Mini No More

So Mini 1 is over and so too is the aura of pessimism on the campus of Ross. The classes were pretty empty and there was a lot of partying in the days after the mini. I took the time off to sleep and rest as much as possible before it started all over again.

This past weekend was our first weekend where we were not in mini mode. Mini mode can be described as an increased physiological state of arousal brought on by excessive acute stress. Though the jury is out, I am pretty sure it is detrimental to one’s health and psyche. More of this to come in a month when mini 2 rolls around. For now, however, the roommates and I enjoyed a three day weekend. Now to those of you sitting back home reading this, this means “oh yay! No work.” To us, this extra day is an eternity (even more so because it is Dominican time). Melissa and I vowed we would not so much as open a book on one of three days and we didn’t. I thought that this lack of concern would put us in a precarious situation but in my opinion it enhanced my ability to learn on Sunday when I actually decided to sit down and learn. Besides, by the looks of it most student’s were enjoying every day of their three day weekend, I figured I could take at least one.

Melissa and I would reserve Saturday as our “No-studying day” and we figured we would catch a bus to Roseau and fetch ourselves some American, albeit unwholesome cuisine. By now you probably realized I am referring to KFC, Dominica’s only American fast food restaurant. After several attempts to make it to the bus stop we gave up and decided we would go to Portsmouth instead. For just one EC we were taken to Portsmouth in a bus packed with locals who were sharing cooking recipes with Melissa, who has yet to cook one meal since living here. I’ll let her defend her position on this but there is a hell of a lot of Vienna Sausage cans missing. Anywho, there was very little to purchase in Portsmouth despite a local telling us they had a “SUPERmarket”. Melissa bought a couple of trinkets and we had some really good ice cream at Douglas Restaurant. We came home and treated ourselves to a Dane Cook standup comedy show.

Later that night we had plans to eat at one of Dominica’s best restaurants (so we had heard) Sunset Bay Restaurant. The event was supposed to involve the usual 4 roommates (Melissa, Gabe, Derrick and I) as well as one of our neighbors who is an upper semester and has been particularly helpful and supportive, Karen. Karen called and told us she had slacked off all day and canceled dinner with us for time spent at the library [Yes, I know there is a reason she is in third semester and we may never get there (laughs)]. Next, Derrick would cancel by not picking up his phone and “mysteriously” disappearing for the whole day. In the end it was Melissa, Gabe and myself (third wheeling, I know). We fetched a cab and after a 30 minute roller coaster ride, in the dark, we arrived at Sunset bay. Sunset bay is a hotel and restaurant overlooking the water. Right away, we were greeted by the owner, Roger, who was at our table the whole entire night sharing stories, food and even a shot of vodka. Our dinner was very good and we called a taxi to head back home. On the long ride home we told stories of Christmas mornings as children and how Melissa feels it is unethical to lie to her children about Santa Claus. I, too was perplexed. Melissa thought it was funny that my dad would make my sister and I not only put milk and cookies for Santa, but pick out blades of grass for his reindeers.

After the same roller coaster ride back home, we arrived at our “tree house” and decided to watch a movie. So we popped in “the Godfather”, and I was out within an hour. I have yet to see the rest.

As I write I am in the library neglecting my duties as a student. I have one more lecture to go before I can go home and review all the day’s material. With that, I will leave you.

Until next time,
Michael

Exhausted in Every Way

Alright. I am exhausted so i'll make this brief. Mini 1 and Anatomy practical are over and done with. It is now time to move on and focus on bettering what we can only expect to be... well not so good grades. On the plus side, even the worst of us got above average on the lab pracitical (i wont name any names... [laughs]). As for the Mini exam, that is a different story. Melissa and I are pretty sure we bombed it. BUT (and this is important) 6 of the 8 people i have spoken to since the mini have said they are pretty sure they did too. I am guessing the average will be atrocious and some F's will actually be like C's and some C's may be B's etc. For now, it is a waiting game until our actual scores come out (Friday). In the mean time, however, information for mini 2 begins in less than 7 hours. On that note, I am off to bed to hopefully get at least 6 hours of R&R before the chaos that has become my life completely consumes me once again.

Goodnight you all,
Michael

P.s: I titled this entry as such because Melissa laughed at me earlier today when i was jerking my head as a patient with Tourettes would and i responded "i am trying to get my hair out of my face, but i dont want to move my arms."

Dominican Love Day

With Mini 1 looming around the corner, it's easy to see why everyone would either forget or simply not care that today was Valentine's Day. Also, I imagine today was a little depressing for those that have left their significant others back home.

I am one of the lucky few that have their loved one here. However, we're both in medical school and our relationship is taking the back seat for a while. I do see my boyfriend every day but those are more like visits. I only see him for about an hour every day. Today was a little sad because we weren't able to spend Valentine's Day together as we have in the past. Med school has officially killed the romance for now. Also, tomorrow is our anatomy lab practical. So, I spent my Valentine's Day with my boyfriend, my roommates, 20 cadavers, and about 100 other students in the anatomy lab.

Because we've been so busy studying, I completely forgot today was Valentine's Day. However, this morning the doorbell rang and it was my amazing boyfriend. He took the time to walk to the "florist" and bought me the most beautiful flowers I've ever received. He picked out each flower and they made a Dominican version of a Valentine's Day bouquet. Since I don't have a vase to put them in, I imagine they won't last very long. So, I took a few pictures for posterity. He also bought me a pretty jade-colored necklace. I'd say he did pretty well considering the limited options! He really made my day because we hadn't discussed doing anything for Valentine's Day or getting each other gifts. Valentine's Day here is so unimportant compared to the other days (like exam days) that are coming up. So, it really made me feel special and loved that he took the time out of his study schedule to go buy me a little something.

I still haven't decided on what gift I'll get him yet. The only gift I can think of that a guy would like for Valentine's Day is liquor - especially a guy that just finished taking his first Mini exam! It's so hard to find anything that resembles a gift on this island. I suppose I can give him a shawarma and a carved coconut but I don't think those gifts quite capture my love for him. If anyone has a suggestion, please let me know!

I have a few dissection videos to watch before going to bed so this is where I'll stop writing. For those back at home, I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day!

Join My Pity Party?

WARNING: This entry is going to have lots of groaning and moaning and may sound bitter. But, hey, guess what mood I'm in?? If you're looking to read something funny or optimistic, re-route yourself to my "snake man" entry. It seems to be a hit.

I've been studying for 12 hours straight now, and I have about 6 more hours to go. Then, I'll get to go to sleep only to wake up 4-5 hours later and start the whole process all over again.

All I've eaten today is a six-inch ham and turkey sub from Subway and 4 large Monster energy drinks. I started feeling a little "unwell" so I looked at that tiny writing on the cans. "Consume Responsibly - Limit 3 Cans Per Day." Oh, well. Even though I've pretty much lost my will to live in the past two days, I do plan on toning down the "energy" drinks so I can make it to Mini 1 alive. Once I post this, I'm going to go grab some food or something. My brain officially turned to mush 1 hour ago and my body wants to jump on board. 7 days and counting til I can feel the joy in life again.

I know how morbid, depressing, and cynical this all sounds, but exams in medical school are freakin' awful. You should see everyone on campus. There's barely a smile and we're all looking pretty haggered. I'm pretty sure some people haven't slept or showered in days. I was in the bathroom by the library today and noticed there were no mirrors above the sink. I guess some people don't know just how rough they're looking. Not me though - I look beautiful. Ha ha ha..

All the first semesters are especially freaking out. After all, this is our first medical school exam. Some people keep telling us not to stress so much. They say everyone does bad on Mini 1. I met one guy who says he failed two sections of his Mini 1, and he was able to bounce back and get B's in those classes. I don't want to be that guy. I don't want to fail anything, and I don't want to spend the rest of the semester trying to claw my way out of the pit of failure. We have to do well on every exam - especially this one.

I really question these exams and the material on these exams. Some of our professors are teaching and testing us as though we are in PhD programs in Biochemistry, Histology, and Anatomy. We have gone to the depths of everything. We have learned EVERY single detail involved in EVERYTHING. There is so much information; it's hard to see the surface anymore. I know medical school shouldn't be easy but come on! They never let up on us for a second.

I know Ross is hard on us because they have to be. As foreign medical school graduates, we're going to face a lot of judgment. People will think we're not real doctors or that we're not as well-taught or trained as US doctors. We not only have to be just as good as US grads, we have to be better if we want to get ahead. Even though school is REALLY tough right now, if we can make it, I know we'll make great doctors. If I make it out of here, I challenge anyone to say that I'm not prepared for a medical career. Because believe me, Ross throws everything they have at us.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going, right? On that note, I have to get back to work. I hope I didn't scare you all. I'm sorry mini-me has taken over my thoughts and fingers. Happy me will return in a few days. Regardless of the outcome of the exam, you'll find a much more relieved and relaxed me come Monday afternoon.

Just keep us all in your prayers!

"Ive Fallen and I Cant Get Up"

As Melissa spoke of mini one is right around the corner and time seems to be moving quicker than ever. This past week I was excited to see that on my schedule there was no anatomy dissection or PACE which account for like 10 hours of study time per week. The optimist in me then scheduled an insurmountable amount of lectures to review everyday. By last night I was so overwhelmed I wanted nothing more than to be transported back home and sit on the couch with a pint of Haagen Dasz Cherry Vanilla (my favorite). I had begun to contemplate what my life would be like going home “a failure” the “Ross reject”, if you will. What would I do? Pursue a different career path? Go back to school? I took a long shower and realized that this defeatist attitude would never aid me in my study. I mustered the courage to close Dr. Kallie’s Histology lecture, Anatomy muscle chart, the drawing of the brachial plexus and Dr. Meisenberg’s Biochemistry book, and hit the bed.

By morning, I was a changed man. I got up energized and with a motivation I hadn’t seen in myself in over a year. I went to the annex (my place of study) so that I would have no external distractions and put in a solid four hours of studying. I was able to cover the same material in half the time as the night before. It’s all in your attitude my dad would tell me. But if it were that easy I wouldn’t look up at the T.A in confusion when he asked me “the anastomosis of the scapular region”. For those of you who felt the need to know what an anastomosis was, looked like or who needed to know it wasn't a word i made up, Ive provided illustration below.

If there is any good that has come out of this past week it is that I feel as though I have figured out my recipe for success while at Ross. Like every upper semester student we have spoken to has said “everyone is different” and “you have to find what study habits work for you”. Some went as far as saying “you will be fine with 2 hours of study outside of lecture”. What Bull. Also, many have warned us “to figure out your study methods before its too late”. You mean [cough cough] Mini 1.

Another thing I feel is important to note is that I have heard from several upper semesters that failing one portion of mini 1 is like a rite of passage. It will happen and it CAN be overcome. Of course, biochemistry is a little bit more difficult to recover from since it will be weighted so heavily as Melissa elaborated on.

In my case it just may be too late but I feel that I will do better if I follow my own advice below:

1.) NEVER leave a lecture that was given TODAY for TOMORROW.
a. “ill just watch it tomorrow” has been a major problem for me.

2.) KNOW and LEARN everything that was lectured on TODAY by TODAY.
a. “ill memorize all that stuff just before the mini”.
b. “ill just watch it on 2x (fast forward) and know it backward and forward for the mini.

3.) At the end of the day (or right before bed preferably), do a run through of all the material you were presented with that day with as little help from your notes as possible. Fill the gaps in your knowledge with help from your notes.

4.) Over the weekend, really drill yourself on the key concepts covered in each lecture that week. This is the LAST time you will see this information for up to a month. Ask yourself, “will I know the details of this lecture when the mini arrives?”

5.) Do practice questions for lectures that were covered in the week, you should not only be prepared to answer questions that your own professor’s write, you should be able to answer questions that external examiners will write (USMLE).

6.) For Anatomy lab, make sure you know all the bones and muscles (including their origin, insertion, actions, nerve supply, vascular supply and any clinical relevance) AS THEY COME UP IN LAB. At that rate you have maybe 10 muscles per week. And not 40 the week before the mini.

I should mention that I went back over this post several times and realized how simplistic this all sounds. I kept asking myself “who does not know that they should stay on top of their lectures, memorize pathways and muscles as they come up?” The truth is I think everyone KNOWS this but only those that I find to be fully prepared for mini 1 have DONE this. Now that I have the formula for what I believe to be MY success, will I be able to EMPLOY it?

Until next time,

Michael

Why Is This So Hard?!

Our lives here are quickly spiraling out of control. We're in countdown mode for a H-U-G-E exam. I can't even stress how big this exam is. Ironically enough, it's called a mini-exam. Awesome.

Basically, on February 18, we'll be taking Mini 1 which has 120 multiple choice questions covering 37 hours of Biochemistry, 31 hours of Histology, 17 hours of Anatomy (including Radiological Anatomy), and 11 hours of Doctor, Patient and Society. This exam is worth 35% of our entire Biochemistry grade and 25% of our entire Histology grade for first semester. As you can see, Mini 1 is basically life or death right now. For every one hour of lecture, there is approximately 1 question coming from that lecture. One hour of lecture here is like an entire week's worth of lectures in college. The fact that one hour of lecture is only represented by ONE question means you have to know EVERYTHING because you have no clue what will be asked.

I can't even begin to describe the stress here on campus. We're all freaking out and we all seem to be in the same boat - too much information in too little time. I can't help but look at upper semester students and feel so envious that they made it to second semester. I'm just trying to survive Mini 1. Sometimes I feel so hopeless here and all the confidence I once had in my abilities and intelligence are being questioned like never before. Am I smart enough??

What makes it all worse is that it seems we never even have the time to sit and study the impossible mountains of notes. There are still 4-hour lab dissections and 2-hour Problem Based Learning classes going on every week leading up to the exams. This coming Friday is shot because we have our Anatomy Practical Exam at 1:00 PM. The exam basically consists of several cadavers with different muscles, arteries, bones, nerves, etc that are tagged or pinned. We have less than one minute to identify the structure and answer a question associated to that structure. We also have several radiographs that we have to be able to interpret. Not exactly my idea of a fun Friday afternoon, especially knowing that Mini 1 is looming on that following Monday. Thankfully, I am rocking Anatomy at the moment so I'm feeling pretty confident about the practical and the Anatomy portion of the Mini. Biochemistry is an entirely different animal.

So, this is my official excuse for the slow posts and for the lack of posts in the coming week. As soon as Mini 1 is over, Michael and I will let you all know how it went. Keep us in your prayers because we're going to need all the help we can get!

In The Middle Of Our House

Here are the pictures, mom! Mom has been dying to see what my room looks like so I took a few minutes to post some pictures here. I know it's no Ritz Carlton but I LOVE my room. Our apartment is also pretty sweet by Dominica standards. Some people's apartments here are a little rough on the eyes. Our friend, Tom, says we live in a tree house. We're like the Swiss Family Robinson - only Cuban and in medical school.

PS: Please don't rob us if you know where we live. Just kidding! (Or am I??)

Just Another Normal Afternoon

Sometimes it shocks me how accustomed I've gotten to this island. The things that happen to me here on a daily basis are so bizarre and crazy yet that is my life here. The bizarre and crazy has become normal. When I came home from school this afternoon, I told Michael the following story.

I had just gotten out of my Problem Based Learning class and I was on my way to the Shacks for lunch. I picked up a banana and peanut smoothie and a sandwich and started walking towards my apartment. As I was walking home, I immediate froze when I saw a huge snake in the grass a foot from where I was walking. I just stood there not knowing which way to move next. I'm not scared of snakes by any means but I've never seen one that wasn't in a zoo or someone's pet. This was a "wild" one. I guess a local noticed that I was acting strangely because he came up to me to see what was going on. This was our 10-minute word exchange:

Local: "what is it?" (he asks as he walks up to me and looks to where I am staring)
Me: "there is a huge snake!"
Local: "ohh, what a waste of money!!
Me: "oh, so it's dead?!"
Local: "yes, it was crossing the street last night and a transport ran over it. What a waste of
money."
Me: "a waste of money?"
Local: "oh yes, from its skin you can make belts. And its fat..."
Me: "you eat it??"
Local: "no, no. You melt the fat and then you put it all over your body. It is very, very expensive
in the islands."
Me: "snake oil? really?"
Local: "oh yes, it cures everything! Rheumatism, arthritis, everything."

I start to take out my camera because you know I'm thinking I definitely need to take a picture of this for the blog.

Local: "would you like me to hold it up for you?"
Me: "oh no, no. I was just going to take a picture of it lying in the grass."
Local: "it's O.K. I know people like to take pictures. I've held up snakes before."

So, he runs over to shawarma guy to get a ziploc bag so he can pick up the snake. He picked it up and held it high so I could take a picture. He must have thought I was so insane for wanting a picture of a dead snake. Who am I kidding? He probably isn't "all there" either. It is hard to say who is more insane: the girl who wants to take a picture of the dead snake or the guy holding up the snake so the girl can take a picture?

Me: "looks like he had just eaten something. What do these snakes eat?"
Local: "anything that gets large enough to eat."
Me: "what kind of snake is it?"
Local: "it's a boa. We have them all over the island. They are harmless."

(Yea, tell that to the small child it ate.)

Local: "do you like mangoes?"
Me: "yea, I like mangoes."

I knew where he was going with this. He puts down the snake and runs over to the shacks. He comes back with a huge box of big, green mangoes.

Me: "how much for four?"
Local: "you can buy five for five EC dollars."

I picked out five mangoes and gave him EC $10.00. I figured a EC$5.00 tip was fair for picking up the dead snake.

Local: "here is a little gift for you. You can hang it up."

He hands me a miniature Dominica flag (just what I needed) and walked back to the Shacks with his remaining mangoes.

If you look at what happened, it is all very bizarre. The man was all upset that the snake had gone to waste because he could have used it for his body. Then, he picks up the snake so I can take a picture. After I take the pic, he drops the snake and tries to sell me mangoes. As a bonus, he threw in a Dominican flag. So, at the end of the day, I walked away with a picture of a dead snake, five mangoes, and a Dominican flag. I'm out EC$10.00 but I'd say it was worth it.

The things that happen here make me laugh. Every day, you meet someone or something happens that you would never expect. It's all part of going to medical school on a remote island in the Caribbean. When I am not stressed or running somewhere, it's amazing what I can experience here if I just take a moment to take it all in. This may not be my favorite place right now, but it has its charms. There's shawarma guy, rainbows, goats on people's lawns, bats (more on this later), rivers, wild dogs, beautiful beaches, and so much more. The locals are pretty strange and funny, and most have been very nice. Don't get me wrong, there are times I wish I had wings so I could fly home. It can be very frustrating living here as I'm sure you've seen from our previous posts. But for the most part, I am enjoying life here and learning how to laugh more and not take things so seriously. Ross is everywhere here. If you're not in class, you're talking about class. If you're not studying, you're talking about what you've been studying and what you are going to be studying. It's nice to experience the island outside of school. My conversation with snake man was the highlight of my day and I'm glad we crossed paths. I had just gotten out of class and he put a smile on my face. I'm still laughing about it hours later.

So, if you are a student thinking about coming to Dominica, know that not everything is bad here. I felt it necessary to write an entry praising Dominica for once instead of complaining. It's easier to write about the things that go wrong. Truth is, Michael and I like it here so far. Like I said, it's an incredible opportunity we're both trying to take advantage of.