Retrospective Appreciation

The last two weeks have been filled with a kind of deja vu. I had always known that my excellent education at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor would serve me well, but I had not anticipated just how well and how appreciative I would be as a result.

With the exception of Clinical Human Anatomy, none of my courses thus far have felt overwhelming. I had practically slept through Medical Genetics and still did quite well because, during my one-year foray into grad school, I had taken several courses that focused on genetics; plus, I had also taught the intro undergrad genetics course (Bio 305) that second semester. I actually found the Medical Genetics course underwhelming and fairly useless compared to the amazing courses I'd taken prior.

When Medical Biochem and Human Development began, I found myself less worried than many of my peers. While the biochem I took in my undergrad (Bio 310) was difficult and I begrudged it then, I constantly found myself reflecting back to that course and how it was taught then in order to re-learn the material presented before me. In many ways I discovered that I preferred the way it was taught back in my undergrad - how it was organized, how it was presented, how it was explained, and the figured used to illustrate the mechanisms. I don't know if this was because that was the way I was first taught or if it was actually taught better - perhaps it's both. Most, if not all, of my classmates had taken a biochem course in their undergrad. Many had even majored in biochem, yet some of them still struggled with the details.

With regards to Human Development, I had taken Embryology (Bio 208) in undergrad out of pure interest. I had never expected it to resurface again in such a major way. While many of my classmates had never taken an embryology/development course, I had the sheer luck and benefit of already having an idea of what was going on. Even though much of the material was/is new, I at least understood the concepts and had the background knowledge to put the many many details into context. Thus it "made sense" to me quicker and easier than it might have to some other people.

In retrospect, I am so appreciative of my education at my alma mater, both my undergrad and grad school. The courses I've taken, the professors I've had, the people I've worked with - they have all helped shape how I learn and my views on things. The things I've learned before have put a lot of medicine into perspective for me - a perspective that I'm sure many of my classmates might not have.

I feel like writing an email to several professors with whom I've interacted, as well as some of the people in my former labs, just to thank them and tell them just how appreciative I am - how the things I learned then have helped me now as an M1 med student. Perhaps I'll do just that around Winter Break. :-)