Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Classmates

Today was a day of firsts. I finally met a classmate that I just cannot like.  Normally, I try to look beyond the irritating (god knows- I'm sure I can be really annoying too) but just sitting near this person, hearing the vitriol (s)he spewed about other classmates and the inane, superficial chatter that interspersed the venom, was absolutely torturous. I so profoundly hope that I never have to work directly with this person. Ever.

Another first; I met a classmate who just doesn't like me, one of my small-group members. We meet once a week and, under the guidance of a physican-proctor, discuss suggested readings, ethical issues and learn the practical side of medicine. Every gathering, one person, assigned alphabetically, is responsible for writing up a summary of the readings to guide the discussion.

Well, the largest (by orders of magnitude) reading chunk was the week that my turn fell on.  We found out today though, that the group doesn't meet the week prior to that.

I sent out an email suggesting that this other classmate and I exchange assignments as I had already started the reading and the summary for the massive task. I thought that I was being nice, volunteering to keep the big assignment. Oops. I was wrong.

My classmate immediately shot back a response. It was polite but angry, telling me that the original order should be kept and it didn't matter if I had started the reading because "everyone should read everything" anyway. Then after lecture, my classmate brushed right by me without a word but with a very articulate glare.

I'm pretty bothered by the exchange. I like everyone in my small group and really felt that the environment was encouraging. I guess I'll just wait and see what next week brings.

We had the sexuality lecture in Human Development. It was awesome. The professor taught the men all about proper foreplay (laugh) and peppered the entire 2 hours with anecdotes from his tenure working in the Emergency department. The things people insert into their bodies! Ew.





5 comments:

  1. Oh the 'misunderstandings'... Am always caught up in how to deal with them...

    PS: Love your blog and you (from your posts)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Out of curiosity, is the person in question someone who went to med school straight out of college? They seem to be the most immature in my class, haha (although, I don't even know how annoying I must be to them :D) I'm glad you're keeping up with the work!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good luck! People can be so annoying/confusing/aggravating!! I wouldn't let it get to you, maybe that other person is behind on the reading and stressed that you might find out!

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's possible that the person from your small group is just feeling stressed and showing it in bad ways (like getting angry at you). I remember feeling on edge for the first....oh....six years after starting medical school and often taking it out on people around me. (Kidding. Mostly.)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Doc V- Thanks for the compliment! :)

    Dolce V- The venomous classmate is fresh from the undergrad mill, my group partner is a couple of years out. I've actually been surprised; some of the younger folks are completely with it and some of the mid-twenties seem to be reliving their Greek-party days.

    Ann, Solitary Diner- I think that you both hit the nail on the head! I keep reminding myself that people handle stress differently and that I'm really fortunate to a) have some familiarity with the material b) be really quick to get concepts.

    At this stage, both help to keep my stress relatively low. Next month when I'm struggling to remember tons of anatomy (rote memorization being my own Achilles heel), our roles will probably be reversed and I'll be the sensitive crabby one.

    ReplyDelete