Hello! If you opened this article, you are most likely already studying, or you are still dreaming about the moment when you first put on your white coat. The fourth year at the medical faculty is sometimes a real struggle, but also a lot of fun. So come with me to spend a whole week in Brno, where I try not to go crazy about pharmacology and at the same time live my best life.
Sunday: Emotional Damage and Fatigue
Sunday is a day marked by TRAVEL. In the morning it looks like a comedy, when I try to pack only the "most necessary" things into my suitcase (although I have never managed to pack and not curse at myself for taking my entire wardrobe). I usually arrive in Brno in the early evening and I have no energy left for anything other than unpacking my luggage - and especially the boxes of food that they packed for me at home (a real lifesaver!). Then just a little chat with my roommate about what awaits us, a quick shower and sleep.
Monday: Unwanted cardio and COVID nostalgia
The alarm clock rings at 6:30 – I hope I’m not the only one for whom this is unchristianly early. A quick get-together and a run to the gym, because morning cardio in Brno is a must. This week we are in the infectious diseases department. First we had a lecture and then patients. Our group ended up in the ICU. If you remember the COVID era, we were dressed exactly as we would be in 2020 – respirators, gloves, gowns. We took our own medical history, examined and discussed the results… Almost like real doctors.
After school, I need to replenish my supplies, so next stop? Tesco in Campus, from where I leave with a crying wallet and hung with bags like a Christmas tree. I don’t think any of us have time to cook every day, so my go-to trick is MONDAY MEALPREP. On Monday I spend 3 hours in the kitchen and I'm half-way through the week (including healthy snacks). The kitchen then turns into a stage, my headphones blast 2010's bombs and I go for my "main character" vibe. We wouldn't be in medicine if I didn't mention learning, but this week we're practicing dance for the ball. School vs. life – 0:1. Your reminder that school isn't everything! I'll be back at 10:00 PM, put on a decent skincare routine and fall asleep before my head hits the pillow.
Tuesday: Grey’s Anatomy and the Chemistry of Happiness
Another early alarm clock, hygiene, breakfast. Today the sun has been shining brightly since morning, so I walk to the hospital – I need to get some vitamin D and get some steps in. Another lecture at the clinic and reporting on the patients’ condition to the doctors. If you’ve seen Grey’s Anatomy, that’s exactly what it looks like. The doctor explained more details about each patient, went through differential diagnosis with us (how to find out what the patient’s condition is and how to work out a specific disease).
School ends before noon and on the way to the apartment I’m already thinking about how I’m going to use the four hours before pharmacology. If you guessed lunch, content creation and priming for the class, you win! Before each seminar I quickly go over the topic to understand the main connections. Today it was antidepressants. NDRI, SSRI, SARI... my head was spinning, but it’s fascinating. Imagine that there are few neurotransmitters in the brain and you "replenish" what is missing with medicine to make a person feel better. After a three-hour farm, dancing again - we tune up the details for the ball. I get home at nine, go over flashcards, take a shower and by ten I'm in bed with a book in my hand.
Wednesday: Lumbar Puncture
Today we are not in the hospital, but in our beautiful SIMU. Since the morning we have had team based lectures, where we have been discussing patients with infectious diseases that manifest on the skin. We were doctors again, who received a patient with a medical history and photos of his skin. But don't worry, we could use all the resources to come up with his diagnosis. After each group diagnosed their patient, we received additional materials and now it was our task to describe the vaccine, the box of which we were given. And you won't believe what followed. We learned how to properly perform a lumbar puncture and take cerebrospinal fluid. Mega. We also played memory game, where we had to assign the results of about 10 different cerebrospinal fluid samples from the laboratory to the correct diagnosis.
After school I was extremely hungry, so I had lunch at home and was already running for coffee. Brno is full of beautiful cafes, but today my friend and I went to our favorite one in the center. However, in the afternoon I had to return to reality. Uncut videos were waiting for me that I had to finish and pharmacology – a huge topic in the fourth year and one of the most difficult exams. Am I afraid of it? A little bit, for sure, but like before every exam, I tell myself that if others have managed it, I can do it too. That's why I used active recall and hypercorrection effect – one of my TOP learning methods. I probably won't surprise you when I say that I went dancing again. There's no point in learning until you burn out, your head needs a reset. I try to follow that and that's why I move every day. Whether it's dancing, going to the gym, running, walking... If we want to look for science behind it, neurotransmitters are released in the brain during exercise, which facilitate the formation of synapses = exercise after learning – better memory.
Thursday: First independent visit
We've already seen the adult infectious diseases - it's time for the children's. I put on my scrubs (today I probably reached for the most comfortable scrubs with the most beautiful emerald color that I've ever worn - see for yourself, they're in the photo), fill my pockets with pens and a notebook (another advantage - a lot of pockets) and feel like a doctor again when they give us a patient card and time to study it, do a morning visit (my first independent visit, baby) and write it down. Both in the adult and children's infectious diseases, the doctor discussed the diagnosis and the procedure with us. That's exactly the time when you say that all the effort was worth it. You're finally helping people.
In the afternoon it's time for "deep work" - I turned off notifications, turned on 40Hz binaural beats and studied for 2 hours (with breaks of course, otherwise I wouldn't have done it). Training, eating, checking all the things for the prom... Yes, sometimes the days are repetitive - school, food, content, studying, exercise, evening routine with a book, sleep and again. However, after a scattered time without a system and routine, it really does fall into place.
Friday: TODAY IS THE DANCE
I looked at the hanging dresses, the shoes prepared, the hair clips... I can't believe it. FINALLY. I didn't even think about school. We were preparing the premises and practicing the dance for the last time. I came home at four, turned on the music and the transformation from a honey in a cape to a princess began. My friend and I spent 2 hours doing hair, makeup, and gossip (I probably don't need to say that we arrived later than we originally wanted).
When we greeted everyone, the time came. The time I was so afraid of and at the same time looking forward to... The time for the dance that we practiced for 3 weeks in the evenings. In front of more than a thousand people. My sympathetic was activated at 1000%, my own heart was beating in my ears and my stomach was so tight that I thought it had disappeared. At that moment, I looked over my shoulder and saw my classmates cheering me on – I knew I could do it. I only remembered during the bow. WE DID IT. I can’t even describe how glad I was that it was over and I could enjoy the prom without any more stress. We danced, ate, talked and took pictures all evening. Yes, even a medic can have fun.
Saturday: Recovery and Matcha Therapy
For the first time, I slept until eleven and I'm still absorbing the evening. It probably won't surprise you that today I took a break from studying and dedicated myself to regeneration. I went out into the streets of sunny Brno, followed by a delicious lunch in a very cozy Asian bistro. And what kind of regeneration would it be if I didn't go for a mango matcha latte - erm, yes I know, I had it for the second time in a week. But it's sooooo good. My regeneration without working didn't last long, so I washed all my scrubs (the blue ones are beautiful too, aren't they), hid the stethoscope that had been lying on my desk since Thursday (haha, you can see that in the photo too) and reviewed the flashcards with drugs for pharmacology.
(Emma is wearing an INFINITE Flex Florence blouse and an MDF ProCardial Titanium Baby Mermaid Kaleidoscope stethoscope)
Studying medicine in Brno is not just about books. It is about friendships, about coffees that keep you alive, about dancing, about delicious food, about active use of time, but most of all about growing. If you are sitting over your books right now and feel like you can't do it – remember that I was there too. Take a break, make yourself a good tea. You have what it takes, future doctor!
Keep following this blog – together we will overcome all the obstacles of the beautiful but rough road called medina.
Yours Emma ✨
