Day One...again

Today was my first day of second year and it was.....uneventful. Unfortunately, school began just like every other day and before I knew it, I was sitting in a histology lecture again trying my hardest to keep my attention span. After 3 hours, we had lunch and got to catch up with each other but after that there was a realistic feeling of work looming. Our first quiz is Wednesday [in 2 days], then another one Friday and our first exam is Monday [one week from today]. We are going to be studying the endocrine system for 3 weeks and every week will be the same... Our school has changed the curriculum and we will be doing a part Problem Based Learning instead of lecture style. Basically, we are given 5 cases with questions and in a group of 10 selected peers we will meet up and come up with a diagnosis and answers to the questions. The quizzes we have are all based on these cases and then after the quiz we get lectured on them. If it sounds confusing its because it IS confusing and its going to take me a good amount of time to 'learn how to learn' best in this style of teaching. For example, this is next weeks schedule

Monday: Exam 1 [from the previous weeks material]

Tuesday: the entire day is blocked off to meet with our group to go over the 5 cases and for self study

Wednesday: 8:30am to 12-Quiz on the cases we covered Tuesday and then 3 hours of lecture on this material

1pm- 5pm-Essentials of Clinical Medicine [this is the class where we learn to deal with patients and see standardized patients [actors] every other week]

Thursday: AM is blocked off again for groups to meet about another 5 cases

1-4pm- Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine

Friday: 8:30am to 12-Quiz on the cases we covered Thursday and then 3 hours of lecture on this material

*note, there are some Medical Ethics classes and other randoms thrown in their as well. Also, this will change with each system but the general set up is the same.

As you can see, things are very different from the usual lecture day. I am not sure how i feel about it yet but im thinking positively and im sure it will be good for me to have my own free study days.

Sooooo, now that Africa and my incredible summer are behind me, im gonna go learn lots of stuff so i can eventually go back and be able to help [and not just look over people's shoulders].

And another thought, today was my last 'first day of school' EVER. Thats because next year [actually in July] I will be spending my first day of third year in a hospital...and then rotating in and out of hospitals. CRAZY to think about