Priorities

Looming over all of my med school activities these days is the upcoming application to residency programs. And as with so many other applications, a big part of it is The Personal Statement. No big deal, no pressure--just give us a sense for who you really are as a person and as a medical student and explain exactly why you, rather than one of the 16,000 talented, accomplished other applicants we can choose from, should be granted an interview. Oh, and keep it to one page, please.

Not really anyone's favorite writing task. But today, in a triumph of self-discipline, I used some off-duty time to sequester myself in a little-used conference room, staked out a computer, and banged out a serviceable first draft. And rest assured that, being a medical student, I have a firm grasp of priorities. As I was finishing the fire alarm went off and I wasted no time following the correct procedure: I grabbed my backpack, got out my USB memory stick, and carefully backed up the most recent version. Just don't tell the firefighters we worked with a while ago....