My favorite Studying Spot

One thing that I've missed being on the island is studying in coffee shops. I cannot study in the library or anything super quiet like that -- for some reason it raises my anxiety level and makes me feel conscious of everything I do. Now that I'm back in the states, I'm finally reunited with Starbucks. There are 3 Starbucks within a 5-mile radius of my house. One of them in particular is the best! It's really spacious, has lots of tables, and many people come to study. So there's a nice studying atmosphere along with subtle chatter so I don't feel like I'm disrupting everyone when I have to unzip my backpack. 

[SGU Classes] Bioethics

B i o e t h i c s

Even though Bioethics is a 1-credit hour class, you should not disregard it. As future physicians, we will encounter many ethical dilemmas, in which we'll have to make life/death decisions involving ethics. Performing well in this class gives a good padding to your GPA, as well as a little bit of confidence, as it's your first class as a medical student! 

Class Structure: - (January 2012)

• The lectures are interspersed every now and then - at least 2 classes per week
• We had 4 small group discussions & 2 homework assignments

Textbook: - Course companion (manual) that Dr. Macpherson wrote; you will get this with your first term books

Suggestions:

• Know the companion inside and out - I read it 4 times!
• Know and understand the vocabulary and how certain words differ from others (ex: Moral VS Ethical - sounds easy, but can be confusing)
• During lectures, focus your attention to ethical situations and why/why not certain decisions are preferred over others
• Study with a group, it's easier to get through the companion a few times 
• Do NOT neglect reading the articles, they're very important

Mount Qua Qua

After finals, my friends and I really wanted to go on a hike of some sort. We really wanted to do 7 Sister's Waterfall, but it was really expensive and we couldn't find a way to set it up. Alas, we went on the Mount Qua Qua hike in Grand Etang National Park. The hike starts out the same way as the hike the school takes you on during orientation week, but it stops at the lookout which is only 20 minutes into the hike. Luckily though, it didn't rain - which made it so much easier. All in all, it was a great hike, and the perfect way to spend some post-finals down time!

About the hike:

• It took us about 90 minutes each way - so it's a 3-hour hike altogether
• Rain is sporadic, we were lucky and it didn't rain. Regardless, you will encounter have many muddy patches
• The hike is not easy, but it's not very difficult either. Gives you a good workout with all the ups, downs, and mud! 

Getting there:

• You can get there via public transportation. 
• First, take the #1 bus into St. Georges ($2.50EC)
• According to Katherine's blog, you then take the #6 bus. We couldn't find one, so our #1 bus driver drove us ($10-$15 EC per person)
• Either bus will drop you in front of "Grandetang House". There you can buy your entry ticket ($5EC), clean up, get refreshments, etc)

Additional Tips:

• You will get muddy, so try to wear older sneakers, old clothes, etc
• You will def need both hands while hiking - so bring something to hold your water bottle, camera, sun screen, etc. 

Over the first hill

I've recently had a splurge of traffic on my blog from Facebook. So, I'm thinking someone posted my link...? Not too sure - but thank you to all that have visited! I know I haven't updated in a while, but please look out for how I studied for my completed classes.

This past week (post-finals) has been absolutely wonderful! I think after mid-terms, I really started bonding more with my classmates since it felt like we went through something together, and then more-so after finals. I might have mentioned this already, but I feel so connected to my friends here that I've only known for 4 months, than some of my friends at home that I've known for many years. The difference here is we pretty much spend every waking minute with the same people day after day. To a point that they truly become like a family. I like it. It makes the whole process so much more exciting!

Right now I am at the airport waiting for my flight. I arrived 3 hours early, and I was completed with checking-in and all of that within 30-minutes. Definitely check-in online, the line for that was so much shorter for me. I'm excited to be going home, but I'm also looking forward to coming back and tackling the semester with a much better handle on how to study and manage my time! 

Histology...DONE!

After countless hours of just focusing on Histology, I'm glad to say it's OVER! Because I only had one subject to focus on, I really wanted an A. I don't think I got the A, but I definitely have a B in the class. It was definitely a fair exam, so that's good! Good luck to all who still have finals - the end is SO close!

I'm going to now spend my time enjoying the island a bit. But, at this time next week - I will be HOME! This is going to be one of the quickest weeks ever in medical school! 

5 | 12

5 days left until Finals are over
12 left until I'm HOME!
...and 7 days left until I finally get to see the inside of Bananas!

Bananas is one of the local bars/clubs that we hang out at. I say "we", but I really mean students, because I haven't seen the inside of Bananas yet! I can't wait until next week - I feel like it's been forever since I've been out clubbing.

Some more random news:
I did laundry tonight. They installed these motion detector lights in there, and I feel like I do a little dance every time I go inside to get the lights to turn on. It's actually kind of amusing! The number of ants in our bathroom room has increased. Don't even know where they came from. But it's those sugar ants - so they don't do anything. I still don't know my housing assignment for next semester. I know that's probably the least of my worries, but I'd really like to know before I leave.

A friend from home texted me:

Friend: what's up?
Me: studying - what's up with you?
Friend: Just watching a movie, studying on a Friday night
-some more small talk-
Friend: Sounds boring
Me: It's not so bad
Friend: Studying on a Friday night. Sorry. Major boredom. 

Yeah, I guess it kind of sucks to be studying on a Friday night, but honestly - I'm in medical school! That's pretty freaking awesome. Some days, yes, it sucks to be studying and I wish I was doing something else, but most days I'm really excited to be learning all of this. I've waited so long to get into medical school, and now that I'm finally here - I love it. It's sometimes just an awesome feeling. I need to remember that when I'm feeling unmotivated...

The Last Week

This blog post will be slightly boring. Nothing much has changed from my last post, except the number of days left! :) I've been studying a lot lately with my study buddy. I'm so lucky to have her, I don't think I would be as efficient or study as much as I do with her. When I look back to the beginning of the semester, a lot has definitely changed in just a few short months. I definitely value my time a lot more, and I've learned to study. It was a grueling process, but I'm glad (or at least I hope) I've finally got it down.

Final's Countdown: 8
Home Countdown: 15