A HUGE Update... long overdue...

It’s been 4 ½ months since I last updated this site… So much has happened in the last 4 ½ months that I could write a whole book. But there’s much to update just from the past month… so why don’t I tackle that…

It’s been about a month since my last Sunday of service. It feels like it’s been a year.

So what’s happened in the past month?

School
The Monday and Tuesday after my last Sunday, I had a cluster of exams on Monday and Tuesday. I was exhausted after my last weekend… but I did well. May has been so insanely busy that I sometimes wonder how I survived serving at all. If I was driving up to NoVa and teaching during this time I don’t think I would have made it. I finished out the Academic year with my Musculoskeletal course. I ended up getting an 85 which was pretty cool.

Honors Day
May 4th was Honors Day. I was being recognized for receiving another scholarship. It’s strange, because coming into medical school, I had about the worst GPA imagineable. Since starting medical school, my grades have been mediocre at best. Yet, each year, I end up being recognized and receiving a scholarship. Last year was for $2,000, this year for $5,000. This year’s scholarship was for my work in Pediatric Oncology. Again… something I never would have had the chance to do if I had gotten into medical school when I really wanted to. Life's twists and turns are purposeful... not getting what you want can often be the greatest blessing you could imagine. It was great, because Honors Day was also my Parents anniversary, so they came down to see me get my money. They weren't sure if they were going to come down... but I told them that this is 2 years in a row that I've gotten a scholarship for just doing good things... I told them I wasn't so sure if that was going to happen a 3rd year in a row! I knew my parents were happy... and while $5,000 doesn't come close to covering my annual $45,000 debt... it's still the largest scholarship that they give out at the school...

Tour Guide Director
The night of Honors Day, we had our Tour Guide Party, which is the official changeover between us outgoing Tour Guide Directors and the incoming Tour Guide Directors. I had a great time being a Tour Guide Director… but I am glad to be done… Unfortunately, I wasn’t quite done.

They asked me to sit on a student panel in front of the Admissions Committee. The told us we were to speak about our thoughts on diversity at our school. I am not usually nervous speaking in front of an audience. However, it was pretty intimidating speaking in front of the Admissions Committee. Especially considering the fact that there were some people in that audience that I know didn’t think I should be in Medical School. I am told that I did a great job… but it was hard for me to know considering how nervous I was.

They also asked me to be in a Recruitment Video for the school. It was pretty cool. The funny part of it all was that the interviewer for the Video is the brother of a doctor that I worked with at INOVA Fairfax. Small world, no? They used me for a couple of segments, so even if they cut a lot of it up, I guess I’ll be a part of the school for the next ten years or so.

Rotations
So next year, we will all be in the hospital, but there’s no way that all of us can be doing the same thing at the same time. So they break us up into Rotation Groups and each group elects 2 leaders to work out the scheduling and the assignment of rotation specialties and locations. I am one of the Rotation Group Leaders for our Group. Which is great, because I am getting a bit of training for being a Resident and/or Attending the Hospital. I also enjoy the fact that I am playing a role in providing the best possible 3rd year experience for 15 of my fellow classmates. But it’s been a lot of work so far. There are all of these training sessions and then sorting out who goes where based on who wants what is not an easy thing to do. I think in the end everyone is almost perfectly happy with their rotations so far. I think I lucked out by having the coolest, most relaxed group ever, so that helps.

Next year, I will start off with Surgical Oncology for a month. Followed by 2 weeks of Transplant Surgery and 2 weeks of Cardiothoracic Surgery. I anticipate my first 2 months being pretty tough… but I think I’m going to get to see a lot of cool stuff. I am hoping that I get the chance to deliver the organs to a transplant operation. I remember when I was in the ER, I had a chance to take a lady up to her hospital room so that she could get a double lung and heart transplant. Even though all I did was push her in a wheelchair, I remember feeling so privileged and blessed to be a part of her journey. So I’m hoping… that I’ll get a chance to at least deliver the organs!

I follow that with 1 month of Neurology and then 1 month of Family Medicine. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I get Family Medicine at Fairfax or Christiansburg. I have zero say in that, but either way… it would be cool.

Then to my beloved Pediatrics! I get 2 weeks here in Richmond in one of the Clinics… and then I get 2 weeks with a Pediatrician of my choice. I am planning on going to a Pediatrician friend in Fairfax. The beauty of this is that it’s the last 2 weeks of the semester. So I’ll get an entire month up in NoVa!

I won’t know the specifics of the rest of my schedule until after the break, but I have 1 month of Pediatrics in the hospital, Internal Medicine for 3 months, OB for 6 weeks, and Psych for 6 weeks.

Boards
All across the country, every 2nd year student has to take Step 1 of their US Medical Licensing Exam. It is basically a 2 year final exam where they give you patient situations to see if you can apply what you learned over 2 years. It’s 350 questions 8 hours. It is a HUGE test. How well you do on this test is a big factor in whether or not you get the residency you want. So it’s a pretty important test. Studying for this test is going to consume my life for the next 6 weeks. My official test date is Friday, June 29th. I think that knowing that I have to take this test is a little intense. But at the same time… I found that all year when I was working with patients, something would come up and I would think, “Man, I wish I remembered that better” or “I know I studied that, but I don’t quite remember what that is.” So I figure, this is a great opportunity to really get to review all of the important stuff I need to know before I start working in the hospital.

Me
So last week was my last week of official school… and so this past weekend… I think this entire year came crashing down on me, because I couldn’t wake up. I would wake up, move to the sofa, and then sleep some more. I woke up for meals… then went back to sleep. 2 days straight. Saturday night to Sunday night, I didn’t even make it back to bed. I just kept sleeping on the sofa. I was pretty exhausted.

But since then, I feel much better. I’ve started going to a new church with a new small group in my neighborhood. It’s nice… but it’s a bit of an adjustment. It’s so strange, because I spent most of my life in American Churches. And yet, now I find myself having a bit of difficulty walking into a non-Korean church environment. I miss the kids I worked with a lot. I miss the little ones that used to climb on me like a jungle gym. I miss the Youth Group and my group of hooligans. I miss the College kids a ton. I think I miss the College kids even more right now, because I know so many of them are back and I wish I could spend time with them… But I have a job to do… and I know that this is where God wants me for now… and I know that the next year is going to be an incredible time of growth for me…

This is the exquisite beauty of change isn’t it? There’s the bittersweet sadness of having to give up some stuff you used to love… yet there’s also the incredible excitement of knowing there are incredibly exciting and amazing adventures waiting ahead.

I am looking forward to crushing my boards…
I am looking forward to a new church and what it has to offer…
I am looking forward to enjoying the month of July…
I am looking forward to my family vacation in July…
I am looking forward to finally getting in the hospital and having the chance to work with patients every day…
I am looking forward to all of the surprises that await me this year… this summer… this month… this week…
I am looking forward to coming out of my 3rd year of medical school, hopefully smarter… wiser… humbler… and just as happy, if not happier than I am now.

To my friends and spiritual family… I miss all of you dearly… and I can’t wait to see you all soon…