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One of the first things I noticed after stepping off a plane onto US soil is the undeniable obesity problem here in the States. Please check out the article I wrote for Medscape which addresses the issue of fat doctors as healers.
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I just got my official first-year grades back. I got four A’s and two B’s. I’m confident that I could have gotten all A’s, had I not been so rusty and confused about how to study in the beginning of the semester. I hope to make my goal of all A’s next semester. I’ve been preemptively celebrating the end of my first year since I arrived in the States. But I think I’m going to go celebrate my sweet grades with a few fruity cocktails. Afterall, according to a study that just came out, fruity cocktails are health drinks!
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I recently read about a controversial exhibit opening up at a gallery here in DC. It’s called Bodies…The Exhibition, and it promises to provide a unique glimpse into the beauty of the human body. They have taken a collection of cadavers, immersed them in acetone, and then replaced all the liquid in the bodies with silicone. This is a fascinating method of preservation that allows the bodies to stay perfectly intact so that they can display them in the exhibit.
After seeing a few of the images, and reading the website, I was immediately sold. I’m going to catch the exhibit within the next few days, so I’ll let everyone know how much fun it turns out to be. Please do check out their site, and hopefully you live close enough to one of the cities where it’s being shown to see it for yourself.
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Well, I finally made it to the States and was in the Washington DC area by about midnight on Saturday. We flew from Dominica to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and then from San Juan to Baltimore, Maryland. Actually, we had an eight hour layover in San Juan, which ended up being pretty fun. I had my first sushi at a little bistro in San Juan. I expected it to be so-so, but I was actually pretty impressed. I almost cried as I scarfed the sushi down. (The pic above is my stuffed dinosaur, Rufie, who I take with me everywhere I go. She’s enjoying a mojito at the San Juan airport.)
Micah’s dad picked us up from the airport and drove us to his home in Silver Spring, Maryland where we stayed the night. In the morning, we drove into Bethesda and had tapas and wine at Jaleo. As we sat outside, feasting on the delicious tapas, I couldn’t help smiling so much that my face started to hurt. Then my bestest friend Laura showed up, and I was in absolute heaven.
Since then, I’ve pretty much been a total lazy bum for the past few days. We’ve been eating tons of food and watching tons of movies. Basically, I’m trying to catch up on everything that I’ve missed out on for the past eight months. As I sit here now in Micah’s parents’ house, I couldn’t be any happier or more relaxed. It really doesn’t get any better than this. Absence makes the belly grow smaller, and now I’m ready to go eat my third meal of the day (it’s not even noon yet). Ahh, cheers to American excess!!
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I forgot to post this a few days ago. It’s just a short entry I wrote for Medscape about becoming a second-year med student.
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So, I guess it’s official now. Thanks to those of you who sent me the link to the announcement for CBS’s new show, Pirate Master that was filmed here in Dominica. Am I the only one who thinks that name sounds like an amalgamation of two other, quite humorous names? Anyway, I think I’ll try and check it out, just so I can make fun of it. But first I have to figure out how to turn on the TV. No, I seriously don’t know how to turn on my TV. I’ve never actually watched it myself. Though, Micah’s turned it on and we’ve watched it together. On second thought, I’m just going to make him figure it out. Anyhoo, cheerios!
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I’M FINISHED!!!! I just took my last exam as a first-year med student. I’m pretty sure I just spanked that exam. Unless I am delusional, and I actually got all the questions wrong, I am officially now a second-year med student! I have done it. I almost cried as I walked home just now. I can’t believe what I’ve accomplished in the past eight months. I have learned so much, that I can’t even fathom it. I worked my tooshy off, and I am so excited about all my new classes next semester. YAY!!! Time for some celebration!!!
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Please check out the post that I wrote yesterday for Medscape after taking the anatomy Shelf Exam.
Wow, what a difference a day can make! I just re-read this article, and I’m amazed that I changed my tune so quickly after the biochem exam today. I need a break!!!
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I just finished taking the biochemistry Shelf Exam. I can officially say that right now my motivation level is at the lowest it’s been since I first started med school eight months ago. I don’t want to study anymore. I don’t want to be here anymore. The Shelf Exams were not fun. I knew they would be hard but I didn’t realize how hard. I’m not used to taking tests where I don’t know lots of questions. Now I know why it sucks. It’s killed my motivation. I feel so stupid. I’ve done pretty well on all the exams here so I’m starting to question how I study and the quality of my education here. I mean, my grades here really don’t matter all that much. What matters is my USMLE score. And the Shelf Exams are written by the same people who write the USMLE - the NBME. If I can’t score well on these Shelf Exams, how am I going to tackle the USMLE?
I am trying to tell myself to look on the brightside: I have many more months before I take the USMLE. That means I have tons of time to study. Well, hypothetically at least. I mean, I’m going to be busy studying other stuff as well. Also, I only had a day to prepare for each Shelf Exam. Should I be surprised that I didn’t do well? Actually, I don’t even know how poorly I did. Maybe I will end up with decent scores. I don’t know. I guess I should be happy that I didn’t need good Shelf scores to pass my classes. But I did need decent scores to get all A’s, which was my original goal. That goal is now looking pretty hard to obtain at this point.
I have today and tomorrow to study for the final mini exam, and then my first year of med school is all over. I really wish they would have given us the final mini BEFORE the Shelf Exams. That certainly would have helped with my apathy problem right now. I feel like ripping all my hair out, yet I know that I should focus on taking the mini and getting out of here.
Okay, I’m going to do it. I need to do it. I can’t wait for all this to be over!!!
My name is Kendra and I am a third-year medical student attending Ross University School of Medicine. I went through my basic science training on the Nature Island of Dominica, hence the name of this blog. However, I am currently living in Brooklyn, New York, where I'm doing my clinical rotations. I am a life enthusiast. I talk to strangers, cut the tags off of my pillows, and I don’t carry an umbrella with me because I prefer to get wet.
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