The Big Easy!!

 

    The first month of the program has concluded and it’s really been great! I decided to dedicate this time to primarily focus on getting a feel for all of the change with the new city and entering the Pharmacology Master’s program, so I did not have any service hours this month. 

     Being a Louisiana native, I’ve made short visits to New Orleans on many occasions so I’m no foreigner to The Big Easy. Even still, moving to New Orleans was probably one of the most intimidating decisions that I’ve made in my life thus far. But I do have to say, getting accustomed has been so smooth, most of the anxiousness has morphed into excitement and I’ve been doing well. The city’s culture – the food, people, and traditions – has made getting to know a new city so exhilarating. 

     We’re in the middle of hurricane season, so there have been many talks on creating hurricane preparedness plans. Ironically though, President Biden just filed a federal State of Emergency for the potential saltwater intrusion into the city’s water supply due to the lack of rainfall. 

     As far as the Pharmacology curriculum, we really hit the ground RUNNING. So far we’ve completed 3 modules (Basic Principles, Inflammation, Infectious Disease) , given two presentations, written three seminar essays. The fast pace of the program has really helped me to better determine my learning styles and learn and reinforce efficient study skills which will be useful in medical school. During my athletic training career, I’ve become very familiar with medications that are commonly prescribed for certain conditions, so it has been interesting to learn the mechanism of actions and drug interactions. It feels like I have more insight into what my supervising physicians are considering when they prescribe medications and I’m excited to implement this knowledge in my clinical future. 

     I’m really looking forward to October, I have potential service opportunities lined up, and we also have the CV module, which is rumored to be the most challenging module, on the horizon!