While I may not yet be a medical student, I spend a lot of time with friends who are currently in their second year. Some of them I’ve known since before they were in school and others I’ve only recently met but they all share some common behaviors that I believe are a direct result of their studies. After hanging out so much with these wonderful people I’ve made the following observations. 1. Everything can be related to medical school classes: Every topic of conversation and every situation you may find yourself in can be likened to a story that was heard during a cardio or neuro lecture. Your problems will be compared to infectious diseases and if you’re looking for advice, don’t be surprised to hear your friend begin by saying “well, we went over this in psych last week…” 2. While watching popular television shows: like “The Walking Dead” or “Breaking Bad”, your medically inclined friends will say things like “oh, I totally get what a fugue state is now” or, “this is a ridiculous depiction of how the CDC would act in a situation like this.” Get used to it. 3. Be prepared: for your friend to want to throw things out of your fridge after rummaging around for a snack and finding something nearing expiration. “Oh my God, this cheese is a day past its use by date, do you know how much mold is probably on this?” When you try to show them that there is no visible growing ick on your food or that you can cut out the tiny part of mold on your cheddar and it’ll probably be fine, expect a lecture from them on the dangers of tiny microscopic organisms spreading invisibly and overtaking everything. Seriously, I’ve never met a group of people more intense about food safety and bacteria. 4. Never ask: A medical student “What is that?” when pointing to a suspicious looking mole on their arm or express concern about their recent stomachaches or tell them they look under the weather. The minute they hear the words coming out of your mouth they will quickly devolve into frantically wondering aloud which disease they might have that they recently learned about. They’ll be convinced they’re suffering from an obscure ailment or probably cancer and you’ll have to talk them down from examining every inch of their body. Just don’t do it (unless you have really stable friends who would never get that hysterical, in which case, carry on). 5. On the other hand, DO go: To your med school friends when you’re looking for some peace of mind regarding your own (probably overly dramatic) conviction that you some strange medical condition or that your last bout with stomach flu means something more sinister. Medical students can give just the kind of input you need if you border on the hypochondriac and tend to think that every headache heralds a bout of brain cancer. They will calmly assure you that you are fine and you’ll believe them because they’re brilliant and have great bedside manner (and you just know they’re going to be amazing doctors). Source
