With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept

Well, it's all over. The NBME exam went fairly well; we will find out in a few days whether or not we passed. We got back our exam grades from Monday, and I passed with a 92!!! Whoop whoop! I was just short of an A for the block, but I am satisfied with a B. Yesterday we had a morning presentation over healthcare reform, which was incredibly informative and helpful. I feel much more positive about my future and the future of healthcare after getting an unbiased breakdown of how everything works without the bullshit media distortions and disinformation.

I'll be spending a few days in College Station to make the most of my time here before heading home for the holidays. Our break is only 2 weeks, as we have class starting January 3rd. This will probably be my last post for awhile, so until then... Merry Christmas!

The Way Out Is Through

Well, I've never felt as good about an exam as I did about that one. It was surprisingly straightforward, and it helps that I studied like a madman. Here's to hoping for my first "A". Maybe I can even pull an A for the block... we shall see. For now I must sleep. The NBME is on Friday, although I'm not particularly worried. I got my hands on a good set of review notes and I'll just look over those for the next few days. This is the last hurdle before Christmas break; if I could only get my sleep schedule back on track before then. Perhaps some melatonin may help...

Go to Sleep.

Well, the clinical skills exam was easy as expected... I've been studying the head pretty much nonstop since then. Last night I stayed up the entire night at HPEB, followed by a long visit to Denny's with my laptop. Here is a peek at my schedule for the rest of the weekend:

Saturday
8am-12pm: sleep (4h)
12pm-10pm: study (10h)
10pm-4am: sleep (6h)
Sunday
4am-8pm: study (16h)
8pm-3am: sleep (7h)
Monday
3am-1pm: study (10h)
1pm: EXAM TIME

The End Has No End

We are officially one exam away from being done with Phase I, as our last lecture was today. Monday we studied the embryological development of the pharynx, and then went over the temporal and infratemporal regions of the head. In the afternoon, we dissected the nerves and muscles of the mouth and tongue. This morning we had histo lab for the last time, and spent it looking at slides of various structures in the eye and ear. Our final lecture was given by Dr. Chen and was about congenital anomalies. We are done with humanities and clinical skills as well, although we have a final exam tomorrow morning in clinical skills over all the vocab we've learned this semester.

Tomorrow we can go to lab and look at prosections of the larynx and ear, as both will be on our last exam. The exam is on Monday, and is followed by the NBME exam the following Friday. It's crunch time.

Eat That Up, It's Good For You

Wow, what a crazy end to the week. Wednesday morning was our last clinical skills session, which had to do with examining very old or very young patients. We then had a talk on professionalism followed by anatomy lab. We actually had to decapitate our cadaver by cutting the ligaments attaching the skull to the vertebral column and then pulling the head forward until the head detached. This allowed us to view the prevertebral region between the pharynx and vertebral column. Thursday we went over the anatomy of the pharynx and studied Maxillary nerve (V2) and all the structures it innervates in the head... it goes all over the place. We had a clinical correlation in the afternoon where we got to watch various surgeries in the neck region. Friday was our first histo lecture in a long time, but this one was actually interesting. We learned about the special senses of hearing and vision, and were able to see on a microscopic scale how the eyes and ears work - how sound and light are converted into a signal to be interpreted by your brain. Very interesting stuff. In the afternoon we had a lecture over the larynx, immediately followed by another anatomy lab. This time we had to saw our cadaver's skull in half along the midline so we could look into the nasal cavity and sinuses. Another very cool lab.

This weekend will be spent trying to stuff 10 lectures into the limited confines of my mind. This will be interesting.

Chip Away

Well, after Thanksgiving break it's been full speed through the final stretch. In the 2 days we've been back, we have covered 5 lectures and a lab. Monday we learned about the eye and lacrimal apparatus, and then dissected the region out that very afternoon. Today, we learned about the prevertebral region, palate/nasal cavity/sinuses, and the ear. A ton of info to get down in a very short period. Also, we had an excellent presentation in humanities today... an ex-military doctor came and spoke on the topic of insecurity among soon-to-be physicians. A great talk from a brilliant man. Despite the heavy workload, this week has gotten off to an enjoyable start.

Here in My Room

The title pretty much says it all. I didn't do much of anything over the break, which is precisely what I had hoped for. Mostly I just sat around with my dog and listened to music, as a ton of great albums came out this past week. I also started reading "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" which is a pretty awesome murder-mystery tale. Aside from that, I ate and slept. A lot. Tomorrow I fly back home for the final stretch. Crazy to think that in just 2 weeks, we will be finished with Phase I of medical school. We then have a week to study for the NBME (National Board of Medical Examiners) exam, which we must pass in order to continue on to Phase II, which will last 18 months. The exam will cover everything we learned in Phase I... except histology, which pisses me off because we dedicated so much time to it. It's a lot of material to review, but apparently the exam is very easy and all the M2s keep telling us not to be worried. So I'm not.

Oh, and I got back my Exam III grade and I got an 89. They just don't wanna give up that "A". Sigh. Oh well, now it is time to go back into a food coma from all I've eaten in the past week.

Freedom

The test went well, and actually felt like the easiest one so far. I'm not sure if that is because the test was not as complicated as I expected, or because I studied for a nearly continuous 24 hours prior to exam time. Either way, it is over now and I am heading home tomorrow for Thanksgiving break. I will not be doing any studying or school-related work during that time. Tonight everyone is going to Northgate to celebrate... it is much-needed.

Head Like a Hole

Yesterday was awesome. We had a genetics panel in the morning, which was not nearly as interesting as the first one. We had a few patients come in whose children had various neurological disorders. In the afternoon we had what is now my favorite lab. After removing the scalp, we sawed open our cadaver's skull and removed his brain. The skull is much thicker than you would think, so it took a while to cut through it with a Stryker saw (same thing they use to remove casts). Once we got through, the brain was visible through the meninges (membranous sac) which we had to cut through in order to expose the brain itself. The brain was then pulled back and a special extended scalpel was used to reach deep inside the skull and sever the cranial nerves as far from the brain as possible. Eventually we reached the spinal cord, and once that was cut, the brain came right out. It felt somewhat like a plastic bag filled with Jello... it was much softer than I expected. It was an awesome feeling to hold it in my hands, and it will be one of the only times I ever get to do so (aside from neuroscience next year). All in all it was an intense and exciting lab, and it was unique in that all of the lab groups were present (it was pretty crowded). Also, due to the tedious nature of dissecting the facial muscles, we did not have to do it ourselves. There was a prosection set out for us already pinned and labeled... we will have to know all the structures for our test on Monday. This is going to be a crazy weekend.

Eight Days a Week

Haven't posted in a while due to the crazy workload this week, so here is a summary of the week:

Monday - In the morning we had 3 lectures. The first was an overview of the skull bones and foramina (holes). The second was over superficial muscle groups in the neck. The third was over deep structures of the neck (vessels, nerves, deep muscles and membranes). In the afternoon, we had a lab where we dissected the superficial muscles we just learned about in the morning.

Tuesday - In the morning we had two lectures. First, we went over the embryological development of the central nervous system (brain/spinal cord). This was followed by a lecture over Facial Nerve VII, one of 12 cranial nerves. We went over all of its branches, and the function of each branch. The afternoon was devoted to humanities. We also got our Exam II grades back, and I got my highest test score so far. Still not an "A" though... but I am inching ever closer.

Wednesday - Clinical skills in the morning; we went over how to finish up writing a patient history. This was followed by a lecture over the lymphatic drainage of the head. In the afternoon, we had a lecture over the facial muscles, how they contribute to facial expression, and how the face develops embryologically. After lecture we went to lab, where we dissected the deep structures of the neck.

Thursday - We had the afternoon off, so both lectures were in the morning. First we had a lecture on the scalp, cranial cavity, meninges (membranes surrounding the brain), and sinuses that drain blood from the brain. The second lecture was a basic overview of the brain itself, including major internal/external features, and all the cranial nerves.

In short, it was a busy week. And it isn't over yet.

One Week

For once, this weekend consisted entirely of Northgate excursions, sleep, meeting up with old friends, and playing some Call of Duty: Black Ops. It was a much-needed mental vacation. The test went well, I thought it was much more straightforward than the previous one, and it was roughly 85% anatomy (which was a big help). This next week seems like it will be pretty hectic, since we have a test next Monday over the material we learn this week. It is only worth 15%, but we have 9 lectures and 3 labs jammed into the next 5 days that we have to know by then. And that is on top of the old material we have to review. This week will be interesting to say the least.

Every Day is Exactly the Same

Been a while since my last post, due to the fact that we have a test the Friday following a Monday exam... So, this past Friday night was spent celebrating the end of Exam I out on Northgate... the rest of the weekend was spent sleeping and studying. We got our exam grades back on Monday, and I did excellent, ending up with a mid-B (which is much better than I expected). Monday morning we went over lymphatics of the main body trunk and then had an orthopedic surgeon come in and show us some of the surgeries he has performed on the lower extremity. Nothing new for me since I already shadowed an orthopedic surgeon for a good while. In the afternoon we had anatomy lab, where we dissected the leg flexor muscles in the thigh. This was a straightforward lab and we got out after about an hour and a half. Tuesday morning my tankmates had to dissect the "leg" region; Abby and I had the morning off and got to sleep in, whoop! In the afternoon we had our humanities discussion, this time over professional boundaries, which was a pretty awesome topic. This morning we had clinical skills where we learned about performing basic exams to test for neurological disorders. We had the rest of the day off, but at some point before this Friday's test, we have to go into lab to study foot prosections (feet that have been dissected and labeled with pins for us by professors). I'll probably go look at those tomorrow afternoon after I finish studying the foot muscles. There's much to cram in the next 36 hours, so I probably won't be posting for a while.

The Good Life

Wow, what a great week. We got our test grades back much sooner than I thought, and I am happy to say that I did surprisingly well. I am quite satisfied. Lectures have also been very interesting, and they are all enjoyable since they are all anatomy lectures, which are my favorite. Wednesday morning we had our clinical skills class, where we got to interview an actual patient with bipolar disorder. It was fascinating listening to her talk about her condition and how it has affected her life, as well as some of the underlying causes. It was the most interesting clinical skills session we've had so far, and when it was over everyone wanted to keep going. Unfortunately we had lecture immediately following it and we had to cut the interview short. The lecture that followed covered the thigh muscles responsible for extending the knee (i.e. quads). After lunch we had lab, during which we dissected the gluteal region. There are many muscles, nerves, and vessels that pass through this region on their way to the thigh, so it was a slightly long lab. Thursday morning we had back-to-back lectures. The first covered knee flexor muscles in the thigh (i.e. hamstrings), while the second covered the leg muscles. In anatomical terms, hip to knee is called the thigh, while knee to ankle is the leg. What we commonly refer to as the "leg" is actually the "lower extremity". We then had the entire afternoon off, which was quite nice.

This morning, we went over the foot, which is packed with bones, muscles, tendons, arteries, veins, and nerves... not quite as complicated as the hand, but still rather formidable. This was followed by a lecture on the hip, knee, and ankle joints. This one was packed with enough material to fit a two-hour lecture, yet they managed to cram it into a single hour. This will definitely require a good deal of study time. Thankfully we only have one more lecture next week, so I can look forward to a nice, leisurely weekend.

Vertigo

Well, Monday's test was rather difficult. First of all, the test was only a two-parter, consisting of a multiple choice section and a powerpoint section. There was no anatomy lab practical, which is usually where I garner the most points. The genetics questions were fairly difficult, and there were quite a few tricky histo questions from past lectures as well. I'm not really sure what to think, as I think the multiple choice went very well and half of the powerpoint went well. The other half of the powerpoint felt like a disaster, however. I don't know when we will get out grades back, but hopefully it will be before next week.

After the test our class rented out Paddock Lane, a bar on northgate, and we had a private Halloween party for the med school. Some of the costumes were pretty awesome... I went in a white coat drenched in blood. My personal favorite was the group of 4 guys who went dressed as Chilean miners, complete with hard hats and dirt-smudged faces. It was the wildest night we've had in a very long time, and we all got drivers to take us home since we were incapacitated, hehe. This morning we had a lecture over anatomy of the gluteal region. From now on, all we have are anatomy lectures, which is very nice. However, we will still have 20% review material on our exams, most of which will be histo, which sucks. In the afternoon we had an interesting humanities lecture over the regional impact of medical missions trips.

I haven't gotten much sleep lately, so now it is time for a long nap.

Hand Covers Bruise

Friday morning we had a mandatory "genetics panel" meeting, which we knew nothing about other than we had to wear professional dress. When we arrived, we learned that 3 families were visiting to discuss their children, who were all affected by genetic disorders. It was a very intense and emotional presentation, as the first two families each had a child who died in their infancy due to metabolic disorders. The first presentation was from a husband and wife whose child died before a year of age (this was around 20 years ago, before genetic testing was a routine process), and have since adopted two children due to the high risk of their next child having the same disorder. The second presentation was given by a mother whose daughter died before she was 2 years old, and got a divorce shortly afterwards (as is the case for the majority of couples who lose a child). The final presentation was by a couple whose daughter suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease). The woman in question was present as well, and is now 28 years old. The disease stopped her growth at an early age and required many surgeries to fix disfigured limbs. She is confined to a wheelchair and is unable to walk. After the presentations we were able to talk to the families as well as view x-rays of all the surgeries and broken bones that the young woman with OI had suffered throughout her lifetime. It was a very impressive presentation and everyone got a lot out of it.

Aside from that, all my free time has been spent studying. The rest of the weekend is going to be intense, as there is still a large amount of material to catch up on.

Never As Tired As When I'm Waking Up

Whew, the final bunch of lectures for this exam was a bit of a doozy. Monday morning we had a lecture over genetics testing, followed by pharmacogenetics. The second lecture was so confusing that even after reading it over again I don't understand much of it, if any at all. In the afternoon we had histo lab over the female reproductive system, during which my group had to go around and help anyone who was confused. It was definitely made lab more interesting than it usually is. Tuesday morning we had back to back pharmacology lectures. The first was very interesting and discussed experimental gene therapy, which is using DNA carried in viruses to treat other diseases. The second lecture was rather boring but dealt with the considerations that must be kept in mind when delivering drugs to infants, pregnant women, and the elderly. In the afternoon we had our usual humanities lecture, this time about abuse of power. Finally, this morning we had our clinical skills class, which dealt with the topic of major diseases and their symptoms, as well as symptoms that may not be related to any disease. We are actually done with lectures for the week, although the sheer volume of information they threw at us this week more than makes up for that. I've been very short of sleep the past few days, hopefully I can get some rest soon. The next five days will most likely involve me locked up at home or the medical school trying to fit all this stuff into my brain. Big surprise.

Must Get Out

What an awesome end to the week. Friday morning we had back to back genetics lectures about DNA analysis. Abby and I had most of the afternoon off while our tankmates finished the second part of the pelvic dissection. Later in the afternoon my histo lab group had DPTS, which is where the histo profs teach us the next lab in advance, and we will in turn be going around the lab as assistants to answer any questions that other students may have. It is a pretty cool system and it helps us get answers to questions with limited staff available. Immediately following this, Caleb and I headed down to Houston for the Maroon 5 concert in the Woodlands. Early in the show I met a group of fellow Aggies who bought me a beer... the Aggie network never ceases to amaze me. The show was fantastic; Adam Levine was full of energy and got the audience involved in singing parts of several songs. OneRepublic was the opening band, and they were also amazing. I hadn't heard their newest album, but their performance made me go out and buy it. I drove back after the show and passed out. This weekend has just been nonstop studying, and I expect the next week is going to suck, since our test is next Monday. Stay tuned.

Jaded

Well then. We got our CPM I grades back this week, and it is just now starting to sink in that the block is over. Overall I was quite satisfied with my standing at the end of the block. Not much else to say about that other than I feel that this second block is going to be a significant improvement over the prior.

Tuesday was a pretty simple day. In the morning we had our first genetics lecture which was quite interesting. The professor is pretty good and she lectures well. In the afternoon we had a special guest speaker in lieu of our humanities small group. A woman came to speak to us about allocating limited medical resources... she was in New Orleans during Katrina and was stuck for days in a hospital taking care of patients, and ended up having to choose which patients to save and which ones were beyond saving. She also went to Haiti after the earthquake hit to treat patients there. It was a fascinating lecture and everyone loved it. Wednesday morning we had our clinical skills class where we had another fascinating guest speaker. The day's topic was death and dying, and our speaker was a cancer patient whose 10 year old son died of cancer some years ago. A very insightful and powerful talk. In the afternoon, we had histo lab where we examined various tissues from the male reproductive system. This morning I skipped out on genetics which started at 8:30 and watched it online later instead. Histo lecture was right before lunch, and we learned about tissues of the female reproductive system. In the afternoon we had a panel of M4s come to answer any questions we had, but we didn't learn anything that we hadn't heard a dozen times before. This whole week went by in kind of a huge blur and all of the lectures sort of seemed to blend into each other. Tomorrow I have class all day and then I am headed to the Woodlands for a Maroon 5 concert, which I am beyond ecstatic for.

Phantom Limb

Wow. Today's anatomy lab was so awesome I had to write about it immediately. But first things first. My parents came up this weekend; I gave them a tour of the new medical campus and then we spent most of the remaining time shopping and eating. I also took them to watch The Social Network, which sparked quite a bit of discussion... I think they enjoyed it. They spent the night at my apartment and then headed back home after breakfast on Sunday.

And now for today. In the morning there was a 2 hour histology lecture on elements of the male reproductive system, followed by an interesting clinical correlation presented by a local gynecologist. He showed us pictures and videos of various unique (and often bizarre) cases he has encountered, and showed us how most of our lecture material is applied to real world situations. In the afternoon was our anatomy lab, and it was intense. The majority of the lab was spent removing an entire leg from our cadaver at the pelvis. this involved sawing the pelvis in half through the midline, from the perineum all the way up to the bellybutton level. I then made a horizontal cut from just above the hip towards the first cut at the bellybutton. This allowed for total removal of that leg, and made it possible to examine the pelvis in cross-section, which was the goal of the lab. It was pretty intense and it was amusing to see some of the methods other tanks used to accomplish this task. This has definitely been my favorite lab session so far.

Worker Bee

Well this was a long, interesting week. Wednesday morning we had our usual clinical skills class followed by a histo lecture on the renal system. We had the afternoon off, so it was a pretty short day. However, they made up for this on Thursday. We had a two hour anatomy lecture on the pelvis, which was only the first part of a two-part lecture. There was a lot of info to take in, and they followed it up with two embryology lectures. The first was over the development of the genital system, and the following lecture was over development of the urinary system. Needless to say it will be a busy weekend. As if that wasn't enough, this morning we had another two hour anatomy lecture to finish up the pelvic region. This was followed by a histo lab in which we examined tissues of the renal system. In the afternoon, we had anatomy lab where we dissected the posterior abdominal wall (mainly the kidneys and nerves located around that area). It was a pretty exhausting week with a lot to absorb, and with my parents coming up on Saturday I will likely be trying to catch up all next week.

Sigh No More

Well, the test wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. I think I got nearly every anatomy question right on the exam, and the powerpoint wasn't as tough as the past ones have been. The written part was the toughie this time, with several math problems for pharmacology that weren't particularly hard, but sucked up alot of test time that could have been spent going over skipped questions. After the test we all went out to celebrate at Logan's and had a blast... there must have been 40 of us barhopping before we ended up there. Quite the wild night.

Today we jumped right back into things. After an intro to the second block of medical school that overviewed the next 10 weeks, we had back to back anatomy lectures. The first covered the posterior abdominal wall, including structures such as the kidneys and associated vessels. The second covered the perineum, which is the area between the vagina/scrotum and the anus, as well as the structures inside (there are a lot of them). In the afternoon we had our weekly humanities session on informed consent, which put a damper on an otherwise interesting day. Definitely looking forward to the rest of this week since we are mostly doing more anatomy. Whoop!

Give a Little More

So much studying to get done, so little time.... at least we didn't have any more lectures this week. Aside from our clinical correlations class Wednesday morning, and two histo labs over the GI system and associated glands on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, we didn't even have any class. And still, it is not enough time.... the next 36 hours will be rough.

Long Road to Ruin

This weekend is officially going to suck. There's already so much material I don't even know what to focus on, and this week has just given us more. Monday morning we went over drug elimination and transformation in pharmacology. Once again, this was not bad. Pharm seems pretty easy. This was followed by an excruciating histo lecture on GI structures given by the astoundingly ineffective Dr. Chico. Not only are her lectures confusing and filled with dumb errors, but her notes are the most horribly organized I've seen since my undergrad botany class. Her note sets are like one really long essay, filled with minutiae and irrelevant details or unnecessary explanations. At least she rarely lectures. In the afternoon we looked at respiratory structures in histo lab, which was pretty straightforward. This morning we had our last pharmacology lecture over pharmacokinetics, which is basically what happens to all the drugs that enter our body. More easy stuff. This was followed by yet another Chico lecture on the glands associated with the GI tract. In the afternoon was our usual humanities meeting in which we talked about honesty with patients. Exciting.

Back to the grind, I have a lot left to wrap my head around and I have to get it all locked down by Monday. Thankfully we are done with lecture and only have labs the rest of the week.

Even Deeper

And the mountain of material keeps getting higher...

Wednesday morning we had our intro to clinical skills class, where we interviewed a retired doctor over the cardiovascular system to try and diagnose heart disease. It was an interesting lecture as usual; Dr. Wiprud is one of my favorite instructors. This was followed by our first pharmacology lecture, which was surprisingly basic and was not difficult or complicated in any way. Abby and I had the afternoon off, so Caleb, Mike, and Bryan had to teach us the abdomen dissection on Thursday afternoon. It was pretty cool finally getting into the real guts, although it only reinforced my avoidance of McDonald's forever. Thursday morning we had a biochem lecture over cell signaling which I slept in for. It was followed by our second pharmacology lecture over drug absorption and distribution through the body, which was actually pretty interesting not very difficult. In the afternoon, we had histo lab where we examined slides of various glands of the immune system, which was not as bad as the blood and marrow slides.

Thursday evening I had reunion with some old friends from undergrad at one of their homes; we had dinner and drinks and watched the A&M game, which was great up until the very end when we lost. Later on, I joined a group of med students in watching the midnight premiere of The Social Network. The movie was fantastic. This morning we had another histology lecture, but this time it was taught by Dr. Hubbard and was much less intense than the previous two lectures. It was over the cells of the respiratory system. It is a rather odd time to cover the subject, but as he said, there isn't really any good place to stick this lecture. In the afternoon we finished dissecting the organs and vessels of the abdominal cavity, which was mostly straightforward. I just woke from an awesome nap and will now begin the long weekend of nonstop studying once again...

Like Eating Glass

Ugh, the week is just starting and I already have tons of new material swamping me. Monday morning we finished covering the abdominal organs in anatomy. This was followed by a histo lecture on the immune system, which was incredibly tedious as usual. Thankfully we had the afternoon off, so I had some time to catch up on sleep and review some more material. This morning (I guess yesterday at this hour), we had two biochem lectures in a row (aka snoozefest) over the cellular cytoskeleton and extracellular adhesion. We had our humanities small groups in the afternoon over the topic of confidentiality. In the afternoon, we had a review in histo lab over blood and hematopoesis, since we will apparently be getting our first homework assignment. We are going to be given 100 images of red and white blood cells in various stages of development and will have to identify them. Captivating.

Pain

What a hectic end to the week. Thursday morning we had two biochem lectures over intracellular traffic, which I opted to skip and watch on recording later. In the afternoon, we had histo lab where we examined red and white blood cells in various stages of development. Everything looked pretty much the same, and the lab only served to escalate our already considerable apprehension towards the topic of hematopoeses. Histology is headache-inducing. Friday morning we had an embryology lecture over the development of the body cavity. This was followed by the first part of a two-part lecture on the anatomy of the abdominal organs. In the afternoon, we dissected the penis. This was simply painful to watch and worse still to perform at first; however, after a while we became desensitized to it as with anything these days. I've been feeling pretty crappy for the past few days, so I'm going to hit the sack before my head explodes. This weekend will just be one giant game of catch-up. Sigh.

Love/Hate Sensation

Today we got our test scores back, and I did fantastically. I almost got a perfect score on the anatomy lab portion of the exam, of which I am quite proud. If I do well enough on the fourth exam, I should have a B for the block.

Yesterday began with a continuation of the abdominal wall lecture, followed by the anatomy of the penis. Apparently we will be dissecting penises (penii? haha) sometime this week... that should be interesting. This lecture was followed by a histo lecture on hematopoesis (blood formation), which was expectedly complex and nerve-wracking. The afternoon was just our weekly group session, nothing special to report.

This morning was our clinical skills class, and we all had to wear professional attire and our white coats. We had an actual patient with asthma come in, and volunteers had to go up and take his history and try to figure out his health issue (this was before we knew it was asthma). In the end we learned that the "patient" was actually a doctor, who also happened to have asthma. It was an interesting lecture and I enjoyed it very much. This was followed by a physiology lecture on the electrical properties of cell membranes, which put me to sleep. Speaking of sleep, a facebook group has been made where pictures of sleeping students are being put it. They are quite hilarious, thankfully I have yet to make an appearance. In the afternoon, we dissected the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall, which was pretty cool. Abby and I will be teaching Pickles and Ahmad what we learned. Now back to finishing my study session so I can get some sleep, as the rest of this week is going to suck.

Getting Better

I think I am liking med school more with every passing day. These off weekends reenergize me and get me back in the swing of things, and I always feel even more ready than the previous testing round. This weekend was pretty laid back; mostly I ran errands, cleaned up around the house, and played Halo: Reach. Friday night we had a large northgate outing followed by a fun afterparty, and Saturday we went downtown to Revolution and chilled out with some drinks and live music. Sunday we went to see "The Town" which was an awesome movie... all in all a great weekend to unwind.

Today's classes were mostly excruciatingly boring, as the morning lecture was a 2 hour lesson on membrane transport in biochem, and the first afternoon lecture was over the physiology of membrane transport. There aren't many things in life less exciting than cell membranes. The second lecture was great, an M2 introduced us to the anatomy of the abdominal wall... we will be getting into guts very soon :)

Feeling Good

Haven't updated in a few days due to the nonstop studying for today's exam. I actually felt really good about the exam since it was pretty much all anatomy. There was one question that was pretty crazy, where they gave us 3 minutes (!!) to draw out AND label all of the arteries and branches in the elbow and forearm (there are nearly 20)... I think I managed to get it all down, but I had to use all of the extra 90 seconds we get at the end to go over our answers. Other than that, things went smoothly. I am looking forward to another study-free weekend filled with festivities and some gaming, which I haven't had time for in months.

Wake Me Up When September Ends

This week has been off to a pretty good start. The weekend mostly consisted of late night study sessions at the new med school campus, which is now my new favorite place to study. Monday morning we went over the bones and muscles of the hand, followed by a presentation where a hand surgeon showed us videos of several different procedures he has recently performed. It was really awesome, and is definitely something I would be interested in doing. Looking around the classroom was funny, because you could spot the people that would never want to do surgery by the grossed-out looks on their faces. Abby and I had the afternoon off, while our tank mates dissected the forearm. In the evening we were brought up to speed on what we missed. We had our quiz at the beginning of lab this morning (!!), during which time we dissected the hand. It was our first morning anatomy lab and was the longest, most tedious lab so far. It was fascinating regardless. In the afternoon we had our usual Tuesday humanities Kumbaya session, followed by histo lab over endocrine glands. This section is going to suck; hopefully there are not many test questions concerning this topic.

In the afternoon I hung out with my close friend Rachel, who is visiting from Florida all week for her best friend's wedding. Tonight will be dedicated to learning all the remaining muscles in the upper limb, and tomorrow will be dedicated to histology :(

One Step Closer

What a jam-packed week. Thursday morning we went over forearm flexor muscles before histo lab, where we examined slides of cartilage and bone. The entire afternoon was dedicated to dissecting the shoulder region. Abby and I had our quiz, which we aced. In the afternoon we had to to teach Mike, Caleb, and Bryan what we did in the dissection. Friday morning began with a histo lecture over endocrine glands, which is a pretty complex topic that I am not looking forward to studying. In the afternoon we went over forearm extensor muscles before anatomy lab. The group we taught the prior dissection to got all the quiz questions right, which is good since these quizzes are helping keep everyone afloat. The lab itself concerned the upper arm and elbow joint, which wasn't particularly difficult, but involved a lot of tedious work. This was definitely a week dense with new material, but given that most of it is pure anatomy, I am not too worried.

There is not much in store for this weekend aside from chores and more studying :/

One Little Victory

We got our test scores back, and I am happy to say that I did much better on this exam than the first. I am finally getting into the swing of things and learning how I need to study for med school.

Yesterday morning we jumped right back into histology with a neverending lecture on cartilage and bone development. Our next lecture was pushed back into the afternoon due to a tornado warning that cut the presentation short. The lecture dealt with the anatomy of the axillary (armpit) region, which is actually very complex since all the arteries, veins, and nerves in your arm have to pass through this area. The brachial plexus is a big tangle of nerves in this area that we have to know like the streets in our hometown. We then met with our humanities group where the day's topic was ethics in medicine. Definitely my favorite discussion so far. This was followed by another anatomy lecture on the shoulder region. It was definitely the longest and most tiring day we've had so far.

This morning we had our clinical skills class where we learned about major symptoms associated with all the body systems that we have to be familiar with when we are questioning our patients. This was followed by a lecture on the upper arm and elbow... this next exam is going to be a very anatomy-intensive, which is great because it means we have no biochem :)

Abby and I had the afternoon off again while our tankmates dissected the axillary region. We have been assigned a new cadaver, and will be switching to a new one after every exam from now on. We met with Pickles and Ahmad immediately after lab to review the dissection because we have lab every day this week, which means that we have to take our quiz tomorrow. It might prove difficult since most of the questions will likely concern the brachial plexus. Time to get studying again...

Take It Easy

Well... Friday's exam was definitely an improvement over the first exam. However, it would be a stretch to say that it was not difficult. I suppose we will find out soon enough how we did. This weekend was spent not thinking about school or exams. Friday night we hit up northgate and had an awesome time at a new club called The Social Lounge. Saturday was spent running around doing errands, cleaning up my place, and taking care of my mountain of laundry. I stayed in for the night with some cold Newcastle and episodes of Mad Men. Sunday morning, I went with David, Christina, and Chip to New Braunfels to float the Guadalupe River. It was incredibly relaxing and the cool water felt great. We finished a 30 pack between the 4 of us, so we had an awesome time. In the evening we drove to Austin, where we spent the night on West Sixth Street (after a hilarious fiasco at a Target store). We slept at David's house and drove back this morning.

Tomorrow, classes resume again and it's back to the grind, but I am going to relax and take in this last day of freedom before the next exam :)

Drowning Lessons

FML. Wednesday night our lab group met with Dr. Chen in the anatomy lab to review test material for an hour or so. I had been feeling pretty good about my progress in studying until then. His questions about the cadaver crushed these feelings to the ground and rubbed them in the dirt. Since the lab practical section will cover everything we have done in anatomy lab since Day 1, the amount of information is unmanageable. We have come to the conclusion that it is impossible for any person to know everything really well. Anytime you walk around and hear people talking, you feel like you don't know anything. This is because every person knows one area really well and just a bit of everything else. I knew anatomy very well for the first exam. I know the new anatomy material quite well, but it has started to overwrite the old material and I am frantically trying to relearn the old material. There isn't much histo on this exam, but up to 20% can be old material and I have no idea how much histo they are going to pull out of their ass from the first exam material. And biochem is probably my weakest subject at the moment, so that is what I am going to study next.

No sleep tonight. Study break is over, off I go....

Time Stand Still

There are not enough hours in the day to accomplish all the shit we need to get done. Our second test on Friday is rapidly approaching, and it seems that new material is piled on faster than the old stuff can be learned. Monday morning we went over glycolysis as well as sugar interconversions. In anatomy we learned about the embryological development of muscle and bone, a lecture which I invited my friend and former anatomy lab partner Elizabeth to sit in on, as she has been interviewing at many different med schools. Abby and I had the afternoon off while the rest of the team dissected the vertebral column. Tuesday morning we covered metabolic regulation and the citric acid cycle in biochem for what must be the 8th time in our lives. Every time I think I will never need to know this shit again, there it is being taught once more. In our afternoon humanities group discussion we talked about ethical dilemmas, which naturally was an interesting topic. This morning was our second intro to Clinical Skills class where we learned how to record past medical history as well as medication and allergies. We have no more class between now and the exam, but Abby and I still have to go to the lab so that Mike, Caleb, and Bryan can teach us the vertebral column dissection. This exam will also be the first with an anatomy lab practical, which will cover all the dissections since class began.

Life needs a pause button.

Between Love & Hate

Wake up, eat, study, eat, nap, study, eat, study, sleep, repeat.

Welcome to the next 2 years of my life.

Swallow It

Yesterday morning we had our first physiology class. It was extremely interesting and focused on the physiology of the cardiovascular system. It was a very cool lecture and didn't seem very difficult. We had the afternoon off, during which time I mostly studied and also taught Pickles and Ahmad the content of our previous anatomy lab. I relaxed for a while in the evening before studying again...

This morning we went over cardiovascular tissue in histology lab, which was pretty excruciating. This is easily my least favorite subject and it is a lot of information to absorb. In the afternoon we had a short anatomy lecture on the vertebral column given by a pair of M2s, which as with our last M2 lecture was incredibly interesting. The remainder of the afternoon was spent in anatomy lab. Pickles and Ahmad got a perfect score on the quiz due to the excellent preparation they received from me and Abby :) The lab itself was a dissection of the back muscles, and we had to flip our cadaver over in order to do this... it was an interesting task to say the least. The rest of the day has been spent studying (mostly). I am looking forward to the weekend so I can catch up on sleep (and studying)...

The First Cut is the Deepest

Ouch. Just got back my first test score, and it was much less than satisfactory. About the only good thing I can say is that my excellent quiz average gives me an overall passing score. Barely. The class average was a 74 with a standard deviation of 8 points. Most everyone I know got a similarly shitty grade. Hopefully the next test will be much better and will pull my average out of the dirt. Next test is a week from Friday and will mostly cover the cardiovascular system.

Monday morning we went over the anatomy and embryological development of the heart, which is a pretty complex subject... lots of minor details to remember. In the afternoon we went over the painfully boring subject of purine metabolism in biochem, and continued with pyrimidine metabolism early Tuesday morning. Later in the morning we covered cardiovascular histology, which seems to be the least painful histo lecture so far. In the afternoon we met with our new humanities groups which now include nursing students, and our case studies seemed to focus on doctor/nurse conflict and doctor's ego.

This morning, we had our first "Intro to Clinical Skills" class, where we are basically going to learn how to take patient histories and perform physical examinations. It seems like an awesome class and I am looking forward to it. In a few weeks we will even be examining actual patients, not just each other. After that we went over the anatomy of the deep and superficial back region, which was fairly straightforward. In the afternoon we had anatomy lab, where we were finally able to dissect the heart. It is an interesting feeling to hold a human heart in your hand. Unlike most of the dissections we have done, the interior of the heart is so sturdy that it maintains appearances almost identical to textbook images. It has definitely been one of my favorite labs so far.

Salt in Our Wounds

Well. I don't even know what to think about that stupid test. I was up the entire night and didn't get a single minute of sleep. I went to the histo lab at around 3am to review slides and spent about 4 hours in there... It was a pretty long night.

The test was divided into two sections, one was multiple choice and the other was a powerpoint presentation in which we were shown various histological or anatomical images and had to answer questions about them. The multiple choice didn't feel like it went too bad, however the powerpoint section was just horrific. I spent three days studying embryology only to have a grand total of 4 questions over it out of 150. The other students seem split between those that thought the powerpoint was very difficult or those that thought the multiple choice was very difficult. I don't think I met a single person who felt good about the whole thing.

We went for drinks right after the test, then I came home and slept for about 12 hours. Yesterday I woke up early and went out to get things done. I ran errands and stopped by the mall to take advantage of tax-free weekend. I also cleaned my apartment and did laundry. Last night I went to northgate where a bachelorette party was happening. Definitely some crazy stuff went down, including a guy donating his boxers to the bride-to-be and another guy stripping down on the Corner Rooftop Bar and dancing for her.

Today is going to be a laid-back and relaxed day before the mayhem ensues once again. I don't know when we find out our test grades, and I don't really want to know.

Brain Stew

study study study... must keep studying... stimulants... embryogenesis... pericardiacophrenic arteries.... junk food..... need sleep....... must stay awake.. histo histo histo.... caffeine... eosin & hematoxylin

tonight is going to suck.

Won't Back Down

Shit is starting to pile up. This weekend was entirely spent studying and trying to get caught up, which is starting to seem like an exercise in futility. Caleb printed out all the notes for our first test. He printed out six slides per page. The notes completely filled a big 3-inch binder. Holy crap. Pretty much everyone is starting to freak out about this first test, and although I feel totally unprepared for it, I am not feeling any anxiety yet... yet. I know somehow I will be ready come exam time, even if it means not sleeping for a few days.

Monday morning we went over protein translation and regulation of gene expression. Biochem is incredibly boring and I have discovered I am more productive skipping class and getting more sleep, and then watching the lecture at double speed in the afternoon. We had a very long lecture over muscle tissue in histology that afternoon. I got my car back with a brand new clutch (that cost me a grand :/ ) but it has never felt better to drive! Tuesday morning we went over nerves in histology and had our humanities discussion in the afternoon. Apparently after this week, we are breaking up our humanities discussion groups and reorganizing, and joining with students from nursing and pharmacy school. That should be interesting :)

Tomorrow we don't have class until 1:00, and we have Thursday off. So the plan for tonight is to stay up till around 4 or 5 studying and then get 6 or 7 hours of sleep before histology lab, where we will be observing muscle tissue. Time to meet this test head-on.

Luck Be a Lady

Friday the 13th... normally I'm not a superstitious person, but this day has changed my mind.

After an amazing Thursday night on northgate, I was driving back home around 2:30 when my clutch gave out... I ended up stranded on the side of Harvey Mitchell Parkway half a mile from my apartment. I had to call up my buddy/tankmate Caleb and we drove to Walmart to get a tow cable so we could pull my car the rest of the way to my apartment. The irony here is that his car would not start that morning, and I had to give him a jump start. Of course we had to hit up Whataburger afterwards.

In the morning we went over RNA transcription in biochem, followed by histology lab. We reviewed slides of epithelium and skin, which was actually quite interesting. After lunch we had histology lecture over nervous tissue, and then we had our quiz. This is when I decided today was going to be a shitty day. Since I use a Mac, I had to borrow one of the med school's new laptops running Windows 7 in order to take the quiz. Halfway through the quiz, the computer randomly shut down. I had to wait until everyone finished so that they could get me another loaner. Before taking the quiz I had to wait so they could re-upload the test to their server for me. I finished taking the quiz, and when I clicked on submit, the new computer crashed. It wouldn't let me log back in, so they had to bring me a third laptop. After waiting once again I was finally able to retake and submit my quiz, but what should have been a 10 minute quiz ended up taking over an hour.

After class, we hit up the Dixie Chicken followed by O'bannon's. I went home, took a nap, and then woke up and started studying again. At around 11, people started calling/texting me so I found a ride and went out to northgate again. It wasn't as much fun as last night, but it was still a great time as usual.

Bottom line is, Friday the 13th sucks. I have to wake up early tomorrow to get my car fixed, so it's off to bed for the night....

Life in the Fast Lane

Busy busy busy...

Tuesday morning we went over DNA replication, chromosomes, and enzymes/catalysts in our biochem class. In the afternoon, we had a medical humanities class where we discussed social conventions surrounding disease, what actually defines a disease, and how society labels many things as diseases that may not actually qualify to be termed as such. We then had a group discussion about doctor/patient relationships and ethical dilemmas. After this session we had histology lab, where we examined many slides of connective tissue.

Yesterday we had the morning off because the students at the Temple campus had a clinical skills presentation to attend. In the afternoon we studied epithelial tissue in histology, and then had gross anatomy lab after that. The lab was amazing as usual. We started off by taking our quiz... Abby and I were sent in alone to our tank and were given three colored pins which we had to use to pin 3 selected structures in the body. We aced it, and secured the group's grade, for now. The actual dissection was long and tedious, but the beginning was awesome because I got to detach and remove the lungs from our cadaver. The rest of the lab involved separating and identifying all the arteries and nerves inside the main chest cavity. It was a very long lab and we didn't even finish yet; we will have to go back to lab some night next week in order to finish things up.

This morning we went over enzyme regulation in biochem and learned about the skin in histology. Not a terribly exciting morning, but we have the entire afternoon off!! Therefore it will be spent trying to catch up on all these lectures and studying my ass off for a quiz tomorrow. We may be going out to northgate later tonight, but we shall see what happens...

Weekend Wars

I didn't have much free time this weekend to write a new post due to having so much to do (also I forgot about it), but I will try to summarize everything here.

Friday morning was our first histology lab, which basically consisted of looking at a bunch of tissue slides and identifying visible structures. Microscopes are no longer used in lab, instead all of the slides are now digital in unbelievably high resolution. It is possible to zoom in all the way on individual cells in a single tissue sample, very cool. In the afternoon we had histology lecture where we went over connective tissue.

My parents came up that afternoon to bring up the rest of my stuff for my apartment, and we spent most of the weekend cleaning and setting everything up. Friday night everyone hit up northgate and had a great time. Saturday a group of the M1s went out to Lake Bryan for a big picnic, and then went out kayaking on the lake. It was pretty fun, but most of us left early to catch up on our studying. Sunday was entirely devoted to studying.

Today, we had anatomy in the morning, we went over the lungs and development of the respiratory system, and then covered the autonomic nervous system. The first lecture was given by an M2 which was pretty cool and much more interesting than most of our classes so far. After that I had the day off (but spent it studying), as my lab partner Abby and I were not scheduled to be in lab for this session. Our next lab is on Wednesday, so one of the dissecting teams (Danyal/Ahmad) is going to have to teach us everything that they learned during that dissection. Abby and I will be quizzed over this material at the beginning of Wednesday's lab, and whatever grade we achieve is applied to our entire tank group.

I have a lot of catching up to do since the weekend was mostly spent setting up my apartment, so now I must get back to my studies.

Death and All His Friends

WOW. Yesterday was our first day working with the cadavers, and it was an experience unlike anything else. For about the first 10 seconds after the tanks opened, everyone just stood there mindblown and silent. I still find it incredible that a person would give up their body just so that we can use it as a learning tool for our future careers. It was an amazing experience; unfortunately due to legal restrictions I cannot go into any further detail on the cadavers other than to say that there were 17 of them.

The way the lab works is that we are broken up into groups of six, each group gets their own tank with cadaver. Within each tank group, we are divided into 3 teams of 2 people. Yesterday being the first lab, we were all there. However, from now on it will be much different. Two teams will be assigned to perform the day's dissection, while the third team gets the day off. However, prior to the next dissection, one of the two dissecting teams will be assigned to teach the third team everything that they learned that day. At the beginning of the next lab, the teams that did not dissect have to take a quiz over what they were taught by their fellow group members. Whatever grade that team makes is the same grade that the whole tank group gets. I think this is an excellent system, because it forces the dissecting teams to focus hard enough that they can teach the material to the other team, while the home team has to do their best to learn everything that they are taught, since the whole group's grade depends on them. Each lab a different team will get the day off, and a different team will be assigned to teach. It will rotate around all semester.

Today obviously could not compare to yesterday, and was rather boring for the most part. We had biochem all morning once again, with a different prof than before. We went over a lot of thermodynamics and acid/base reactions which I thought was strangely basic to be covering in med school. Didn't we learn this in Chem 101? In the afternoon we had a class in professionalism, followed by a guest speaker who was a colorectal surgeon (nice). The afternoon was spent moving all my shit into my new apartment, as I have been living in a temporary unit with some other guys. The move took most of the afternoon and now I am exhausted. I am excited, however, to finally be living on my own for the first time in my life. I feel it will be a great experience and the best thing that I could do in med school. Now I have to get studying for histology lab tomorrow, good night to all.

Circles

Last night was a verrrry long night. Our reading assignment for biochem was basically to relearn our entire first semester of biochem from undergrad. DNA replication, transcription, translation, as well as cell biology and signal transduction. A lot to cram into a single night, and then we had a quiz over it all in the morning. All of our quizzes and exams are now computerized, which was a new and pleasant experience. Today we had biochem all morning, basically reviewing everything that we read the night before. In the afternoon, we had a humanities session, where we broke up into small groups and discussed issues such as bedside manner and ethics. We will be having these meetings once per week, apparently.

Tonight was spent mostly going over the anatomy of the pectoral region and breast in preparation for anatomy lab tomorrow, where we will begin dissecting our cadavers. I am excited beyond anything I have felt in a long while. I will get into more detail about how dissection works within our groups later, but I will say that I am part of a 7 person team working in shifts. For now I must sleep.

Let the Flames Begin

Today was our first official day of class. We had a lecture on embryology followed by a lecture in gross anatomy. Sunday was mostly spent reading and trying to get ready for these lectures. Embryology lecture covered zygote and gamete formation, as well as fetus development. Gross anatomy covered the anatomy of the pectoral region and breast.

Tonight I have several long reading assignments for biochem and histology. It seems this first week is going to be spent relearning the entirety of our undergraduate classes. Gonna be a long night, and the first week barely started...

The Becoming

I got my white coat this morning along with the other 158 College of Medicine M1 students. It was pretty exciting and the auditorium was packed with people. We are now officially students of the Health Science Center. Although class doesn't technically start until Monday, we already have several reading assignments to complete before the first lecture. I spent most of the day running errands and then started to dig into my reading assignment. There's a party tonight for the M1s and M2s, so I'm trying to read up as much as I can before the festivities commence.

Orientation: Complete

Yesterday was the last day of orientation, and was only a half day. We went over the various websites and computer programs we are going to be using, as well as the test-taking software. We then had a meeting with a bunch of M2s for a Q&A session that was pretty helpful.

In the evening we celebrated the end of orientation week at Fox & Hound for $2 beers. We soon migrated to Northgate where we spent the rest of the night barhopping and ended up in the Presidio swimming pool. Good times.

Today my parents are coming up with some other family members to attend tomorrow's white coat ceremony, so we will probably be driving around town and having dinner later. Everyone will probably go out again tonight, so we shall see what happens...

Orientation: Continued...

Yesterday was basically another repeat of the first day, with more informational sessions and details regarding the grading system and a detailed rundown of our class schedules. At the end of the day we had a decent icebreaker where we had a sheet with an interesting fact about everyone and had to go around and find out who each fact belonged to. Needless to say, I hardly remember the names of anyone outside of the 30 or so people that I've been able to retain in my head. We got our first reading assignment for Histology, even though class doesn't start until Monday... it was a tedious chapter about the various types of optical and electron microscopes and the procedure for producing tissue slides.

Today was another story, as we had orientation for Gross Anatomy as well as Histology and Radiology. It was pretty much like a class day, since all we did was go through lots of notes and slides covering material that will be included on our first test. Now we have to review a bunch of the slides from the lectures in preparation for class on Monday.

Tonight, however, we party.

Orientation: Day 1

Today was mostly spent going over lots of technical details such as grading, classes, rules, and utilizing the College of Medicine's resources. Very long and boring day from 7:45 til almost 5:00.

Tonight we all went out to Northgate and I showed some people around the area and introduced them to some of the cooler bars. Now it is time to get some sleep as Day 2 begins at 8:30.

Introduction

Tomorrow is the first day of orientation week. Classes will begin August 2nd. Check-in is at 7:45, I am excited to see what the day has in store.