Monday
9-11am: Endocrinology lectures
Woke up late! So missed the first hour of lecture. But totally not worried, can watch the video recording online or just look at the course syllabi text.
Yes, I am probably still one of 5% that religiously attends class. This is how I learn most effectively. And one thing you have to realize is you gotta do what is best for YOU; not what you think most people are doing (as obvious as this sound, it is easier said than done–)
11 am-Noon: OB/GYN pathology course: Patient presentation: GYN cancer survivors
Many of the courses are usually accompanied by a patient presentation. Patients who are willing to share their experiences on related diagnoses devote some time to teach us from a first-hand perspective what it means to have a certain disease. Today we had a panel of 4 patients who talked about their experience with a different gynecologic malignancy they have endured, from breast cancer, to ovarian cancer to recurring malignancies. It was probably one of the most inspiring patient presentations I have attended yet. The admiration, love and respect I had for these women overwhelmed me, and probably many of my fellow classmates. What these presentations do is add that “third dimension” to the course. It really helps us understand the disease we are learning in a holistic manner, allowing us to further understand the disease, but more importantly, appreciate the person behind the disease. These patients taught me so much, and it was more of the intangible, the things that are not captured in textbooks…like the importance of nurturing the doctor-patient relationships…I mean I can go on forever on this!
12pm-1pm: Lunch!
One of my favorite parts of the day (well…after bedtime!!). Lunchtimes are great for either being a little productive and feeling good about it or taking a deserved lunch break and also feel good about it. Even though, I like to have my lunch free for me, it is sometimes the most effective times to schedule meetings… especially for someone like me who attends classes all day, I find that anything scheduled after classes can be a little draining for me…
But today…no lunch meeting scheduled!
1pm-4pm: Study time
Studied endocrine, prepared for small group seminar on hyper/hypocalcemia.
4-6pm: Break
Answered emails, did some extracurricular work, prepared logistics for research focus group that I will be conducting this Thursday.
7pm-8pm: Kickboxing
Head to the 92Y for cardio kick-boxing class with a friend. The highlight of my week! It is literally what gives me the energy to get through the rest of the week!!
8-9pm: Shower and dinner
9:30pm-midnight: Study
Midnight: Bedtime
Sleep is something that is absolutely paramount to me. I’m probably one of the rare students that still gets 8 hrs of sleep most nights. But I’ve always been that way, even in high school and college.
Tuesday
9 – 11 am: Endocrine Small Group: Calcium and Bone Seminar
These are mandatory sessions for all medical students. Students are divided into small groups in which the preceptor facilitates the discussion by working through real-life inspired cases on the related topic. This is where I think a lot of my learning happens…but it might be because, I do put in some work to prepare for them…so it really is what you put into preparing for the sessions that will help you get the most of it.
11am-Noon: Pharmacology lecture
Learning about thyroid medications and drugs for bone disorders…I kinda zoned out at some points of this lecture….Note to self: go back and review syllabi for this lecture.
Noon-1 pm Advising Cohort lunch
This is a mandatory lunch session with my faculty advisor along with fellow classmates in the advising cohort. The focus of this topic was wellness and maintaining a positive well-being, especially in this stressful period of our medical career…preparing for Step 1 Board exams…I guess the advising meeting was good timing, because I know Step 1 is starting to not be the thing I quickly put out of my mind…but I think I have made the decision to focus on classes being taught and learn them as well as I can while solidifying high yield concepts for the boards.
1-3 pm GYN Pathology lab
This is an optional session for students. Another opportunity to learn the material in a different setting. I am able to see the gross specimen of the related disease and work through cases in a small group setting, low stress setting.
3-4 pm: Break
Just chilled
4-5:30 pm: Medical Spanish Elective course
5:45-7:30 pm
Clinical Skills Night sponsored by the OB/GYN interest group. You are going to see that there is a student-run interest group for virtually every specialty. OB/GYN interest group organized a clinical skills week where they invited some residents and physicians to teach us how to do common procedures they practice in their daily work. We learned how to do a surgical knot, perform a breast exam and practiced eliciting an OB/GYN history from a patient.
7:30pm-midnight: Study, video chat with friend
Midnight: Bedtime!
Wednesday
9am-Noon: ASM Course
Arts & Science in Medicine (ASM) Small group meeting. We meet every Wednesday with our ASM group (group name “Trousseau!) to present on the patients we interviewed the week before.
Noon-1pm: Lunch meeting
Lunch meeting- Medical Students Making An Impact- General funding meeting.
1-4 pm: ASM Course
ASM Standardized Patient Interview- practiced taking a history
4-5pm Research Meeting
Edited Poster presentation for the 19th Annual Medical Student Research Day.
5pm-midnight
Worked on poster, vented to suitemate about the day.
Midnight: Bedtime!
Thursday
9-10am: Free hour
Completed the medical history write-up on standardized patient from yesterday
10-11am- OB/GYN Path course
Lecture on pregnancy- Fun topic!!
11am-Noon: Endocrinology Course
Lecture on Metabolic Bone diseases
Noon-1pm: Lunch!
No meetings wohoo!
1-2pm
Prep for focus group that I will be conducting with medical students (related to my research on determining factors impacting medical students’ residency selection).
2-4pm
Conducted focus group with 3rd and 4th year medical students along with research partner
4pm-5pm: Medical Students Making and Impact (MSMI) Development Meeting
We meet weekly to discuss items pertaining to our health service mission trip to the Dominican Republic this March (in 2 weeks!!!). A group of medical students accompanied with healthcare professionals (attendings and residents) will be providing gynecologic care to women in the rural areas in the DR. Specifically, medical students will be conducting patient education, gynecological screenings and any other preparatory work for patients undergoing surgery the following week.
5-7pm: Break time
Woow..busy Thursday! Caught up on some assignments, emails
7-9pm: Elective Course
Title of Course: Deconstructing Race in Medicine and Health. This newly launched elective meets once a week at this time to learn about the impact of race and racism and how it pertains to healthcare delivery. This is an elective course, so not for credit- just enrichment purposes!
9pm-midnight: Study time!
Midnight: Bedtime!
Friday
9am-11am: Endocrinology lectures
Today we were learning about Type II Diabetes and its complication. It is soo amazing how 1st year, when we learned about diabetes, it was still a mystery on how to remember all the impacts of this disease. Now because of the large of number of times we have learned this, it is starting to become second nature. Truly the “bread and butter” of medicine (I think that is my favorite medical phrase to date lol!)
11 am-12pm: OB/GYN pathology lecture
Lecture on pregnancy complications
12-2pm Staff the International Women’s Day Advocacy Table
Raising awareness of our Global health cause in the DR this spring. We set up a table for a few hours to spread the word. We had some raffle items as a way to fundraise! We ended up raising $235 from the event!
2-6pm Study time
Went to library to study for OB/GYN weekly quizzes. This quiz is open-book so low stress/pressure
6pm-midnight: Free time
Took the night off! Caught up on my tv shows (my “need to be treated” addiction).
Midnight: Bedtime!
Saturday
12-1pm: MSMI Meeting- Learning RedCap
One of the anesthesiologists led a tutorial meeting on how to use RedCap database to enter patient information from the OB/GYN service trip this March
Rest of the weekend
No exams this weekend. Went home (NJ) for some relaxation and family’s TLC
Fareedat Oluyadi is an MD Candidate, Class of 2016
