My challenged identity....

[DarkJester]

I'm not quite so crazed today. I was a nervous wreck yesterday and had to get that out of my system. Thanks for listening.

I think I really just need to take a moment to breath in lab. I was so focused on getting to the next step of the protocol that I made mistakes on the current one. I'm fine as far as the actual lecture goes, but once we take a step into the lab I get nervous. I understand the principles behind what we are doing, and I could almost cite the text as far as carrying out the experiments, but my nerves get the better of me.

In any other class I can do practice problems or study to make sure I get the answers correct on the test. In lab I am learning how to do new techniques that I have never used before. It puts me in the mindset of coming to class on test day without even having read the chapter. Its not really the same - as I have read the text for the lab, but reading and doing are two seperate things. I get aggravated easily when I "stumble" in lab and it leads to a sharp downword spiral ending up at the state of mind I was in yesterday.

I'm going to go to the professor and ask if she has any advice for making container transfers of our tiny substances as this is where most of my problems reared up.

I might have already messed up my first experiment's grade, but it is only one of many experiments. If I keep letting myself get stirred up like that I'm going to have a real nervous breakdown.

 

[Warrior Poet]

It takes approximately 15 seconds to take 10 really good, deep, measured breaths. That's not a lot of time, and you'd be amazed at how 10 really good breaths can help you slow down so you can work better, focus, take the edge off, etc. Feel things getting shaky? Stop, and take some breaths. Shut out everything else (as long as it's physically safe to do so) and concentrate on the breaths.

I think one of the challenges you are facing isn't the class, and it isn't even the lab work really (the execution of that is certainly there, no doubt). It's the "school/environment/skill I'm comfortable with has changed."

That's o.k. One of the things they're testing you on is not just your ability to do a Craig tube crystallization, but also you're ability to process new information in a new way (not a lecture), meet different kinds of challenges (depth perception and physical prowess instead of acumen), being able to follow procedure (innovation is important, and so is doing things according to procedure. Both are critical in medicine), and so on. Like mojo1701 said, it's also a test of character.

Medicine is high-pressure. Maybe you don't want to be a surgeon, but it's still high pressure. The class is as much about dealing with the stress of unfamiliar circumstances, challenges, and environments (all of which you'll face as a doctor), as it is about titrations (do they do that in Orgo?).

Which is not insurmountable! By any means! Step one, learn to take some breaths. I mentioned this in Queen Dopplepopolis' thread on stress. Sometimes you have to slow down in order to speed up. Counterintuitive, but what it means is, focus on what you're doing, not what just happened or what will happen. Lost half the sample? It's ancient history. Work on what you have. Got a less-than-spectacular grade on a test? That's the way it goes sometimes; work on your studies right now.

Definitely talk to the prof. Most (most) really enjoy helping people; it's part of being a teacher! I've known numerous instructors who were only too happy to help when I came to them with questions. If the anxiety continues, see a counselor who can help you with focus, perspective, etc. And try not to worry too too much about the physical challenges. The more you worry, the more nervous you'll be. Itzahk Perlmann has some physical challenges as well, but the man's a helluva violinist. You'll make a helluva doctor someday, or whatever else it is you want to be.

Good luck.

Warrior Poet

 

[Warrior Poet]

School is important, sure, but one class is NOT the end-all-be-all of your existence, or at least it shouldn't be.

Also this. Don't lose sight of this. It can be hard to see when you're a sophomore staring down the barrel of school, but later in life you look back and realize tons of things you thought were absolutely! critical! to! success! in! life! weren't really critical to much of anything.

Hang in there! Go get some fresh air and some exercise and go talk to a pretty girl and go laugh at a funny movie and go learn one thing you didn't know about plant life in sub-Saharan Africa and go help another person with a task they have to overcome. Good luck!

Warrior Poet

 

[fuindordm]

Classwork is not the most important part of college. If you're starting to realize you've defined yourself by what you do in school, and it scared you, that's a good thing. It's equally important that you use your time in college to learn social skills: making friends with people of different backgrounds, working in teams, and exploring interests that have nothing to do with being a doctor.

And it's equally true that your grade in one course isn't going to affect your overall career path that much. As long as your GPA is reasonably high overall and you have good recommendations from professors (preferably ones that you've worked on projects with) then you should have no trouble getting into the graduate program you want.

Good luck,
Ben

 

[Desdichado]

True story:

I'm a system's analyst, and make (by most comparisons) a huge amount of money.
Before that, I was a programmer. I graduated in '95, and was a programmer doing Visual Basic and "C" programming til about 2003. So, for 8 years, I made a living writing "C" code.

In college, I got mostly B's, and and equal number of A's and C's. I graduated with a 2.97 GPA - pretty solid low "B" average. I got two D's in college. Biology Lab, which was just hard, because there was no curve, and... wait for it, "Programming in C".

Yes, that's right, I got a D in "C".

So, I wouldn't sweat it.

Yeah, but if he wants to get into Med School, that advice may not apply as much to him. If you just want to get out there and work, I totally agree that your grades only matter so much. I graduated with somewhere around 3.5, I believe, so good but not stellar.

During my MBA, I really took the approach you're advocating: I refused to bust my butt, and had closer to a 3.25 or so. I don't even remember anymore, actually.

But getting into grad school often means you've got to get good grades in college, particularly in certain classes. You don't want to sweat it too much, but you don't want to just do the bare minimum either, or you certainly won't be impressing any grad school application committee.

 

[Fenris]

DJ,
Here's a little secret. Once you're in college, no one and I mean NO ONE gives rip about what you did or did not do in high school. So yeah, work hard and do well in high school, but that only helps to get you into a decent college. And really you can get into medical school from any accredited university. Once you're in college, then those grades only matter to get you into med school (well and rockin MCAT scores but that's a whole other ball of wax).

You've heard the old adage about what they call the lowest ranked class member of a medical school right?


Doctor.

 

[der_kluge]

But getting into grad school often means you've got to get good grades in college, particularly in certain classes. You don't want to sweat it too much, but you don't want to just do the bare minimum either, or you certainly won't be impressing any grad school application committee.

Actually, I'm in grad school now.

 

[Fenris]

Actually, I'm in grad school now.

There's grad school and then there's Med School. Grad School, a 2.5 gpa can get you in. For Med school a 3.5 won't get you a sniff, and your core courses (physics, calculus, O Chem, BioChem etc.) better be stellar and hope for 8-10 in each section of the MCATs. And that's for second tier Med Schools.