The real first day of medical school... a moment six years in the making.

I told a group of first-year pre-med students today, "The moment I'm at right now is where you want to be."

True, they all want to become doctors, so technically the moment they really want is med school graduation.

But what I'm talking about is that the learning I'll be doing this year - on the wards, seeing patients, learning medicine - that's the learning they wish they were doing this year.

Unfortunately for them, they are a long, long way away from this moment, and the learning they have to go through now is very different.

For them, they have to take courses in intro biology, biochemistry, organic chem, physics, a whole degree's worth of courses... the MCAT... the application process including interviews and admissions...and then two years of medical school which are fun and exciting and horrible and challenging and gruesome and interesting all at the same time.

All in all, at least a six-year process...one that many of them might not make it through... and yet all they really want to be doing is learning how to take care of sick people in the hospital.

I know that it will only be a couple of months before I'm burned out from the day shifts, the night call, and the studying in every spare moment around those shifts, but right now, I'm so excited to start.

I had to keep myself from showing up to shadow at the emergency department tonight, after the doc orienting us this morning told us we could drop in anytime. Maybe I should wait until orientation week is over, I told myself.

Finally, we get to do what I signed up for.

Finally, there is a light at the end of the tunnel... only two years until I graduate.

Finally, it's starting to feel for real.

And talking to people who are six years of hard work away from this moment reminded me of what it took to get here, and made me appreciate it so much more.