and its time for a beer,

and soon we'll be feeling all right.

It's a pretty good crowd for an 8 am class,

And Laskowski, he gives me a smile.

He knows it's his ties that are hard on our eyes,

But they keep us awake for a while.

And med school, it feels like a carnival!

But the Prime Directive is clear.

Just remember it's "P" that equals "M.D."

When you say "Man, What are we doing here?"

CHORUS

Mixter's the guru of immuno speak

Though his talk is cliche just a tad

You'll learn that rheumatic arthritis

Is simple "Good Lovin' gone bad"

Marty's a mighty fine chemist

We don't even mind that he drones

He'll read you his notes, while we make dumb jokes

About "prodeens" and "oobiquinones"

CHORUS

Well Bob is our expert pathologist

He'll work long and hard till he pleases

Teaching us clotting, inflammation and golfing

And his hundred and one Bob-diseases.

Crane is the master of parasites

Diarrhea is Bohach's game

Roseola, Rubeolla, Rubella, What the hella'?

These viruses all sound the same!

CHORUS #2:

So buy us a beer, we're the WWAMI nerds

But tonight we've decided to booze.

Cut Thursday has come, and who wants to "gun"

When there's 50 cent drafts at Dutch Goose?

Though Chris is a statistician genius,

It doesn't take much brains to know

That four out of five of our presenters today

Are hungover and should be at home!

It was a pretty good place for a WWAMI year

Even Eric will admit it was fun

The end of first year, is finally here.

So Seattle, WATCH OUT, here we come!

Never Loose Your Wonder

--Cora Ludwig E-04

This is a specimen from gross anatomy lab. It is a mediastinum prosection and a very useful study aide. With it, students can study the great vessels and their branches or tributaries and the relationship of the trachea and esophagus to the heart. The left and right auricles are intact, as are the coronary arteries, cardiac veins, and thyroid gland. I know many of my classmates used this specimen to study for the first set of midterms and it was also used in the prosection labs.

From a different perspective, it is a human heart and a work of utter beauty. It is perfectly designed, perfectly proportioned, and just one example of the countless miracles encompassed in a single human body. I remember the first time I saw it and marveled at how truly beautiful it was. I'm sure most normal people would find it gross or disgusting or weird or morbid. But I'm a medical student and this is my passion.

When I graduated from college, one of my professors who spoke at the ceremony told us to never loose our wonder in the world around us. Wonder can take you places that bland intelligence can't. It can turn a boring lecture into a fascinating journey and a three-hour lab into an adventure of discovery.

When you have six hours of class a day and more to learn than any one person can, it's easy to get exhausted and run down. It's easy to panic and shift priorities away from your family, friends, and health to studying. I think we all do it, at least a little, especially during exams. The point is that the things you're learning are amazing! The human body is a marvel and it isn't hard to find wonder in any facet of it (yes, even biochemistry can inspire wonder; it just takes a little more work). So my advice to my fellow classmates and those who will come after me is to never lose your wonder. The time you've been given, the knowledge you're being gifted, is a gift and a peek into the beautiful complexity of human nature. You've made it so far and worked so hard. You've been chosen to be a part of the WWAMI class because you are passionate. Don't lose that passion. And be sure to pause, take the time to smell the cadavers, and never stop doing what you love.

Time

--Bob McKee E-96

Time will pass and never return

Like a great fire as it burns

Leaving nothing living in its path

Consuming life, love, hope with a laugh

But time does not steal these things

It releases their warmth, makes them sing

Before long the flame passes and the embers grow cold,

So seize the moment before you grow old.

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