I AM A MEDICAL STUDENT

My name is Alexander Smirnov.I am from Ukraine. I am 17 years old. I was born on the 17th of September in Kyiv, a capital of Ukraine. Now I am a first-year student of the Higher State Educational Establishment of Ukraine "Ukrainian Medical Stomatological Academy". I was working hard during the whole year having extra lessons in Physics, Biology, and Ukrainian because the competition was very high, and it was difficult to win it.

We study Anatomy

So, I care for medicine and I am going to be a doctor. Medical students must remember that it is not easy to be a good specialist. A good doctor must have not only deep knowledge of a particular field of medicine. He must love people and have a kind heart. One of the prominent therapeutists professor Konchalovsky considers that a person may be a poor writer, he may be a bad painter or an actor but a person cannot and must not be a bad doctor.

As for my family it is neither big nor small. There are five persons in it. I have my father, mother, brother, and sister. My father’s name is Ivan Petrovich. He is 42 years old. He is a stomatologist. He has a full-time job. My mother’s name is Olga Ivanivna. She is a skilled doctor. She has a good reputation in the hospital. My brother’s name is Oleg. He is 13 years old. He is doing very well at school. He studies French and German there. My elder sister Helen is 25 years old. She is a designer by profession. She is married. She has a husband and a son.

I don’t live with my family at this moment. I live in a students' hostel. Now my relatives live not far from Odesa. They have a flat of their own in a block of flats. I miss my parents because I love them very much.

My working day begins early because the classes start at half past 8. So, I get up at 7 о'clock. First of all I make my bed, do my morning exercises and go to the bathroom where I brush my teeth and wash. As I am a medical student I consider that physical exercises are “a good remedy” for the protection of my health against diseases. At about half past 7 I have breakfast, which usually consists of a cup of coffee or tea and a sandwich. During break­fast I listen to the news or music on the radio. I live not far from the academy. It takes me about 15 minutes to get there. I go on foot. My fellow-students who live rather far must take a bus, or trolley bus. City traffic is awful in the morning!

As a rule we have several practical classes and a lecture. We study many subjects, such as Anatomy, Histology, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, His­tory of Medicine, Latin, and English.

Our studies are rather difficult. The most difficult subject for me is Anatomy, but I work hard on it.

When the classes are over I go home (to the hostel). I have dinner and rest a little. Then I read textbooks and additional medical literature, make abstracts, and do some exercises. When I have spare time I watch TV, listen to the music or visit my friends or they come to visit me. I have a lot of friends and we often spend free time together, especially on Sundays.

At 11 o'clock I go to bed. As I work hard I do sleep well.