Life as a Third-Year BU Medical Student
Life as a Third-Year BU Medical Student
Life as a Third-Year BU Medical Student
As a third-year medical student, Sarvesh Palaniappan (CAMED’27) has been rotating through a series of clerkships—from obstetrics and gynecology to pediatrics. Each rotation is about six weeks and is designed to allow students to learn more about a specific medical department.
“The beauty of [clerkships] is that you go in and you ask questions,” Palaniappan says. “Even if you don’t know exactly everything, the whole point is to learn every day.”
Even if you don’t know exactly everything, the whole point is to learn every day.
Each rotation is different, he says, and requires an ability to think quickly on your feet and adapt to whatever unexpected situations come your way.
In his most recent rotation, Palaniappan is working in internal medicine. The patients he sees are being treated for anything from kidney disease to cardiovascular disease. Much of his work involves managing patients’ medications and making sure their follow-up appointments are in order.
“It’s fast-paced. You’re always having to adapt, but that’s what makes it special—it’s that you see so many different things,” Palaniappan says. “It’s very difficult the first time you see something to know exactly what you [should] do, but the point of starting your clerkships is to make it that the second time you see something [it’s] easier.”
Working in internal medicine has been very exciting for Palaniappan, because it’s one of the areas he’s most interest in. Getting the exposure in the department could potentially help him with his Match—a system that determines what kind of residency specialty he will go into after graduation. “[What’s] keeping me motivated is the end goal,” Palaniappan says. “It’s knowing that I have this responsibility, knowing that I have this role as a physician, to walk into a patient’s room and being that role of healthcare, being the face of healthcare for them…you really are truly making a difference in people’s lives.”