September 2018

New city. New faces. New academic challenges. As excited as I was to have finished my undergrad at Pomona College in small, suburban Claremont, CA and continue my journey to becoming a doctor, I was just as terrified to be moving to New Orleans where I would no longer be surrounded by friends and family to help me adjust to the new lifestyle. Tulane's Masters in Pharmacology would be an immeasurable challenge, but it is the perfect introduction to the material I would begin to learn in medical school. What stood out to me that was different than anything else I had been advised so far was that my dream of being a doctor was very much within grasp. Hearing doctors and professors show me a path to medical school was still possible even with a sub-par GPA filled me with a sense of hope and motivation to dive into the program head first. As we opened the Inflammation block with signal transduction, cytochrome P450 mechanisms, and other basic principle topics that had caused me so much distress to study in undergrad, the way professors were presenting the material to me in a more applied manner made the material seem much more clear and, more importantly, exciting! I used to dread questions about biology and biochemistry, but I now have a greater appreciation for this material because professors like Dr. Lindsay, Dr. Mondal, and Dr. Clarkson have showed me how important and vital they are to make any diagnosis for patients. Medical Pharmacology has been a dream of a class so far. We have learned about treatments for gout, arthritis, HIV, and other very important diseases that are commonly seen in the medical field. By presenting the information in the form of case studies, I feel motivated to learn about each topic to treat the patients as if they are my own. I hope that as the program progresses they continue to present the material in this manner, so that we can get a better glimpse into the life of a doctor. 

Along with the success of this teaching style and a rekindling of my dream, I am also excited to start working with KiPP foundation. I have had the privilege of always believing that college and degrees beyond a bachelor's degree were within my grasp because of the opportunities and life lessons my parents gave me. However, it is important to remember that not all children have this type of guidance. KiPP helps show these kids the beauty of higher education and prepares them for college and any career-path they choose for themselves. Just as Tulane has given me hope for my dreams, KiPP gives kids in under-resourced areas a chance to pursue their own dreams. As a firm believer in no one gets left behind, I cannot wait to get started with this foundation and hopefully serve as a guiding light for the kids in need of help.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

April 2019

Image
Finally, we are wrapping our year up with the last blog post! With MCAT preparations and job applications the past month has really flown by. In the next year, I hope to teach in underserved communities. I have always been so lucky to have a choice with my career path and my life because of my loving parents. Financial barriers can impede on a student's ability to actively learn, so I would like to create an environment that stimulates a desire to learn regardless of any other issues. I believe that places like KiPP and City Year would be a great starting point to help students in these underserved communities. I also enjoyed our Environmental Signaling elevator talks! It was a great way to learn what each of us are passionate about and work on our presenting skills. I appreciate everything that I have learned at Tulane during this Master's program, and I hope that I will continue to use and flourish this knowledge as I become a physician one day! April Service hours: 12
Read more

February 2019

This month brought about the final two blocks of the year for Medical Pharmacology and Principles of Pharmacology. Neurology and Psychiatry were the final two topics discussed before heading into the final NBME exam at the end of March. I particularly enjoyed the Psychiatry block because of the light it shed on mental disorders. As I learned about the positive and negative symptoms that people with depression, schizophrenia, and other disorders, I felt a sadness growing within me. Millions of people worldwide struggle to cope with these issues on a daily basis yet so much is still unknown about these diseases from their causes to a proper treatment protocol. And the little aid we have for patients incurs such drastic side effects that make life even more difficult for any and all affected. These patients suffering from psychiatric disabilities are left to choose between fighting with their disease every day or tolerating the brutal side effects that accompany any drugs given to them to
Read more

November 2018

Even with a week spent with my family in Nashville, TN, November still proved to be a heavy load from an academic perspective. We dove into the second half of the Cardiovascular (CV) block to begin the month and examined how to treat arrhythmias, benign prostatic hyperplasia, erectile dysfunction, and urinary tract infections. The antiarrhythmic overview was particular insightful as we tackled the topic in a problem based learning (PBL) exercise. By engaging each student in a discussion format, PBLs are effective at helping the students not only learn about how to handle arrhythmias but also gain an understanding of how their peers approach each case study. I believe this is an important skill to have as aspiring physicians because soon we will have to treat patients as a team, and its imperative to be able to combine multiple angles at a diagnosis to develop a personalized, appropriate treatment plan for each patient. Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Elma LeDoux, we also had the privil
Read more