March 30, 2009

Hi again, it has been a while since I last updated. This past quarter seemed to fly by. I have been meaning to write an update for a few weeks, but we ended our histology class and the next thing I knew finals were right around the corner. That is one thing that is much easier in medical school: you can brush off a task almost indefinitely because there is always something to study, or another article to read.
Spring quarter definitely tested the PCC class. Our number of problem sets just about doubled meaning there were a few weeks when every day was spent in school from sunrise to sunset. I don’t mean that to be depressing because we did cover some exciting topics, and we are now officially finished with our histology curriculum. No more weekly quizzes, yay! But looking back I’m glad to say it’s over and I survived!

This quarter in our groups we spent a lot of time studying CV physiology as well as beginning to go more in depth with respiratory and renal physiology. Additionally, we also considered a number of mental disorders (bipolar, ADHD, and depression), anemias, metabolic disorders, and we even spent some time looking at the history of bloodletting and modern day phlebotomy. PCC really does give you the opportunity to direct your learning. I mean it is possible, but unlikely, that if I was not in PCC that I would have received a lecture on the biochemical constituents of leech saliva and how they are bred and marketed as medical instruments. This quarter also highlighted the importance of the group process in PCC. There are many times I would go to group believing I was adequately prepared only to be bombarded with seven other perspectives on the information. This often led to a number of questions which helped guide discussion and forced me to reconsider my information. Ultimately this allowed me a much more complete grasp of the information.

One aspect of PCC I have not touched on in my previous entries is the ICOM (Introduction to Clinical Osteopathic Medicine) integration presentations that take place the last two group meetings of every quarter. During these final two group days each member is required to pick a topic of their choice; preferably a case you saw during a CCE but you can also pick any topic of interest, and present the case to the group and walk through the testing procedures and diagnosis. These presentations offer a great way to integrate our CCEs with our class work and are a fun way to wrap up the quarter before finals. This quarter we had presentations ranging from PCOS to the evolution of our healthcare system. In addition to providing a chance to explore and share information on a topic of interest, these days offer valuable experience in preparing presentations.

Overall this quarter proved to be challenging and our content exam definitely emphasized this by having over 30 unique essay questions from which to choose. It was quite clear we had covered quite a bit of information. I'm a little bummed that spring break is already over, but I did take a beautiful 5 day cruise to Mexico so I can't complain too much. This coming quarter should be exciting as it is known as the "bugs and drugs" quarter and will also be our chance to explore head and neck anatomy.
To everyone deciding on which medical school to attend next year, and to those still awaiting final decisions, I wish you all the best.

Until next time,
Adam
 

October 25, 2008

It’s hard to believe the end of the first quarter is almost here; time is just flying by. The first finals week is two weeks away and to be honest I am beginning to get a bit anxious. In the PCC curriculum you do have a lot of control of the material that will be on the exam, but at the same time you never quite know exactly what types of questions the professors will ask. After each case our group closes there is always much discussion on exactly how to define and list our learning issues; we want to make them specific enough to avoid confusion but broad enough to still remain challenging. I feel all the PCC groups have done a great job, but we’ll have to wait until the exam to find out for sure.

In addition to studying, I did find time this past weekend to attend my first ever OU Halloween. In short, it was a blast! It was great meeting up with friends and seeing thousands of people in costume. Downtown Athens is basically shut down all day, bands play on two stages and vendors sell food and other treats while people wander around showing off costumes some probably spent months on. Some of my favorites included: Mrs. Pacman chasing ghosts, a marching band, and a basketball team dunking on the trashcans.

Last time I ended with I.A.T.P which stands for It’s About The Patient, a motto that was used for our class orientation but really a motto that encompasses the osteopathic profession. As I also mentioned last time the PCC curriculum allows students about 10 clinical rotations a quarter. While we are just beginning to learn the basics of the physical exam and diagnosis, these first rotations allow for a fantastic opportunity to communicate with patients. While this early in our careers we may not know how to diagnose a patient, but we are practicing quite possibly the most important aspects of medicine: how to talk with patients, how to ask questions, and how to appropriately respond to patient concerns. It is difficult and even awkward at times, but I am happy we have early exposure so by the time third year rolls around the communication will be like second nature.

Good luck to everyone that is currently in the application process or headed out for interviews. It is a strenuous ordeal but it is fun to visit the different schools and compare what they have to offer, plus the food is usually great. Also, make sure to get out and vote this coming week. Until next time!

Adam

September 25, 2008

Hi, my name is Adam Jara. This is my first attempt at blogging so I will start out with a little about myself. I recently graduated from Wittenberg University (Go Tigers!!) with a BS in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology. Choosing a medical school was quite a difficult decision for me. Prior to my junior year of undergraduate I was planning on going to graduate school, I had spent most of my four years at Wittenberg engaged in some sort of research, so graduate school seemed like the best choice. As chance would have it, that year I was given the opportunity to spend a few months shadowing a general surgeon. Those few months changed my mind about graduate school (slightly, as I’ll discuss shortly) and showed me how fascinating the human body is and better yet how great it is to improve the quality of a person’s health. Don’t get me wrong, I had volunteered in a hospital while I was an undergraduate as well, but the shadowing experience was completely different. It wasn’t until I got to scrub in for that first surgery (a lap chole, yes I know not the most exciting, but still!) and watch the patient regain their health over the following weeks that I was sold on medicine.

After taking the MCAT the following summer I applied to thirteen different medical schools but, as I alluded to earlier, I hadn’t given up my desire for research. Ultimately I decided to apply to the dual degree programs (MD/PhD and DO/Phd). After all, medicine is moving more and more towards evidence based approaches and what better way to fit into this up and coming trend than to have both the medical and basic science skills necessary to bridge the gap between the clinic and the lab bench? As for choosing OUCOM, that was an adventure. As many of you pre-med(ers) out there will realize the interview process is strenuous. It seemed like most weeks of my senior year I spent more time traveling than I did in class, but in the end (after much stress) I finished my interviews and nervously awaited the results. After receiving my final offers, I debated the pros and cons of each for weeks. I finally narrowed my choices to Pittsburgh and OUCOM. I took second visits at each school, and I know this may sound cliché, but during my second visit at OUCOM something clicked—I knew this was where I would be happier obtaining my education. In retrospect, I can probably narrow that “click” down to the fact that OUCOM is closer to home (I’m from the Columbus area) and I feel the faculty and administration are whole-heartedly committed to producing well rounded physicians. Add to this the numerous opportunities for community involvement and let’s not forget the osteopathic philosophy which is based on holistic care and patient treatment above all else. There really isn’t much else to ask for. Oh did I mention that the Hocking Hills region is absolutely beautiful?

So that is how I got here, but I should talk about what school is like. I know when I was looking at schools I was always curious about how medical school differed from undergraduate. Do you have a life outside of class? Do you really study 6, 7…10 hours a day? Well, yes and sometimes yes (maybe not 10 hours, but it feels like it.) There are two curricular tracks at OUCOM, CPC (Clinical Presentation Continuum) and PCC (Patient Centered Continuum). CPC consists mainly of lectures and labs with a few
clinical experiences each quarter. The PCC uses case presentations, group learning, labs, problem sets, and around 10 clinical experiences each quarter. I’m a PCCer so I can’t really comment on the CPC.

In PCC there are 24 students split into three groups of eight. Each group has two facilitators, a basic scientist and a clinician. We are given a case file and one group member plays the physician, another the patient, and another the scribe who records the major findings from examination and our learning issues for the case. The student playing the physician will go through the interviewing process with the patient and together as a group we will identify issues we would like to research. We will then research these issues and during the subsequent group meeting discuss our findings, order tests for the patient, and finally hone in on our diagnosis for the patient. After each case we formulate final learning issues that reflect our studies and submit them to a pool of learning issues which will serve as the basis for our quarterly exam.

Being about four weeks in at this point and having a few quizzes under the belt, I can honestly say medical school is what you make it. I usually find myself busy most days from 8am -5pm and I often read and research learning issues afterwards, but I still make time to exercise, go to club meetings, and spend time with friends. If you’re good at scheduling your time now, medical school should not be a big change. There is just a ton of information to be learned in a short amount of time, think about taking your entire undergraduate curriculum and compressing it into two years. That said, I leave you with something I learned my first week of medical school: I.A.T.P. Until next time!

Adam