November

November all wrapped up. The first semester of the program wrapping up as well. We have one final block exam in 2016; the GI Block. Which means that November had the pulmonary and renal block exams. The more drugs I memorize, the easier I seem to find it to memorize these drugs. Although more likely I have just found better study strategies for processing the vast amount of information in our classes.

I continue to tutor at SciHigh, things have finally settled into a good routine there. Chad and I now usually work 1-on-1 with the same few students to ensure that they are able to keep up with the rest of the class. This system has worked very well in providing the attention that these students need while making sure Mr. Harris is able to keep the rest of the class on track as well. It is a great feeling to see my students continue to improve their math and study skills. I am absolutely planning on continuing my tutoring next semester when the students return from break.

Although I am looking forward to the winter break coming up in a few weeks, I think I will miss coming to class everyday. I guess that is one of the advantages of having such a small class size, we have formed a tight-knit community among our program. I am not quite sure what I will do with all my free time over break, but it will be nice to take a breather and relax with family over the holiday.

SciHigh: 9 hours in November

SciHigh: 8 hours in December

Total Hours: 32.5 hour

October

October come and gone and New Orleans still hot and humid as ever. This month we finished the Cardiovascular and Autonomic Nervous System block and tomorrow will be tested on the Renal block. This month also marks the first time we attended a session at the Tulane University Sim Center, which utilizes state of the art patient “dummies”, for lack of a better word. These patient stand-ins are able to simulate breathing, have pulses, and respond to the mock medications administered; all while an instructor provides verbal feedback from the point-of-view of the patient. The whole experience felt like we were really caring for a patient and helped to solidify the mechanisms and effects of cardiovascular drugs that we had been learning about.

I am still tutoring algebra at SciHigh on a weekly basis. Now that the students I help are getting used to my teaching style, we are able to make real progress in helping the students catch up to the rest of the class or to master the topics of the week. I had the distinct pleasure of being a judge at SciHigh’s annual science fair last week. While I did not specifically help any of the students with their science projects, I still enjoyed getting to see the fruits of my student’s labors.

Finally a little bit about life in general. Since it is Halloween today, I am looking forward to handing out candy with my wife tonight. We are lucky enough to live in a neighborhood where the kids still trick or treat. It should make a nice, relaxing study break before our test tomorrow.

SciHigh: 12 hours

Total Fall Semester Hours: 15.5 hours

September

Another month of the program down and a successfully completed neoplasia/heme block. Now we are moving into the autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular block and I have begun volunteering as a tutor at New Orleans Charter Science and Mathematics High School, or SciHigh. At SciHigh, I am volunteering as a tutor for a Algebra II/III class. One of the main ways I feel as though I can help at SciHigh is with answering questions the students may have. With myself and the teacher, we are able to answer twice as many questions as when the teacher is by himself, and therefore work to keep more students engaged with the material. I also try to share my love of math with the students. Math has always been one of my favorite subjects and I hope that my enthusiasm for it can encourage any student who is struggling to understand the material.

    I am looking forward to the next few blocks because they will be some complicated and interesting material. The content is challenging, but interesting because it is integrating material from the first blocks. It also covers material that I have not yet had the opportunity to study in my college career.

I am very much looking forward to learning new material in the master’s program and hopefully help some high school students learn more about mathematics in the following month.

-SciHigh: 3.5 hours

-Total Fall Semester Hours: 3.5 hours

August

Just about six weeks in and two block exams down in the Masters of Science in Pharmacology Program, and things are moving along at a fast pace that is practically foreign to slow moving New Orleans. Unlike many of my classmates, I have been lucky enough to live in New Orleans for the past year. My wife and I moved down from Dallas, Texas when she started her first year at Tulane University Law School. Also unlike many of my classmates, I live near the Uptown campus of Tulane, while our classes are on the Downtown campus. This I also get a nice bit of separation from my studies if I need it. Once I leave the downtown campus, I can be done for the day if I want. Luckily the material we are learning has been so interesting so far, that I find that I want to keep learning more and more.

So far we have learned about basic principles and inflammation in the first block, followed by the second block on infectious diseases and more basic principles. The program does an excellent job of making sure we have the background physiology needed for our Medical Pharmacology class, so we get lectures on the physiology and lectures of the pharmacology which really helps provide the context of how many common medications work and makes them much easier to understand.

In the coming weeks I will begin volunteering at SciHigh, a high school dedicated to educating underserved high school students in New Orleans Parish in STEM along with preparing them for the college. Several of my classmates and I will be acting as tutors and helpers to the teachers a SciHigh. More on this exciting opportunity will come in later posts as we start our volunteer work.

I am looking forward to all the pharmacology I will be learning this year.