I knew it would happen eventually...

Thursday, I had an experience that I have often heard about from female med students, but never really thought would happen as much as they made it out to.  I was at Starbucks, getting my weekly fix of caramel apple cider spice and a vanilla scone (oh, how my weaknesses show), and I was also working my way through our neuro self-study book.  When I initially walked in, the line was really long, so I sat down and worked until everyone had gotten their drinks.  Then, when I went up to the counter, my book was propped open to a page about the decussation of the corticospinal tract in the lower medulla.  The lady behind the counter (probably middle-age or so, I'd say) saw the page and proclaimed that that looked really difficult and hard.  Then, the question:

"So are you a nursing student?"

I politely informed her that no, I am indeed a medical student, to which she replied that she had had a roommate who was a nursing major and that the roommate had made Starbucks Lady quiz her on stuff that looked a lot like my book.  I informed her that I make my husband do the same, and we laughed.  

Once I had my delicious apple cider, I did muse for a moment over the exchange.  I'd often heard that whenever a female tells someone who is not associated with the medical field (or not often exposed to it) that they are going into medicine, people automatically assume you are a nurse.  To me, that's such a foreign concept.  If someone told me they were going into medicine, I would assume they were going to be a doctor, or physician's assistant, or something like that.  If they said they were going into nursing, I would think they were going to be a nurse.  For me, the two are completely separate in terms of how you describe them as career fields.  Nurses work in the medical field, yes, but I've never heard any of my nursing friends describe themselves as working "in medicine."  They just say, "I'm a nurse."  Same as I say, "I'm a med student."  Or maybe, "I'm crazy."  So where do people get this whole "medicine = nurse" thing?

Ah, the lovely preconceptions of the outside world.