almost there!!

i am getting lazy and don't feel like writing. more so, i dont feel like staring at my computer screen any longer than i have to since i have been looking at it for aprox 8 hours a day...for 4 months straight. and 8 is low ballin it...

my first semester of medical school is almost over. i am done with classes (today was our last day of lectures) and they give us two days off to study, then we have our last exam Thursday morning. these 2 days are more like, "haha, we expected you to have learned all this stuff in the past 2 weeks but know you havent so here are 2 bonus days to stay up and cram." i, however, am taking the high road and going to bed early. well, maybe not since I will be waking up at 8 to start my glorious day of staring at my computer screen some more.

have i mentioned that medical school could be known as 'death by powerpoint'...

Another biochemistry dosey...

jaundice refers to the yellow color of skin, nail beds, and sclera (whites of the eyes) caused by deposition of a protein called bilirubin. (FYI bilirubin is what makes your poo brown and your pee yellow- technical medical terms i know). Jaundice is not a disease but a symptom of many diseases.

jaundice in premature newborns is elevated because a certain enzyme to break it down does not reach adult levels until about 4 weeks after birth. thus, premature babies may turn yellow.

to solve this problem, i am taught to shine a blue fluorescent light on them to convert the bilirubin into a more water soluble form which can be excreted through urine.

moral of the story...
Yellow Baby+ Blue Light= health

haha

the hungrier you are, the longer you will live

During a lecture on the metabolism of fats in our diet in our biochemistry class, my professor cited a study. This study was conducted over 20 years and had two sets of cohorts, regularly fed monkeys and then monkeys that were given 1/3 less calories than the 'control' monkeys. The monkeys who had their calories restricted lived longer healthier lives.

"the reason i bring this up is because we are talking about fats...and most of the calories we are taking in come from fats. i wish i had known this 20 years ago but you guys have no excuse so ya know...raise your children right and ya know, i guess its better to be a little bit hungry. hey, the restriction part does not mean malnutrition."
-Prof B

I PASSED

and i didnt just pass....i did really well :) above average well.

feels good, feels damn good!

To Recap...

30 powerpoints with aprox. 40 slides each (some had more, some had way less)
36 word documents or pdf documents (ranging from 3 to7 pages long)
250 slide powerpoint of histology images (histology is the study of the microscopic structure, chemical composition and function of the tissue or tissue systems of plants and animals--we just did human tissue)

this information was covered in 45 hours of lecture time (in class) spanning 9 days. subjects including physiology, developmental histology (embryology), biochemisty, molecular biology,

i cant (and dont want to) count how many hours i spent studying this material.

today, we had a 3 hour (and i was there until the last minute) exam covering every detail of this information in 125 questions.

and i will do this all over again in 2 and a half weeks.

now i understand why all the 2nd years kept telling us that anatomy was the easiest class. looking back at our exams and the amount of content that was drastically lower, it makes since that they would say this. also, i keep hearing the good news that it only gets harder. i am a little scared.

but, i do have to say taking this test today was a huge accomplishment and i feel damn proud of myself for having survived it. being able to recognize and understand all of the information makes me feel intelligent. now i just need to work on building up my confidence. I CAN DO IT!!

i have a headache...had it for the past 2 days

How have i studied for 4 days SOLID and i STILL feel like i am going to fail this test tomorrow?

welcome to medical school

couple days off

I am taking a day off and trying to pretend that I live a normal life. No books today. sadly, i feel guilty as a watch TV or run errands because I have a lil voice in the back of my mind saying 'tuesday's test is coming up fast and you are not nearly as prepared as you need to be.' But, tonight i plan on drinking away that voice so hopefully i can relax. I have my 5 year high school reunion tonight and am very excited to go out and have a good time with old friends! then, we will have our classic reunion at the dive bar in town and i will get to see more old friends. thanksgiving isnt gonna be a great one this year because of school work i need to do and family not being together but its ok because im just counting down until winter break anyways! i cant wait for the feeling of absolute freedom and the complete relaxation of knowing there is NO tests awaiting me.

the last couple weeks have been stressful but i have managed to have lots of fun in between things. we had a powerderpuff football game against the 2nd year medical school girls and as hard as we tried, we still lost. it was a intense game and i walked away with tons of bruises and a hurt knee. now, a week and a half later, my knee is still not back to normal and it is still pretty sore when i am at the gym. im gonna give it another week and if it doesnt get better i guess ill see a doctor....

my OMM finals went well monday and yesterday. we already received our grades online and i know i passed so i am happy and relieved that i dont have to worry about it again until January. now, i am focused on resting up for the next couple days and then getting back to work to improve my MCBM grade. also, my last patient encounter for this semester is coming up and is worth lots of points toward my grade. i will be doing another history and physical. i am looking forward to it because im good at it. and i need a confidence booster at this point. i am burnt out and running on low fuel. hopefully i can recharge and get my ass into gear soon!!

from a friend:

"while everyone's home enjoying the holidays, i will be spending quality time with my 8 professors' 34ppt lectures.. jealous???"
-MM