Hey everyone!
Hope you're all having a wonderful day:) I figured I would check in as its been a while.
We are all finished up block 3 and are rapidly approaching exam time! Block 3 exams were on Monday and they all went well. I only had 4 exams which was nice. It gave me a bit more time in between exams to relax before the next. Cell bio was our first exam of the day and the general feeling was that it was the hardest of the three blocks. That being said, I still managed to get a mark I am more then happy with :) Anatomy was the next exam. People had mixed feeling on this one. Some thought it was hard and some were happy with how it went. A few people were upset because we were told the resources we had to study from to do well, but in fact there were a few questions that weren't part of that collection of info. So if you studied a little more thoroughly then you would have done well. I remembered my prof putting emphases on a few things so I made sure that I knew as much as I could. I thought the exam went well. I also found the material the most interesting, so studying for it wasn't too bad. For the few of us who were taking histo we also got a bit of an advantage because the two courses overlapped in this block. This meant that we learned some of the material twice. I would have for sure got one question wrong if I hadn't learned it in histo! So the early 8AM class starts were worth it for this block! The histo exam itself went very well. I found this block to be the most interesting so I knew it really well. We then finished off the day with the anatomy practical exam. The tags were difficult but I think everyone did a good job in the end! So all in all, block 3 was a success!
At this point, we are learning the last little bit of info for classes then getting ready for exams. I am actually getting ready to head to anatomy class as we are starting anatomy group presentations today. Over the course of the semester, within our lab groups we have been trying to figure out a cause of death. The final accumulation of our investigations has to be formulated into a presentation that we give in front of all the student and professors in the auditorium. We essentially do an overview of systems and present our reasoning behind our suspected cause of death. At the end of the presentation, the professors give us the true official cause of death. For those of you who don't like public speaking, don't worry about it. Really this is more fun than anything else. By the end of the semester you will know your cadaver so well that nothing will make you nervous. The presentation is a maximum of 12 minutes between 6 people... So do the math. Not bad at all. I don't present until Tuesday so I get to see a few groups go before me. Im looking forward too it to be honest. Ill let you know how it goes.
The next thing of importance for me is my Physical Diagnosis exam happening Monday morning! People are quite nervous about this one. The anxiety comes from the fact that we don't really know what they will get us to do. We have a list of a bunch of procedures we must know, but when we get there we are assigned two stations to complete. At the end they ask us questions about what we did, and we have to be able to answer them (obviously). Its just like EMT practical exams but a few steps up.. I think if I keep going at my current pace, I should be comfortable by monday.
As for ethics, All we have to do is hand in our papers and complete an online quiz before December 11th. I'm all finished that stuff so its one thing I don't have to worry about. After Monday (or Tuesday for some people) the only thing we have left are the written exams! Even though we have exams coming, things are really starting to wind down. Its nice to actually see people living like normal people for once. On Tuesday we finished class at 130 and people were playing basketball, playing soccer, sitting outside, all these things we never had time to do.. Since September I haven't finished class before 530 PM once. Having a bit more spare time is excellent. I'm just waiting for the 17th when I finish my last exam and can enjoy the island for few days before I head home. Only two more weeks!
Anyways, back to studying. But before I go, yesterday we closed up our cadavers for the last time. It was an amazing and incredible experience getting to learn anatomy in this way, and we all have so much thanks to the people who donated their bodies for us to learn. Thinking about how much we have taken out of the experience is astonishing and its not something that we will likely ever get to do again. So for all of you who are coming to the island, remember to be respectful and take as much out of the experience as possible. Don't leave early on the days when your not cutting and stay as long as your can. Honestly all the learning happens in the last half hour of the lab:)
Thanks for stopping by!
Things I learned this past week
-My Visa was finally approved! I can now legally come back after Christmas.
-People are starting to figure out housing for next semester. Some want to move to the touristy areas and some are trying to move closer to campus. My place is awesome so I'm happy I don't have to worry about any of that.
-There is a black cow that hangs around on my path to the store / movies. Don't know where he lives, but he just chills on the side of the road. (its the only cow I've ever seen on the island).
-Our cadavers lived long long lives! Two 3/5 cadavers that were revealed to us today were almost 100 years old! Would have never guessed.
-Students have been diagnosing things that were never on the reports! Two groups found various cancers that the patient would have likely never known they had.
-The one kitchen knife I have is terrible and I need a new one
-My anatomy exam is going to be 4 hours long..
Cheers,
Mike
Hope you're all having a wonderful day:) I figured I would check in as its been a while.
We are all finished up block 3 and are rapidly approaching exam time! Block 3 exams were on Monday and they all went well. I only had 4 exams which was nice. It gave me a bit more time in between exams to relax before the next. Cell bio was our first exam of the day and the general feeling was that it was the hardest of the three blocks. That being said, I still managed to get a mark I am more then happy with :) Anatomy was the next exam. People had mixed feeling on this one. Some thought it was hard and some were happy with how it went. A few people were upset because we were told the resources we had to study from to do well, but in fact there were a few questions that weren't part of that collection of info. So if you studied a little more thoroughly then you would have done well. I remembered my prof putting emphases on a few things so I made sure that I knew as much as I could. I thought the exam went well. I also found the material the most interesting, so studying for it wasn't too bad. For the few of us who were taking histo we also got a bit of an advantage because the two courses overlapped in this block. This meant that we learned some of the material twice. I would have for sure got one question wrong if I hadn't learned it in histo! So the early 8AM class starts were worth it for this block! The histo exam itself went very well. I found this block to be the most interesting so I knew it really well. We then finished off the day with the anatomy practical exam. The tags were difficult but I think everyone did a good job in the end! So all in all, block 3 was a success!
At this point, we are learning the last little bit of info for classes then getting ready for exams. I am actually getting ready to head to anatomy class as we are starting anatomy group presentations today. Over the course of the semester, within our lab groups we have been trying to figure out a cause of death. The final accumulation of our investigations has to be formulated into a presentation that we give in front of all the student and professors in the auditorium. We essentially do an overview of systems and present our reasoning behind our suspected cause of death. At the end of the presentation, the professors give us the true official cause of death. For those of you who don't like public speaking, don't worry about it. Really this is more fun than anything else. By the end of the semester you will know your cadaver so well that nothing will make you nervous. The presentation is a maximum of 12 minutes between 6 people... So do the math. Not bad at all. I don't present until Tuesday so I get to see a few groups go before me. Im looking forward too it to be honest. Ill let you know how it goes.
The next thing of importance for me is my Physical Diagnosis exam happening Monday morning! People are quite nervous about this one. The anxiety comes from the fact that we don't really know what they will get us to do. We have a list of a bunch of procedures we must know, but when we get there we are assigned two stations to complete. At the end they ask us questions about what we did, and we have to be able to answer them (obviously). Its just like EMT practical exams but a few steps up.. I think if I keep going at my current pace, I should be comfortable by monday.
As for ethics, All we have to do is hand in our papers and complete an online quiz before December 11th. I'm all finished that stuff so its one thing I don't have to worry about. After Monday (or Tuesday for some people) the only thing we have left are the written exams! Even though we have exams coming, things are really starting to wind down. Its nice to actually see people living like normal people for once. On Tuesday we finished class at 130 and people were playing basketball, playing soccer, sitting outside, all these things we never had time to do.. Since September I haven't finished class before 530 PM once. Having a bit more spare time is excellent. I'm just waiting for the 17th when I finish my last exam and can enjoy the island for few days before I head home. Only two more weeks!
Anyways, back to studying. But before I go, yesterday we closed up our cadavers for the last time. It was an amazing and incredible experience getting to learn anatomy in this way, and we all have so much thanks to the people who donated their bodies for us to learn. Thinking about how much we have taken out of the experience is astonishing and its not something that we will likely ever get to do again. So for all of you who are coming to the island, remember to be respectful and take as much out of the experience as possible. Don't leave early on the days when your not cutting and stay as long as your can. Honestly all the learning happens in the last half hour of the lab:)
Thanks for stopping by!
Things I learned this past week
-My Visa was finally approved! I can now legally come back after Christmas.
-People are starting to figure out housing for next semester. Some want to move to the touristy areas and some are trying to move closer to campus. My place is awesome so I'm happy I don't have to worry about any of that.
-There is a black cow that hangs around on my path to the store / movies. Don't know where he lives, but he just chills on the side of the road. (its the only cow I've ever seen on the island).
-Our cadavers lived long long lives! Two 3/5 cadavers that were revealed to us today were almost 100 years old! Would have never guessed.
-Students have been diagnosing things that were never on the reports! Two groups found various cancers that the patient would have likely never known they had.
-The one kitchen knife I have is terrible and I need a new one
-My anatomy exam is going to be 4 hours long..
Cheers,
Mike