Last PCM Ever!

Today I attended my last PCM small group ever -- patience and perseverance are not two of my strongest qualities, but somehow I managed to pool two years' worth of both into accomplishing this single task.

PCM (Patient Centered Medicine) is a class Ohio State offers in addition to the core curriculum that focuses on the doctor-patient relationship and its importance to the student. The two components of the course, lecture and small group, offer different takes on a given topic within the current subject (i.e., Ethics, Substance Abuse, etc.). The lecture component generally introduces the topic to the class, then the small group session serves to further elaborate on it in a more "intimate" environment.

I don't know what it is about PCM that bothers me so much. The facilitators have all been excellent, the material is clinically relevant, and I enjoy hearing my classmates' opinions on different -- often controversial -- medical matters, so what could be the problem? Maybe it's my own impatience shining through, or the fact that the core curriculum seems so much more important right now, or that my ISP status effectively is negated by the small group attendance policy (only one "allowed" absence per year). Whatever it is, there's a kind of je ne sais quoi about the whole affair that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.