"Back in Beer Sheva," by MSIH first year blogger Tamara Kliot

Coming back from break is always a transition. It takes time to get back into the study grove, let alone get yourself back on the right sleep schedule. Jet lag is rough and a constant battle between when you should and could go to sleep. Balancing that battle alone with the introduction of new classes can be a challenge, but that’s part of the package when you decide to go to medical school in a time zone 10 hours ahead of home or decide to create a home 10 hours ahead of where you grew up. However you see it, time zones are hard to traverse. I guess that’s something most of us interested in global health will grapple with for the rest of our careers.

Luckily, we had some engaging lectures to start off the semester. We had your typical physiology, pharmacology, and genetics classes. However, we also had the opportunity to participate in a Mind and Body 3-day elective facilitated by Dr. Haramati. This elective was focused on self-care practices, such as meditation, and could not have come at a better time.

Medicine is an intense profession that requires a lot of time and effort invested in learning and even more on other people’s problems. It’s stressful and overwhelming at times. Doctors are known to be the worse patients and it’s a widely held belief that they don’t always take care of themselves properly. This elective was a good reminder of this and introduced or re-introduced students to practices that they can integrate into their schedules.  Mind and Body also allowed students to connect with each other in a different space (more literally than physically because we were in our normal classroom). It forced many students out of their comfort zone, but the result was empowerment.

With week one done, jet lag almost beat, and the opportunity to hear about the fun things my classmates did over their 10-day break, I can honestly say I am excited to be back in the B7 and ready for what this semester has to offer. New classes, modules (I’m especially excited for nutrition and disaster relief), global health speakers, experiences, and adventures to come. There is also a lot of familiar things that will make this semester easier than last. We’ve come a long way class of 2019 and I am excited to see where we go and the opportunities we find to push our own development as future doctors in the next couple months.