When It’s Free
As a grad student, you’re really in a worse position financially than you were even as an undergrad. At least you’re still considered a fledgling. Your parents support you, nurture you, even send the occasional care package every now and then. But then you start some sort of graduate work, and, even though your financial aid claims that you’re a dependent, you’re not. You’re pretty much on your own, digging yourself deeper and deeper into debt every day. Sure, I could ask my parents for support if I needed to, but I’m getting the feeling that I’m old enough to be completely responsible for myself.
I’m basically just alluding to the fact that you could, theoretically, get me to do almost anything (I emphacize the word almost) for anything free. Free food, free office supplies, highlighters. You name it, I’ll probably do it. I’m the king of the psych study. The master of the free lunch. And, it’s in this vein that I note the fusion of the best of both worlds. Free alcohol. From the med school. Since the occasion comes along only twice a year, I tend to embibe. A little too much. And thus, I present my official “2003 Stanford Medical School Stethescope Ceremony” picture featuring yours truly and the Dean, Dr. Phil Pizzo. I normally don’t smile that wide.
Heh. Being a med student, you should be able to get a heap of free stuff! It’s pretty unethical but as long as you’re selling yourself out for a free meal, see if you can’t get invited to talks and seminars by drug reps. I’ve been to a few and Big Pharma is usually only too happy to get at a young impressionable mind!
The technique to ensure you’re not corrupted? Take as many pens and notepads and other crap they offer, give it all away to non medical friends and tell them not to let it in your sight again. Then partake greatly of the free alcohol after the seminar, to induce a pleasant state of mild amnesia…
Yeah. I guess I should have prefaced by saying I don’t generally accept stuff from the drug company, especially if it’s got the drug company name plastered all over the side.
I overheard someone say that the lunch we get for our emergency medicine elective (preclinical) class is paid for by a drug company, but I have no clue who it is, and no drugs have even been mentioned in class, and no reps are to be found, so I guess that’s okay.
What’s scarier–physicians are actually *more* influenced by the small stuff–the pens and notepads–than by the bigger junk.