Chronicle 21: Term 3 Comes to a Close…Sort of.

Hey everyone, I’m back with an update about my progress at school. As a reminder, I was taking Pathology 1, Pharmacology 1, Microbiology, Behavioral and BioStats this past Term. In my last chronicle I mentioned how Pathology was the one class I was struggling with and it proved to be a challenge to the  end for sure, however through my perseverance, I was able to pass it somehow. I also passed the other courses as well, with the exception of Micro. Surprisingly, I started off well with Micro, but in a surprising twist, I found myself struggling with Micro as my Path scores steadily improved. I’m not sure if it’s because I devoted so much effort to Path or  not, but in the end, I was just too far deep in the hole to pull myself out for Micro.

so basically, this means that I’m not going to be promoted to full Term 4 yet. Instead, I will be Term 3.5, where I will be re-taking Micro, but I will be able to Take Path 2, which I’m pulling over from the normal term 4 lineup. This means that once I am full Term 4, I will only have Pharm 2 and Micro 2 to worry about. This also means I’ll be put a semester behind.

It’s definitely a bit disappointing, but I always try and see the best in every situation and this is no exception. I think that this may actually be a blessing in disguise because now I have a lighter course load, which will allow me to better prepare for the Step 1, which will be here before I know it. If I utilize this extra time wisely, which I absolutely will, then there is no reason I can’t potentially kill it on the Step 1 and get an awesome score. So I’m just going to keep moving forward the best I can and always try my best as usual. I thank those who have been giving me their support and concern, it always means a lot. I’ll update you all again soon, once I’m deeper into the Term, which starts in just under 2 weeks.

Chronicle 20: Post-Uni 1 of Term 3

Hey everyone. I’m here to bring you another chronicle about my med school experiences and today I want to give you an update on my progress post-uni 1. As a reminder, I’m currently taking Pharmacology, Pathology, Microbiology, Behavioral Science and BioStatistics. I’m happy to say I passed all of them on Uni 1, with the exception of Pathology. This class is definitely the most difficult of the term for me as it requires a lot of big picture thinking that integrates many details together to one common disease and I’ve always struggled a bit with that. However, I’m sure that I’ll be able to overcome that and improve myself for the remaining exams.

However, I also want to take a moment to brag a little, because I may have done bad in Path, but I totally killed it in Pharmacology. I got a 96 % on the first exam, which is amazing as the average was an 80 %. I was so shocked because in all honestly, I studied Pharm the least to cover other subjects and really only looked at it in bulk the day before the exam. I was sure I was going to just barely pass but then I pulled that off. So I’m feeling pretty awesome about it, but now also pressure to keep doing that well. A different teacher took over and he’s said to be much more difficult, so I guess we’ll see how it goes. That’s about it otherwise,  so I guess I’ll leave you with this. Until next time.

Chronicle 19: [Milestone] Year 1 Officially Complete! Year 2 Here I come!

So I know it’s been quite a while since I’ve posted a Chronicle, but that was just how busy I was this Term. As a reminder, I was taking Biochemistry and Genetics 2, Medical Physiology 2, Anatomy 2, Neuroscience, Embryology, Intro to Pharmacology, Intro to Clinical medicine 2. I’m happy to report that I have passed all my classes and am officially moving on to Term 3 and Year 2! It was a tough road and a lot of work, but I persevered and made it through, though it was a close call. I was very close to failing Physiology, but I somehow made it through.The hardest part of Term 2 was definitely the NBME exams, which are national exams that must be taken at the end of Year 1 by all medical students and must be passed at the 14th percentile or greater. The percentile you attain is how you rank among every 1st Year medical Student in the Nation, so getting a high score is a very big deal. These exams are also very similar to the format of the USMLE exams, which I will have to take at the end of Year 2 before I can move on to clinicals.

My individual performance on these exams were not where I wanted them to be, but I suppose considering my difficulties with test taking, not so terrible. I passed my Anatomy NBME at the 14th percentile, just making it, but I did not pass my Physiology or Biochemistry exam. Normally this would result in failure, but luckily I was doing well enough internally in these courses to pass. However, I’ll definitely say that having good communication with your professors and having a good attitude and of course going to class, can make a world of difference on if you pass or fail. I’ve learned a lot though and feel I’ve grown to better approach these courses going forward, with Term 3 being the place to test it out. In just a week, I will be starting my 3rd Term, marking the start of my 2nd Year of Medical School. I’ll be taking Pharmacology, Pathology, Microbiology, Behavioral Science and Biostatistics as well as Intro to Clinical Medicine 3. This Term will continue to push my limits, but I believe in myself and know that I can do it.

Chronicle 17: First Week of Term 2, Things are Off to a Good Start.

So I’ve officially begun my second term at the Trinity school of medicine and with the end of classes today I’ve made it through my first week. So far it’s off to a good start and I’ve got a good basis for what to expect and the expectations for the classes, so now I’ve just got to get my study schedule down.

I’m taking Genetics (Biochemistry 2), Physiology 2, Anatomy 2, Embryology, Neuroscience and next block I’ll be starting Intro to Pharm as well. I’m also in Intro to Clinical Medicine 2, but that’s a simple pass/fail class, where we are learning skills, such as taking vital signs and doing our rotations at the hospital every couple of weeks with a specialty doctor. So far none of the classes are bad and a lot is review, but I don’t want to slack off because of that.

My plan is to get a bit ahead with all the material now, so that I’ll have time to get things together easier when the courses pick up in difficulty Block 2. I’m pretty confident I can do it though and I’ve already seen a more productive change in me. I bet my new Surface Pro 3 had a lot to do with my enthusiasm, it’s amazing to use in classes!. That and wanting to kill it early on in all my classes motivates me, so the pressure is lower for all the NBME’s I’ll have to take the end of the term. I especially want to kill it in Neuro because being I was a Neuroscience major, I didn’t think my pride would let me fail or do anything less than like a B. So I’m aiming high this term, but I’m determined to do it and once I decide to do something nothing can stop me.

Chronicle 16: Full Term 1 Completed Successfully, Term 2 here I Come!

After a tough term, I’ve finally finished my full Term 1 curriculum and I’m happy to see it go, but somehow feel as though I’ll miss it once I start Term 2 in 2 weeks. Before getting to Term 2 though, let’s wrap up Term 1B with my final results. I was taking Biochemistry 1 and Anatomy 1 this term as well as Intro to Clinical Medicine 1, though that’s a simple pass/fail course, which I passed of course. As for Biochemistry, I passed, but only with a C. I’m happy I passed, but still not satisfied because I wanted to do better. However, considering the difficulty of the course, I’ll cut myself some slack and just try to pass higher in Biochemistry 2. As for Anatomy however, I was very pleased because not only did I pass this time around, but I passed with a B! I worked super hard, so I’m happy my hard work paid off. These were the final 2 courses I needed to pass and complete Term 1 and so now I will start Term 2 on May 11th.

With Term 2, comes an even bigger challenge and I’m working my hardest to be over prepared for it before I even get started. I’ve heard horror stories about it from the upper termers and just looking at my course roster, I can tell my life is going to be over for a while. I’ll be taking the courses: Anatomy 2 with Embryology, Biochemistry and Genetics 2, Medical Physiology 2, Neuroscience, Intro to Pharmacology and Intro to Clinical Medicine 2 (ICCM 2). ICCM will be nothing, and I’m hoping Intro to Pharm won’t be too bad, but the other 4 are much more worrisome. I wanted to believe that Neuroscience wouldn’t be too bad for me considering I was a Neuroscience major, but it seems as though that may not help all that much according to others. As for Physio, Biochem and Anatomy, I Know how tough their level 1 versions were, so I have an idea on what to expect for level 2. Either way, this Term will require a lot of effort and time, which means my other hobbies of Anime/Manga, Gaming and Writing will have to be put aside a bit, but not totally, so my fellow Animaniacs don’t worry about my anime reviews and such. I’m confident in myself and I’ve got a great group of friends at school around me, so I’ll be ok. I’ll be sure to update after the first week of class, until then.