Amid the throes of research, classes, rotations and nights on-call, medical students find a break from the insanity in "Shifting Dullness," a humor magazine published entirely by a group of future doctors on the ins and outs of being in medical school.
Articles parody aspects of medical school life such as paperwork and empty bank accounts.
"Second-year students have come to recognize that the $20,000 they will spend for this year of clinical rotations comes with an enormous number of benefits," second-year medical student and co-editor Jeff Drayer wrote in the November issue. "Where else do you get to pay someone so that you can do their busy work for them?"
Although it might seem like medical students have more to do with their time than to write comical articles, Drayer said the publication only requires about five hours a month from each of the six editors. The handful of staff members put the publication together on their home computers.
"Dullness" is distributed free of charge to every medical student's campus mail box. Funding is provided by the Duke Medical Alumni Association. Additionally, subscriptions are sold to parents and alumni for $18 a year.
The title of the magazine, "Shifting Dullness," is actually a medical term, and a pun referring to the tedious life of a medical student. A patient lying flat on his back is tapped on the abdomen. If there is fluid present, a dull or hollow sound will be heard. The patient is then shifted to his side and the upper right abdomen is tapped again. If the same sound is heard, the fluid line has shifted, thus the name, "Shifting Dullness."
"Dullness" isn't the size of a normal magazine. The publication is six by eight inches and about 15 pages long. Each edition begins with a cartoon and sarcastic table of contents on the cover. Articles are born from medical school experiences.
"I get my ideas from all of the dumb stuff that goes on around here," Drayer said.
Drayer writes a monthly column called "Plural Effusions," stemming from the condition when a person has fluid leaking into and around the membranes of the lungs. Drayer said all of his articles are truthful and his ideas originate from actual experiences.
Drayer's favorite articles have been about stealing drug samples, his unusual dislike of coffee, self-medication and evaluating the possibilities of a young boy's vomit.
The magazine features a monthly poll, with topics ranging from O.J.'s guilt or innocence to more medical-related questions. Medical Center Book Store and Duke Medical Alumni Association advertisements and a poetry corner are regulars in the monthly editions.
Medical school magazines can be found across the country, but "Dullness" was established at Duke in the early 70s. The magazine experienced a lull in production but was reborn again in 1988. Recently, the magazine has changed to include more useful information for medical students, including information on events and activities at the Medical Center and Durham.
"Students read it because it is what all of us are going through. The faculty read it to keep in touch with student's perspectives, and parents read it to understand what med. school is really like," said fourth-year Edward Norris, one of the magazine's co-editors.
Most of the current editors, who hadn't been involved with high school or college publications, said they just wrote for "Shifting Dullness" as a fun break from medical school life.
"I always wrote for fun," Drayer said. "But, this is the first time I can force people to read it."
Medical school students said they read it because it is refreshing, it is their fellow classmates work and mostly because it is free.
"It's fun," third-year Eunice Kwak said. "It provides some comic relief that I can relate to. For med. students, you don't find that kind of humor elsewhere."
Undergraduates may also be able to relate to the magazine's brand of humor.
"Thinking on your feet is something that every medical student should be able to do," writes third-year and chief editor Jamy Ard in "On the Ward." "However, if you want to separate yourself from the crowd, sleeping on your feet is the way to go. This was just another [operating room] technique I had perfected."
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