Officially a Master in Pharmacology

**Pharmwiki

Hip-hip-hooray for graduation! I can't believe how fast this year flew by. This program has lived up to everything I hoped it would be.. and more! Although our program is over, the application process is about to begin. And for most us, we still have to keep studying for the new MCAT. So the studying and stress isn't quite over yet. Is it June 19 yet? Just kidding.

This month at ESY, Aubrey and I switched gears and started working with the kindergardeners again. Last week they did W for watermelon, walnuts, and wild rice. I'm excited to finish up our volunteer time with the kids since we started working with them last semester.

At SAAK, we made granola bars and vegan cheesecakes as the final treats to the program. I think its safe to say that both the kids and I were shocked and how easy it is to make them. Both treats only used 6-8 ingredients! Aubrey and I had a great closing talk with the kids and we are both happy with the progress they have made. Hopefully with the program continuing into the summer and next year, the kids will continue to learn and make healthy choices.

As I finish my time at Touro, I am started to work at Physical Therapy office. It has been a great experience so far. I never realized how important of a role physical therapy plays in the healing process. I have grown close with many of my patients already and feel that the lessons I am learning in patient care will be very valuable.

I am happy to be staying in New Orleans for the summer and maybe longer. I am not done with this city and still have so much to explore. I am grateful for all the friends I have made!

So I guess this is the end for this blog! It's been fun....

- Ruby, M.S (WOOOOO) B.S

April hours: 4 hours

Total semester hours: 50.5 hours

The end is near

And then there was 1 month left in the program. I can't believe it! The first thing that comes to mind when I think about March is the shelf! I was really stressed a majority of this month studying for the NBME and boy was I happy to be done. We finished up MedPharm with psychiatric drugs, which I didn't expect to enjoy but I did. It was really interesting to learn about the pathology behind anxiety, mood, and neurological disorders. It was even more interesting to see that they are generally treated with the same drugs (CNS dampening drugs). All in all I really enjoyed MedPHarm and I can't wait to apply all the knowledge I gained in real life.

On the volunteer front, Aubrey and I participated in an edible school yard fundraiser called Edible Evening! It featured music and food from local New Orleans restaurant and we got to eat for free! T was such a fun experience and I would highly recommend anyone sticking around next year to attend.  It's 40 dollars for unlimited food and drinks and its for a great cause. Aubrey and I also finished up with the 5th graders at ESY and for their finale all they chose to make crawfish pizza and ice cream! It was a blast learning with the kids how to toss out pizza doughs like Italians do (spoiler alert: it's really hard!)

Over at St. Anna's, Aubrey and I continue to work with the kids in nutrition class. We have made healthy chicken fried rice, a variety of smoothies (with veggies hidden in it) and healthy tacos using lettuce instead of wraps! My heart filled with joy when one of the girls we teach remembered what saturated fat was. It is really great to see that what we are doing is having an impact on these kids and helping them to recognize why something might be unhealthy rather than just knowing "it's bad for you".

That's all for now!

Total hours in March: 20 hrs
Total for semester: 46.5 hrs

Post- Mardi Gras Bliss

February has to be one of my favorite months thus far! I'm so happy to have experienced my first Mardi Gras!! It was everything  I expected and more. Being from New Jersey, I have never really celebrated it before. I was blown away by the beautiful floats and the fun atmosphere...and well being able to see two amazing country music stars (that I'm obsessed with) Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley!

Besides for our wonderful (yet way too short) spring break, the month has been full of studying. I can't believe that Med Pharm will be officially over next Thursday! and our shelf exam is quickly approaching! I'm getting a little bit stressed thinking about having to memorize all the drugs we have learned this year....

On the volunteering front, I have enjoyed my on going involvement with the nutrition class at SAAK. This week was Protein week! Aubrey and I taught the kids about why protein is important, where we can find it in our diet, and how much we need in a day. In the cooking part of the class, we made healthy chicken nuggets. The kids were really excited and shocked at how easy it was - only 7 ingredients!

At ESY, the kindergarteners continue to brighten up my days. In honor of Mardi Gras, the kids focused on the letter Q for QUEEN cake [yes not king cake - girls are important too :)], quesadillas, quinoa, and quince jelly. I really enjoyed going over the meanings of the mardi gras colors with the kids. Prior to the class, I myself never questioned why the colors were green, gold, and purple and I'm happy to learn they stand for faith, power, and justice, respectively.

Over at Touro, Andrew and I had the opportunity to see another chest X-ray, this time of a lung cancer patient. It was really interesting to see how the cancer manifests. In particular, we saw that often cancer cells cause swelling in the lungs due to osmotic pressure and how it can metastases to organs (particularly the shoulder) surrounding it.

Okay that's it for now... back to MCAT studying!

February hours:
ESY: 3
SAAK: 1
Touro: 3.5
February total: 7.5

Semester total: 26.5 hours

New Year New Goals New Problems

Hi y'all!

It feels like a recurring pattern that every time I go to begin a blog post, I want to start by writing "I can't believe its already ___". But hey, its true. I can't believe that it is already February, that it's 2015, or that the program is going to be over so soon. Christmas break feels like ages ago. This semester started off like last semester- jammed pack with tons of classes! Between the program, preparing for the shelf, and studying for the MCAT, fitting in volunteering has been a bit of a challenge.

Volunteering at Touro has been fun. Andrew and I continue to assist the ER staff and have also had a few opportunities to interact with some patients. Whether it is giving them an extra blanket or heating up their meals or simply just lending an ear, it is a nice way to end our busy weeks.

At ESY, Aubrey and I switched from working with the future culinary experts of 7th grade to kindergarteners! At first volunteering at 8:30am seemed daunting, but now I absolutely love starting my days with cheerful smiles from them. Each class is designated a letter, where the kids sample foods beginning with the letter, learn vocabulary, and work on writing those letters neatly! Last week was Kale and Kiwi in the Kitchen (K) and this week was M for mango, melons, and mint tea.

Over at St. Anna's, there have been some very exciting changes. The medical mission and the art's program for kids have fused into one new program called Anna's place. They are hoping to a develop a more holistic approach at the church centered around health and wellness. With the departure of the nutrition teacher, Aubrey and I were offered the opportunity to step in and become the nutrition leaders. We are both very excited to be able to revamp the class and place a bigger focus on the nutrition aspect in addition to cooking with the kids. Our first class was yesterday and we made french bread pizzas! We focused on discussing the main food groups and discussing portion sizes based on the national MyPlate recommendations. I am excited for our future classes so stay tuned to see some pictures!

The medical unit was really fun as well. One of our patients came to the unit due to their diabetes. It was really interesting to discuss with the patient about his condition and his medications (Metformin and others) since we were currently in our endocrine block. I really enjoy being able to put a real world perspective to the things we learn in class. I am excited to see the changes that will happen with the merge and hope that the clinic will continue to grow and see more patients.

That's all for now!


January Hours:
Touro - 10.5 hours
Anna's place - 2 hours (nutrition) + 4.5 hours (med unit)
ESY: 2 hours
Total: 19 hours

The end of the 1st semester!

I cannot believe that the first semester is coming to a close! It seems like only yesterday I was moving in and now it is time to go home for Christmas break. This semester has been amazing to say the least. I have truly enjoyed all my classes and this program has only strengthened my desire to attend medical school. Being able to take a second year medical school class has been educational, but it was really learning alongside the students that I found most beneficial. The professors really challenge the medical students to not only learn, but to think like a practicing physicians. I have learned so much about medicine that I was not aware of such as the seriousness of bacterial and viral resistance and the plethora of obstacles one must deal with when choosing medications to prescribe involving side effects and drug interactions. Furthermore, I have also enjoyed the seminar series aspect of the program as it is an excellent way to be aware of upcoming research agendas in the medical field.

As I anxiously wait for our last set of exams tomorrow, I find myself excited for what next semester has to bring. Unfortunately that also means MCAT studying for me but I am remain hopeful!

On a side note, Aubrey and I learned how to butcher a whole chicken at ESY this week. It was really exciting. Hopefully I can impress my family over Christmas with my newfound cooking skills.

Happy Holidays!

December: 7 hours

Semester Total: 61 hours

Happy Thanksgiving! I cannot believe that there are only 12 days left in semester. Time doesn't not seem to be slowing down. November has been a great month... well because it was my birthday month and I went home for the first time since I moved to New Orleans! Classes have been going great and I can whole heartedly say that this program has been extremely beneficial for me in my path towards medical school. It was has been very educational to be able to take a 2nd year medical school and very rewarding to know that I have what it takes to succeed in a medical school environment. We had a new course called Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology added to our schedule this month. The course emphasizes specific laboratory techniques that are currently used in the pharmacology field such as DNA recombinant technology and PCR. It has been slightly more challenging due to my lack of experience in using these techniques, but I hope through this course I will become knowledgeable enough to be able to apply them in the future should I find myself working in a laboratory setting.

I did not get to volunteer on the medical unit this month, but I hope to work a couple of shifts next month before returning home for Christmas break. Both the nutrition classes are coming to as close as well. At St. Annas, I can really see the kids starting to broaden their horizon. They look forward to cooking a healthy snack, and they are more curious about what makes something nutritious. Their final performance is next week so I will post some pictures in my next blog post. With the main director of the program leaving, Aubrey and I hope to take over the nutrition class next semester. I am very excited to be able to collaborate with her to develop creative learning lessons for the kids! At Edible School Yard, Aubrey and I had to say goodbye to the 7th graders. They finished off their year with an exciting Iron Chef Competition. I truly enjoyed working with them as they inspired me make learning how to cook a priority, and I hope I was able to inspire them to continue to work hard towards their dreams. I look forward to meeting the 8th graders and cooking some great food with them next month.

Volunteering at Touro this month has been great. Andrew and I were lucky to have the ER director spend some time with us again. This time he showed us various CT scans of patients he had seen. This included a patient hit by a car that caused his tibia to break and penetrate through the skin and a patient who swallowed nails while intoxicated. He also took the time to analyze an EKG with us (which I was extremely excited about). It was really interesting to see what EKGs look like in the real world vs. the EKGs they use in medical school for students to learn from.

That's all for now!

Hours:
ESY: 2 hours
SAAK: 1 hour
Touro: 5 hours
December Total: 8 hours

Total: 54 hours

Making Deviled Eggs with the kids at SAAK

Settling Into the Swing of Things

Wow! I cannot believe October has come to an end. Time seems to be flying by so quick! I was extremely excited to start the month with our cardiology block. Having always been interested in the inner workings of the heart, I truly enjoyed taking my interest to the next level. My favorite part was learning how to read EKGs and associating a particular reading with a cardiac pathology. However, it was also very educational to learn about common diseases such as Hypertension and Heart Failure that clearly plague our society and the drugs that are available to treat them.

On the volunteer front, I have continued to volunteer with St. Anna's both on the medical unit and assisting with the nutrition class. On the medical unit, I am enjoying being able to educate adults on the importance of healthy life style choices and the seriousness of hypertension and high blood glucose levels. I am really enjoying myself in the nutrition call as well and have found that the service has been extremely rewarding and satisfying knowing that we are making a difference in these children’s lives that could last them a lifetime. This month we taught the girls how to make mexican pizzas and pinwheels with pears and cheese. It has been really frustrating to me that while the girls know if something is healthy or not, they don't really understand why something is healthy. I hope that in the next month, Aubrey and I can come up with some educational diagrams to help them understand something as simple as why fiber is healthy and how it works on the digestive system.

I have also been working at Edible School Yard teaching children who are taking cooking as an elective. This was a little different from St. Anna’s Art for Kids in that it focused mostly on passing on both recipes and techniques that they could use in the future for their own use or in a restaurant setting. It is truly amazing how great these kids are at cooking and it inspires me to want to learn. Throughout my life, I have never really learned how to cook but I hope to change that this year. A lot of the recipes are new to me and I have been learning a ton. My favorite so far was learning how to make pasta! It is really great to see these girls striving for a future and I am glad to be able to help them.

I didn't have much time to volunteer at Touro this month. My experience here has been a little disappointing. I was hoping to learn more about the medical field, in particular emergency medicine, through this experience, so I hope next month I can accomplish that. However, I did have one exciting experience. Classmate Andrew and I learned how to read a chest X-ray. It was really interesting to see how simple and quick doctors take to analyze them. ABCDE - Airway, Bone, Cardiac, Diaphragm and Everything else. That is something that will stick with me!

Hours:
ESY: 3 hours
SAAK: 2 hours
SAAM: 3.5 hours
Touro: 3 hours
Total October: 11.5 hours


Total: 46 hours