Year 2 has begun

"To learn pelvic anatomy, you will need to pull your compact mirrors out," said our anatomy professor during the pelvic anatomy session. She was presenting a series of images of the male and female genitalia to prepare us for performing the pelvic exam. We will be expected to complete the pelvic exam in the next few weeks. (Stay tuned...)

Her words were met with some chuckles and whispers from the audience. We knew she was joking. But she was serious about encouraging each of us to study our own pelvic anatomy using a mirror.

When she mentioned this, I was reminded of the episode of "Sex and the City," when Charlotte struggled to use a mirror to visualize her own anatomy down there.

It hit me today. We are in the second year. We are really getting closer to becoming doctors. OK, I know this realization is a little overdue. Somewhere in between the immunology whirlwind and the pelvic anatomy overview, I realized how the expectations are so much higher.

Even in our learning, we have gone from patient cases to case conferences and journal club presentations. And we are moving toward performing a a full physical exam, by learning the pelvic exam.

The standardized patient interviews are not as straightforward as the first year interviews that followed a relatively predictable outline. The interviews are more complicated with patients that actually do not listen to you (sounds familiar to anyone you may know?), reminiscent of the real patients we will be encountering outside the walls of our classrooms, in the community and hospitals. Our doctoring facilitator echoed this sentiment, telling us that "the interviews in the second year are so much harder."

Although there are some curve balls being thrown at us, I suppose it's time. In a way, it's refreshing to push ourselves a little further. Even if that means being yelled at by our standardized patient interviewer or if it means that we will be soon sticking our fingers in some of the most unthinkable places.

The second year is upon us and quickly unraveling...