Update time!
Hey readers, Ash here! I am back and finished year 1 of medical school! YOU GUYS I AM OFFICIALLY AN M2!!!!!!! I am now 25% a doctor now! 🥲! By far, this module sucked besides Neurology and psychiatry. I actually like neurology. I had a really rough start. GI was a beast along with cardio! If I ever had to re-do this semester, I would take an L on module 1 (GI/Cardio). I still struggle with Cardio lol. This semester we focused on Cardio/Gastrointestinal, Respiratory, and Neurology/Pysch.
The first module (GI/Cardio 1) was information overload. Never in my life have I ever hated cardiology so much! I realized that any physiology connected with physics is not my fortake. GI was more dobable. Cardiology was not like that! It took me a lot longer to learn cardio. I learned about reading EKGs, interpreting EKGS (arrhythmias, MI, right sided heart failure etc) cardiac action/electric potential, ventricular repolarization/vascular system, even cardio histology and a whole ton of pathology. GI, personally, I thought was more doable for more module 1. I had a better understanding on how the stomach/intestines/liver/gallbladder/spleen/etc work. Personally, I enjoyed it more Even though it was a lot.
Second module, we learned about Respiratory 1. My personal opinion on it was that respiratory was extremely boring. I hated it. See the trend guys? I don‘t like anything with physics in it (cough cough *Cardio and Resp*). After much realization, respiratory is very integrated with cardio! It was cool but nonetheles, boring! Once I have figured out the trends, it was easy for me to integrate respiratory clinical correlates along with respiratory physiology. I had to see so many types of chest X-rays that included different types of lung infections (COVID-19), pneumothorax, lung punctures, and lung collapse.
Module 3 was neurology/psych 1 and I loved it! It was really cool learning about various parts of the brain, the lesions involved and what are the clinical manifesations for those lesions. Neuro, I admit, is information overload. There a lot of clinical correlates and a lot of memorizations. I probably saw over 1000 different images, sections, x-rays, CTs showing different type of pathology (stroke, hematomas, embolism, aneurysm, degenerative brain disease). Personally, I loved neuro. It all made sense! Also, this exam was my highest exam score! I killed the neuro module :) If I ever do decide to specialize, it would be child (pediatrics) neurology.
Furthermore, we also had small group sessions (SGL) where we would have a patient come in pretending to have some type of disease (chief complaints about their symptoms). As a training doctor, we conducted interviews, focused on patient’s symptoms (trying to figure out what disease they have). We read vitals and looked at labs/images. Once a disease is suspected, further tests and images were ordered. And eventually, we learned and confirmed their diagnosis with evidence based medicine. It was pretty cool ( excluding being in the hot seat with your facilitator watching) leading a team of doctors to work together to see what disease they have. For our clinical skills, we did pretty cool physical exams on patients, in order to determine their diagnosis. I learned how to do a Cardiovascular exam (cardio auscultation, palpations, inspection, percussion ext), respiratory exam, neurology exam, abdomen exam, liver exam, chronic and acute illness exam. This was the first time I felt like a doctor 👩⚕️ I felt the autonomy and I fine tuned my critical analysis skills and clinical skills. I am hoping this break, I can practice on Meriam or with my family members at home. I want to be a good doctor. A doctor that shows empathy. A doctor that is patient centered and can give their patients the best diagnosis and treat the patient accordingly to their symptoms.
YOU GUYS!!! I AM AN OFFICIAL SECOND YEAR STUDENT DOCTOR!!!! 25% a doctor now!!!
Outside of school, I did some pretty cool pediatric volunteer activity. I participated in a bake sale for the Children’s Heart Association. Another cool volunteer activity I did was that I went to the elementary charter school to teach children about having healthy eating habits, exercise, teddy bear clinic, teaching children about heartbeats and heart sounds using a stethoscope. It was such an amazing experience. I had a fun time spending time with these children. I was beyond awestruck how smart these children are. I am very big on children education and teaching them about their health is very important.
To end my first year of medical school, I did have a little self care after exams where I went to brunch/dinner with a bunch of my girlfriends. But honestly, most of time went towards school and FaceTiming Meriam. I am so happy to be home to see my daughter. First year of medical school Is done! On to second year! This year, I am closer now to take the USMLE step 1 exam (thus I will be licensed to practice medicine). I hope for this break, I can actually relax a little and have some fun! This semester I had so many breakdowns (I need to learn to manage my anxietc better). I promise myself, in second year, I will give myself some grace and remember I am doing my best everyday. Medical school is hard and its information overload. They throw a lot at you at once. I need to go back to exercising more and eating healthy again. My sleep habits are better. Furthermore, I need to manage my anxiety a little better.
Thank you for following along my journey! This was an exciting year. I made new friends, obtained new experiences, tried different types of cuisine and continted to do my little fun cooking hacks. I’ll update you guys as I go.
XOXO- Ash Sarah
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