It's already been a week?

Hard believe that I haven't posted in a week. So here's go the quick review.

I did really well on the Biochem test. I'm averaging in the mid 95's now. Not sure how long I will be able to keep that up, but I'm going to try. This isn't a test weekend (thank goodness) so it's a chance to rest and catch up on lecture reviews.

The new content this week made it our hardest week yet. We had a bunch of metabolism, upper extremity (UE) and embryology (2) lectures. That's a lot of new information. I spent two hours this morning in the lab reviewing UE structures, then another two 2-3 hours at a coffe shop drawing the plexus, axilarry artery and overall vasculature a couple times. I'm close to having the muscles down, so I'm feeling ok about anatomy. Then I spent another few hours (with lots of interuptions) reviewing the first two metabolism lectures. I'm not sure I can get the remaining six done this weekend to be caught up, but it's worth a try.

With a Clinical Correlates (CC) test on Thursday and then Anatomy/Histology/Embryology on the following Monday, Biochem will be taking a backseat and I don't want to get too far behind.

Boring life huh? Well only 26 weeks of instruction and 3 weeks of finals left until I can have some fun again :). Actually OMM and the clubs are pretty fun. Next Saturday I'm going to do work study for a couple hours helping to give kids physicals. Becky and I are going to an Open House Residency Night at a local hospital to check that out. Yesterday we had our first Medical Spanish meeting and while I destroyed the pronunciations, the food was great. All in all, not a bad week. If I can get Biochem under control I'll feel much better.

The real stress next week is the CC test. The class has been SO disorganized that we have no idea what to study. It's really a joke. They say the structure and test are new due to the "Evidence-based Medicine" content, but I've learned more about that in one Biochem workshop than eight hours of CC class time and a couple hundred pages of a worthless textbook. At least the class isn't worth many credits...

Time to yell at the kids...I mean spend some quality time with the family.

Biochem

I'm just about to go to sleep, hopefully to a good night's rest before the big Biochem test in the morning. I've probably spent 25 hours studying for it this weekend! It's easily a quarter's worth of material we received in three weeks; 16 lectures and 3 workshops.

I was feeling confident until I tried the practice test. Yikes, those are hard multiple choice. I think I'll pass but am not confident I'll hit the 90's that I want. I was able to pull those off on the Anatomy and Histology tests, but we saw that information more frequently and I was better prepared. My time spent learning how to understand histo slides really paid off.

Anyway, three down and one weekend definitely shot. Just as bad the weather was terrible and our pool isn't finished so I got no exercise. Well regardless of how I do, I have picked up a few "best practices" to use studying for the next test.

Ok, that's enough for now. I'm exhausted and my brain cells need rem sleep to filter and process all these new protein names and signaling processes. Night...

First test is over!

On balance, it was as hard as expected. The anatomy practical was a little easier with only 20 questions on the back. Histology written was pretty tough though with some tricky questions. I'm glad I put in a good 15 hours studying histo slides because it that much time (for me anyway) to start developing the skill of recognizing structures, stains and relationships.

I'm sure I got the 70% needed to pass. I will be disappointed if I don't get at least one 90 or either below 80.

Our big sis's and bro's gave us presents afterwards which was really cool, especially considering how poor we all are. Sarah gave me a really cool clipboard/book stand that I'm already putting to use for lectures in our main lecture hall. I also received a nice AZCOM water bottle and some colored markers. Then they hosted a casual BBQ for us this evening. Even though Becky had finals today (2 out of her last 5 until she gets her JD) the kids dragged over to campus. We stayed for awhile and had fun socializing. Ok, they had fun running around and playing pool while I socialized.

Now it's back to Biochem. I just started reviewing the lectures from two weeks ago so it's going to be a busy few days until Monday's test. Basically two more years of heads down studying from here on out - but at least now I have a book stand to reduce neck cramps :-).

Studying for First Big Test

Week two ended fine. Muscles for spine for Anatomy and Histology won't be too hard. But signal transduction for Biochem went right over my head. This upcoming week is going to be LONG, studying for Tuesday's A & H test and then next Monday's Biochem test.

The upperclassmen were great and put on a mock practical test for us that helped me anticipate how the testing would run. Saturday morning was spent cementing the back structures in my mind on several cadavers (and deciding against trying to study with a cute girl I met there - not sharp enough). Saturday afternoon was going over Histo with an eclectic study group. I had a blast for my first time with them even though there was six of us. It was productive but I really felt behind in Histo. Sunday (today) I finished outlining Histo lecture notes on notecards (and getting those stinking stains straight). This evening I went through a bunch of slides. That is the hardest part. It's a skill and memorization won't help you much. You have to know the details that differentiate slides (ex. magenta stains are likely goblet cells or glycocalyx), but that isn't enough. You have to get familiar with the slides to know when you're seeing muscle, neural or connective tissues. Ugh.

As an aside, last week was club week. I joined too many, but will narrow it down as I see what they do: SOSA, SOMA, AMSA, AMA (I think), Medical Spanish, Peds, UAAO (OMM stuff) and Family Matters. The extracurricular stuff is going to get messy before I get it all sorted out. On top of clubs, we're already getting inundated with volunteer and work study opportunities plus preceptor stuff is starting up.

I'm finally over my cold, so it's time to get back into a workout routine. But the test and sleep take precedence for now.

Just a cold?

Well I was required to be a patient this evening for a second year needing practice doing History & Physicals (H&Ps). Not a big a deal but took time away from studying and the family.

I had thought I was getting over my cold from last week when she said my ears looked infected. An OMM fellow said it was still viral but I'm not so sure. I've stopped draining and my sinuses are about to explode. I took some decongestant and aspirin once I got home, but I'm having a hard time studying tonight because of it. My 'physician' also said that I have a couple verebrae out of alignment, once that was even sensitive to the touch. However, the latter one was cervical and she didn't feel ready to manipulate that area.

So tomorrow I probably need to go in to the school's clinic for an OMM treatment and some antibiotics. I need to feel better for this weekend because our first big test is a three hour exam on Tuesday (1.5 hr practical and 1.5 hour written). There's a ton I still need to memorize for it; anatomical, histological, spacial and physiological data. Ugh.

Well off to bed. Hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow.

First Week of Medical School

Getting a cold and hacking through 30+ hours of crowded lectures isn't the most enjoyable way to start medical school, nor the best way to meet your fellow first year classmates. However, I must say that it was an incredible week.

I am already beginning to appreciate: how great my big bro and big sis are; how the faculty really are pretty good; how the campus is outstanding; and how the coursework - while being every bit as hard as I expected - is going to be fabulous.

Yesterday we had our first real dissection of the cadaver. Very interesting stuff! We only got through the superficial muscles, tissue and vasculature of the back, but it was really interesting. OMM (Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine) on Wednesday was a real kick. It will be a great break from lectures in the middle of the week and the atmosphere is really fun. Even Biochem is interesting when taught from a clinical perspective.

There were more memorable experiences, but I'm pretty exhausted. Even though we don't have a test on Monday (Memorial Day) many of classmates are talking about studying 8 hours a day for the 3-day weekend! I need some rest so I can host my folks (they are staying with us for the weekend) and squeeze in a dozen or more hours of studying between my wife's work and study schedule. Yikes.

Oh, and it was "payday". My student loans check came through so tuition is paid and the extra is in the checking account :-).

Two days down...

Wow, I'm exhausted! And to think that these have been "short" days with lots of material I've had already.

Today we made the first incisions in our cadaver. It was quite interesting and not intimidating at all. The worst part was the ritual of rules and courtesies we had to go through. BioChem and Anatomy lecture have been a trial in mental endurance so far.

I need to get my brain cells back into shape! It feels like my brain is a sore muscle after concentrating for fours plus hours at a stretch. The only downside is that our main lecture hall has tiny foldable desks that are uncomfortable and require me to take the lecture out of my binder and place just them on the desk. Forget having room for books, binders or refreshments.

Other than that, everything it great. I really feel like this private school does the first two years, at least, right. It's going to be a ton of work, but I'm confident we're working on the right areas with the right tools and support. The class is pretty good so far too.

Well, time to bed for an 8am Biochem workshop, following by two hours of Biochem lecture and four hours of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine lecture and lab.