Yes, it's been so long since I've written on this blog that it's Christmas time! Such a jolly time. Christmas music, sweaters and socks are the quintessence of this time of the year. But I must reflect back now, to the tough times - the times through finals, pre-final studying/cramming/recalling and failing at these mentioned activities.
Post-midterms was definitely better in terms of coping with stress, catching up with classes and trying to stay sane with 8 hours (or more) of studying a day. In fact, I didn't feel horrible deep down when I took a day off during the week to watch a movie with friends or cook a proper dinner for myself and my roommate.
In terms of material - it wasn't really a smooth ride. Especially Biochemistry. We learned at least one cycle and it's clinical relatives every lecture. Biochemistry lectures per week were about 8 week while Histology only had 3. Anatomy kept it's pace at 7-8 lectures per week though. Catching up with the material wasn't too bad but the concepts and material became harder to retain and required more integration. This is what I learned to do post-midterms - integration. As you might expect, the study of medicine builds upon itself. But it only does if you build it in your brain. To quote one of my friends, "connect and recall" is what we need to constantly do as students. As simple as that sounds, it's not. You see something and you build it to your previous knowledge. Not so easy if "previous knowledge" is still something you're trying to master.
Efficiency - how has this improved? I knew what type of studying works for me and what doesn't. For the most part at least. I started making concept charts for Biochemistry pathways and memorized the hell out of Histology. Anatomy - spent a lot more time with lecture notes and atlas. And my finals grades improved, which suggests that these new, efficient study methods helped me. But there is always room for improvement.
So this term, we also has an exam called OSPE (Objective Structured Practical Exam). This exam consisted of all the clinical correlates mentioned in our classes and had stations for physical examination. This exam accounted for an insignificant portion of our practical exam in 4th term. But I worried about it and studied for it. We were told multiple times to not pay too much attention to it by our review session instructors and other upper term students. And it was true. One exam that actually followed the rumors and advice. It was easier than expected and the physical exam questions were simple enough. However, I found myself extremely nervous during the test. It was the first time we were being tested in a examination setting as "doctors". We had to wear professional clothing with our white coats with fake patients. Greeting the patient, performing the correct technique for liver percussion or testing the sternocleidomastoid, and saying thank you at the end of it seemed dreadful. Why was I being tested for this already!? I haven't learned everything yet! How do I evaluate myself if I'm right!? There's no process of elimination to figure it out....all of these thoughts raced through my mind before, during and after the test. And I'm afraid to say, these thoughts are just the beginning of it all....
I'm excited nonetheless for such challenges and the complexity it adds to my life.
A special note to my roomie: This is the first time I've had to share a room (besides family). Thanks for amazing late night talks about our lives, things we've learned in class, lesbians, weddings, siblings, philosophy, news, marriage...(I think that covers a lot of topics already lol). Thanks for starting Gossip Gubernaculum with me! Thank you for waking me up every morning with your alarm...and having a good laugh about it....everyday lol. A huge thanks for laughing about the million problems in our room. And to all of our cooking experiments and meals together I can never forget - thanks for enriching my circumvallate papillae. You're a great person and I value our friendship very much. Thanks to everything. It has been a wonderful experience starting medical school with you =)
Shoutouts to family, friends and an awesome bf back home for keeping me sane! Thanks for bearing with my long periods of not-speaking to them because of studying =)
At this point, I think it's safe to say that we have reached our sort-of-finish-line in medical school - end of Term 1! Here's to a great rest of winter break and a strong start to Term 2 filled with Neuroscience, Genetics, Immunology, Physiology, Parasitology and round 2 of Bioethics! Will keep you guys posted on what's up during winter break.
బట్టర్ స్కాట్చ్
Post-midterms was definitely better in terms of coping with stress, catching up with classes and trying to stay sane with 8 hours (or more) of studying a day. In fact, I didn't feel horrible deep down when I took a day off during the week to watch a movie with friends or cook a proper dinner for myself and my roommate.
In terms of material - it wasn't really a smooth ride. Especially Biochemistry. We learned at least one cycle and it's clinical relatives every lecture. Biochemistry lectures per week were about 8 week while Histology only had 3. Anatomy kept it's pace at 7-8 lectures per week though. Catching up with the material wasn't too bad but the concepts and material became harder to retain and required more integration. This is what I learned to do post-midterms - integration. As you might expect, the study of medicine builds upon itself. But it only does if you build it in your brain. To quote one of my friends, "connect and recall" is what we need to constantly do as students. As simple as that sounds, it's not. You see something and you build it to your previous knowledge. Not so easy if "previous knowledge" is still something you're trying to master.
Efficiency - how has this improved? I knew what type of studying works for me and what doesn't. For the most part at least. I started making concept charts for Biochemistry pathways and memorized the hell out of Histology. Anatomy - spent a lot more time with lecture notes and atlas. And my finals grades improved, which suggests that these new, efficient study methods helped me. But there is always room for improvement.
So this term, we also has an exam called OSPE (Objective Structured Practical Exam). This exam consisted of all the clinical correlates mentioned in our classes and had stations for physical examination. This exam accounted for an insignificant portion of our practical exam in 4th term. But I worried about it and studied for it. We were told multiple times to not pay too much attention to it by our review session instructors and other upper term students. And it was true. One exam that actually followed the rumors and advice. It was easier than expected and the physical exam questions were simple enough. However, I found myself extremely nervous during the test. It was the first time we were being tested in a examination setting as "doctors". We had to wear professional clothing with our white coats with fake patients. Greeting the patient, performing the correct technique for liver percussion or testing the sternocleidomastoid, and saying thank you at the end of it seemed dreadful. Why was I being tested for this already!? I haven't learned everything yet! How do I evaluate myself if I'm right!? There's no process of elimination to figure it out....all of these thoughts raced through my mind before, during and after the test. And I'm afraid to say, these thoughts are just the beginning of it all....
I'm excited nonetheless for such challenges and the complexity it adds to my life.
A special note to my roomie: This is the first time I've had to share a room (besides family). Thanks for amazing late night talks about our lives, things we've learned in class, lesbians, weddings, siblings, philosophy, news, marriage...(I think that covers a lot of topics already lol). Thanks for starting Gossip Gubernaculum with me! Thank you for waking me up every morning with your alarm...and having a good laugh about it....everyday lol. A huge thanks for laughing about the million problems in our room. And to all of our cooking experiments and meals together I can never forget - thanks for enriching my circumvallate papillae. You're a great person and I value our friendship very much. Thanks to everything. It has been a wonderful experience starting medical school with you =)
Shoutouts to family, friends and an awesome bf back home for keeping me sane! Thanks for bearing with my long periods of not-speaking to them because of studying =)
At this point, I think it's safe to say that we have reached our sort-of-finish-line in medical school - end of Term 1! Here's to a great rest of winter break and a strong start to Term 2 filled with Neuroscience, Genetics, Immunology, Physiology, Parasitology and round 2 of Bioethics! Will keep you guys posted on what's up during winter break.
బట్టర్ స్కాట్చ్
