It is always a good idea to count to ten and take a deep breath before blogging. If I had written this yesterday it would have been a much different post.

Yesterday we were had our first liver lecture. 8 hours of liver lecture. Aside from the very questionable practice of trying to cram info into malleable brains for 4 hour stretches, many of the lectures were of questionable value. I am not an expert but in my mind it makes sense to talk about the anatomy and function first, then the problems, next how to diagnose and measure the problems and then treat it.
Our agenda: First there was a lecture on physical exam to determine liver disease, then there was a lecture on laboratory tests for liver disease, then a lecture on all the different problems of the liver. A one-hour lecture (with 159 slides) on all the different liver problems. I think it was a record. After there were other lectures on individual diseases. It was mostly incomprehensible. By the end of the day I wasn't just exhausted, I was angry.

Last week were told that 70% of medical students were offered only one spot at a school. The implication being that most students do not have a choice. I don't mean to brag, but I did have a choice and yesterday I was regretting it.
Today was a different story. We again had 8 hours of scheduled time today but it included everything from small group discussion of cases, lectures and practicing of communication skills on standardized patients (actors). Predictably, my interviewing skills are very rudimentary but our preceptor (a family doctor from the community) was great and the patients were really helpful. Even on a fake patient playing doctor was exhilarating. I definitely didn't regret my choice today.