Three good things - Part I

I had a great day today because three good things happened. I'll cover them in chronological order. This is the first one.

My class had the final embryology lecture today in a series of 5 over the last week. Doing embryology in 5 hours is a bit like being shot out of a cannon. The launch velocity smooths the wrinkles out of your forehead but you have to keep your mouth shut or your cheeks will get ripped off.

Fortunately, the classes were run by one of my favouritest lecturers. I really enjoy his classes because he manages to organize his lectures very well so you learn a lot without really having to try hard. He concentrates on the big picture (which in embryology is about 1/10th of a millimetre across) and tries to get us to understand key concepts rather than obsess over detail. All good in my book.

The thing that makes his classes enjoyable though is that he clearly enjoys teaching them and has a great passion for his subject matter. Today after giving us a 55-minute lecture, he told us that the remaining 5 minutes was optional and we didn't have to stick around for it.

I thought he was going to talk to us about recent research, or about the exam. But instead, he talked about how interested he is in the history of anatomy and biological science, and told us about a famous case of conjoined twins born in Florence several hundred years ago, and the resulting paranoia, damnation, and curiosity which swept the city.

Then, even more extraordinarily, he read to us a poem in seven parts that he had written about the case. Each part was told from a different point of view, for example the mother, the clergy, the citizens, the philosophers. It was very eloquent and intriguing to listen to.

What really impressed me about my fellow students is that nobody walked out, everyone listened quietly, and at the end we all gave him a big round of applause. To be honest I wouldn't have expected this response from a bunch of gunner med students. He looked almost sheepish at this reception, which was quite endearing to see.

How lucky I am to be able to attend this Fine University amongst such fine people!