February 2020

Hey! Welcome back!

First off let me say Happy Black History Month! For being the shortest month, February was really action packed. A month full of research, presentations, tests, and preparation for the shelf exam that's in a couple of weeks. And I must say the shelf exam has my nerves in shambles. Even though in my time in this program I have honed my preparation skills, the sheer volume of the total curriculum can be overwhelming at times. 

I made sure to fully digest the information that we've learned in the past two modules. Neurology and Psychiatric pharmacology weren't really on my radar before but I found them to be strikingly interesting, specifically schizophrenia. I was amazed on how misinformed I was on the topic of schizophrenia. I found myself removing all the misconceptions of this disorder from my brain. This module opened my eyes and pushed me to be a bigger advocate for mental health issues. 

February was not only packed fulled of information but also full of fun, MARDI GRAS! I've been in New Orleans for awhile so I have probably seen it all when it comes to this bead festival but this one felt different. Being that it would most likely be my last Mardi Gras for a long time with med school on the horizon. I tried to make it one to remember but unfortunately like  most of the month of February, I was sidelined because I was so sick. It feels like my roommate and I have been playing hot potato with a stomach bug for weeks. I did get to enjoy the Lundi Gras festival and a quick bite from world renown foodie vendors which was probably my only Mardi Gras highlight.

With me being buried in the books and sick the majority of the month I wasn't able to be as active as I wanted with my volunteer hours. That will definitely be different in March. With only the shelf exam, a couple of cellular control mechanisms test left along with me kicking my stomach bug I look to being able to devote more hours to volunteering in the community!



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