So much has happened in the last month, I don't know where to begin! Emergency medicine course completed, fainted once already, wonderful people, and now 2 days into the real semester which is full of microbiology, immunology, biochem, genetics, Hebrew, biostatistics and an intro to Clinical and global medicine. Lots of science, but it is broken up by ethics lectures, guest speakers, and of course lunch at the local falafel stand.



(view from the 6th floor of the internal medicine building, where most of my classes are held. You can see the helicopter landing area as well as other hospital buildings surrounding the courtyard)


On the second day of orientation, I offered to have blood drawn for a study a 4th year student was doing. I wanted to jump right in and do whatever it is that medical students do. So I sat down in the chair, in the crowded hallway, not the best place and allowed a 3rd year student to begin poking my veins. I'm not sure if I was dehydrated from the Be'er Sheva summer, hadn't eated enough, or just nervous, but I started to feel dizzy, sick, and light-headed (classic signs of simple vasovagal syncope, I was later to learn)...and out I went. Fortunately, I was caught by my wonderful classmate Jamie and was only out for a few seconds. I lay on the ground for a bit, drank a coke, and felt better pretty quickly. Still, it is a little embarassing to faint on your second day of med school. Oh well, I heard that one student passed out the first time he witnessed an IV being inserted and broke his nose. Now they make all the students sit down the first time watch an IV. Well, hopefully it won't happen again!