George Washington University School of Medicine - Speculum Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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ALL THE lectures in one semester Chuck Edwards poses. CATARACTS, always cataracts, says Dr. Elizabeth Hill to Danny Anderson and Bob Gaither. ,-F5 ,og :. ' 127

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Thursday Morning Physician In the fall of1962, the junior Class was subjected to the medical version of Death Takes a Holiday: a back- breaking lecture schedule consisting of about4000 hours of faculty oratory. In retrospect, many of us found the lectures to be generally highly informative, but by the tenth week or so of this marathon, many of us- were unduly giddy, irritable, and worn out. The giant mausoleum that was D.C. General's Main Conference Room, was ready every Monday, Wednes- day, and Friday morning with 89 students Chopefullyj, 50 or so fluffy decorative pillows or seat cushions to give the place some charm, and 4 or 5 projectors, oiled, plugged in, and ready for action. Afternoons on Monday and Friday we faced surgery lectures-among our finest Qamong our longestj and the surgery quizzes. We were asked to choose from a multiplicity of answers on these tests: The least correct, the most probably incorrect, the mostpartially correct, etc. If the day had proven too strenous, most of us answered none of the above. Among the more enjoyable experiences of the first semester were the case presentations at the surgery con- ferences each Saturday morning. These sessions were good because for a change we did some thinking on our feet, and the process served to remind us of the then hazy fact that we were, after all, erect animals. For those on the firing line, it was a period of intense learning. One student, for example, discovered to his amazement that the proper management of a blister does not include regional lymph node dissection. Our one real contact with patients came with the Continuing Care Program. Often times,this program was the one thing most everyone looked forward to all week. To the patient the setup was ideal: no longer would he be under the care of myriads of specialists and super- specialists. For the student doctor, the setup was profitable but not nearly so ideal. Preceptors were, as a rule, top- notch instructors, but they were often over-burdened. Furthermore, often-times they did not know how much responsibility to delegate to the student. In many cases, too, the student did not know how much responsibility to assume. Often things got confused. On one occasion, for example, the preceptor treated the patient, and the student was left holding the medical bag. And another time, a student mistakenly treated Dr. Sadusk while his patient was having coffee in the cafeteria. But now we've finished the first semester of our junior year, and now that the class has scattered into electives, vacations, and clerkships, we are looking forward to much more of the clinical experience that we sampled in Continuing Care and Thank Heaven, no more lectures. 12 K f y Za . e . A ..... :R ,I ' E W.--...,,f.:Ff:, -1 xl , P L 21.5 H- I 'ANYBODY GOT a Merck Manual? says Sam Blakesley. GOURMET'S DELICHT. John Cope lunching in the D.C. General Main Conference and Dining Room. --it I . 1,

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CHEEZ - what was her number now? Bill Hallahan, john Lima and Bob Zappia relax during a 10 minute break. R. num., 1 MH .lil ' . nluuw' 'w,,wwsq5w,., 2 'RUN SPOT run. See Spot jump. Ed Brink in a lighter moment. LE C T U RE S were well attended. Carl Hanssen and cohorts.