"'Twas the Shift Before Christmas": A Holiday Ode to Med Students

happy-holidays

By the First Aid Team

‘Twas the shift before Christmas, when all through the wards
Not a creature was stirring, they were studying for boards;
The stethoscopes were hung by the front desk with care,
In hopes that the First Aid Team soon would be there;

The med students were waiting all snug in their scrubs,
As they took a few minutes to inhale some bad grub;
A doctor in her ‘kerchief, and I in my mask,
Had just settled in for a long surgical task,

When out in the parking lot arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the OR to see what was the matter.
Away to the pit I flew like a flash,
And ran into a big guy with a skid and a crash.

His eyes — how they twinkled! He breathed a deep sigh!
His face was so red, his BP clearly too high!
Still, behind him soon did appear,
An ambulance-sized sleigh loaded with Step study gear.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to the ED,
And asked the head nurse to refill his ARB,
Then, laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the elevator he rose;

He strode through the wards, passing out Qmax and Flash Facts galore,
While gunners ran beside, shouting wishes for perfect Step exam scores.
The rest of us gaped and grinned as we grasped,
A free, three-month subscription to Step 1 Express.

This guy was laughing and happy, a right jolly old elf,
And I knew when I saw him, Iโ€™d pass my next shelf;
With First Aid for the USMLE books, Iโ€™d have knowledge in my head,
And with such great study guides, I had nothing to dread;

He passed out his last batch of study tools, and sprang to his sleigh
Turned on the siren and fired up the bay;
I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

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