A reflection on the first year of medical school: A dedicated professor, small class size and themed dress by blogger of the month Maia Reiley

Today was our last exam. Goodbye to the 6^th floor of Soroka, goodbye to Caroline House, goodbye to the hallways of Deichman, until we start (or technically, continue) 2^nd year in the fall (well, late summer)! The last few weeks, we have been studying hematology with Dr. Moser. He is a very dedicated professor and also a bit of a hero. Shortly before we began our hematology block, he returned from a mission to supply medical care to people in Nepal who had been affected by the earthquake. One day during lunch, he was kind enough to give us a presentation on his time there and field all sorts of questions about the reality of being on a mission. When he is not giving a lecture, he often sits in on other professors so that he can use our classroom time more efficiently when we have a session with him. He is also a vocal supporter of problem based learning, so here is some visual documentation of students teaching students.

One of the nice things about having a small class is that when you walk out of an exam, there is always someone waiting outside. Although most people will say they don't like to talk about the exam once it is over, I think we all benefit from a feeling of solidarity. Even if you are the first one out of the room, there is usually a professor or a proctor who will ask you how it went, what your next block is, or where you are going for the summer. Generally, we all wait outside and chat, then head off to celebrate or pick up whatever we dropped when we entered exam mode. Some people basically had their bags packed and headed to the airport after the test, so today's post-exam hangout doubled as a time to give out hugs and promises to catch up when we see each other in August.

At some point during the last semester, the class go-getters decided that we should have themed dress up days. Yes, this is medical school. Obviously, for our hematology final, we were all supposed to wear red (get it, red like blood?)

Here we are, a little over ¼ of the way to being licensed doctors...

Today, After Four Posts, I Am Announcing My Retirement, by blogger of the month Nathan Douthit

The time has come for me to retire from the game of first-year blogging. I'd like to thank my coaches, my teammates, my fans, and everyone who helped me get to the point I am today. Especially my wife, without her loving support and gracious editing, I would never have been able to write four of these. What am I going to do now? I've always wanted to try to play baseball. Lots of people have made that switch successfully, with all due respect to His Airness, so I'm hoping to sign a minor league contract soon. Maybe I'll save the Looney Tunes from aliens. We'll see. If not, I've been assured MSIH will allow me to come back from retirement multiple times to help boost their ticket sales.

            All joking aside, I have been very glad to write these posts, and thankful for everyone (I'm talking to all three of you) who read them. This was helpful for me in considering the things Kate and I have been through in the past few months, and what we've learned from them. Hopefully they've helped you to think too.

            In my head, there's all kinds of pressure about this final post. In reality, y'all probably don't care. But I decided to write this last post about a question I was asked by a professor at a Shabbat dinner. "What does it feel like to move from the majority religion to the minority?" 

            First, a caveat. Kate and I are evangelical Christians. As such, we believe that following Jesus is more than checking a box marked "Christian" on your census form or medical school application. So, in the good old US of A, we would not consider ourselves a majority, although many people would, which is fine. Either way, when we came to Israel, we knew we were moving to a place with a much smaller percentage of our religion.

            Now, there are many aspects of answering this question, including explaining how we relate to our classmates (both Christian and non-Christian), or how we relate to the Israeli culture at large, or a variety of other things. But what I will write about today is how we relate to the other Christians in the community, specifically, our church.

             The church we are involved in is one of the very few options in this city. We gather either Saturday morning or Friday night to worship together, pray together, fellowship together, and sit under the teaching of the scriptures together. On Tuesday night, there is a group of students (both MSIH and Israeli) that gathers together to study the scriptures and fellowship.

             In the church, there are Russian, English, Spanish and Hebrew speakers. We come from all walks of life, all parts of the globe, but are united together in Christ. As such, I have had to learn many things, not the least of which is flexibility. There are different styles of teaching, different concepts of time, different types of music, and even different languages spoken, but we trust in One God. This can be at times difficult, but the question arises "What other church will we gather with if not this one?" God has given us the local church as a means of sharing in the riches of his grace, and cultural difficulties do not change that. We have been blessed by getting to know the hearts of the leaders and members of this congregation, and we are thankful for it.

             Being the minority is teaching us what we truly hold to be a secondary, cultural thing and what truly knits our hearts together in love with brothers and sisters in Christ. Being a minority is teaching us to love each other and other believers, despite what may rub us the wrong way. Being a minority is teaching us when to speak and when to stay silent. Being a minority is teaching us to be truly and deeply thankful for Jesus and His global Church, whatever form that may take in local churches. 

            I could go on, as God has been faithful to us through this community in many ways, but I think I'll stop for now, for fear of boring many readers. For those of you who read this, and my other posts, thank you. If you're an incoming first year, Kate and I look forward to meeting you, and good luck in all your preparations! Packing note: bring anti-perspirant. It's expensive here, but necessary.

             Let me close with one last statement: there are difficulties attached to attending this school, but as I look back on the last year, I wouldn't change my decision to attend. I will not paint a picture that says the school, teachers, faculty or system is flawless, but I hope and think that it is worth it. I'm glad I am a student at MSIH.  - blogger of the month, Nathan Douthit