81 milligrams of Aspirin

It's 4:27am and I should be sleeping. I could finish reviewing my notes on Nitrogen Metabolism. But I'm gonna write here instead. I've isolated Ligamentum Flavum for too long. It's been normal for me to up at this time either studying or feeling anxious about tomorrow's study session. I've been studying for about two and half months. Sadly, I still haven't figured out how to be efficient with time or my study session. Maybe I am sometimes but I don't know when/what that is. And yes, getting a lot of work done is considered productive but our daily intake of information is so large, it's hard to tell. It's like swimming in the ocean here. Sometimes you're swimming so hard for a good 5 minutes and you realize, you haven't moved that far. I mean, look at the ocean. It's astounding.

Speaking of shooting stars, I've seen at least 30 shooting stars so far. I ran out wishes to wish for. And after the 18th one or so, I just enjoy that jolt of excitement in my heart when I see one. Some of them are very distinct and stay in the sky for a good 3 seconds. They're truly gorgeous. I wish I could catch one and sit on and be wished on.

So classes. Yes, I've been attending classes since midterms. In fact, I haven't missed any yet. But it still feels like we took our midterms last week. In Biochemistry, we recently learned what happens when people ingest 81mg of Aspirin (among a million other compounds, enzymes, cofactors and all). I mention this specific detail for a reason. It's one of the details I've always wondered about. 81milligrams. Or any amount of milligrams of a drug. How do doctors know what specific dose to give to a patient? Well, I learned how 81mg of Aspirin works in our body to the cellular and enzymatic level. It's considered a low dose. And it made realize how important every detail in my notes will help me be a better physician later on. At the end of the day, you can only depend on your knowledge to make sound decisions; for now, I'm happy that learning about the lengthy eicosanoid pathway will help me prescribe an NSAID to a patient.

I have to put down my thoughts about SGU in general. I've been treated really well around here. The professors have always been encouraging to us as a class and during office hours. One of our Anatomy professors told us a story about a student from years ago who attended SGU - Bob. He apparently studied intensely during his Basic Sciences classes without taking a breaks. Ever. And he was able to get through medical school with a good GPA and was able to land a residency somewhere in California. But sometime during his residency, he shot himself because of all the stress in his life. Yes, this isn't an encouraging story at all. But our professor told me this story in person and he mentioned it to the entire class. And his point was to relax at least once a week. I'm starting to realize how much more stressed I was pre-midterms. Yes, we did have one extra class - Bioethics, but relaxation never crossed my mind and I was continuously under stress and being stressed was the normal state of my mind. After midterms has been much better in terms of the way I relax and noticing when I should stop studying.

So the biggest lesson I've learned so far in medical school is to realize my weaknesses and improve on them. Everyone has strengths but mastery of material and understanding requires careful introspection. And that minute detail you know you'll forget, remember it and come back to it again. And again. And again. Until you remember it so much, you can teach it to someone else.

RandomSome of my friends and I have been feeling this peculiar thought everytime we try to remember the date. We still think it's August or closer to September. Time somehow froze in our mind. I guess that means we're living every moment right? I have no idea. But I've certainly enjoyed the random study sessions at Subway, dancing the night away 5 hours after our midterms, concocting food out of random ingredients, having an elaborate discussion about the innervation of the forearm on a walk, that 10 second glimpse of the ocean as I slowly descend the steps to cadaver lab, climbing up the huge hill that has become a "good exercise" for the day, and best of all, late night talks on the dock.

Time for some sleep...keep smiling =) Make it meaningful.

Taylor

I've been wanting to write a blog post but got caught up with all the fun after midterms around here. Our school really cares about us and realizes that we need to relax after a marathon week of midterms. And by marathon, I mean a marathon. We had 3 midterms - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We studied at all times of the day...and night. I would review by myself, with a group of friends, with my roommate, and in my sleep. It's like my brain was programmed to process and connect dots at all times. This is how a computer must feel.

But I'm glad that's over. At least for the moment. I feel somewhat successful getting through the first set of midterms of medical school. By the end of the week, my brain felt overloaded...it was a rather strange feeling. I felt nothing. And all I craved for was a good meal at the end of it all.

Now, I'm trying to get back into a routine. Or rather figuring out what a routine would consist of.

I realized that I don't go to the dock as much. The purpose of going to the dock was to relax, relieve my stress and just take in all that the ocean has to offer. I guess with midterms and post-midterms relaxation right in my room, I haven't needed it much. It's become more of a social spot to go to with a bunch of friends at the end of a fun night.

Speaking of nights, at the end of each night after studying at Taylor Hall, I spend the 30-50 or so steps walking slow, yet steady, enjoying the sight of the sky. I've always appreciated the existence of stars and the moon. Here in Grenada, they're much clearer. But I usually start noticing everything I've studied that night. Tonight, I could see the epidermal ridges interacting with the dermis. I could point to you, every layer of the epidermis and dermis in that white ghostly figure. And when I look down, I see dense connective tissue lining the curb of the street. Call it sad, pathetic, mentally disturbed...I call it the evolution of a medical student's mind. Every person has a lens through which they see the world. Even though I love this new lens I'm creating in medical school, I want to be able to see the world through all of it's colors. I wonder what others see when they look up during a busy day to notice the sky and it's vastness.

I have much to write about....but I will keep you guys hanging for now.