APSA Newsletter - Phi Psi » 2006 Summer, Volume 1, No. 1 » A Road Less Traveled: Transition to the Lab

A Road Less Traveled: Transition to the Lab

Kim Parker Gannon, University of Mississippi

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After conquering the USMLE Step 1, we move into another dimension of sorts. While our peers head off to the wards filled with a variety of diseases, we set out studying viruses, bacteria, cell cultures, mice, rats, etc. It's a different world! Many of our friends walk the halls in their starched white coats and we exchange the normal greeting - "What rotation are you on now?" Because of this, you may have found that the first few weeks of graduate work are daunting and lonely. BUT - we are privileged! No more pick one of the five answers given to you - we have the freedom to create and develop new ideas and lab procedures. No set hours - but the autonomy to arrive as early and work as late as we choose; a chance to master time management and learn to work effectively and efficiently.