Update 9: What's it good four?

Three days of studying left, and I have to hit up anti-microbials, embryology, and neurology. I also have to seriously review musculoskeletal. That's a lot of material, but I'll hopefully learn a good amount in these last few days.

Last night, I took a break from studying and went to the 2010 Ackerman Lecture on Medicine and Society on the 100th anniversary of the Flexner Report. Published in the early 1900s,* the Report is largely credited with standardizing medical education and giving the practice of medicine both scientific and (eventually) professional validity. The classic "2 + 2" model of education (2 years of pre-clinical science and 2 years of clinical training) was established by Flexner in order to combat the dearth of science training provided to medical students in his day. That model is still the gold standard across American medical schools.

It was very interesting to think about medical education in broader strokes. One thing that became more clear was that exercises like the USMLE exam are vestiges of the Flexnarian model--vestigial elements that are becoming obsolete. There's already talk about making USMLE Step 1 pass/fail only. (Currently, there is a pass/fail mark, but there is also a numerical element, much to my chagrin.)

For now, I have to set aside my intellectual gripes with Step 1 and be practical. In other words, I'm going to go study...

Update: Sit and Everybody Gets a Car

• * Thanks, Cat, for pointing out that 100 years have not passed since the early 1990s! But it sure feels as if it has been that long, sometimes, eh?
• The kid gyrated on the flo'(xacin) and pulled a tendon. Floor-oquinolones inhibit gyrase and end in -floxacin. Side effect of tendonitis and tendon rupture in kids.
• I was ticked off at the pipe's pseudomoaning in the psycho pantry. Ticarcillin, pipercillin as the penicillins used in the treatment of Pseudomonas infections.

Not comforting:

• Email from my hematology tutor to our small group: "I just wanted to wish you good luck. (If you know everything in First Aid, you'll be fine. Seriously)." I do not know everything in First Aid...