Paperwork

They certainly don't waste any time piling on the paperwork onto new doctors.

Just a few days after my graduation I received in the mail a large envelope from the hospital where I will be doing residency, filled with a thick stack of papers that dealt with anything and everything related to my upcoming employment with them. Moreover, most of them were important forms that I feel I should be an "adult" to deal with ... this includes forms such as W-2, W-4, I-9, and many other boring federal and state government papers. They weren't just for show, either -- I had to read and sign each of them!

Most amusing was one of the forms I had to sign where I swore to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States [...] against all enemies, foreign and domestic." I suppose this is because technically I will be employed by the state university system -- aka, the government.

Luckily there also were a few forms that dealt with more fun and exciting issues, as there were some papers detailing my salary (money, finally!) and vacation request forms (4 weeks per year!). I also got to specify how I want my name to appear on my business cards.

Time to get crackin' with these worksheets.

Graduation

Say hello to Dr. Axis Deviation!

That's right ... I am now done with medical school. The feeling has not quite set in yet, and it probably won't for some time -- I am guessing it will be around the time internship begins -- but it fun to think of myself as a "doctor". Fun and weird, especially since I still consider myself the same goofy kid as before.

With graduation this past weekend, I have also now advanced past the ranks of medical student to doctor. "Doctor". In the morning I was a lowly student, and then all of a sudden I became a doctor, one of the most prestigious professions in the world. Quite a big jump in social status for one day. Let's see if I can handle it!

Back From Traveling

Yes, it's true. My two months of international travel, sadly, is over. I got a great glimpse of South America (hot beaches and arctic weather) and central Europe (lots of beer and great food), and I hope to return to both places in the future. And unfortunately, no more extensive vacations ... well, ever, probably.

I now have to transition quickly from travel mode to graduation mode, as the next few days will be a whirlwind of graduation related activities, from a pre-graduation banquest and award ceremony to graduation rehearsals and finally the ceremony itself.

Stay tuned for some possibly interesting entries about graduation.

Hello from Central Europe

(I'd translate "hello" to the local language, but it's way too difficult!)

The travelling continues. I am now -- and have been for the past two weeks -- in Central Europe (Middle Europe? Eastern Europe?) visiting several countries. All these countries are post-Communt, so it is interesting to see how they are trying to reshape their image to more, Western ways. Luckily one is famous for its beer and one for its wine, so already they're fine in my book.

I will soon be returning back home to the states, only to deal with med school graduation and all that is necessary for my relocation for residency. Till then, ahoj!