My typical day begins at 7am, I eat my breakfast and make my tea before heading out for lecture. Second year is full of didactic learning, and I have class from 8-3 (or 8-5) every weekday. Usually, 2 hours are dedicated to physiology, 2 hours to pathology, and a few hours here and there for pharmacology/radiology/patient presentations/case studies, and, for a few hours a few times each week, clinical skills. After class, I go home to sit at my desk and study for a few more hours, grab a bite to eat when my stomach growls loudly enough for me to notice, and get in bed before midnight. Wake up and do the same thing all over again day after day…and on the weekends, wake up and spend some quality time with my desk, to study the whole day through. Well, I usually squeeze in a date with my unbelievably understanding and patient boyfriend and our little dog; I have to keep my sanity, so I sometimes sacrifice getting a higher grade in order to spend time with the ones I love.

The set up for second year began with a course titled “Immunity and Infection”, shortened to simply “I&I” by med students. For 12 weeks, we learned all things related to immunology and infections, such as allergies, autoimmune diseases, bacterial infections, viral infections, tropical diseases, food poisoning, bioterror agents, antibiotics, and the like. After the completion of I&I, Organ Systems came into the scene and has taken up so much of our medical school lives that we have a hard time remembering what life was like before being glued to our robbins book and lecture notes. Organ Systems is divided into sections, each with its own (you guessed it) organ system. We began with the cardiovascular system, snuck our way into renal, and we are now finishing up on the pulmonary system. Next we will move on to neurology before throwing in the rest of the body as we finish our year by the end of April.

While learning and completing Organ Systems, we also need to prepare for our boards - the USMLE Step 1 - which most people begin doing on January 1st.

From the end of April until the end of June, we second years will spend every waking moment revising everything we have been taught up to this point in our lives in order to be prepared for the most important exam of our lives - the USMLE Step 1. The score one achieves on this exam directly influences which specialty one may attempt to gain entry into, as well as where one will be able to complete one’s residency, as well as memberships in prestigious honor societies. Once the Step 1 has been taken, which can be taken any time in May-June, we get a break - if we choose to take one. To take a break means to take time away from studying for the Step 1, so almost everyone opts to forgo the summer break in hopes that they may achieve a higher score.

Finally, in the first week of July, we will become Third Years, MS3, and begin to interact with patients. Until that time, it is a whole lot of work for us, and after that time, there will undoubtedly be even more work to do (and we will be even busier than we are at the present). That being said, I genuinely cannot wait to interact with patients, and leave the days of solitary confinement that is didactic learning behind me.

MS2 - its not a very easy life, nor is it very fulfilling at the moment, but I know that I am working towards a very important goal - and that is to be able to help others and make a true impact on the world. And while I may not find much time to give to myself or my friends or family, I feel somewhat content knowing that this hard work and sacrifice will be all worth it in a few years.