April hours: 0
Spring hours: 32
2016-2017 hours: 108

Nineteen days are whats left before we graduate from the Master's program. This year went by insanely fast. It feels like we all just sat down in room 4700 for the first time struggling to get into the groove of things. I have to admit that starting this program was sort of an adjustment of pace and study style, but as the months went by, we learned how everything worked and it went smoother. We learned so much and made so many friends. One of the things I like about this program at Tulane is that the class size was small enough and we spent most of our time together that this allowed us to form a close bond with everyone. I feel that everyone in the class will remember everyone else. The program also prepared us in many ways for the future. Most of the class are thinking about med school and this program probably would give them some useful info to carry on. Even though I am not pursuing med school, I believe knowing what we learned in pharmacology would be helpful and useful later on. Now that this year is coming to the end, we must face the next step in this journey. I hope the best for everyone and hope to see you all in the future.

Almost there

The roughest period of our pharmacology experience comes to an end as we finished taking the pharmacology NBME shelf exam. Weeks of studying, piles of note cards, and days of intense internal screaming concluded with the submission of that exam. It covered all of the drugs we learned throughout the year and I am surprised I was able to squeeze all of them in. I'm not sure how I did but glad it is over. We just have one class with exams left and a bunch more student presentations before graduation, but I bet most of us are in a state of relief and excitement. 

It's now the home stretch towards graduation which means a shift from hardcore studying to preparation for the next step in our lives. Most of my class plans to attend med school, but a few including me plans for graduate school. I believe this program gave us a nice edge for our future education and also gave us useful knowledge we can use for our health and daily lives. From my classmates taking the MCAT, this program seemed to helped them prepare for some aspects of it.  I still cannot believe how fast this year went. It feels like tomorrow we will be walking across that stage to get that diploma. 

February came to a close and with that also closes the chapters of Med Pharm and Principles. The last classes of these two courses came to and end with the exams we took last week. All is left is the big block exam that encompasses what we learn throughout the year and the remaining courses. The block or board exam is a daunting obstacle in the way towards graduation, but I know we can surpass and conquer it. I feel that we learned a lot these past months and all we learned is actually practical for our future even if all of us aren't striving to become practicing physicians. The recent block taught us much about diabetes and it is useful for me since diabetes runs in my family. It is nice to know the mechanisms and current treatments of diabetes. I did not know it was as complex as it was.

My volunteering days at hospital also drew to an end. It was a great experience and I learned so much from the nurses and secretary staff I worked with about how the health care system operates and small details of patient care. I will miss spending time with the new friends I made there but won't miss the late hours.

I am excited to see what the rest of the semester holds for us now that much of the weight of classes have been lifted. The ever unknown future comes toward that door we walk out of everyday, yet a sense of calm is carried as I know we are that much ready to face it.

Feb hours 16
Total hours 32

Start of the Last semester

As December came to a close, a sense of excitement and dread filled the brisk two days of winter in New Orleans. The source of the mix of emotions was the start of our last semester of my Master's program at Tulane. Although the exams and hard core studying was not missed, I did miss seeing my class and the professors. These months will be the last months to get to know everyone before we head off to whatever the future plans for us.

As many of my other classmates, I chose to pursue the non-thesis route which means we had nine courses in store for us. As intimidating as it sounds, it turned out to not me as daunting since five of the nine were presentation or seminar classes. All of the courses are interesting so far. One course is endocrine pharmacology and the student presentations are less traditional and usually gets the whole class involved and enjoying themselves. We also moving into the neurology block, which I find complex and interesting. Most of the mechanisms of the brain are still poorly understood yet there are still drugs out there for diseases of the brain. They may not be cures or the best but it is a start and it helps in understanding the brain more. In my undergraduate studies, I learned that some of the psychiatric drugs were discovered by luck and accident, which is amazing that science involves a lot of serendipity.

January Hours: 16
Semester total: 16