Posts

April

 April Hours: 5.5, Total Hours: 12.5 This month was a very light month as we were pretty much done with our medical pharmacology class with the exception of the NBME shelf exam. Preparing for the NBME Shelf Exam, however took some time and the exam was fairly difficult. The final exam was eventually curved due to the class average. The only lectures we had remaining were for the Cell Control class in which we went over pharmacogenetics as well as the role of Oxygen in the cell. We also had our endocrine pharmacology presentation this month in which we went over how personality relates to stress responsivity. In the Cell Control class, we went over stroke treatments, risk factors, ischemic conditionings, etc,.. We also went over mitochondrial respiration as well as the importance of reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial ion channels.  For volunteering this month I did a shift at the Second Harvest Food Bank, specifically at the Broadmoor Food Pantry, in which I sorted and packed foo
Post a Comment
Read more

March

Image
March Hours: 7, Total Hours: 7 This month, we started off with our Mardi Gras break and after we went into our pyschopharm module. In Medical Pharmacology we went over very interesting topics such as antipsychotic medications, antidepressants, and anxiolytics. Mental health has been worsening over the years, especially during the COVID lockdowns causing isolation for many and exacerbating mental health problems so these are highly relevant topics. We also went over the important toxidromes and how the different drugs/medications cause these toxidromes. We also learned about the different main stimulants and hallucinogens as well as treatment of Insomnias. We also had our Cell control test this month, in which we went over the ion Chanels and how to image Calcium and the fluorescence methods used to study ions and ion channels.   Unfortunately a tornado hit New Orleans this month. I volunteered for the Second Harvest Food Bank, and we collected supplies from the community to help with t
Post a Comment
Read more

February

February Hours: 0, Total Hours: 0 This short month was a busy month in terms of tests as we started out with the reproductive pharmacology test as well as the cell control exam. In medical pharmacology we went over how age and gender affect the metabolism of different medications, specifically in geriatric and pediatric people. Considering the increasingly aging population in the US, it is important that we learn more about geriatric medications and which to avoid such as the Beers list as it will become highly relevant. We also learned the contraceptive medications as well as STI treatment. The second module we did this month was the Neurology pharmacology module in which we learned about anesthesia medications such as local and general anesthesia, skipping over the regional anesthetics for now. It was also very interesting learning about the common drugs of abuse such as alcohol, benzodiazepines, and opioids.  We also did a simulation which was highly useful in understanding how cert
Post a Comment
Read more

January

 January Hours: 0, Total Hours: 0 Unfortunately, we were moved to fully remote for this month due to the increase in COVID cases. The curriculum is different than last semester in that we have different classes with slightly different structures such as environmental signaling, neuropharmacology, and endocrine pharmacology. In medical pharmacology, we went over certain endocrine disorders and pharmacology such as thyroid disorders as well as the treatments of diabetes. It was interesting learning about the insulin signaling and insulin resistance mechanisms as well as how this applies to the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Although the guidelines for diabetes are long, the drug lists are constantly expanding for diabetes therefore we were only responsible for learning and understanding the different drug classes. Considering that the US is faced with an increasingly aging population, the incidence of diabetes is rising, therefore these treatment methods are highly relevant and
Post a Comment
Read more

December

December hours: 7.5, total hours: 12.5 In December, I continued to help my classmate Uma for 3 hours to make holiday greeting cards for children. I also volunteered to work two shifts at the "Supernova" event which was a special nighttime farmer's market hosted by crescent city farmer's market. I had never been to a farmer's market in New Orleans until I went to volunteer there. The nighttime market featured live music, lighted exhibits, and many stands selling local groceries and food. During the 3pm-5pm shift, I worked with a fellow classmate, John in whatever was needed to help the vendors. For the 7pm-9:30pm shift, I helped many vendors take down their tents as well as help the Crescent City Farmer's Market partners Friends of Lafitte Greenway.  As for the curriculum this month, we went over the GI and Neoplasia pharmacology. I found this unit to be highly relevant as we went over cancer chemotherapy drugs as well as common cancers such as Leukemia. Cancer
Post a Comment
Read more

November

November hours: 2, total hours: 5 This month, I helped make thanksgiving holiday cards for the children's hospital along with many in the class. It had been a long time since I had made arts and crafts and it was a refreshing change. It was a busy month as we had our cardiovascular test as well as the renal pharmacology test. Following these two tests, we went home for the Thanksgiving break. From next week on, I will go back to volunteering at the food pantry.  The cardiovascular unit was highly interrelated with the previous ANS module. It was interesting learning about the acute and chronic treatments to arrhythmia as this is a problem we will start to face more often considering the advancements in health care allowing people to live longer. Treatment of heart failure and other cardiovascular issues such as Endocarditis will become more and more relevant with the progressively aging population.  The renal pharmacology unit was also interrelated with the cardiovascular unit in t
Post a Comment
Read more

October

October hours: 3, total hours: 3 I went to volunteer at the Broadmoor food pantry this month and thoroughly enjoyed my experience. I helped arrange and sort the food in bags for the people who may be food insecure. I also helped assist people as they were coming in with whatever they needed such as bringing the food bags to their cars. I also helped with the set up and take down of the food pantry. There were several experienced Tulane undergraduate students who were helping lead the volunteer program. I hope to continue volunteering at the Broadmoor food pantry and may explore different roles such as cooking in the kitchen.   The curriculum is also progressively picking up as we had our cardiovascular and ANS test which I believed to be more dense than our previous tests. It was interesting to learn about many of the cardiovascular drugs such as beta blockers as well as the cholinergic pharmacological drugs. In addition, this unit was more strongly related to current and former world
1 comment
Read more