So far

I'm three weeks into my first clinical elective for fourth year.  Here's what I've learned so far:

1. The reason you should duck when you're getting in or out of a helicopter with moving rotor blades, even though they are five feet above your head, is that at low speed a gust of wind can bend them considerably and they might just bisect your head.
2. Wearing overalls in 35 degree heat is not fun, no matter how schmick they are.
3. Some people get their kicks out of always telling you that you're wrong.  These people are extremely annoying but fortunately they are a tiny minority.
4. People are, in general, surprisingly good at getting out of the way of speeding ambulances in a timely way.
5. If someone tells you, "This will be your last chance to go to the toilet for a while", you should go to the toilet.  No matter what.
6. If someone tell you, "This will be your last chance to eat anything for a while", you should eat something.  No matter what.
7. A handy rule of thumb for ventilation is that you fiddle with minute volume to manage end-tidal CO2 and you fiddle with PEEP to manage oxygen saturation.

Personally, I think that fact number 5 is the most crucial.