Study Break

So when it is block time, I get so tired of studying. But, I am on an island and I can't really run to taco bell or the ice cream shop so I have to get creative. Today's study breaks. . .
    
     Facebook (ahh. . how many times can you say that life is grand or sucks or you're in the USA and have everything at the tip of your fingers? Rub it in a little.) I think next time I'll pass.

    Attempted to make a dessert with bare minimal ingredients (except that it made me not want to try another dessert with bare minimal ingredients); a failure

    Reading med student blogs (score!)

So, I'll share the funniest quotes from the blogs I have read tonight while trying to quiet my mind so that I can sleep-- I have been sitting on my butt since 9 am.

"A patient I admitted last night, broke her hospital window and jumped five stories plummeting to her death." Ok I know that doesn't sound very funny, but the point is the thoughts that came with it. "Why are the hospital windows breakable? Why were there no rails? Why didn't the other patient in the room call out for someone?"

And this one,
            Oncology
Be warned there is adult language. It is probably morbidly funny and if you have a loved one that has died from cancer then you might not find it funny at all.

I hope you laugh a little.

Until next time,
Amy

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New Study Room

Hey check out the new room in the library. Please do not leave your stuff if you are not coming back for hours. We all want to use the space equally so if you are going to eat off campus then do the right thing and leave your stuff in a cubby and let others use your space.

Thanks to President Ross and all others who were involved in getting this put together.

http://iuonlibrary.blogspot.com/2011/07/library-addition-is-now-open.html


Until Next time,
Amy Jones
Future MD, MBA, B.Sc.

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Congratulations! Board Scores are IN.

     One of the first terms you will hear in class, Cell Biology probably, is "high-yield". What the heck does high-yield mean? It means that it is usually tested on the Boards. Another term that is tossed out about two hundred times a day on campus. The Boards are the USMLE Step 1, 2, 3. First priority for medical students is to score very well on the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) because it determines your residency placement. It is a comprehensive computerized standardized exam to be taken after your second year in medical school. Basically it tests your knowledge of the basic sciences, and apparently current research knowledge. The latter isn't a large part of the test and you can do very well without reading research and medical journals daily.

    The scores for some of those students that took the examination from UMHS recently are back! Those that have told scores have said they did well. A 240 (99) is the "golden" score and some of those that have taken it from our University achieved above it. They did super! So, Congratulations Doctors! Success. Now kick butt in rotations and on the Step 2 CS, CK.

     This is a great indication of how our University prepares us. So Congratulations to UMHS profs and adminstrative staff!

      T-335 days until I take Step 1

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new design,

comment on the design,
thanks.

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Books: To Buy or not to buy. . .

I had a great question on one of posts and felt that the answer needed a post all of its own. The commenter asked, "Do you use all of the books on the booklist and are older version ok for some of them?".

The answer is never black and white, yes or no. So my advice is it depends. Do you really like to have a paper version of the book ? Do you need to read a textbook to understand the material? For some classes the powerpoints are enough and for some classes you might need some reference material. The cool thing about UMHS is that they have most all of the books from the booklist in library on reserve. So you can use them in the library if you need to. Some of the books you might want to have to study for the boards later, and make notes in them now.

What I see a lot of the students recommending to buy is:
Med 1-
-Anatomy Lab manual
-Anatomy atlas
-Histology book is a really good book and very comprehensive, I think I would like to own it and I haven't sold mine. An older version of this book is ok. (remember though that medicine is very dynamic so older would be the previous edition not ten years older)
-You should be fine with just the cell bio notes from class, I had the book and it is a good book but you will probably never read it and if you find that you want it after classes start you can always buy it.

Med 2-
-Physiology text book. Constanzo is good, I really liked the BRS. I feel like they leave a lot out of the cardio section so you might want to supplement in the library with Guyton and Hall.
-Biochemistry, Lippincott Reveiw. I have mine still and I think it will be a good resource for studying for the boards, so you can buy it now or later, but the notes you get in class are enough and if you need to fill in the blanks you can do that in library, plus there is an older version in library that may be available for borrowing.
-Genetics. notes are enough, you might want to read the blue sections from the one in the library, but I wouldn't buy it and in fact I sold mine.
-embryology, this is tricky, I think you can do with the notes that you get in class. But I would get some kind of review book like BRS for the boards. If you read it during the class it will probably make more sense when you are reviewing for the board exam.


Med 3- (my current semester)

- Neuroscience- most everyone likes the Haines anatomy, I find it difficult to get used to, I borrowed it from the library, and mostly the older version would be fine. I think that I will actually buy the lippincott review neuroscience for my board review book and if I could get it now I would.

another book that comes highly recommended is the High Yeild Neuroanatomy, it is ok in my opionion, but I think the BRS or Lippincott might be better.

-Microbiology- BRS, but you don't need anything for the class, the notes are sufficient.

-Pathology- Dr. J's notes are awesome and he is an incredible prof you don't need a text, but you will need the Robbins book the next semester, and the Robbins Review of Pathology that includes questions is very good, you should buy both of these.

-Behavioral- no book needed the notes are sufficient and you can supplement in the library if you need to, and if you want to buy a book later for study then you can. I don't think you will need to.

-Immunology- I haven't started that class but it has been recommended that I use the basic immunology text book. It is avaiable for check out in the library. I might buy it later, but probably not.

Med 4-
- Not there yet, but I think you will have your path book already and you should by the ICM book (not sure of the name right now). That is really all I know about med 4 thus far, I will update this post next semester.

Hope this answers any questions on what to buy and what not to buy.

Remember that everyone learns and studies differently so you have to do what works for you, definitely bring binders and highlighters pens pencils etc. All office supplies are OUTRAGEOUS here. Example, ten US dollars for a three ring binder!

Commenter, thanks for the question!

Until next time,
Amy Jones
Future MD, MBA, B. SC

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A generator??

       Electricity on the island is better than it was when I first arrived last year. It is rarely out and when it is they get it back on in a few hours. Last year they had experienced damage to one of there power generators and they had rolling blackouts every few days for different times around different parts of the island. I lived at the royal on the side with generators so it was a good thing. Since I have been in my apartment we have only had a few power outages and none of them have lasted more than a few hours. My apartment is on the ocean so if it is nice out I can get an ocean breeze. Generally we don’t use the AC all day everyday anyway. However, if you are going to live at the royal I would suggest that you get a room with a generator because for whatever reason they seem to have more outages than the island, also if you live in camps or mattingly or around the campus they also have more outages and they tend to last longer than those in Frigate Bay.

  Pictures of my apartment now. Along with the views from my balcony.

     For me, the outages that I have experienced haven’t been too inconvenient. With hurricane season on our heels you may want a generator just in case, but I wouldn’t make it a deal breaker on an apartment that is a great deal and awesome. 

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They dress like that in med school???

I haven't posted in a while and I hope to post more often. Medical School is a fulltime job and I love to skype my children when I have a spare moment (read in the morning before classes and at night when I am having a study break). But yesterday I decided that I needed to post more often because hopefully I will only have about six more months here and I feel like I have not chronicled anything. Mostly because I do the same thing everyday but I can share tidbits here and there. Other times it is because I feel like I have so much to do that I don't have time to update my blog. I am also taking an online MBA class (7 week classes) which takes up a ton of my time during the first part of the semester.

Alas, I am here and ready to tell you all that I am thinking about today. First, I have a friend that is in medical school in the states and I often wonder how our experiences are different. Today I put my socks on and hung my throw over the back of library chair to begin studying for my block exams and I thought "do they wear socks and sweatshirts in US medical schools or does everyone wear professional clothes?".  I am not sure but here most everyone is in casual clothing. Our classrooms are fully air conditioned and quite cool usually so we all bring sweaters and sweatshirts. The closer it gets to blocks the more bummy everyone seems to dress. Except for the Med 4s. They have Intro to Clinical Medicine and they have to dress professionally (or scrubs) a few times a week. So you can definitely tell the difference between the Med 4s and the rest of us. I am now a med 3.

 This is from my first semester when I was in ARP! In the ARP classroom.

I think this was taken either the first of this semester or the last part of last semester.

This is me today! 

I have been on the island for a year now! Unbelievable! I wish I had more time here and I am already dreading and anxiously anticipating being back in the states. Notice that most of these pictures are taken in the library or in a classroom, (the most current one is in the lib although you can't tell).

I have had an incredible time here on the island. I have met a lot of great people and friends that I will definitely stay in touch with over the years and some that I probably will never see again unless we end up in the same hospital. There are some things that take some getting used to but all in all it is a very pleasant experience and I hope to do some rotations in the UK. Maybe in London.

If you have the opportunity to study abroad then take it. Make the most of your time in college and graduate school. This is the only time in your life you can experience another country and not have to work there to make ends meet!

If you are planning to attend University of Medicine and Health Sciences at St. Kitts then please send me your questions and I'll answer them right here for everyone to read. I would love for people to be able to use my blog later for help with their transition into medical school.

Until next time 'mon!
Amy Jones
Future Amy Jones, MD, MBA, B. Sc.

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