I don't think that I consciously made a decision to step away from the lab when I began med school--in fact, I had always intended to get back into research--but with all of the opportunities suddenly available to me, a brief hiatus while I sorted out which research area I wished to pursue eventually became a two-year break. (Compounded, of course, by the fact that it really did take me two years to figure out whether or not it mattered what field my research was in, as well as what area interested me most.)

In between teaching, working at Arbor, and wanting to explore other fields such as Biomedical Informatics, lab work was pushed to the backburner, until those sights and sounds that had once been the backdrop of my daily routine gradually faded into memory.

Entrance to the Arber Lab...only the first of many, many, immeasurable times I'll walk through this door in the next year

But, as they say, you can't escape the past. =) So, today, I found myself faced with a sight both unknown, and at the same time, completely familiar: my new lab. For the next year, during my pathology fellowship, I will be working in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Arber, in the field of hematopathology.

The Stanford Blood Center, where the lab is located

I definitely thought that hematology was one of the most fascinating organ systems we covered in HHD, and oncology has long been an area of clinical interest for me as well, so I am super excited to be working in an area related to hematolymphoid malignancies.

In fact, as the summer approaches, I'm finding myself more and more excited to begin this next stage in my medical training, and to really delve into the roots of medicine (i.e., pathology!) during my fellowship. All that remains is to get that unspeakable monster of an exam out of the way...

Feeding the addiction

Following my introduction to the lab, I headed back to the medical school and did a little bit of work updating some sites on the CWP as part of my job providing online curriculum support for Educational Technology Services. (But first, I had to get my requisite daily --and sometimes multiple-times-daily--fix of Diet Coke. I don't do the whole coffee thing, but if I could somehow wrangle a continuous IV drip of Diet Coke, I would totally do it.)

But I digress. Back to the CWP--a genius innovation, indeed. Not only is it a marvelous way to organize course content (including syllabi, schedules, links to outside resources, handouts, quizzes, etc.) in one central location, but it is the source of the keystone of my preclinical medical education: streaming videos of all the lectures.

Now, the whole "attending class live" vs. "watch from home" debate (i.e., the Great Divide) is the source of much controversy, and, often, much consternation on the part of the lecturing faculty. And, I have to say, it's been a source of internal conflict for me as well. Particularly from my own teaching experience, having stood on the other side of the podium, I know that it's disheartening, to say the least, to prepare for a lecture, only to have a paltry few seats filled in the audience.

With class attendance often dipping to less than 50% of the enrolled students present, it's not surprising that faculty have expressed frustration with the "CWP culture". But after attempting both approaches to learning, I've come to the conclusion that watching lectures online is not only the method that's the most suited for my individual learning style, but that it's also the method that best supports my academic goals.

"Flexibility" is one of the big buzzwords at Stanford Med, and rightly so. There are virtually unlimited opportunities here in every arena, from research to clinical exposure to community service, and not to mention the opportunities available in the business school, law school, design school, and main campus--all just a stone's throw away. Having the option of viewing lectures online, on one's own time, is a big reason all of that flexibility exists here, allowing students to be able to take advantage all of the experiences and programs Stanford has to offer.

We are inundated with an overwhelming quantity of knowledge, presented at a breakneck pace, during the first two years of medical school. "Efficiency" quickly becomes priority number one, and "high-yield", our motto.

The CWP is an invaluable tool that allows us to manage our time with maximal efficiency, and, at least for me, helps me to be as productive as possible when I am focusing on my coursework. I find that I learn much, much better (with far greater retention) when I'm able to pause lectures to type notes or rewind to rewatch the explanations of concepts I didn't understand the first time.

A pause in the heated deliberations =)

So anyway, after finishing up my CWP work, I headed to my final meeting as a Neurobiology TA. During this past winter quarter, I was part of the teaching team for the required first-year neuroanatomy lab course. I absolutely loved the course when I took it last year, and teaching it was an even more fabulous experience.

At this, our last meeting, we were tasked with making recommendations for the selection of new TAs for next year--certainly no easy task, given the outstanding caliber of all the applicants. The discussion took over two hours, and I came away feeling a little bittersweet--I know the new team of TAs will do an amazing job, but I'm definitely a little sad to be leaving Neuro behind!

Food that is neither frozen nor instant--quite an accomplishment

The evening was spent, you guessed it, at the books (with, of course, a little break for dinner...and then another one for my guilty pleasure, ANTM).

Tomorrow: impressionable young minds are subjected to my tireless ramblings...poor dears.