Midterm || SGU Term 3
Life:
Finally a vlog
I did it friends! I finally filmed a vlog. I could only manage filming for a day. Though I was super nervous (and it came through sometimes), I enjoyed it. Hopefully, I’ll be done editing soon. I would love for you to subscribe to my channel and join my adventure! I hope to do some more videos.
Rollerblading
I’ve fallen victim to all the quarantine hobbies and I love it. I remember having pink Barbie rollerblades when I was a kid. I could never skate on my own. I always dependent on my parents to pull me along the sidewalk on our walk to the mailbox, but I loved it. Now that I’m old and hate falling, thought I’d give it another shot haha. I originally bought these Impalas, but the pink was heckin pink. Also, they sent me one size 7 and one size 8 shoe. I ended up returning it for Rio Rollers, which I love! I’ve only had time to skate twice, but I’ve fallen in love.
Routine
I can’t believe I stuck to my routine every day so far. Usually, I start getting relaxed with myself. “I’m tired, I’ll sleep in” or “I’ll make-up for it later”. 7 hours of sleep every night and I feel on top of the world! Crazy what sleep can do for you.
I was apprehensive about it, but I started doing affirmations in the morning. Completing this habit first thing in the morning helps me keep in focus what’s important in life. It’s easy to lose that when all you do is sit in one room for 9 hours a day.
Also, I started using Downtime on my iPhone to reduce noise in my life. Most my apps including my messages are not accessible from 9 PM-10 AM. I didn’t know how addicted I was. I kept reaching for my phone when I was bored, when I didn’t want to do something, out of habit - even when I couldn’t do anything with it!
My classmate
Term 3:
Just finished my first exam of Term 3, one left to go! The next test will be in 3 weeks and then Term 3 is in the books. There’s not a whole lot you can hide behind in Term 3. The first part of Term 3 wasn’t the most difficult and complex concepts that SGU has thrown at us. We have covered parts of epidemiology, immunology, microbiology, biostats, and public health. Since we’re skimming so many topics, the most challenging thing was being clear about what exactly we should know.
My questions starting T3:
Q: How much math is there to know?
More like a list of equations to know both in math and English. I was tested on how to use the formulas, but an important element was when to use the formulas. Like utilizing buzzwords that made me think cohort study and relative risk over case-control studies.
Q: How good are the lectures?
It’s always a personal opinion. I really enjoyed the microbiology and immunology lectures, and highly recommend the office hours.
Q. What the heck are flipped lectures?
Basically designed to be a mini small group. We were expected to prepare a worksheet before class, go into breakout rooms to discuss, and then discuss it with the whole class. Neither of the 2 flipped lectures worked out that way due to technical issues. I expected if we did flipped lectures, it’d be more like the office hours experience. Also, I didn’t understand adding homework without subtracting some of our workload. I mean I get it, but I don’t get it.
Term 3 Content
Biostats & Epidemiology
It’s not neuro hard, but I feel this was completely fumbled. We covered biostats in the first week and I honestly can’t understand why. The small groups were going at 50 mph on the X-axis and the lectures were going 30 mph on the Y-axis. We went into epidemiology week 2 which felt like biostats, but slower and more applicable to the questions we would be asked on STEP. I would say the questions read like CARS and then you have to answer in math. So it’s basically testing how well you can read the question.
Microbiology & Immunology aka you’ll learn this in Term 4
I loved these professors. Even though it was a little overwhelming at first since can you even do anything “introductory”-level in medical school? I feel like I had trust issues in deciding what I really had to learn, but the professors were relatively clear on what you had to know. When they bold and star things, they mean it. The office hours were also incredibly helpful. The office hours felt like a different school. I was hoping flipped classes would be like office hours.
Me trying to understand U.S. insurance systems
Public Health
It felt bizarre. We covered things from patient safety and reporting adverse events to how the US Healthcare System works. Can anyone talk about how the US insurance system works and feel like it wasn’t conjured with the worst intentions?
Term 3 Pace
It starts off feeling manageable, but also confusing on what I should actually be learning? Then you throw in small group every day and IMCQ every Friday and suddenly there’s no time. The small group assignments weren’t reduced in any way either. Often we had to read 2-3 articles, go over slides, and answer a worksheet.
Term 3 Outside Resources
I need some extra help this term. I’m sticking with the M1M2 anki deck, but I added a fair amount of extra cards that weren’t included. I’m currently working on a spreadsheet that tracks all the relevant outside resources for the lectures and DLA. Please give me a message if it’d be helpful for you! For learning material, often I need to hear something in a way that makes it click:
Biostats & Epidemiology
I loved Physeo! There are 6 videos for biostats averaging around 20 minutes each. The structure of the videos is so logical and they walk you through the concepts with good examples. If you’re math averse like me, it might be helpful to grab a month. I wouldn’t say essential, just nice to have. Boards and beyond was also helpful but was more bare bones of what you need to know for STEP.
For practice, I loved Dr. Randy Neil’s videos on biostats. I would honestly say they are a must-do. Math has always been something I had to practice at, so I found a lot of USMLE biostats worksheets to practice with. Here’s a few I found: 1, 2, 3.
Microbiology & Immunology
The lectures are pretty clear. If you go to office hours or watch the recording, it becomes more evident what’s going to be important. The chemokines start to accumulate so pixorize was very useful. I couldn’t believe it, but I could visualize the pictures when I took the exam. Some boards and beyond videos were helpful, but a lot of it was out of scope. Osmosis had 3-4 videos that helped with B-cell and T-cell development and maturation.
What would I do differently?
For biostats/epi, I would’ve gotten physeo earlier and made some kind of equation sheet that included the English and math translation. For micro and immuno, I would’ve given more energy to the bold and starred things. Term 3 hasn’t been too unkind to me (knock on wood), so I’m just going to take this win.
Extracurriculars
I’ve been lucky to have an amazing team to help make Nutrition Medicine Club at SGU a real thing. The way they speak about nutrition really gives me life. I’m submitting our application very soon. So exciting!
I’m still doing PLGs with my awesome partner. Though it feels different this term. I feel a little exhausted already. Though I would recommend facilitating to anyone, it can take a significant amount of time to prepare slides and study up old concepts.
Outside of school, I started volunteering for Doctors In Politics. Our goal is to get 50 physicians to run for congress in 2022. As I get older, I feel more cynical about things especially healthcare. But I don’t want to lose hope.
Okay y’all, see you in 3 weeks!