How to Survive Med School Tip #13: Prepare For Some Gory Things To Happen

And then there's this.

Upon entering med school, you'll likely (definitely) do some of those stuff you see on thriller films like Saw, The Chainsaw Massacre, Hostel, etc. Except, you're the psycho killer and the victim is a cold, hard, preserved corpse rather a live, moving one. So if you're one of the faint-hearted, better be ready for this.

Prepare to do some cutting, slicing, dissecting, peeling, breaking, marinating, sauteing, crunching, munching, sweating and a whole lot of grimacing. You'll get to do this in your Anatomy lab.

How to be a Master Slicer:

You'll need:
- pair of gloves
- face mask
- laboratory gown
- dissecting set
- teamwork
- tibay ng sikmura
- brain (this is important)

1. First, uncover the body
2. Focus on the area to be studied (e.g. upper limbs)
3. Open your Anatomy Manual
4. Follow isntructions on the manual (sometimes we don't even bother to do this. *wag tularan*)
5. Start by making an incision on the skin. Not too deep so you don't cut the muscles underneath.
6. Be careful not to cut the important nerves and blood vessels. It is important that you identify them, their collateral branches and which muscle they innervate.
7. Remember to cut the muscles on its belly (middle part) and only after you have identified them.
8. After working on it, give it a nice formaldehyde bath so it would last long enough for you to learn everything there is to learn.

WARNING: During this period, there will be professors making "ronda" in the laboratory (yes, just like the MMDA hiding behind a bush near the stoplight waiting for their next victim). So unless you and your groupmates want to get some fun-loving "boljak", be sure to read ahead before every topic is discussed in the lecture. Cause there'll surely be some question and answer portion (Again, just like being pulled over by the MMDA).

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Of course, being a medical student isn't just about books, exams, nerdiness, and everything in between. One must also think that that day will come when those diseases you read on books will actually be experienced by a patient. That the patients you will meet won't just be people with diseases but people who have real lives. And that the cadaver lying on your lab table was once a part of a family, a son/daughter and a friend just like you do.

At times, I would randomly think: "I wish I had known this guy (our cadaver). What was he like when he was still alive? Did he had kids? A job? What kind? No one knows but at least we all know he's going to be a huge help to our future patients. Hell, he's one of the most important person in our med school life. Now isn't that superb?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-

¹ For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
² A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.