David's Med School Blog

The end of Term 5 & The beginning of Term 6!

starmagus — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:34:22 +0000

Well, I know I’ve been gone for a while. So let me just update on some things…

For starters, no I do not have the pictures of the villa I promised in my previous post. Things have been kind of hectic since I arrived a week late and was playing catch-up the entire time until exams. The good news though is that I was very successful and will definitely finish this semester out well and be home for good on December 11th. I scored high B’s on every exam in the first round last week. So I’m good to go. I’d love to say more here but I gotta get back to work as more piles on every day. Till next time…

Peace.

Back for Term 5! (My First Last Days in Grenada)

starmagus — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:24:10 +0000

Well, everything is going okay. Got in a week late thanks to the lack of flights. Started out a bit behind in Pharmacology but I’m almost caught up now. I’m headed to my first clinical round for Intro to Clinical Medicine tomorrow morning. Its a private practice. Should be fun. Got a ton of drugs to learn this week and I gotta start tonight so this post will be short and sweet but I’ll try and post a major update soon. But I think I’m gonna like this term for the most part. Got a great villa to stay in this time and Keoma is here with me. Well, I gotta eat some dinner and get to working but I’ll post some pictures of the place with the update. Until next time…

Peace.

So final exams are finally over, finally…

starmagus — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:50:33 +0000

Well, the most rigorous term of academics I will ever experience in my lifetime has come to an end. Grades have not yet been released for everything but I got a B in Medical Nutrition a couple of weeks back. It was a short course. The clinical skills final lab exam earned me a high pass but not quite an A. If I did well enough on the final written test I could be looking at an A but I don’t have the grades yet. Nevertheless, it was a fair and relatively easy exam so we’ll see. The Pathology final exam was done this past monday and grades are due out some time this afternoon. I’ll pass the course as long as I got at least half the test correct, which I should have. The worst I’ve ever done on an exam is a good deal higher than that and that exam was the second Pathology exam we took a few weeks back. So now I’m just sitting and waiting silently for them to post the grades. Now I’m looking at a wonderful six weeks of break back home before I begin the final term of basic sciences for my MD degree. After three and a half long years since I began my MPH work, completed it, and began MD studies, I will finally be finished here in Grenada on December 10th.

Peace.

-UPDATE- Passed everything with flying colors. Will have a nice enjoyable summer break and then I return one last time to Grenada for the last 17 weeks of basic sciences, Term 5!

Pissed off, and ready for round 3!

starmagus — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:16:56 +0000

Well, I see it has been a while since I was able to post last. This term has really sapped all of my free time. I’m just starting to open my eyes again and look around. The first pathology exam grades were finally released about a week after my previous post. It went excellent and I scored a high B. The next five weeks were killer. We began learning Physical Diagnosis. Lab times doubled. We learned the four hardest areas of Pathology and Pediatrics as the cherry on top. Microbiology intensified and we went through the rest of the systems and then learned about zoonoses (send me a note if you don’t know what this is.) and a good lecture in biodefense to cap it off. The second exam period was the most intense I have ever experienced, lasting a full 2 weeks if you include study days. The second pathology exam was a killer, knocking the class average down into failing range. I kept afloat though and scraped by with a passing grade. Its all good. I’ll have no problems with passing the course for sure now. I took my mid-term for CPD and examined my first patient, which got me an A. And then I got a high pass on the written component which shows I know considerably more medical facts than the average member of the class. So I’m happy.

Oh, and more drama since the cheating incident was rumor of a bribery incident that same period and then some turkish hackers took over the curriculum website for a day. I should write a book about this semester of medical school alone and call it “What next?”. I’ve never been so completely entertained by school before. Its great. Oh, and the other students’ terms are over and we are here for six more weeks by ourselves. Its awesome! The campus is so quiet and peaceful right now. No lines at the grocery store. No problems doing laundry since I’m probably one of about 4 people left in the whole dormitory. Well, I’m off to do laundry and get some studying done. I’m really going to try and focus on CPD more now that I have more time with Microbiology being finished (even though we have two weeks of Medical Nutrition starting this Monday…) so I’ll cut this posting off here and am off to begin the last four weeks of instruction for the term before finals. Wish me luck!

Peace.

A Quick Update

starmagus — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 14:35:53 +0000

Okay. So the exams ended over a week ago. I’m doing just fine in Microbiology, especially considering that a quarter of the class failed it and its the hardest exam I’ve taken yet. Yes, even harder than the Pathology exam. But I have a B so I’m happy. The Pathology exam was my best performance I’ve ever had on an exam in my entire life, making it a certainty that I did better than the Microbiology exam. Therefore, I’ve passed the class already. Problem is, I have no idea what my actual numerical score is just yet. This is because some people got ahold of some elicit exam materials to “study” by which the faculty were made aware of after the exam took place. So our grades are being held hostage while they investigate the source of all of this and discipline those who took part. I wonder if that little boost will really be seen as “worth it” by those who will end up being expelled over this. The exam wasn’t even that bad anyway. I just want my grade so I can get on with my life but since its a compromised exam, we may have to retake it, which sucks. No matter. I’ll just ace it again. …But this still sucks. Anyways, back to work.

Peace.

–UPDATE– Pathology grades were finally released & the 10 compromised questions were removed. We’ll get 5 on the next exam and 5 on the final exam. I did very well. Smooth sailing from here on…

The Piano: My Second Self

starmagus — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:01:25 +0000

I sometimes reminisce of the days I used to be a pianist. The stage was nice and all, and I really hated giving lessons, but I definitely loved to play. I had to leave it behind when I decided definitively to go into medicine. It was my second year of pre-med studies. I decided to try and take some lessons at school from the chair of keyboard studies in the school of music. She accepted me as a student, the only non-music major pianist and the only student who wasn’t a piano performance major who had keys to the grand pianos for practice. I enjoyed the semster we spent together and I learned alot about the instrument and how to go about playing it and learning it that I had not known previously. Dr. Godes did get frustrated with me but I still received an A for the semester, albeit without finishing a complete piece of music. The cost of this diversion, however, was that I dropped physics, and failed organic chemistry. I knew I would have to say goodbye to it for a while. I haven’t REALLY played in all that time, going on four years now.

I really miss the piano sometimes…

However, with my time in Grenada coming to an end with the end of 2009 on the horizon, I will finally have some time to play again when I begin clinical studies in New York. Not a whole lot of time, but enough to play again. It will be nice. As Chopin once said of the instrument, “The Piano is my second self.” While I decided not to make it my career, it is still a passion of mine and I do hope to perform and compete again someday.

The Moment of Truth Approaches…

starmagus — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:31:06 +0000

Okay. So we are just about to finish up with the first 3rd of my fourth term… when this term ends, I will have a short summer break, returning in August for my final run… terms 5 & 6. At the completion of that final run, I will be ready to take the boards, leaving Grenada behind, and then proceed to New York for the clinical years of my degree. But first I have to pass Pathology. Pathology is the most difficult barrier needed to cross in order to secure graduation. The questions are tricky, misleading, vague, and every answer choice is potentially right… The first of these three exams hapens a week from this Monday. There is no more class after this Wednesday morning coming up, at which point, I will then throw everything I have into final preparations for this exam. Should I get a B, I will have one of the three tests done, and a high enough score to secure victory with most certainty. This is why I say the moment of truth approaches. I have done well to this point. I have NEVER failed any exams and I have only made a C on two of them ever. I will prepare for this exam like I have never prepared before and I am certain that I will succeed in getting not only the required B but actually several points higher. I will study based on targeted areas and objectives utilizing the notes and many different practice questions. And then I will have prevailed, secured my graduation from the program, and achieved everything I have wanted to this point.

Something learned this way comes… The Doctor shall soon be in…

Peace.

The Caribbean Paradise Known as Laluna!

starmagus — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:40:18 +0000

Okay! So I promised pictures of Laluna. I took a ton of them though so here are the highlights.

…I can’t wait to go back!

Anyways, my third term ended today and so I’m going to relax and enjoy my weekend before the next round of work starts up.

Back on the Island!

starmagus — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:35:28 +0000

Well, I’ve been back for about 3 weeks now. Just finished up a lovely weekend at the Laluna resort here for my fourth anniversary with my beloved. I took alot of pictures of the resort and I’ll upload them shortly. I’m just in a bit of a hurry right now. Just dropped her off at the airport and now I gotta stuff down some breakfast and get to lecture. lol Well, I had more fun in this country than I’ve had in the two and a half years I’ve been here this past weekend. It was a great anniversary. I’ll talk about this more later on.

Christmas Break

starmagus — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:24:06 +0000

Well, I’m home for a short break. Enjoying the free time. I spend most of it with my significant other. Not much time until I have to go back so I’m trying to cut loose as much as possible while I can. New Year’s eve tomorrow. Gonna blow some stuff up. I’ll try and update again soon.

Peace.