Year one at CMed: Looking Back

Looking back at year one of med school brought feelings of both accomplishment and nostalgia for first-year med students Trista Osantoski and David Hales. Not only have they completed one year of medical school, but they are also the first class to ever complete a year at Central Michigan University’s College of Medicine.

“I definitely feel like I’ve gained more confidence,” Hales said. “When you’re in your small groups and you’re not just a number in a class, you can really contribute to the discussion.”

CMed has kept their inaugural class busy with intense course loads and grueling tests, all to prepare the students for not only life as a doctor but as a qualified doctor. The hectic schedules kept the students focused and sometimes made them lose track of just how long it has been.

“I feel like orientation was two weeks ago, my sense of time is no longer normal,” Osantoski said.

The catch with medical school? Once one subject is taught, it opens up a whole new world of information to be learned. At times, it seems there is no end in sight to the information a medical student must learn.

“You sit there and you think ‘I haven’t learned anything, I don’t know anything,’ but when you actually stop and think about the things that you do know and have learned, it’s actually insane how far we’ve come,” Osantoski said.

Although the work is tough and at times students feel there is no end in sight, Osantoski and Hales are still eager to continue their education at CMed.

“I’ve learned a lot but I want to know more,” Hales said.

Although the undergraduate population is wrapping up their spring semester, CMed will continue theirs until June 20. The students will be given eight weeks to travel, work or research before they begin another year of medical school.

“Over the next year we’ll learn more about all of the organ systems. I’m looking forward to learning more about everything,” Hales said.

When school begins next fall, the dynamic of CMed will be much different. The school will no longer be dominated by the 64 students that occupy the space now, beginning in August, a new class of students will come in and begin their time at CMed.

Their biggest advice to the new students? Relax. Take a deep breath. It’s going to be tough but you’ll get through it.

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