ohhohh livin' on a prayer

I'm really not actually a Bon Jovi fan, and I don't even think I could tell you any other songs that they do but this one was aptly stuck in my head as I finished my 5th week of school and am halfway done with the summer semester!  We'll make it, I swear!  OK, cheese aside it is pretty astonishing to me that we are already at the halfway mark.  Another round of neuro/anatomy/practical exams were completed and I passed them!  Things have amped up a lot lately, and we have two exams every week until the end now.  This weekend was a gigantic pile of cell physiology and immunology as those are the exams this week. The only good part is that they are one exam on the entire subject and then finished.  Unfortunately that means that with only 50 questions a piece, by the end of the week 40% of my biological sciences grade will be determined.  It's quite a juggling feat to have classes from 8-5 every day and also study/learn/integrate all of the things we are doing.  This week might not be heavy on the sleeping portion of life.  In fact, I have sadly morphed into one of those people who consider getting up at 8:00am an indulgent treat.  Boo!  In other news I have a working phone that I love because (among other things, one of which being that it works) it has the capacity to take pictures!  Here are a few shots from the past weeks. 

 

I'm a cemetery person, and there is a gorgeous, incredibly large cemetery right next to campus.  I have been wanting to stop by, and I finally got the chance right before sunset on Saturday on my way home from the library.  

 

 A picture from the beach last weekend.  Dipping my toes in the cold water, thinking about Lake Superior while the pups splashed around.

Dinner on Friday night at my sister's favorite restaurant to celebrate the end of week five!

week four

Phew.  I can't believe I have already finished my fourth week of school.  Four down, six to go!  This weekend I am once again studying for a neuro and anatomy exam that will be on Monday.  We do three lecture/labs of both neurology and gross anatomy one every Monday and one every Thursday and then an exam on the fourth class session, so after this one we only have two left.  That's a little terrifying, but also a relief.  They cram an obscene amount of information into the three times that we meet, but I finally feel as if I am hitting some sort of stride!  I know how to prep for lab so I can use the three hours of class time to my advantage, and I am learning how to change they way that I approach exams so that I can learn high yield information first and lower yield things after that.  Who knew that was an approach to studying?!  In undergrad you just study it all and it's good, here there is far too much information so you have to triage the things that are most important and the things that will give you the largest yield of recall during the exam.  It's funny how humbling this experience can be, and they told us during orientation that if your approach isn't working that you better change it right away.  That's what I have been doing this week, putting the muscles into compartments with their corresponding nerve, artery, and vein.  Sounds like fun, doesn't it?  Haaaa, and this is what my life is like now. 

Last weekend I did do something fun though, it was an ender to all of my study time and we took the dogs to the beach Sunday night.  They can be off leash during the summer from 7-9 am/pm, and both Oliver and Yin just love it.  There is always some high energy pup for Oliver to run with and chase, and Yin even gets in on the action too!  After another full day of exam prep tomorrow we are planning a break there to end another weekend.  See?  Sometimes I get to appreciate being in Maine!  And in just a few weeks my parents are coming out to visit!  I probably won't see them much, but they will be here.  For me, meals are the best time to squeeze in face to face time with people because I have to eat at some point every day, and luckily my family are experts at making some of the best food I have ever had!!  Mmmm study breaks...

week three

Describing PA school to people who have never done it is a very hard thing to do.  I think that I thought I knew what it would be like, and that that is probably similar to how people think it is for me.  What I mean to say is that when I was applying and researching schools and reading blogs and forums about every little detail of the process, I gathered that PA school would be hard.  Of course it would be, it is a bunch of information and it's presented in a short amount of time.  When I thought about condensing four years of medical school into two years it sounded like every minute would be jam packed with a crazy amount of information and requirements.  Thinking about it in theory though is far different then how it actually feels.  I suppose that is true for many things, but maybe what I mean is that probably you can't ever be as prepared as you should be for something like this because it is not possible to understand unless you are already doing it.  Am I making sense?  The reason I bring this up is because I was trying to describe to my sister how school has been going for me, and here is what came spewing from my mouth. 

Take immunology for example.  This entire course is presented to us in five 2-hour lectures.  All of it.  All of the immunology that I have never seen but will be required to have a very detailed understanding of.  I think if this was all that was going on, it would still be difficult but passing would be probably be attainable.  Unfortunately that is not the case.  For virology, (which we are also in the middle of) we get three 2-hour lectures and one 1-hour lecture for the entire subject.  All of it.  This also applies to cell physiology, bacteriology/mycology and parasitology.  Yiiiikes!  For each of these we have one exam which is worth 20% of our biological sciences grade.  Holy effing Moly.  But, you know what?  I think for that exact reason you can only take it one day at a time.  Is it kind of sad that I look forward to the weekend immensely because during that time I will have 48 whole hours worth of potential studying time that will not be interrupted by the presentation of any new information?  Yes, but I am moving forward one day at a time and that's pretty good for right now.

Last week I was really overwhelmed after taking my first exams (Neuro/Anatomy/Anatomy practical) which by the way I did pass (WOOOOHOOOO!.....ahem), and JP said to me "well, when you finished your first week of bike & build how did you feel?"  When I thought about it, I realized that I felt very similar to how I am feeling now.  I was overwhelmed, exhausted, physically and emotionally spent, full of doubt in myself and my ability to actually see this thing to the end.  It was a new experience and it was really, really, really, HARD.  Every morning I woke up early, got back on that bike and biked.  I'm not saying I didn't complain or cry or feel like giving up, because I did all of those things, sometimes within the span of just an hour, but I never gave up.  So much of this experience reminds me of bike & build which seems amazing because in so many ways they are completely different.  It gives me a tremendous feeling of gratitude for that group of people and that experience, and for the group I am with right now.  Life is pretty great, isn't it?

done, but not really

OK, I am officially done studying for my exams tomorrow. NO MORE I say!! I logged 12 hours in the lab outside of class time and some ridiculous number, that I don't have the brain power to calculate right now, outside the lab.  This weekend alone I studied for 11 hours each day.  11 hours, and you know what?  I don't even know it all!!  I know I did the absolute most that I could and I actually feel pretty prepared, but it is such a weird feeling to put in that much effort and still know that you didn't learn everything.  Ohhh my undergrad days are certainly over, but that's okay because I have learned so much in just these past two weeks and there were so many moments when all the pieces of knowledge in my brain gelled together and I really felt empowered!  Ha!  That is such a nerdy thing to think, but it's true!  In any case, just thought I would check in and share a random piece of information with you that I thought was cool:

One way to check for a possible fracture or dislocation is by using the Hueter line and Hueter triangle.  Turn your arm so the palm of your hand is facing out.   Place your thumb and middle finger on the back part of your elbow on either side (the lateral and medial epicondyles of the humerus), and your index finger on the bony process that is sticks out when bent (the olecranon of the ulna).  Your fingers should form an equilateral triangle when bent (flexed) and a line when straightened (extended).  If they don't, and the shape of the triangle is altered, it is an indication of a fracture or dislocation.  Isn't that cool?

building up

 After biting the bullet and signing on for $65,000 worth of student loans (!), I've been ordering some of my books.  I got all of them used and most for a substantially lower price than what they retail for so I'm feeling pretty good!  Not when I think about the price, so I am just not thinking about it right now!  Six of them came in the mail today and I took the opportunity to start organizing my desk.  It's actually more of a table that could probably seat five or six and less of a desk, but to me it's the perfect size.  I am a spreader when it comes to studying, and after spending last semester overtaking the kitchen table, I knew that I would need something spacious.  Luckily our apartment is much larger than our last place, and both of our "desks" fit comfortably in our office with room to spare.

 

Getting things set up on my desk and paging through my new books is making me excited for all the things I am going to learn in the near future.  JP thinks I'm a little weird because even though I have spent most of my life in school, I still get nerdily excited for learning.  It's true!  Which is probably a great thing because in the medical field you have to commit to being basically a forever student, and loving to learn seems like an excellent prerequisite. 

 

Adding to the list of my nerdery, is this cool copy of Gray's Anatomy that I found at the thrift store for only 89 cents!  I know I will have anatomy coming out of my ears soon, but I couldn't resist buying this.  It has 780 illustrations!

And last but not least is what I am currently studying.  We have a medical terminology test the first week of class and I am not about to risk failing my first exam!  I kept my textbook for just such a reason, and I had forgotten that there are flashcards in the back and an interactive cd!  Woot!  Flashcards are my best friends, and I am going to take them to the park with me right now.

how do you learn?

I have been thinking a lot lately about learning styles.  It's funny to think that for the most part, once you get to college it is a sink or swim, run with the big dogs kind of attitude.  In my experience high school didn't give me much preparation for how to approach the rigors of college academics, how to maximize studying time, or how to fit everything into a packed schedule.  I of course went to an arts high school, so perhaps that can help explain a bit why I wasn't very prepared.  The academic portion of those last two years of high school seemed like mere background noise to the more pressing experience of my dance training.  In retrospect, looking at my academic trajectory since graduating, it would have probably served me better to have been in a traditional school setting.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't go back and change it if I could.  I learned an incredible amount while at Perpich, and am fortunate to have many amazing friendships and memories from my time there, it's just interesting to think how things might have been different.  Back to my original thought on learning styles though, I don't think I knew how I learned best.  When I was an undergrad, I made up my own style of learning basically based on nothing much.  I can't really recall why I studied the way I did, but if pressed I think it would have been loosely based on how my classmates worked.  I took notes in class, made note cards, took practice exams, read from the textbook...etc.  I just kind of did what I could with what I had.  I think that as I progressed through school (eight loooong years of school), I picked some methods that seemed to work better for me and left those that didn't.  Organic chemistry was really an eye opening experience, in that I found out how beneficial discussion and groups can be for me.  Without someone to talk through mechanisms with, and describe how I interpreted things, I am not sure how I would have fared!  All of that is to say that recently I came across a post about how crucial it is to know your learning style prior to entering a PA program.  I kind of thought it was silly at first, because how could you have gotten through so many rigorous courses without knowing how to study?  When I thought about it more, I realized that maybe I wasn't working as efficiently as I could!  I had just grasped onto note cards and memorization because they were mainstream and seemed to be mostly effective for the things I had to learn.  What if I was doing just fine with those methods but could be doing much better with other modes of learning?  That's when I found out about the VARK questionnaire.  It is an easy questionnaire to fill out with only a handful of questions depicting different scenarios that don't necessarily relate to studying.  It looks at different situations (for example giving some one directions), and you choose how you would handle it (maybe drawing a map for them or writing out turn by turn directions for them).  I know it's healthy to approach these sorts of things with a certain amount of skepticism, but I think this was very helpful to me!  My scores showed that I am an aural (hearing) learner and a kinesthetic (doing) learner, and I totally AM!   The page goes on to give different ideas for how to approach learning using these two modalities, and they really made sense to me.  One example was to record lectures so that you can listen to them outside of class.  Another example is to try to incorporate as many examples into your notes as possible, or to explain you notes out loud to someone else.  I know you might be thinking that these are very simple techniques, and perhaps you even use some of them yourself already and they don't seem very revolutionary.  I think the point is just that many people just do things without really considering why.  For me in my learning it is going to be extremely important that I know what I am doing and why so that I can make the absolute most out of my studying time.  I don't want to just try to blunder on through using strategies that sometimes work and sometimes don't, I want to be as prepared as possible.   Haaa, now you can truly see the dork in me shining through, can't you?  If you want to check out your style you can do it here.  Who knows, you might just learn something new, or at the very least, you can give yourself a pat on the back if you have been doing in right all along!

Dear gre,

Let's just agree to disagree on the effectiveness of standardized tests as an indication of the level of knowledge a person possesses. In life, I really need to focus on some other things. Please play fairly on Thursday.

Love,

Elise

OH. MY. WORD.

Guys, I got a 4.0 this semester, which means that I GOT AN A IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY! If you can't believe it, don't feel bad, I couldn't either. All that studying, and studying, and studying that you constantly had to hear about paid off and is finally over for a small amount of time!! I just needed to share because I am extremely, extraordinarily, proud of myself. Thats all.

nerdiest study group ever?

I started an organic chemistry study group, which on paper consists of seven people, but in reality no one has ever shown up except Mason and I. Anyone remember my disastrously failed book group? Well if you don't, then just recall your own memories of working in groups while in college, with a bunch of different schedules to work around and no one ever wanting to motivate, and I am sure the feelings will match right up. In any case, my study group is super nerdy. Last Sunday Mason thought maybe some other people would show up for once, since our exam (tomorrow) is a particularly hard one, but no dice. He baked a pie for all of us (read: me and him), and if you look closely at the decorations you can see that it is in fact a tetrahedral chiral carbon molecule with an R group attached.

We ate the R group first to make the molecule a carbocation...

let's talk about stress

Alternate title: Organic chemistry is for the birds..

I am stressed. STRESSED. Pull your hair out (if I had any), do nothing but study, cry and study kind of stressed. Ugh, how much do I not want to be doing prerequisites anymore? I'm not sure if my increased stress is just something that always happens to me and is a pattern that those closest to me will just recognize as something that I do relatively often throughout the semester, if it's the content of my horrid organic chemistry class that I just don't understand, if night shifts are finally getting to me, or if it is some crazy combination of all of the above. Whatever the cause, I have been trying to seek ways to reduce my stress so that I can actually function like a relatively normal person. These steps have included trying to remember to exercise (isn't that always the first thing to go when you get really busy?), organizing an organic chem study group that has actually been quite helpful, watching youtube videos of a organic chem professors lectures at UC Irvine who is really great at explaining things, getting library books on organic chemistry, taking baths with notecards on hand, and breathing, or at least trying to remember to sometimes breathe. Unfortunately none of these seem to be helping. They are helping me learn my chemistry, to some extent, but they aren't having much of an affect on my stress levels. Perhaps this is because they all involve continuing to study rather than things to do while taking a break from studying. I told you I'm going crazy! All I can talk and think about is studying! I even dream about it, which incidentally stresses me out more because I can't be sure if I am dreaming about the correct things or if I am somehow mixing up equations and functional groups and making things worse..which makes me have to check my notes first thing in the morning. Don't worry, I have in fact thought of every possible way to include more stress in my life. PHEW people, PHEW. I just thought I would get that out there. Because now I have to go back to....yep, well I'm not even going to say the word again. But you know what I am going to go do, and tonight after my back-to-back o chem and microbiology exams I am going out for a drink with my new friend who is also a full-time-night-shift-hospital-CNA-stressed-out-studying-student-fool just like me.

We no longer have table space because it has been turned over to my ever growing pile of school crapola. See the youtube lecturer on my computer? It's kind of saving my sanity. Can you tell?

Zooming in for a close up on all the things I am using to get through this class. I borrowed five books from the library to consult, and when I have to bring my materials with me I need a wheelbarrow to get it all there without breaking my back.