Today was very cool. No, I'm not referring to the weather (it's getting disgusting here in Mississippi). I had a great first day in the lab.

My first rotation of the summer is in Dr. RH's lab, and I'm hoping he will be my advisor for my PhD. Part of me wishes I could just spend the whole summer in his lab so I could learn his techniques and get a head start on my graduate work. But I do know it will be a great experience to rotate through all the physiology labs, both to get a more specific idea of the research that's going on in the department, and to get to know the researchers, many of whom will help teach the Medical Physiology course come Spring.

An M1 (rising M2) friend of mine who works with me at Fleet Feet is working for Dr. RH this summer, and he just started last week. It's nice to have a newbie in the lab with me. I know none of the techniques that commonly performed in this lab, so it's both interesting and scary being in there. Dr. RH brought in a former PhD student of his to teach us (primarily my M1 buddy, though, since he'll be performing the procedure all summer) how to insert of blood flow probe around the abdominal aorta of a rat, and to insert a catheter into the carotid artery

Fascinating stuff! The vessels we were dealing with were obviously miniscule (compared to those of a human), which made it challenging. The surgery lasted about 2 hours, and it's easy to see why many surgeons are the way they are (yes, haughty, but also ticked off at everybody and generally in a foul mood). Not only do they work too much, but surgery is stressful. The man who was teaching us this procedure was obviously a laid back, fun-loving individual (based upon our interactions prior to the surgery), but during the procedure he became short-tempered and impatient. He wasn't nearly as bad as some surgeons I've seen and heard about, though.

I heard several people today mutter under their breath, "MD, PhD? (chuckle) Glutton for punishment." I found it funny. I've already wrestled with the decision whether or not to pursue this road, and the decision has been made. There's no turning back, I know, but I'm happy to say that at this point it doesn't bother me a bit. Check back with me in 5 years and we'll see if my opinion has changed, haha.