Meet James Guo, a second-year MD student at Feinberg School of Medicine, and get an inside look at a typical day during this phase of his medical school career.
6:30 a.m.
I like to start my day early, and after waking, making my bed, and getting ready, I enjoy brewing a fresh cup of coffee. I love the process of brewing a balanced cup, an activity I find both a science and an art. It anchors my morning ritual (not to mention gives me a nice caffeine jolt!). We’re currently in the middle of our Gastroenterology Module, and I’m looking forward to a full day with a dissection, small group sessions and a research meeting on the docket. It’s a busy, but not atypical, day. Happy to show you a day in my life!
7:00 a.m.
During my first year at Feinberg, I lived in Streeterville, within walking distance of campus. This past summer I moved to the Little Italy neighborhood, about a 20-minute drive away, to room with two friends (who aren’t medical students). Though I miss the convenience of living close to school, I have cherished the opportunity to experience a different Chicago community with its vibrant culture, food and residents. I drive to campus now – Feinberg subsidizes student parking – but there are also ample, reliable public transport options that can get you to campus and around the city.
7:30 a.m.
Of all the amazing features this beautiful city offers, my favorite is its lakeshore trail. We’re especially fortunate here at Feinberg as our campus overlooks Lake Michigan. The weather this morning – crisp and sunny – is perfect for a run. I prioritize running regardless of how busy I may be because it keeps me healthy and also brings me joy and catharsis. This past year, I trained for a half-marathon and am hoping to run a full marathon next year. Training with a view of the lake and the Chicago skyline is a huge bonus.
8:30 a.m.
I wrapped up my run, stretched out in the campus gym, showered and am now ready to get some work done. I grab a table in the atrium of the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center, my favorite and usual study spot on campus. This morning, I am studying some flashcards I made for class and putting some final touches on a research poster I’ll be reviewing with my AOSC (Area of Scholarly Concentration) mentor later in the afternoon. I’ll be presenting this poster at an upcoming national conference, and I’m excited to contribute my findings to the field.
11:00 a.m.
Next I head to an elective gastrointestinal (GI) dissection session in the Anatomy Lab. While Feinberg’s Anatomy Lab curriculum recently re-organized around prosections (specimens are dissected ahead of time) to optimize learning, students have many opportunities to be involved in optional dissections. Today, a few classmates and I are doing a complete dissection of the GI system with our new, outstanding anatomy professors. I always find anatomy labs helpful for orienting myself spatially within an organ system, and this dissection contextualized and solidified what I have been learning in class.
12:00 p.m.
I take a lunch break in the Simpson Querrey atrium where I meet up with four of my friends, who are also M2 students. There are a number of food options on campus, including multiple food courts in the hospitals next door. Today, I picked up a quick burrito bowl from Tu Taco, which is in Simpson Querrey. My friends and I chat about our weeks, commiserate about an upcoming exam and make weekend plans for after the exam. I feel so blessed to have found this community at Feinberg and to call these brilliant, kind people my classmates and friends.
1:00 p.m.
After lunch, I’m off to attend my weekly ethics and humanities seminar. During the M1 and M2 years, students choose and enroll in one of these seminars, which explore the values of the medical profession and ethics of the patient-physician relationship. These seminars introduce us to new perspectives on the cultural aspects of medicine. This year, I enrolled in a seminar called “Drawing Inside a Jar,” taught by a renowned art professor from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In my seminar, we’re learning the fundamentals of sketching and, in the process, considering the ethics of anatomical specimen display. It is both a unique challenge and thrill, and I love this aspect of our curriculum that encourages us to develop ethically and culturally in our professional identity.
3:00 p.m.
Later in the afternoon, I attend my PBL session, short for Problem-Based Learning. PBL is a self-directed, collaborative, case-based learning process where a small team of students work through a very realistic clinical case with a faculty member and/or M4 student. The cases are always relevant to the module we’re in and serve to reinforce key concepts we’re learning in our lectures. I always enjoy PBL as it lends the opportunity to teach (each student makes a short presentation every session), work in a team, develop clinical intuition and learn medical principles. Today, my classmates and I are wrapping up a case on end-stage liver disease with teaching from our faculty member and M4 preceptor.
4:30 p.m.
I end my day on campus with a highlight as I meet with my AOSC research mentor, Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, who’s a cardiologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and a faculty member and chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Feinberg. He also happens to be the current president of the American Heart Association (AHA)! He wears a lot of hats on campus and across the country, but most importantly to me, I’m fortunate to call him my mentor. During our meeting, we reviewed the poster I will be presenting soon at the AHA Scientific Sessions conference and brainstormed questions that might come up during my moderated talk. We also chatted about my interests and future research avenues as this current project wraps up. I firmly believe finding mentors who will support your interests, encourage your curiosities and nurture your professional development during medical school is so important. I am certainly the beneficiary of all that and much more as I continue to work with Dr. Lloyd-Jones!
5:30 p.m.
I am an avid (budding) photographer, and before I head home, I take advantage of the beautiful day to walk around the Magnificent Mile and grab some city shots. Feinberg is truly a photographer’s paradise with Lake Michigan to our east and Chicago’s most iconic street next door to our west. Photography gives me a creative outlet as I, quite literally, try to find new perspectives and angles to examine the world around me.
6:00 p.m.
I drive home to Little Italy and, before dinner, sneak in some violin practice and juggling. I am a violinist in the Northwestern Medical Orchestra (NMO), which is comprised of student, faculty, physician and community musicians. Last year, I rehearsed and performed a Schubert quartet for the NMO Spring Chamber Concert. Today, I’m practicing for a violin-piano duet with an M2 classmate. I grew up playing the violin, and though I don’t play with the same intensity I once did, I still love music just as much.
Last year, a few of my friends (the ones I had lunch with) picked up juggling for fun and revived a dormant juggling club at Feinberg aptly named “The Jugulars.” They got me hooked! We have a club practice coming up, and I wanted to brush up for a few minutes, so I don’t look like a clown!
7:00 p.m.
My roommates and I love to cook. We often make food to share, and the kitchen around dinner time is the place to be in our house. Usually, we either make something from scratch or eat something we meal-prepped earlier. Because I have some more studying to do tonight, I’m heating up some leftover gyozas for a quick and delicious meal. I’ll be adding some vegetables on the side to balance out my dinner!
Credits:
Teresa Crawford