jenniferhawke.com

puppies! eee!

i have set Christmas break as the “deadline” to find new (permanent, responsible) homes for them. any later than that, and they lose their puppy charm. any earlier, and they are an intimidating handful for someone that isn’t used to puppies or doesn’t have a good outdoor yard.

i figure Christmas break is a good time because a lot of the new students will be moving from the dorms into their semi-permanent housing. between now and then, they will get house-trained, name-trained, and crate-trained. they will also get their puppy shots and de-worming.

i hear female dogs go into heat earlier here than in Canada and — as such — are spayed earlier. but i think that will be something the new owners will have to take care of. perhaps it will be part of them proving their “responsible-ness” and “thinking things through-ness” before adopting. whether they end up with locals or students, i really want to make sure they end up with people who are interested in long-term commitment.

PS: yes, the only chew toy they have right now is a bungee cord. hey — at least it’s not my flip flops!

PPS: they are asleep on top of my toes as i write this. *collective AWWWW*

dear Nevis,

thank you for the very warm (and humid) welcome to the island. i also appreciate the lack of hurricane-style weather so far. September has been a great month for cycling to school and not getting too drenched. well, there was that one day… but overall, i find your temperatures quite bearable. i think i’ve managed to acclimatize rather quickly and no longer have the office a/c on full blast.

as my first month on this island paradise, it has — not surprisingly — been a very full one. perhaps the most full month i will ever have here. new people, new school, new classes, new home, new commute, new meals, new alarm time, new puppies, new everything. i even had my 30th birthday here and started counting my age in a new decade! i think one of the only things that has remained the same is my extremely conservative bedtime. and that just happens to fit perfectly with the “new alarm” time.

i know a few people in the cruise ship industry and others that have traveled up and down the Caribbean extensively. pretty much every person i know that has been here to visit you, claims you are the best island in the whole bunch. i can see that your small size and relative privacy, combined with amazing beaches and beautiful water would be tough to beat. if i’m going to be stuck on an island for 20 months, it’s really comforting to know i picked the best one.

BUT, we both know our relationship hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows so far… you reminded me so much of someone i met earlier in the summer that i figured we were bound to get off on a bad start. and it was tough at first — to leave everything and everyone i love behind. you’re like a first-cousin i have to be friends with because we’re related, not because we have anything in common. some things are still tough and i know we have a few relationship kinks to work out at our weekly session with the therapist, but i’m trying hard to accept the bad with the good. i appreciate the fact that you no longer leave your dirty socks lying around and that the cockroaches have vacated my living quarters. you scratch my back, i’ll scratch yours.

in turn, i have learned to be infinitely patient and cheerful. i know that according to Island Time, being in a rush will get me nowhere fast. and failing to start a conversation with “how are you today?” can have disastrous results. power outages are no big deal. neither are water outages if you have a few 2L bottles stashed under the sink to rinse your dishes and flush the toilets. earplugs take care of obnoxiously loud tree frogs. and there is certainly something to be said for never having to wear a sweater in the house.

here’s to October… may the rain stay wet and the sun stay warm. i hope to eventually have a bit more time to explore your neat nooks and crannies, but in the meantime, you’ll have to be content honking at me via taxi and bus drivers on the way to and from school each day.

students that decide to pursue medicine tend to be the Cream of the Crop. not only have they gotten past the (usually stringent) application process for that particular school, they have also shown determination to do well in a field that is incredibly intimidating.

and sometimes i think it’s tough going from a classroom where you were a big fish with lots of little plankton, into a smaller fishbowl filled with a lot of other big fish.

“Praise your friends in public. Correct them in private.”
~ Leonardo daVinci

this quote was included by our anatomy professor in a lecture last week. he always likes to add a little life lesson gem at the beginning of class and this one was particularly timely right after the first set of exams when a lot of people seemed to be comparing grades and study techniques.

i am really very pleased to say that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of competition in our class so far. almost everyone goes out of their way to help each other both inside and outside of the classroom. i think it’s fantastic. it probably helps that we are from — quite literally — all over North America and a lot of us won’t be competing with each other for the same residency spots.

whatever the reason, it’s nice to feel like a school of big fish efficiently hunting together, rather than trying to “best” each other for those little bitty pieces of plankton.

i held a human heart in my hand yesterday. true, it hadn’t been beating for a very long while, but it was amazing. i think i was most impressed at the pericardial sac that protects it in the chest wall. what a tough, strong covering! be good to your heart — it’s important and so pretty.

puppies are coming home today. i’m more nervous about the responsibility i’m diving into than excitedly looking forward to puppy breath. the house is “proofed” and the yard will follow soon. pictures will obviously be coming up ASAP, but even 50 puppies wouldn’t be enough to replace the cuteness of the Madd-ster.

i hope to get to that the post office is open today. i have a few things i want to mail to some special people (including about a dozen postcards!) and if they don’t get out today… i’m not sure when i’ll have time/transportation next.

EDIT: post office apparently used to be open for a half day on Saturday, but is now closed. i have no idea when this stack of postcards and stuff are ever going to get out! bummer.

enjoy your weekend! it’s the last one you get this month! : ))

“If a man has any greatness in him, it comes to light, not in one flamboyant hour, but in the ledger of his daily work.”

~ Beryl Markham

why are my exams so easy? why does your school cover more material than mine? is my grade because i worked hard or because the exam was weak? am i contributing to the stereotype of low-quality medical schools in the Caribbean by doing well on exams and talking about it? are blocks better than midterms? are midterms better than shelf exams?

or in the words of a recent commenter, Jenn:

I don’t think it is “better” to test all the material at once, but most schools (in the US anyway) test every few weeks worth of material. And not in “blocks”, it’s all at once, including every class.

It’s a lot easier to brag about getting A’s when you have the minimal amount of info in one exam. Our averages are *not* that high, and I go to a very good school.

Why do people go to schools in the Caribbean, anyway?

Our averages are low(as in 80%) because according to the current post, we studed way way more than what was “listed”. And, we aren’t given the luxury of having one subject per test. Do they move slower? Maybe.

This is in no way saying the writer isn’t smart. I just think posting grades online is a little self-indulgent..considering.

dear Jenn,

first off, i am making this response the subject of its’ very own post because i think you voiced a few things that may have been on the minds of other readers. i hope you don’t find the publicity of this response disrespectful since your original comments were public anyway.

1) i don’t entertain discussions or debates about the quality of Caribbean medical schools. some are good, some are bad. some are diploma mills and their licensing availability in the USA reflects that. some are high-caliber and make great doctors out of people that “couldn’t get in” (for whatever reason) to a medical school in their own country. we could talk ourselves in circles and it doesn’t really matter.

i am attending a WHO certified medical school that happens to teach and test material in a certain way. as mentioned in a (recent) previous post, instead of lumping MUA in with All Other Caribbean Medical Schools, i will let MUA’s overall USMLE 1 & 2 pass rates speak to the caliber of their professors and teaching/testing style. there is obviously a big difference between passing an “easy” med school exam and doing well on the USMLEs.

2) our exams are formatted to be as close to the USMLE as possible, but are divided by topic for whatever reason. US schools may do it in a more practical and traditional way for whatever reason. since neither of us have personal experience with the other system, i guess we can only do our best with the system handed to us and see what happens when the USMLE rolls around.

3) i was aiming and working very hard for all As on the last set of exams. unfortunately that was not the case. i apologize for however or wherever you were misled with my “bragging”.

4) also previously mentioned, i do not have any class averages posted, nor do i intend to include them in this blog because this website is a very personal first-hand account of the trials and tribulations of medical school. if you couldn’t tell by the name, i’m not sure what other hints to provide. i am trying to speak only for myself and not get caught up in comparison with others. if i share my grades it’s in case you want to compare yourself with me. which would probably only work if you were in similar system in a similar Caribbean school. ; ))

5) is my “re-cap” post in any way a comprehensive list of the material we covered in three weeks? of course not. if that was the case, it would have taken me three weeks to type it out.

6) and lastly you say “a little self-indulgent..considering.” considering what? considering that this is a self-indulgent namesake blog? if so, i think sharing my successes and failures is perfectly self-indulgent and fits perfectly with the theme of the rest of the site. : ))

thanks again for sharing your point-of-view! i’m sure a lot of other folks out there were of a similar opinion but didn’t have the guts to share their non-anonymous thoughts.

i hope things are going well for you in Oregon. good luck with the rest of the semester!

sincerely,
(another) Jen

my mom sent me this picture yesterday. looks like she’s livin’ the good life on the farm. made me happy to see her so happy. but at the same time, boy…

… sure do miss her. : ((

[note: for those of you that are just tuning in -- or haven't been keeping up -- "MED 1" refers to the current semester and "Block 1" refers to the material on our first set of exams. there are 5 Blocks in a semester -- 4 midterms and a cumulative final.]

EDIT: i thought it was obvious, but apparently i have to point out that this is in no way a comprehensive list of topics and sub-topics covered in the last three weeks. if that was the case, i probably would have needed 3 weeks to type it all out. as an example, the “super quick review” of cell biology meant the prof basically went over stuff we were already expected to know. if you didn’t already know the difference between inner and outer mitochondrial membranes, then you had a bit of work to do.

i (continuously, incessantly, gloriously, happily) mention that i’m doing all of this “studying”, but what the heck have i actually learned so far?

for all of you vicarious med students, here’s the rundown of my first three weeks of medical school…

gross anatomy
- back and spinal cord (what can go wrong with vertebra and why?)
- upper limb (memorization of every little thing from the neck to fingertips)

>>most interesting thing learned: Janice (the sister) broke her clavicle this week in a dirt bike accident on the farm. it was sort of neat to be able to picture the most commonly fractured part of the clavicle in my mind. and yes, i think she’s doing just fine!

histology
- different types of microscopy/stains and their unique uses
- cell biology (super quick review of cellular structures and their functions)
- connective tissue, epithelium, bones, and cartilage (building block structure and function)

>> most interesting thing learned: some of the staining/slicing technique information was a fun flashback to my time in the psychology labs at UBC. i remember sitting at that microtome for hours! i also think i’m going to start saying “stratified squamous keratinized epithelium” instead of plain old “skin”.

embryology
- formation of the male and female gamete (meiosis in the gonads!)
- fertilization
- embryo development (what happens in the first 8 weeks of new momma’s tummy?)

>> most interesting thing learned: pregnancy tests that you pee on are checking for human chorionic gonadotropin hormone in your urine.

evidence-based medicine
- differences between empirical and evidence based medicine
- importance of the scientific method
- importance of not believing everything you read in the “news”

>> most interesting thing learned: well, since i took a lot of statistical stuff for psychology in my undergrad, this has mostly been review so far. but tonight i’m working on an assignment about whether or not folic acid reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. interesting? depends on your perspective, i guess!

in the gross anatomy lab, we spent three weeks dissecting the back, arms and hands. today we opened up the ribs in the chest. our male cadaver was a smoker and it’s not a pretty picture. i imagine the abdominal cavity will be even more interesting.

Block 2 is off with a shot today and i can’t wait!

[today's photo of Julie, me, and Maddy at the Kitsilano dog beach is by Jonathan]

things are good and great and i’m happily studying morning, noon, & night. but some days i wish my breaks were filled with hugs and shoulder rubs and dog walks and hand licks and fetch sessions and ginger beef and… well, you know…

some days you just miss home.

“Well, you certainly do have an active mind.”
~ fellow MUA student after he found this site

tonight might be the end of Block 1, but Block 2 has just begun! next exams are the weekend of October 12th.

along with “hey congrats for working so hard!” i’ve had a few emails from people comparing their term/school to MUA. i have decided to pull any reference to overall class averages from my post-exam discussions. it’s too easy to jump to uninformed conclusions even though there is a big difference between an easy exam and a well-prepared student.

just like there is a small tiny itty-bitty difference between passing a medical school exam and passing your country’s national board exams. i will let MUA’s overall USMLE 1 and 2 pass rates speak to the caliber of our professors and lecture material. i speak only for myself.

besides, this website is all about MOI (in my best Miss Piggy voice) and i try to compare myself with other people as little as possible. : ))

speaking of moi, i did well, but not as well as i had hoped planned in anatomy and histology. a few things threw me off, so i’m in the process of evaluating areas i can improve in. i have learned some lessons! learning is good!

1) pay attention to the in-class PowerPoint slides even if they have difficult grammar or spelling errors. i made the mistake of assuming that everything of importance in the slides was also in the textbook and vice versa — not so! instead of just using the slides for review, i am going to incorporate all of their little facts into my initial study time. unfortunately, i don’t retain info from the screen very well so i will be using a few forests of trees and spending a small fortune on printer cartridges. 9 slides per page, double-sided is my best environmental effort.

2) sticking to the study schedule works well. i alloted a certain number of hours each week for each subject and found that really paid off. i wasn’t left scrambling near the end because i had spent more time on anatomy than histo, for example. i love schedules. they’re like lists, but more complicated and prettier.

3) stop studying things you already know, missy! save that for review! if you know it, move on to something you don’t! if you think you know everything, look again!

4) one of our professors teaches us as if we are already doctors and he is telling us things we need to know for our “jobs” — this is Very Helpful. not only is it an awesome show of respect and responsibility, but a good reminder that we really are going to be doctors someday! for real! we will need to know and use this stuff!

so we’ll see how the next three weeks go. the only non-school thing i’m wrestling with these days is whether or not to find motorized transportation. the bicycle is amazing and i won’t give up my morning ride for anything, but it’s just a *bit* too far to get into town for groceries and errands. looking into a few options and may have fun news soon.

oh, and puppies! looks like they will be coming home sooner than expected… stay tuned for stinky breath, potty-training, and razor teeth.