My First Rotation

On Tuesday, I had my first rotation. And if you haven't been keeping up with my blog…NO I am not in my Clinical Rotations yet! Our school just calls it a rotation the first time you go spend a day at the hospital. I was picked up around 8 AM with about 20 other classmates and driven to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH for short) in Roseau, which took about an hour. First off, I must say that the drive to PMH is a lot easier on the stomach in comparison to the one to the airport. The drive to Roseau is actually quite beautiful because it follows the coast pretty much the whole, plus there are long stretches of straight roads, which is always a plus here. Once we got there, we were shuffled into a meeting room where we were all assigned to a doctor and specialty (Ob/Gyn, Surgery, Pediatrics, ENT, etc.). Much to my surprise I was assigned to follow a doctor in Geriatrics. Much to my surprise again, my day would not be spent at the hospital, but instead at the Dominica Infirmary. So I, along with a couple of other students, were piled back into a van and driven to the Infirmary, which was 5 minutes away. Once we got there, we were kind of shocked just to the see the facilities. I guess it was nothing like I had expected. It was basically a square-shaped building with a large courtyard in the middle and 4 different Wards that made up the sides of the square. I estimated that it probably had approximately 200 residents. Once we took in the scenery, we met up with our assigned doctor and promptly saw our first patient.

Since this was our first time doing something like this, I didn't know what to expect. But I found out quickly. The doctor gave us a brief rundown on the patient's medical history and then we began a discussion. For example, the patient had hypertension. The doctor looked at me and said, "Tell me everything you know about hypertension." Gulp! That's the sound of me taking a huge swallow after being put on the spot like that. So I told her everything that I knew at that moment pertaining to hypertension. After rattling off tons of stuff about it, we moved on to its clinical signs, followed by it's treatment. Then we examined the patient's signs for hypertension like taking their blood pressure and so forth. That's how things went. We brought up one of the patient's problems, talked about every aspect of that problem and then examined the patient for that problem. This carried on to about 12 o'clock noon, when we were dismissed for lunch.

I and my colleagues got into the van and immediately told the driver to drive us to PIZZA HUT!!! Yes, there is a Pizza Hut on the island and it's located in downtown Roseau. For three semesters now, I have seen 4th Semesters coming back from their rotations in Roseau carrying boxes of pizza for themselves and their friends. This time, it was my turn! Except, I only got a 10" personal pizza for myself and ate it in about 10 minutes. It was fun and delicious while it lasted! Subway and Pizza Hut….that's all we have for American food here. Since we were allotted 2 hours for lunch and it only took like 30 minutes to eat lunch, we walked around Roseau for a little bit and enjoyed the view of a huge cruise ship (AIDA, a German cruise) in the bay. Then we returned to the Infirmary.

Our afternoon session ran a little differently than the morning. Instead of working so closely with the doctor like in the morning (which was more of a learning/quiz session), the afternoon was meant to complete a full history and physical exam on a new patient on our own. By the time that was over with, it was 4 o'clock….time to leave and meet up with the other students at PMH to drive home. The whole day lasted from 8 AM to 5:15 PM. I only saw two patients. By any doctor's standards, I don't think that would be classified as being very efficient. And yet I was completely exhausted. I slept well that night. 

Fourth Semester

Well, it appears as if I haven't written on my blog in over two months….one month that was very busy and one that was not. The last time I wrote was during the first week of November and a tremendous amount has happened since then. First of all, we finished the 3rd block of last semester, Cardio & Respiratory, and then took Mini III. Soon thereafter, we took our Clinical Skills & Competencies exam and then about a week later we took our Final Exam of the semester. Even though I was able to sum up the rest of Semester 3 in a few short sentences, that in no way reflects how much studying and effort it took to get through those last few grueling weeks. Nonetheless, I made it and was rewarded with a month-long winter vacation.

And wouldn't you know it, the trip from Dominica to Orlando this past break was the first time here at Ross making it home with no travel delays or missed flights. Someone was looking down on me that day! Once again, it's tough to do much on break besides enjoy the complete relaxation. I always go home with the mindset of doing some studying, but it typically never happens. Nevertheless, it feels good to come back to the island for 4th Semester rejuvenated and looking forward to starting my last semester here. Our first block this semester is Nervous System & Endocrine System. It should be very interesting learning all of the pathological and physiological abnormalities that go along with these systems.

The schedule for this semester is a little different than past semesters. In the past, we usually only had 4 hours of lecture a day 5 days a week, but this semester consists of 8 hours of lecture per day 3 days a week. This may cause some sort of change in my current study habits, but we will see. The other  two days of the week are filled with Clinical Skills & Competency activities. This Tuesday is my first planned activity and I will be spending the day completing a rotation at Princess Margaret Hospital near Roseau. I don't have too many details about what I will be doing yet, but I'm sure I'll have some things to talk about in the next blog. I'm glad to be back in Dominica and back on my blog once again! See you next week!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6tlZzkqfHw

The Banana Suit

I know, I know... I missed writing a blog last week. I should have never spoiled you the week before last with such a terrific blog. I got your hopes up last week and you woke up Monday morning disappointed. I'm sorry. But as you were too busy being disappointed, I was busy studying my butt off for Mini II on the Heme, Lymphatic, & Musculoskeletal Systems. It was 101 questions long with an allotted test time of 2 hours and 11 minutes. And believe me, every second was precious during that test. I don't know how some people do it, but I'm one that always takes up the entire amount of time to take a test. During Mini II, someone got up and turned in their test with 56 minutes remaining. I couldn't have even read the entire test in that amount of time, let alone have time to think about each question sensibly and pick the correct answer. Crazy.

It was interesting celebrating Halloween in Dominica this year....or should I put it, not celebrating Halloween in Dominica. The majority of people just pretended like it was any old random day, but every once in a while you would see someone dressed up. As you can probably guess, Halloween was just another Thursday night studying for me. I don't know if I have said this on my blog before, but "classroom studying" is, how should I put this, a strict activity. When you study in the classroom, you have to be quiet. And I mean really quiet! We are all here studying to become doctors, each with a ton of pressure and stress on us, so the last thing we want is people distracting others while they are trying to study. Occasionally a cell phone does go off or someone doesn't realize that their headphones aren't properly connected to their computer so we can hear them listening to the "Barbie Girl" song (mildly embarrassing for that person), but really, the only way you are supposed to communicate with one another within a classroom outside of lecture hours is by whispering. As you can imagine, Halloween was no exception and everyone in the classroom was being respectfully quiet. I can't remember what I was doing (I mean, I'm fairly certain I was studying), but what I do remember was faintly hearing... a song. And not just any song...I'm pretty sure it was Michael Jackson's "Thriller". It was! So I turned around....and what did I find??? Someone dressed in a banana suit, walking from one end of the classroom to the other, dancing, while holding a cell phone playing "Thriller". They didn't say a single word. Actually, nobody said anything. The banana just exited the classroom through a door on the opposite side and they were gone. Never to be seen again. At this point, everyone just kind of looked at each other with the look of "what did we just see". And then...the classroom erupted with laughter. I don't know who it was or why they did what they did, but the person in the banana suit provided me, and I'm fairly certain I can speak for others, a small relief of stress that was much needed. I'll never forget that.

A new block started on Wednesday: Cardiovascular & Respiratory. It's supposed to be a doozey. I hope that I'll have the time to keep you guys updated.

And I think it's mandatory that I leave you with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEHsIcsjtdI

RCSA Clinic

Today I participated in a clinic just outside of Portsmouth and as part of an assignment I had to write a reflection on my experience. Instead of just rewriting everything in the form of a blog, I'll just share with you what I wrote about for my assignment:

"On Sunday, October 27^th, 2013, I participated in the RCSA Health Clinic that was held in Toucari, Dominica. I, along with approximately thirty other schoolmates, left early in the morning to set up for our clinic outside of St. John and St. Lewis Church. The clinic featured stations for HPI, blood pressure, blood glucose, height and weight, vision, as well as a station for heart and lung examination. After setting up, the entire group of Ross students attended mass with the local congregation. Afterwards, about 75 patrons of the church attended the clinic.

            Since this was the second community clinic that I have done during my time here at Ross, I came into this clinic with some preconceived ideas about how it was going to go. But much to my surprise, most of those assumptions were wrong. The first clinic that I attended at Ross was located in Dublanc, which featured a much larger population than Toucari. During the Dublanc clinic, I worked at the HPI station and remember being busy the entire three hours that the clinic was open. It didn’t provide me the opportunity to get to really talk to people and listen to their health concerns, but instead forced me to move quickly through the HPI and shuffle the patients along to the next station. I suppose this was due to the sheer amount of people waiting in the line for the clinic. On the other hand, the Toucari clinic was a much more relaxed atmosphere and I think it was mainly because there were less people waiting in line for our service. But less people wasn’t necessarily a bad thing; in fact, it gave me more of a chance to talk to each individual patient and elicit their concerns. For the Toucari clinic, I worked at the blood pressure station. Blood pressure is not something that I am completely 100% confident in doing, so that’s why I signed up to work at that station. As everyone always says, “practice makes perfect”, and practice is exactly what I needed.

            Besides practicing my skills of actually taking blood pressure, talking to patients and discussing their health lifestyles was a successful component of the clinic for me as well. I tried to ask the typical questions you normally do before taking blood pressure and it was interesting to me that I always received similar answers. For example: when I would ask, “Do you have a history of high blood pressure?”, most people would respond by saying something like, “Just barely” or “It’s just a little high”. As you probably already know, the majority of local people here in Dominica do have high blood pressure, which is a result of many factors including their diet, exercise habits, and culture. With that being the case, I was able to do a lot of counseling. I was able to tell many of my patients about what the blood pressure measurement actually means and how everyone has the tools to control it, mainly through diet and exercise. It’s one thing to measure a blood pressure and report a number, but it’s a totally different experience if you can analyze that number and give advice to others on how that number can change. I guess that was the biggest difference between the two clinics that I have participated in thus far. The first was more about completing the task and moving people along, whereas the second clinic centered around the idea of helping people change their lifestyle. The Toucari clinic was one of the first times in Dominica where I have felt more like a teacher than a student. And that was a good feeling.

            Overall, I think the clinic was very successful. It’s just astonishing to me to hear from local individuals that our student-driven health clinics are sometimes the only medical attention they receive all year. I find that a sad thing to hear. However, in their eyes, our student health clinics do mean the world to them and can influence their lives. One aspect of the RCSA health clinics that I find absolutely empowering is the fact that we attend mass with the local congregation. It’s one thing to put on a free health clinic for random people, but it’s a totally different experience when you worship, sing, laugh, and pray with those individuals. I think that aspect of the RCSA health clinic makes it all the more special. One thing that I won’t be able to forget about this community clinic experience was when the congregation made us Ross students stand and they began to sing to us. They sang a song that said, “We love you and we mean it from the bottom of our hearts.” I don’t think I’ve ever been more humbled in my life."

Until next week.

Soggy Shoes

As most of you faithful readers already know, there was no blog last week. Last Sunday, I was finishing up my studying on Block 1 material in preparation for Mini I, which took place last Monday. It's always a little difficult to write a blog the night before a big test, so unfortunately writing this blog takes a back seat to studying...I hope you can forgive me. With that being said, the test went well and the results showed off all the hard work that I put into it. Mini I was 157 questions long with an allotted testing time of 3 hours and 21 minutes. That doesn't seem too horrible, except for the fact that I had to take the test with soaking wet shoes.

So before every Mini, each student gets an email from the Testing Center saying when the test is, which students take the test where, and the breakdown of the number of questions per subject. This time, students with the last names A-L were assigned to take Mini I in the Annex. That's me. Now, I'm not sure if I've mentioned the Annex before, but it is the only classroom that is not on the main Ross campus. The Annex is about a block away; so to get there, you have to walk.

Long story short, as I was putting my backpack and other belongings into my locker (on the main campus) before the test, it began to downpour. So I quickly grabbed my two pencils & ID, along with my umbrella, and began the treacherous walk to the Annex. And to describe things even more precisely, when it downpours in Dominica, it never rains straight down. It rains sideways. So as you're walking down the street shielding yourself from the rain, you look more like a Spartan soldier going to war than a medical student going to take a Mini. And of course, an umbrella only covers so much of my body, so naturally my feet got soaked. Next, as you probably guessed, I was faced with a dilemma. To take the test with my wet shoes on OR take my shoes off? In other words, make myself comfortable with dry feet and risk my feet smelling awful when I take my shoes off OR just suck it up and wear the wet shoes? I ended up just wearing the shoes. One thing is for sure, once a Mini begins, you sort of forget about everything else around you...yes, even the fact that you are wearing wet shoes. And, as it turned out, wet shoes might even be my good luck charm. I might even try it for the next Mini!

The following day, Tuesday, marked the beginning of Block 2 - the Heme & Lymph & Musculoskeletal System module. It seems pretty crazy, but we are almost at the halfway point of 3rd Semester. Time sure does fly!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm5HKlQ6nGM

Trying To Beat The Heat

Thus far, 3rd Semester has been pretty cool in terms of weather. Of course, it's usually somewhere in the 90's, but it hasn't been as humid compared to the last two semesters. As long as you can walk in the shade and stay inside the classrooms for the greater part of your day, the heat won't really affect you. Like I've said before, my apartment does have air-conditioning, but, proudly, I haven't even turned it on for the entire time that I have been on the island...for multiple reasons: (1) I barely spend any time in my room unless it's to sleep (2) it's kind of expensive and (3) I only have wooden planks and screens on my windows (I don't have actual glass), so I don't feel much like air-conditioning the outside world. But, for the most part, the fan gets the job done...until it doesn't. And when I say it doesn't...I mean my fan broke...again. It's always a nice surprise when you come home from a long day of studying only to find a palpable warmth in your room that, without a fan, you can't get rid of. I don't know what it is, either the poor quality of fans that they sell down here or some sort of corrosion to the electrical wire caused by the nearby saltwater, but nonetheless, it's an inconvenience. Luckily, I have nice enough friends to borrow me an extra fan until I have time to go to a store to buy another one.

The only other time that I really get overwhelmed by the heat is when we have to dress up for school activities, which is pretty much every Monday and Thursday this semester. This past Monday I had to dress up because I had my first community clinic! Three other classmates and I were assigned to make a visit to St. Joseph's Health Center in a town called St. Joseph's (Duh!!!) about 40 mins from Portsmouth. So basically, we showed up at 7:45 AM at our meeting spot, school officials ushered us into our respective transports, and some random Dominican driver drove us to our destination. When we got to the health center, we were greeted by the friendly nurse who gave is a tour of the facilities and a brief history of the area. Now, when I say "health center"...it's nothing like what we have back in the US. Not in the least bit. It's more like an entrance room (about 20 feet X 10 feet), one office room (about the same size), and one hospital room with two beds. That's it. The nurse told us that it was actually the largest "health center" on the West side of Dominica (not including the hospitals in Portsmouth or Roseau). Regardless of its size, it was functional and clearly sufficient to get the job done. At that time, us students were divided and assigned our own patients to interview. Yada yada yada. After our interviews, we then met with the local medical doctor at St. Joseph's and reviewed each of our cases. It was a really cool experience working with the local MD and seeing her own viewpoints and assessments of the patients that we saw. She also critiqued our interviewing techniques and gave us a lot of helpful advice, so all in all it was a worthwhile experience. After debriefing, we drove back to Portsmouth and went on with our day. Over the course of this semester I will do two community clinics. One down...one to go.

Third semesters now have one week left before our first test, Mini I. So I'm sure it will be a long week of studying and making sure that all of the information that we have learned thus far is cemented into our brains. We will just have to wait and see.

Anyway, that's it for me. I'm glad the Big Bang Theory is back on TV! (Sorry, I didn't mean to rhyme)(Ok maybe I did). Have a good week!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhTSfOZUNLo

Bugs & Drugs

If you needed a recap of the entire week that us Third Semesters have just gone through, you can read it in the title. That's really it. Like I have said before, Third & Fourth Semester are all about describing the processes in the body and our ways to adapt when things go wrong. And apparently, as we found out this week, those adaptive processes are initiated by a lot of viruses and bacteria (that we pretty much need to know everything about...size, shape, color, favorite foods, hobbies....ok maybe not all of that). But it is a lot of detail and takes a tremendous amount of memorization and time. On top of all of that, we had a huge list of drugs dropped into our lap this week all dealing with the autonomic nervous system. And since that pretty much involves the entire body, you can imagine how many effects and sides effects those drugs have with their administration. Ok, it's not all that bad! Even though it is a lot of work, it is still very interesting and I am just shocked every single day at how much I am learning.

Besides the schoolwork, nothing too much has changed. The basketball season started on Friday and team "Hoops! I Did It Again"  and I won our first game in our 3rd season together. It was a great game for us (not so much for the other team), but just the beginning to our quest to win that ever elusive championship. 

Subway is still Subway. 

I tried spinach and eggplant pizza the other day. I know a few of you reading this are probably shocked, since I would never have done that in a million years in the US because (1) I'm not that adventurous, (2) they probably don't have it in the US, and (3) US pizza restaurants never run out of EVERYTHING ELSE! All in all, it wasn't too bad. I might even have it again.

Tomorrow is my first community clinic where I will go with a small group of classmates to interview a few patients and maybe watch some procedures at a nearby health facility. It is Ross' way to get us, not only involved with actual patients, but working alongside actual MD's in a real health clinic. It should be really exciting!

Hasta luego

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo4GJ6YdDeY

Food Fight

Living in Dominica, for the lack of better words, has become a little repetitive. Whether I know what is going to happen the following day or not, I can most likely assume that it will include waking up, eating, going to class for four hours, eating, studying till dinner, eating, studying, working out, going home, and finally sleep. There isn't too much variation to that schedule. The only things that do change are the lectures that I attend, the material that I study, and the food that I eat. I know that I've said that I eat Subway for dinner every night, but lately, especially during the beginning of this semester, I've really tried to branch out. It's a little sad, but most people here can't wait to go eat because that means they get to take a break from studying.

Recently, a new/old restaurant opened up in the Picard area. I say new/old because it was an old restaurant called Tomatoes that has changed locations and opened up for this semester in a brand new building. It's actually quite impressive and comparable to something that you might see in the US. I've eaten there twice in the last two weeks and it's been really good food (mushroom & swiss burger; chicken caesar salad). I have also went to a restaurant called Pelligrinos a few times this semester and once again have nothing but good things to say about it. I guess that sometimes it's just nicer to have a real meal instead of plain old Subway.

However, it's not always bad to have Subway in your back pocket for a quick meal. They've really outdone themselves this semester with updating their merchandise. I'm not sure what Subway typically keeps in stock in the US these days, but down here they just upgraded their cookies; they now have "Raspberry Cheesecake" cookies! I never thought that anybody would ever need anything better than a good old fashion chocolate chip cookie. Oh well, surprisingly a lot of people get them.

Besides the new variation of foods and restaurants that I've tried this semester, everything else is same old same old. I feel like I'm becoming a creature of habit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C3zgYW_FAM

M2S1, But Still Making Rookie Mistakes

I may be in the first semester (S1) of my second year of medical school (M2), but every once in a while I still make mistakes like I've never spent a day on this island. Whether it's walking all the way to the grocery store (that closes at 5 PM on Sunday) at 5:15 PM or leaving a box of frosted flakes semi-open, only to find it infested with ants when you return home, the island has the uncanny ability to make even the simplest things...difficult.

The other night, I finished studying early and went home. Perfect. Nothing better than getting more than six and half hours of sleep. But sometimes you're just too darn excited to sleep...at least this was my case. I was woken up by my phone ringing at 7:55 AM. It wasn't my alarm. It was one of my friends calling me to remind me that class started in 5 mins. Great! Just the way I wanted to start the morning after a refreshing night of sleep, by being behind a whole lecture and having to rush. It looks like I was too excited to sleep that I forgot to set my alarm. Stupid. So, instead I took my time to get ready and made it in time for my 9 o'clock class. Luckily, at Ross we have something called Mediasite where we can re-watch all of the lectures any time we want (each lecture is video recorded). I know this doesn't sound like a big deal, but if you know me at all...that stuff just doesn't typically happen. Im usually on top of things.

This week was filled with "firsts". Not only did I oversleep for the first time (which is strange since it seems that I'm always sleep-deprived), but another odd thing happened to me for the first time as well. I was taking a shower and washing my hair the other day. All of the sudden, a big black thing dropped onto the floor of the shower. I saw it out of the corner of my eye and sort of thought that it came out of my hair. But that's strange. My hair is blonde and I would have definitely noticed a big hunk of dark something in my hair. I got closer to look at it when it suddenly moved! It was a baby gecko in my shower! That's never happened before. And so the moral of the story is that I had a baby gecko running rampant around my room for two days until I finally caught it and set it free outside on my porch. Elusive little fellas!

It should be a short upcoming week with no classes on Monday (only a session on learning how to do a General Survey and a second session where I will do a Patient Interview) as well as classes Tuesday-Thursday. No classes Friday! Woohoo! Have a good week!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHhrZgojY1Q

Semester Tres

First and foremost, I'd like to welcome all of you back to my blog . As you probably could tell, the end of last semester was very hectic and stressful. After our Mini III, we had our CCSB final exam and then about a week later...our Semester 3 Final. But all of that, thankfully, is behind me and I am looking forward to Semester 3.

However, before I can talk about Semester 3, I get to talk about the two weeks that preceded the beginning of the new semester. Those two weeks consisted of flying back home (with a few bumps along the way), spending a few days helping my parents move to a new home, traveling to the Bahamas for a short period, and then spending the rest of break at home before flying back to Dominica. Flying back and forth from the US to Dominica is always an experience and every time that I have done it, it's been different. The first time flying to Dominica, I had to spend the night in San Juan. Then on the way back, I had to spend the night in Barbados. Flying home for this break, once again, I ran into problems. Typically when you book and pay for a direct flight, you get a direct flight (Dominica to San Juan). But if you book your flight with the notoriously bad Liat Airlines, they sometimes make unscheduled stops in Antigua. After landing in Antigua, our connecting flight from Antigua to San Juan was delayed making the next flight impossible to make. In other words, I had to purchase a new ticket from San Juan to Orlando and I wasn't reimbursed for anything. So mad.

Anyway, after finally making it home (a little later than I had expected), it was so nice just to lay in my own bed in an air-conditioned room. The things I realized on break that I missed the most about the US in comparison to living in Dominica are the following: home-cooked meals, air-conditioning, actual toilet paper (instead of this papier-mâché junk they give us down here), TV, driving, paved sidewalks/roads (I am not joking), and not eating Subway for every meal. Oh...and most importantly...my parents!

Well, the first few days being home were spent helping my parents move into a beautiful new home and move out of their old apartment. Since the last few weeks of Semester 2 were so hectic, I didn't really get much of a chance to workout as much as I had wanted to, but throughout those first few days of break that were spent moving...made up for the time I missed.

After being home for a while, I took a short hiatus down in the Bahamas to an island called Abaco. As you could imagine, the weather was beautiful, especially compared to what we have here in Dominica. For the most part, it was clear blue skies and over 90 degrees every day. Perfect for beach weather.
The pictures below show the playground that I had access to during my four day trip. Swimming, snorkeling, paddle-boarding, you name it.

During my time in Abaco, I tried my best to eat as much fresh seafood that I could get my hands on; lobster, grouper, mussels, clams, shrimp...oh and I guess I also had a 14 oz. steak at one point. Delicious. 

But after a much too short trip, it was back to Orlando for the rest of break. This time a little more restful and relaxing. I'm not sure if this was because there was less to do...or I got lazy. Probably a combination of both.

So for me, semester break flew by...much shorter than the break after first semester. And now I'm back "on island" after a long travel day (due to the same shenanigans that Liat Airlines always pulls). But I made it back with my luggage and I'm very motivated to start Semester 3 strong. 

Now, Semester 3 differs somewhat from the previous two semesters. At this point we have been through the entire human body in situations that we consider "normal". However, the next two semesters will be spent going over the exact same systems of the body, but focusing on situations that are "not normal". Semesters 3 and 4 are more clinically based. So, our first day is tomorrow. Fundamentals block. And...my blog is back. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAgnJDJN4VA

Pathetic Blog

I know...I know...I missed last week and I'm about to pull off another weekend of not writing anything. I hope you can understand.

This week's schedule:
Monday - Micro Anatomy Practical & Gross Anatomy Practical
Tuesday - Mini III Reproductive & Integument Systems
Wednesday - Clinical Competencies & Skills Block Exam

That's a mouthful. As you can tell, I've been busy and about to get busier. In a way, you're lucky that I'm not writing a well thought out blog because if I did, it would mainly consist of me telling you how much I have been studying, which is no fun. Anyway, pray for me and enjoy your week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY

Last Stretch

Finally, we are in the last stretch as Second Semesters. We survived (well, maybe not all of us...at least most of us...ok, most importantly I survived) what was supposedly the most difficult test that us medical students will take at Ross. After we took the Renal & Digestive System exam (Mini II) on Tuesday afternoon, we were so graciously given the night off from studying, only to have to start the last block the very next day. But taking the rest of that day and night off was just what my mind needed. I was so sick and tired of taking tests and studying that I decided to what? Partake in trivia night at DeChamps! That night I was able to enjoy a few refreshing beverages and hang out with friends for a little while, but had to quickly get back in the swing of things the next day for the start of the Reproductive & Integument module.

That's right. You heard me. We get to spend 2 and a 1/2 weeks studying one of the most uncomfortable topics concerning the human body. Splendid. But if there is one thing that I have learned so far...med school is not med school until you see your first mangled penis. Yea, I just said that too. You know that feeling when you see someone else hurt a part of their body, for example they break an arm, and then your own arm starts to hurt? Yep, I have been having that feeling a lot lately.

I guess I would be lying if I didn't say that I have been counting down the days until I go back to Florida. We are less than a month away from finishing Second Semester with only Mini III, a Micro Anatomy exam, a Gross Anatomy exam, a CCSB exam, and our Semester II Final standing in our way. Oh gosh, just writing that made me realize how much there is left! That equates to a lot of hours studying.

This upcoming week starts off quickly with lab tomorrow ("Male & Female External Genitalia"), 2 sessions of SGL, a Beginner's Suture Lab (put on by Surgery Club), and the usual...lectures everyday. It should provide for an eventful week. Anyway, that's all I have for today...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC_q9KPczAg

Another Big Test

Once again, a big test is upon us (I know, I say that every time). Mini II is on Tuesday (117 questions over the span of 2 hours and 30 mins). Heck, I've watched movies longer than that...it should be no problem. Anyway, it will test us on our knowledge of both the Digestive and Renal Systems. 

Despite the upcoming test, this week has been pretty uneventful. Oh, I guess we got a day off on Tuesday as Tropical Storm Chantal moved past us. Let me say this...it couldn't have been over-hyped any more. A little rain and some mild wind. That's all. But it was still able to manage to cause problems to Ross' communication systems and faculty email, which might not seem like a big deal, but it correlates to a lot of miscommunication between everyone on the island. However, most of those problems have been resolved and now we have carried on with our regular schedules.

Sorry to keep it short, but I gotta get back to studying. 

Can anyone guess the male actor in the following music video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqmFxgEGKH0

Disaster Averted...For Now

I'm not sure if everyone is familiar with the theory of "Basic Needs", but it states that there are three main things that every person must have in order to survive. Food. Shelter. Clothing. That's it. And throughout the last two weeks, I thought I was going to lose out on one of them. Shelter? No. There haven't been any hurricanes down here yet, so thus far I still have my shelter. Clothing? Once again, no. I have plenty of clothing and multiple options for laundromats to keep my clothing clean, so that's not it. What does that leave us? Food. As most of you probably know, I am an avid fan of the Subway on campus. It's just a little taste of home and for the price, it's a pretty filling meal. I typically eat dinner there 6 out of 7 nights of the week. But over the last couple of weeks, I started to notice a trend. First it was the chocolate milk. They had it one night and the next night it was gone. Then went the chocolate chip cookies. Ooooh boy, you don't want to mess with my chocolate chip cookie cravings. When those began to disappear, I started to get a little peeved. So peeved, in fact, that I began to use the word peeved. Then it was tomatoes...followed by green peppers. You see where this is going. Then last Thursday, when I went to Subway for dinner, they were out of cookies, chocolate milk, bread, tomatoes, green peppers, yes I said bread, and the toaster for pizzas was broken. At that moment, I told myself that I had had enough and I walked out. A trusty establishment whose sole purpose is to serve delicious and nutritious subs to people couldn't even throw together a decent meal. Sad day.

So, I told myself that I would not go back there for a while. I couldn't face the disappointment of walking in there to find half the ingredients available to make a sandwich and still get charged full price. But then my prayers were answered! For some reason I was walking by the other day, probably because I was having Subway withdrawals, and I saw the cookie container stocked full of double chocolate, oatmeal raisin, macadamia nut, and chocolate chip cookies. Jackpot! All the ingredients to make every sub on the menu were available and I was back in business. So it was a quick scare...and that's all. Apparently, sometimes the shipment of supplies from the US can be a tad late, but it will eventually get there. And when it does, what a glorious day that is! Subway...eat fresh!

UPDATE: As I sit here writing this blog, a friend sends me a picture of the path of Tropical Storm Chantal, which appears to be heading straight towards Dominica. Now my Theory of Basic Needs seems very appropriate. Hopefully, it will provide some blog material this next week. And rain. We are in desperate need for rain (THIS COULDN'T BE ANY MORE SARCASTIC).

Big week coming up. Three and a half days of classes and one lab with a long weekend ahead of me, which will be spent studying for Mini II on the following Monday. Thanks for reading.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLHso6hLHFA

The Swirling Vortex

Sometimes you have things to say...and then sometimes you don't. This is the latter. This past week has been absolutely tortuous with all of the lecture "crap" that Ross has thrown at us (pun intended...we are studying the digestive tract). But in all seriousness, it has been really fast-paced and difficult material in addition to all of the outside-of-lecture activities that we have had to participate in.

One thing that has become really apparent to me over the past week is how mature all of us students, myself included, have become. What I am about to say is probably not at all what you think I am about to say. And let me preface this by saying that this might get awkward. Typically, the digestive system is something that most people like to keep private. It is usually a very uncomfortable topic for people to talk about. Heck, it took me the longest time to even surrender to the idea that girls poop! You know what convinced me on the topic? The informative novel entitled, "Everybody Poops". A great read and available in every Barnes & Noble kid's section. But here in medical school...anything goes. Studying both what goes in and comes out of the digestive system is equally important, and can actually reveal so much about a patient's symptoms/condition. One of the best diagnostic tools that we learned about this week that ANYBODY can use is something called The Bristol Stool Scale. Yep, you guessed it. It's a classification system for poop. And you may never admit it to anyone else, but we all "look", so you might as well rate it. Here's the scale. Enjoy!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_stool_scale

Haha! Funny thing is...anyone that actually looks at it...will probably use it. But this is exactly what I'm talking about when it comes to maturity. If you were to show the Bristol Stool Scale in any undergraduate classroom in America, you would hear nothing but laughter, horrific screams, and yes...maybe even some poop jokes. But here at med school...surprisingly, we all look at it like something that will be useful in our later medical practice...and I hope that's something you can appreciate about doctors. When they say that doctors have pretty much seen everything...I can believe it. I've seen more naked "whatevers" and bloody "thingamabobs" in the last six months than you can possibly imagine. But it's all in the pursuit of learning and knowledge. So I guess my message is just that each and everyone of our states of health is very personal and sometimes embarrassing. But that's why you should choose a doctor that makes you feel comfortable (because they have already become sensitized to pretty much everything) and is worthy of your trust. Sometimes it is those really embarrassing or socially awkward symptoms (example:. Chronic Type 7 on the Bristol Stool Scale...you see what I did there...now you have to look at the scale) that could quite possibly save a person's life...so tell your doctors everything. Don't leave things out! They (and hopefully soon to be ME) are only there to help you. Happy early 4th of July everyone!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUtnwcv-quE

Working For The Weekend

I'm back and after a long...long week, I know I've got things to share, so sit down, buckle up, and enjoy the ride! We have now finished our First Block of Semester 2. Of course, we had to go through a Gross Anatomy Practical (last Monday) and our first Mini (last Wednesday) to get to this point, but here we are just chugging along. And if you're wondering, my bladder did not explode during the Mini. But, after a 3 hr and 41 min test, let's just say there was a line outside the bathroom. Typically, I drink about 20 ounces of water right when I wake up every morning, but on test day, I just can't do it. Too bad I had to learn from experience to figure that one out.

Well, enough about my bodily functions. After our two big tests, we started Block 2 on Thursday, Gastrointestinal/Renal Systems. From what I hear, this block should be pretty difficult. But we only had two days of lectures (that means less material than normal to go over on the weekend), so that provided a relaxing weekend. Hey, we ARE in medical school, but we need a break every once in a while! Originally I had planned to go on a hike with some friends. ROSS has a club called "The Excursion Club" that organizes and goes on adventures every weekend, so I had signed up for "The Seven Waterfalls" hike. Apparently, it is a pretty difficult hike that includes climbing over rocks and boulders, ascending/descending a mountain, crossing a few rivers, and yep...you guessed it, seeing seven waterfalls. You're so smart! It sounded like a lot of fun...but it didn't happen. The weather in Dominica during this time of year is very unpredictable. It will be clear blue skies out and then in an instant it will be pouring rain. Because of the heavy rains, the rivers up in the mountains become very dangerous and the mountain becomes difficult to climb. About midweek, I got an email saying that the excursion had been called off. Sadly, two locals died earlier this past week up in the mountains because they were swept away by a river. So yea...we decided not to go. Yes, it would be really cool to see some of the natural side of this island (instead of the inside of a classroom) at some point, but it wasn't worth risking my life. I'll just have to go next time when the conditions are better. So what was a disappointing cancelled-hike-day turned into a beautiful beach day! Not a bad tradeoff. Here are a few pictures I've taken lately:

Could you spot the crab in the first picture? Or the pelican in the last? The one great thing about living in Portsmouth is...you can never mess up a sunset picture. Well, that's pretty much all I got for you, since the beginning of the week was mostly spent studying for tests. This next week is a full slate of lectures and one lab, Supracolic Viscera. Should be fun.

P.S. Shout out to my Godson Charlie for learning how to crawl and stand during the last few weeks, while also enjoying his first time swinging and swimming! Way to go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n5G0qFBsHM

The Big Week

Happy Father's Day!!! Too bad I'm not back in Florida "letting" my Dad beat me in golf today, but instead I've been stuck in a classroom studying all day long. No joke. All day. Regardless, I hope it was a good one. It's going to be a long week. For starters, Gross Anatomy Practical tomorrow on everything in the Head & Neck. And then the big kahuna...Mini 1 on Wednesday covering the first six weeks of classes: Neuro & Endocrine. 176 questions. 3 hours and 41 mins. Good luck bladder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec0XKhAHR5I

Only In Dominica...

Well, it's been a long week, but I made it through. The Standard Patient session went great and it was a terrific experience working with a real-life patient (even if they were acting!). But they were really awesome and if you didn't previously know that they were faking their symptoms and injuries, you honestly would have no clue. As for me, I got so wrapped up into treating the SP session as if it was a real patient interview and physical examination (which we were supposed to do) that I totally forgot that the patient was just "portraying" certain symptoms.

Besides the SP session, last week was the same old stuff. We now have 5 weeks of lecture and lab material on our plates, and we still have one last week of lecture material on top of that until our first Mini in a week and a half. Hoofta! That's going to be a really long test, especially since it will cover approximately half of 2nd semester.

This upcoming week, like I already said, will be a full slate of lectures, a Simulation activity, and a hands-on Thyroid Palpitation lab. It should be fun.

So this past week has also brought up a couple of things that I feel like only happen in Dominica...and they both deal with dogs. (1) It must be that time of year when the stray dogs down here get a little frisky...and let me tell you, it can spoil your lunch. And (2) well...this little gem:

If you're wondering what the heck that is...that would be a dog carrying an iguana. Never seen that before! It was actually pretty funny. I was outside practicing taking someone's blood pressure when I overheard a few screams and some laughter, and all of the sudden...a dog turns the corner carrying this humongous iguana in its mouth! You might not be able to tell from the picture, but that iguana is longer than the dog. Crazy! Anyway...only in Dominica...

I know this song doesn't have the right reptile in it, but I can't think of any better song that goes with this post. Sorry for the sort of freaky video...enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmcA9LIIXWw

Time Keeps Flying By

Well, I hate to say it, but the last four weeks have flown by and its already June. With that being said, last Friday was the end of our Neuro block and tomorrow we start the Endocrine system. But there's never just an easy transition from one topic to the other. Of course, we had to have some sort of test that caused each and every one of us a lot of stress and angst, which came in the form of a Neuro Practical that we took on Friday. A measly 50 questions about anything and everything about the brain/spinal cord...and trust me, that's quite a lot of material. But I do have to admit that taking the Neuro Practical is a lot more interactive and fun than taking a regular written test; the Neuro Practical consists of 25 questions relating to stained brain/spinal cord samples and another 25 questions pertaining to wet brain/spinal cord specimens. It's only 16% of our final grade so...no pressure or anything.

Besides the Neuro Practical, we also had our first SGL (small group learning) session of the semester. As you know, this usually consists of a group (around 7-8 students) that gets together with a facilitator and discusses specific clinical cases that are relevant to our lecture material. But once again, things are different this time around in Second semester. Instead of clinical cases like last semester, we are reviewing scientific research papers and basically dissecting every tiny aspect about them (if you just fell asleep just thinking about that...try having to actually read one of them). Brutal is the only word to describe it.

Although the workload was pretty heavy this past week, the weekend did provide some opportunities to take our minds off studying...especially since the weather cleared up a little (but it still seems to rain at the most inopportune times...you'll soon find out why). So we were able to kick off the start of the intramural basketball season with our first game on Friday. We normally play two 20 minute halves...and with 3 minutes left to play in Friday's game (you probably guessed it), it started to rain. What that means is that we had to reschedule the entire game for a later date and start back at 0-0 (even though we were winning). Aaaarrrrgggghhh!!! I don't get it either. Oh well, as long its a chance to get outside and enjoy the fresh air, I'm happy. We then had a second game on Saturday, which was successfully completed and won.

One thing that I have learned being at Ross so far is that when it seems like things couldn't get any busier...they can. And this next week will a prime example of that. Besides lectures, I'll have lab, SGL, and a Standardized Patient (SP) session. The Standardized Patient program is a unique program that Ross provides to its students at a much earlier stage in our medical education in comparison to most US medical schools. It gives students an opportunity to interact with patients and gain vital experience taking medical histories/physical examinations with actual people (trained spouses of current students that display a certain range of symptoms and illnesses). It should look something like this...and yet...absolutely nothing like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLRlbsBJhio

Since I have not yet actually had my first SP session, I can't really tell you much more about it besides the fact that we have to take the history of present illness, past medical history, social history, family history, complete a general examination, physical examination, take the height, weight, pulse, blood pressure, visual acuity/eye exam, neurological examination, reflexes...amongst a few other things. No big deal...you get 45 minutes (plenty of time!). We shall see how it goes and hopefully I'll be able to share a few things about it next time (not too much though...remember that thing called doctor-patient confidentiality). Talk to you next week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH6TJU0qWoY

Rain Rain Rain

Well it's that time of the week again and it's raining...like it has been for the past three days. No joke...it's been pouring for a long time. Long enough to prevent the kick-off to our intramural basketball season and keep us indoors studying all weekend long. This past week did bring a lot of new and exciting things, so if this post seems a little all over the place, forgive me. Our lectures throughout the week mainly covered the optical and acoustic systems, so once again we got to learn all about my favorite topic...the eyes.

On Friday, we had another hands-on lab, but this time it was for learning about the eye reflexes. We learned how to check if all of the external muscles of the eye were intact (by doing the follow-the-finger test...it's a lot more complicated than that), testing peripheral vision, looking for strabismus, nystagmus, pupillary light reflex (constriction and dilation), Argyll Robertson's pupil, Marcus Gunn pupil, and finally...we tested visual acuity. If you don't know what any of those are and would like to know, I'm sure Wikipedia and/or Youtube give great explanations...but for those of you that don't, I'll save you the boredom. One interesting thing that I was never aware of is that when you are a doctor, before measuring a patient's visual acuity, the proper thing to do is to make sure that they are comfortable with reading letters. I guess it's something that I always take for granted since I can read, but many people can't read. In those cases, different visual acuity charts exist that replace the letters with shapes or a single letter that faces different directions, ultimately allowing the doctor to get a more accurate result. Just because someone can't read, it doesn't mean that they can't see.

Another interesting thing that I learned this week (amongst hundreds of other things) was about the development of speech and language. So each one of us has an area in the brain called Broca's area, which is located in the inferior frontal gyrus of each cerebral hemisphere. This area is responsible for speech production. What I found so interesting was that this area of the brain matures around the ages 7-10. Prior to the age of 7-10, most of us learned how to speak a native language, whether it was English, Spanish, Chinese, whatever. Broca's area is where the knowledge and ability to speak that native language is stored. Now, every language that you learned after the maturation of Broca's area (after 7-10 years of age), they are stored in an area surrounding it. So, for example, in class we were presented with a case where a gentleman had a stroke in Broca's area. When he recovered, he no longer had the ability to speak his native language, but he could speak German...a language that he learned in his adult life. The funny thing about this is, if there is anything funny about it, was that none of his family members could speak German, so they had to hire a translator in order to understand what he was saying. Wow, the brain can do some complex, yet amazing things!

Before I call it a night, I just want to leave you guys with a video (not my typical music video), but one that has been floating around on the internet for the past week. If you have not seen it already, I hope that you enjoy it and that it provides a little perspective in your life. We have so much to be thankful for...so make sure you let those around you know. Grab a Kleenex.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NjKgV65fpo