Jesse Gettinger and David WalkerOn behalf of the current students, we would like to welcome you to the second edition of the incoming student newsletter, SOM Vital Signs! Part of the excitement and anxiety that comes with being a future medical student is wondering, "What kind of people are going to be in my class? Where will I fit in?"

Well, your friends David and Jesse hear you, and we are here to help. Basically, there are three types of people in your incoming class, and we describe each of them briefly herein.

1. The Gunner- You know who you are. You opened this newsletter eagerly as soon as you saw it, quickly scanning its contents for any information that you thought could propel you ahead of the pack. A smile flashes across your face as you ponder your future top quartile class rank before quickly realizing that the administration abolished class rankings for the preclinical years. You grind your teeth at the injustice of that decision. No matter, there are other ways of rising to the top. They will see, they will all see!

2. The Nervous Wreck- You cringed the second you heard the email notification, hoping, pleading that it wasn't more from the SOM. They already accepted you; why can't they just leave you alone? Reading about next year, trying to complete your pre-matriculation checklist, getting your finances in order — all of it is nothing short of harrowing. To you all, all we have to say is stop. Take a deep breath, and maybe light a nice scented candle (our personal favorite is bonfire nights). We find it really tends to take the stress out of the day, especially with a background of light jazz.

3. The Lazy College Student with Senioritis- This group is rather dear to our hearts because it happens to be the group to which we belonged a year ago. We're not even going to address these people directly since there is a zero percent they are reading this. If there's one thing this group fears, it's that they may or may not remember how to study considering they haven't opened a book since receiving their acceptance letter. But just in case any of you accidentally clicked on this link instead of that highlight video of Steph Curry, we'll just say this: Sit back, relax and just keep on living the dream. We salute you.

What we really want to say is that medical school is a place filled with a diverse student population who are all pretty awesome (yes, even the gunners are awesome). UAB is about the people you meet and the relationships you form. These relationships will be your lifeline and even your saving grace at times. Medical school can be the best four years of your life, but it starts by taking advantage of all the amazing people you are about to encounter. If we have one piece of advice for you, it’s to make a real effort to befriend your fellow classmates, especially in the first few weeks of school. We guarantee your future self will be grateful for it.

We take pleasure in welcoming you to the UAB School of Medicine and offer you our sincere congratulations on your journey so far. Enjoy the time you have left until July, but when you get here remember to say hello, smile and count yourself lucky to be included among such a group of people.

Cheers,
Jesse Gettinger and David Walker