The importance of Internet to a Medical School Student

"FREEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM" - Mel Gibson as William Wallace in the motion picture Braveheart

The quote above is what I yell every time the weekend has come. It gives me an opportunity to rest, relax and reflect on the significant events during the two weeks that have gone down since my last post. To me I like to post my events like a little grocery list so The flow might not be as smooth as some would like but this is how I think and this how I write. I'm not trying to win a Pullitzer but I intend to give a progress report to my friends family and the anonymous fans that I may have =).  Here they are as it follows: 

Jan 11-Jan16

• This was the introductory week to medical school. As most schools we didn't have our full day's worth of class because we did not have lab this week, but the class load and intensity was there. The subjects that we started this week 
• M-W-F =  Histology, Anatomy, Embryology
• T-Th = Histology, Anatomy, Medical Ethics
• From my perspective, the classes that gave me the most anxiety before taking them was Histology and Embryology, but after the first lectures in every class I felt the anxiety level went down because of the knowledge that I gained from the classes that I took such as General Biology, Anatomy, Physiology, and Bacteriology and Virology as an undergraduate at Southwestern Adventist University (if you are a pre-med student there please take those class when offered) prepared me for the first week of school and gave me a pretty strong base in the first week's worth of lectures. They just went into more depth into the topics that you cover in those classes. 
• My study pattern has evolved from cramming the day before the test too methodical chunking of information everyday during the week. 
• Here's my daily schedule during the week
• 4:30 a.m.-7:30 a.m. = Workout, Daily devotions, Breakfast, Study, walk to the bus-stop
• 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. = School 
• 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. = Naptime & dinner
• 7:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. = Studying
• I had my first medical school quiz which was on Histology. I thought I did bad on it but I was around what class average was
• Played Basketball with the MD2's it was a good way to break the ice with em and as well as get to hangout with the MD1's who played 
• A group of us rented the car to do grocery shopping and take a break at Shoalbay during the weekend
• The SDA churches here had a gathering in the middle of town, we had worship and we passed out tracts to the community.

Jan 17- Jan 23

• First full week of school including lab. It was a rather tough. I found myself taking nap with the schedule stated above. 
• I had my first quizes in anatomy and embryo. Thank God I did relatively well on those
• Anatomy Lab was similar to the Cadaver Lab @ UTPA, except we had our cadaver at the beginning of the semester instead of midterms. We are focusing on the upper limb for the Block Exams and the Practical. Sooo much to review for but I just gotta do my best and God will take care of the rest.
• The 2nd histology quiz rocked my world, but It shows my weak points and Im going to rectify them before Blocks arrive
• Mad props goes to Lidiya for setting up The friday barbeque lunches delivered to the school. I dont have to worry about making lunch on friday. Thanks to Lorne for giving the anatomy review during lunch time. It was appreciated
• Friday Afternoon Basketball with the MD2's always start the weekend off correctly.  
• Went to Shoal Bay once again. It's my favorite spot to just sit and relax and not think about medical school for 3 hours. 
• I think I officially had my first migraine episode this afternoon (jan23).  I took a nap for 4 hours and I am a little bit better but I still have a throbbing headache. 
• My Classmates Taiba and Neha  have been pretty awesome in letting me come down to their apartment to leach on their internet and download the lecture notes. They also feed me XD bahahahhaha. I have been blessed with good classmates awesome land lady, and genuinely friendly people who are willing to help us medical students do errands around town such as going to the post office, dropping us off to the car rental places and giving us rides home outside of the scheduled times the bus takes us home. 
• Preparing for Anatomy quiz and the embryology. ethics quizzes for the week . The weekend will be capped off with the start of block exams. Please pray for my classmates and I so that we may relatively do well on the exams. 
• Jan 28 = Histology and Ethics block exams
• Jan 31 = Anatomy (lecture), Embryology, Anatomy Lab practical)
• All of the teachers are pretty helpful soo it makes medical school in a foreign country a tad more bearable =)

Well that's whats goin on so far folks I hope you enjoy this and find this informative. Take care and God bless. Expect the next post after blocks. 

Prostudent4life's Progress

I have started this blog for the purposes of documenting my journey through St.James School of Medicine in the island of Anguilla. I have chosen the name this blog Prostudent4life because once you decide to pursue medicine, your profession is going to require you to spend your life as a professional student with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge that could benefit those around you.  Although SJSM has two campuses in the Caribbean, I choose Anguilla because it is the newer campus, the island's status as a British colony gave it a more stable political environment (in my humble opinion), it's proximity to the island of St.Martin ( 20 min ferry ride for $35.00 round trip), and it has the most beautiful beaches in the world according to travel channel. Here are some tips that are recommended for travelling to the island.

Tips in how to prep for island life as a medical school student.

• Come in with a good attitude. It is going to be a nice place to live in for the next 16 months ONLY if you let it be. If you come in with the attitude that "you're better than everyone else" you are setting yourself up for disappointment and misery. Respect the people who help you out in the airport/ferry port because they helped you out because they are just decent people like that. Being humble can take you very far in life, and can bring many people on your side, that also applies in coming to the island

• Be prepared for a change in the pace of life. It is very relaxed and everything is not always on the GO-Go-Go.  They take their weekends very seriously over here. Most of the grocery stores are closed at around 9:00 p.m. during the weekdays and Car Rental places close around 5:00p.m. NO COMMERCIALIZED fast food joints. that's right guys no more taco-bell runs at midnight or IHOP runs at 3a.m. The only places to eat are the chinese food joints located in various ends of the island.
• I recommend that those who plan to come to this campus get to the island around 7-8 days before school starts. here's a breakdown of why that many days before school starts:
• 1-2 days = apartment hunting (and allowance for the delayed luggage arrival which is a norm here in the carribbean).
• 2 days to set up your on island cellphone, internet service, stock up on supplies.
• 3 days to relax, get a day trip into st.martin, and do some light studying for the first day of class. 

• Flying into St.Martin and taking the ferry to Anguilla will save you appx $200 dollars in most cases, but it depends on the season as well. Just make sure that you give the housing coordinator a heads up at least 2 weeks notice so he can pick you up from the ferry port and drop you off to your hotel/apartment or if you have an apartment arrangement prior to coming to the island that you give your Landlord a heads up as most will gladly pick you up. 

• If you know how to cook you might want to package your own set of spices because the selection here is rather limited. In my case i don't have my sea-salt, Kikkoman soysauce, mushroom seasoning, and Fish sauce. 
• Ask your landlord for tips on where to get the best produce, baked goods, and other supplies. This will help pinpoint you to where you need to go.
• Give yourself some room when it comes to budgeting because the things that you purchase here in the island is not as cheap as Wal-Mart due to the fact that everything has to be imported. Doubling or trippling your grocery and supply budget will be sufficient enough. Bring some cash as a back up for your debit card on the island  Budget to have a rental car for about 3 days because you will want to roam around the island and get together with some of your classmates that are on the island already. 

• Bring textbooks and the BRS review books and the First Aid USMLE step 1 review book and the Q&A book. Bring your own school supplies as well. They are rather limited here in Anguilla and they are expensive in St. Martin. 
• Studying for the USMLE step 1 begins those 3days that you use to do some light reading before your class starts.
• Keep in Contact with your admissions advisor during this whole processes. If you feel that your advisor isn't helping you out, then ask to change advisors.  A helpful advisor leads to reduction of stress levels. 
• Get a subscription to one of these VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services such as skype, oovoo, vonage, or magic jack so you can make calls to Land lines and Cell Phones in the U.S. or Canada. 
• Unlock your phone prior to leaving the country. They charge $35.00 to unlock your phone here
• Change your mentality from "I got into medical school, now I'm a doctor" to "I got into medical school, now I'm going to study to become the best doctor I could be" You have reached the thing that hikers and mountain climbers call "false summit" it's not the top but, your close to it. Keep pushing forward until you reach the real goal as a board-certified independent practicing physician.