NOVEMBER 2020

November has been a personally challenging month for me, but it has also reminded me how blessed I am to be a part of a program where I feel so supported by not only the faculty but also my fellow students. This month, we had exams for the renal pulmonary and  GI/neoplasia modules. I found the renal pulmonary module every interesting and loved learning about the physiology. The GI/neoplasia module was a little more difficult for me as I was overwhelmed by the number of different drugs we had to learn for cancer, but I learned that flashcards were the most efficient method for me to master them.

 

On the list of service opportunities provided by our program, Second Harvest Food Bank was at the top and stood out to me. Back home, I had done volunteering at the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, and the opportunity to be involved at another food bank seemed familiar and welcoming to me. When I saw that the Second Harvest Food Bank was less than a mile away from where I currently live in New Orleans, it seemed like a sign that it was meant to be. I can honestly say that my time there has changed my experience in New Orleans so far. My first time volunteering there, I assisted with the community kitchen which consisted of helping to assemble hundreds of home cooked meals that would be distributed throughout New Orleans and Lafayette. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and loved getting to know the people volunteering there with me who all came from different walks of life. It really warmed my heart to be a part of something that would have such a profound and great immediate impact on numerous communities within our state. I was not only impressed with the sheer amount of meals that were produced but also with the genuine kindness and friendliness of everyone I met while there. This is the main reason why community kitchen has been my favorite and I find myself continuing to come back there. 

 

I also did some administrative volunteer work with Second Harvest Food Bank. I was able to call applicants and request information that was missing from their application. There was one particular interaction that stood out to me where I spoke with a man who did not speak English. Upon seeing his surname and recognizing it was Vietnamese, I was able to communicate with the man in Vietnamese and get the information needed from him which was a previous hurdle that Second Harvest had been facing. This interaction stood out to me as I am well aware of how crippling the language barrier can be for minorities in America. In my previous experience working as an EKG technician in the ER, I had oftentimes helped translate for patients and seen firsthand the immense amount of relief and immediate trust that came with being able to communicate with someone in their native tongue. This is something that I grew up not realizing the value of until I began to work at the hospital. Although it is a mark of pride for my heritage and culture, it is also a skill that I can use to help people to a greater capacity and can help me in the future to be a culturally competent physician.

 

Overall, I am grateful that I found Second Harvest Food Bank. I really feel at ease and at home there. The community of people I have met there have been so welcoming and profoundly kindhearted, and my connection with them has made New Orleans feel more like a home to me. I can honestly say that I am looking forward to continuing to volunteer there as often as I can over the next month off, and I am blessed to have been guided there. 

Service Hours: 13.5

OCTOBER 2020

October has been a tough month. I definitely felt the program intensifying. With tests being spaced closer together, I had a hard time adjusting to the change of pace.  Overall, I found the Neuromuscular and CV module to be the most difficult so far. In retrospect, I think I had a difficulty time adjusting to the change of pace and found myself not having sufficient study time. On the other hand, I am aware that the topics covered in that module have been challenging for me even in undergrad. On the bright side, I am confident I will come out of this with polished time management skills! 

For service this month, I was able to participate in a COVID-safe opportunity by mailing letters to seniors. I chose to write to two seniors who spoke Vietnamese and wrote my letters to them in Vietnamese in hope that they would find it comforting to read something personal in their native language. This was a fun challenge for me as I speak Vietnamese at home with my family, but there are not many instances where I get to practice writing in Vietnamese. My hope is that my letter cheered them up and that they can understand what I was trying to say! 

Overall, this first semester of the program feels like it's flying by. It's crazy to think that there is less than a month left of classes, but it will motivate me to power through these last exams. I'm grateful for all the amazing friends and classmates I have met so far. I've faced my own personal struggles during this past month, and the support of Tulane staff and faculty is one of my biggest blessings. I am planning to engage in more service soon and am looking forward to getting to know NOLA better.

Service Hours: 1.5   

September 2020

What a month it has been! 2020 has been a weird year all around, but I am blessed to say this program has gone rather smoothly for me so far (knock on wood). I was nervous for my first class on campus, but we all socially distanced and wore masks which made me feel safe. I have been extremely impressed with how involved and responsible the Tulane community has been in the face of this pandemic, and this has made me very proud of be a student of this program and a part of this community. It is inspiring to me to see an organization of such prestige and excellence use their resources and outreach to actively better the community. Before I was accepted to this program, I was always intimidated by Tulane’s School of Medicine. I knew that when it came time to apply, I would apply to LSU Shreveport and LSU New Orleans, but Tulane SOM seemed like an unattainable goal. After seeing the immense support students receive from faculty and experiencing the amiable sense of community, I have decided that it is my first choice of medical school, and I am motivated to work hard to become a Tulane medical student. The community I’ve experienced at Tulane is truly unlike any other, and I hope that I will get the chance to continue to be an active part of it as a future medical student.

 

Our first module exam was quite intimidating, and I began studying very early on since I found the material very engaging. I was extremely overwhelmed by the workload and pace at which we covered material. I formed the habit of reviewing the lectures after class each day and making Anki flashcards for each one. This stressed me out a lot because I was focusing on too much detail, so it was extremely helpful when I found out that the learning objectives would be a good guide of what to focus on when studying. Although it was confusing to learn about some many drugs at the same time, I felt that I adjusted well only because the faculty were so approachable and welcomed questions that greatly eased my worries. What I found most helpful was the exam review sessions which allowed me to ask any questions I had after thorough review of the material because oftentimes, I am not retaining enough in class to ask questions in person. Overall, I was extremely satisfied with my performance on the first module exam. There had been many doubts in my head when I initially saw the workload and depth of the material, but after the first exam, I have gained a lot of confidence in myself that I will be able to succeed and handle a medical school level workload.

 

The second module exam was more challenging for me by far. I felt that the material was different. We focused on more conceptual material during the first module exam, and I found that once I had a grasp on the material, it was easy for me. However with the material for the second module, I felt that it was more just memorization of drugs and their mechanism of action, side effects, contraindications, and therapeutic effects. It had more to do with investing time into learning than grasping concepts, and I found this to be harder to manage. Oftentimes I felt that during lecture, too much information was being presented, and it made it difficult for me to differentiate which material was relevant to the exam and which was just for fun or clinical context to keep us engaged. When the exam came around, I found that some of the test questions were on sections of lecture I had overlooked since they were not in the learning objectives. Although I found this frustrating, it was a friendly reminder that I needed to be more thorough in my studying and not dependent completely on learning objectives. The mnemonics from Osmosis were life-changing for me when it came to remembering all the different drugs. Although I was not as satisfied with my performance on the second exam, I still am proud of myself and still feel more confident than I did before.

 

I have not had the opportunity to engage in any community service yet, but I plan to do so soon. There have been various COVID-safe volunteer opportunities presented to us which I am very grateful for and plan to look into soon. It has been hard to find the right balance as I’ve been adjusting to the academic demands of the program, but after two module exams now, I feel confident that I’ve found the right balance and now have time to incorporate service. I can’t wait to get to know New Orleans better and meet more of its residents through my service! 

Service Hours: 0