Today was our last block exam of the year (yay!), and it was all about psychopharmacology and toxicology. Now that we are done with the regular material, it is the start of a month of intense review for the 100 question, pharmacology shelf exam. As daunting as this sounds. . . I'm kind of excited to study for this. I love, love, LOVE standardized exams. While most people find them intimidating, or not useful for understanding material, or stressful, I thrive off of that organized, methodical, type of exam. Don't get me wrong- I also enjoyed taking our regular medical pharmacology exams. But there is something about not having to worry about any other material than what is already there, about having time to set a strict study schedule, about organizing notes and material into chunks that are manageable that is just so wonderful about this part of the year. I'm sure like everyone else, I definitely want to use this time to really master all of the material that I was slightly iffy on, and to solidify in my mind all of the other stuff. I kind of feel like House (M.D.)- that is the level to which I want to know this material. This last part may be wholly unrealistic and somewhat naive, but I'm just that excited!
In addition to the studying, I'm also happy that we will have sufficient time to really engage in the material from all of our electives. Although every student has something like 7 presentations this semester, I'm finding them to be a great way to understand pharmacology (and medicine) in a completely different, in-depth way. I also think all of us have improved significantly in our abilities to comprehend scientific literature, do background research, put together Power Points, and present the material in a way that the audience can understand. (Another nerd alert: I also happen to love public speaking. I get super excited about these presentations, even though I'm sure half of the class is not listening to a word I say).
Our other classes are also equally interesting and beneficial. In Endocrine we have been focusing on the role of stress on the body, and we have these web-discussions and posts that allow us guidance in our reading and give us a chance to feed off of each other. Environmental pharmacology has also been really interesting; it is opening up a new way for all of us to think about pharmacology and toxicology, and Drs. MacLachlan and Mielke are doing a great job of helping us start to think about these topics from the physician point of view. Finally Cell Control Mechanisms has also been really useful; although I cringe at the thought of memorizing pathways and specific molecules, the material has been very manageable and is also a great refresher for me as I start to re-study for the MCAT.
I guess my last nerd alert is just that: I'm starting to study (again) for the MCAT. Unfortunately I took it somewhat early, and although my score was good, it will be expired by the time I apply for medical school. However I think there is an upside to re-taking it; this year has been a great review of all of the biology that is included in the MCAT, and I feel I have a better chance of better understanding the other material through sheer experience with it. Again: MCAT= standardized exam = ridiculously excited me. It's looking to be a fun few months :)
Thursday, February 28, 2013
"To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart and a free mind"
KIPP Leadership Primary - February 21st, 2013 - 2 hours 15 minutes
Habitat for Humanity - February 23rd, 2013 - 7 hours
Habitat for Humanity - February 23rd, 2013 - 7 hours
The title of this post, a quote from the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner Pearl S. Buck, perfectly captures what I think service is all about: what it requires from an individual, and in turn what it can do for that individual. To start off, I think it definitely takes a certain level of excitement and joy in order to wake up earlier than normal to hop on a bus and find one's way to a volunteer site. But somehow it is always worth it. Last Friday Alex and I made our journey to KIPP Leadership Primary to volunteer for the first time. Paul was also there and we joined him in updating the mathematics and reading achievement boards for the 1st grade. Each student in every class takes a national exam to see where he/she falls in terms of their level of achievement compared to other students in the same grade from around the nation. We were previously informed that the students then take periodic tests on similar material to see how they are progressing. Every student has a slip of paper with their initial score printed on it. It was our job to move these students up (or down) on the board based on their new scores. This was the first time this year that the boards have been updated, and all of the teachers and administrators would come peak over our shoulders to see how the students were progressing.
After figuring out the logistics of it (keeping track of who did and did not have a score, who did and did not have a slip of paper on the board), it was really exciting to personally move a student up anywhere from 5 to 20 points! It was amazing to see the gains that the majority of the students made, and although I don't know any of them, it brightened my day to know that there are individuals who are committed to helping students get ready for college starting in kindergarten! A few kiddos fell back a few spots, but this is definitely a useful tool for teachers to focus on who may need extra attention in the future.
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| These are achievement boards we updated. There are 4 classes per grade and around 25 students per class. |
I think Ms. Buck also had it right when she said service is best when done with a whole heart; sometimes the tasks one is doing require love and positivity. After finishing up the boards, I was assigned to walk around the school and wipe down all of the nap-mats with bleach wipes. Wiping mats may not be fun under normal circumstances, and my knees sure hurt by the end of it, but a whole heart made it all doable. It was definitely a necessary task, especially during this flu season, and it was nice knowing that the children would have clean mats to nap on in the very near future. Paul was also in the vicinity so we were able to chat during this, and every once-in-awhile, a little student would come ask me what I was doing or just stare from behind a corner. Those are definitely the best moments :) I also had one 1st grader inform me that I was folding the mats incorrectly; she showed me the proper way and came and checked up on me a few minutes later.
Along with joy and a whole heart, a free mind is sometimes the most important trait to maintain when volunteering. I think when life becomes stressful (as in you have 3 exams in a month, job applications, and the overlooming stressor of a pharmacology shelf exam), it can become easy to opt out of volunteering or other "unnecessary" tasks. It is easy to say that you have too much on your plate; really all it takes is a bit more organization and a little less stressing to make it all fit. This month has been absurdly hectic, so I definitely went into volunteering with Habitat as an excuse to clear my head. A free mind is necessary both to really relax and engage in the work, but also to commit to doing a good job.
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| This is just a picture of the walk to the Habitat site in the 9th ward. |
About 8 of us from the program volunteered this past Saturday at a wheelchair accessible home in the Upper 9th Ward. It was my first experience going to the neighborhood, and it was interesting to see how it isn't all that different from the other ones around the city. Perhaps the biggest difference was the number of abandoned buildings and homes. Anyhoo, it turned out to be just the 8 of us volunteering with some AmeriCorps volunteers (a few we all knew and a few new ones). All of us were assigned to the task of "working on the ramp;" unlike all the other houses we have worked on, this house was specifically for someone in a wheelchair. The main posts had been set for the ramp, but none of the wood planks had been put in, and many of the supports were missing. For me, the day involved everything from digging out space for support beams, to nailing them in; from cutting wood for the planks, to installing those with screws; from taking out a fence, to moving dirt. It was rewarding hopping around and helping out in any way possible. The constant focus on making sure I wasn't either falling in mud or hammering my own hand made it a perfect opportunity to think about something tangible, non-academic and completely out of my norm. I am definitely looking forward to volunteering more in these next two months, both as a study-break and to find some peace.
On a similar note: I am currently interviewing for a position with the City Year Corps here in New Orleans :) My initial interview consisted of a lot of questions that probed at my motivations to become involved with a year-of-service position, and I think this quote does a good job of capturing why I want this position (or something similar). I think when you can master volunteering with these traits, you can truly open yourself up to new experiences, and to making a positive difference through any means possible. I also have to give a shout-out to this whole "E-portfolio" requirement; I definitely mentioned that it was a way for me to keep sight of my motives and reflect on my work, and it truly is. (So thanks Dr. Clarkson!)
Friday, February 1, 2013
Surveys and Health Fairs: Attempting to understand the needs of the community
Common Ground Health Clinic - January 25, 2013 - 2 hours
Common Ground Health Clinic - January 30, 2013 - 4 hours
In the last week I've started volunteering with the Common Ground Health Clinic. On January 25th, I went over to Algiers to help out at the clinic office. CGHC is currently in the process of conducting a community survey to figure out what the needs of the community members are. Questions range from how frequently an individual receives healthcare services (and where) to how and where they buy their groceries. The six page survey will hopefully lead to more events and services (put on by CGHC in collaboration with different New Orleans non-profits) that can better serve patients.
Luckily CGHC hosted two volunteer days (on MLK day and on Saturday the 26th) where large groups of volunteers from Tulane and the city came out to conduct the surveys in mass. Therefore on Friday, I was set to putting together some more volunteer packets for the following volunteer day. After finishing with that simple task, Desiree asked me to start translating that same survey into Spanish. I was informed that the group that is most underserved in the community, in terms of healthcare, is the Latino community. This is in part due to the fact that there are limited resources in Spanish and personnel who can communicate effectively in Spanish as well.
Translating the survey is definitely the first real writing I have done in Spanish since I graduated from UW-Madison last May. I'm excited to get to use my Spanish more frequently, and I hope to brush up on it so that I can be of more use in that way. The CGHC is restarting their free Latino Health Outreach Project (LHOP), and I would love to work with them. LHOP is a free clinic service that operates out of a trailer in downtown New Orleans on Friday mornings. Most of the patients there are Latino workers who don't have access to services on a regular basis.
It was a good first experience working with CGHC. Desiree and I left at the same time, but unfortunately the bus we were anticipating taking broke down. It did, however, provide a great opportunity to walk through Algiers to the river to take the free ferry across. It was a beautiful day and a unique way to get around New Orleans. I definitely found some cute restaurants and shops in Algiers that I want to check out in the near-future!
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| Xavier Convention Center |
This past Wednesday I also volunteered with CGHC at a Health Fair at Xavier University. Health fairs are a common occurrence in New Orleans which is a very new experience for me. Although students at UW-Madison put on a lot of conferences and symposiums for pre-healthcare students to explore their career interests and learn about healthcare disparities, actual health fairs for the community were non-existent. So I was excited to learn that I would be helping with tabling at this health fair. I arrived around 2pm and things were moving fairly slowly. About 60 organizations were set up with tables: the majority of them are involved in providing resources to the uninsured and underserved in New Orleans. Desiree and Colleen (another CGHC staff member) run outreach at CGHC and so they knew a lot of the people who were there working outreach booths for different organizations. In addition to these organizations, there were two sets of patient booths set up along the walls of the room. Tulane, LSU and other physicians and medical students were running these booths to provide free health screenings and HIV testing.
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| Tulane Physicians and Med Students |
People came and went, but overall it was a fairly slow event. The biggest hit at our table was the new Resource Guide that CGHC has compiled. This guide provides information on every type of resource related to health and wellness that the un/under -insured can utilize in the city. A lot of the other organizations' leaders and healthcare providers stopped by to take a few to put in their offices and waiting rooms.
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| Colleen (far) and Desiree at our table |
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| Xavier Pharmacy students |
I think between the surveys and the health fairs, the surveys provide a greater, more tangible result. On a community level (in Algiers especially) CGHC has a wonderfully positive role because they can do something real for the community members. Although the health fair was a great way to have community organizations meet up and discuss needs/events, it didn't seem to reach its own goal of engaging the community. It was definitely a valuable experience, though, to see who is working for the same goals in this city and to feel the energy in the room.
"So you must have . . . painted today?"
Habitat for Humanity - January 19th, 2013 - 7 hours
Two Saturdays ago Joanie, Michael, Srinath, Alex and I headed out to Mid-City to get back into the volunteering groove with some good ol' Habitat for Humanity. It was nice to see another part of the city, as normally we volunteer in the 7th Ward. When we arrived at the site, there were approximately 10 AmeriCorps and Habitat staff ready to get started for the day. We turned out to be the only volunteers that had signed up, but it was nice because we were all doing work inside of the small house. Patrick (the group leader) and a few other AmeriCorps members recognized us and seemed appreciative of our presence. We were quickly set to work finishing up the painting of the inside of the house. Most of the house had received a first coat of paint, but a lot of the rooms needed a second coat and a few areas even needed a first and second coat. After learning some basic techniques for painting with rollers and brushes, we were left to take control of the paint situation.
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| Michael and Joanie contemplating what to get while Srinath potobombs. |
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| I obviously didn't pay too much attention to where I was putting the paint. . . |
I initially started by applying two coats of paint on the baseboards and window frames of the master bedroom. One of the AmeriCorps volunteers- Faith- joined me to finish up the closet. We quickly started talking about where we're both from and how we got to where we are. Faith had some great advice on looking for AmeriCorps positions, and in a way, she helped me put a story to the many AmeriCorps volunteers we meet. I also asked her about what kind of work she is expected to do; it turns out that the position description she applied for is quite different from what she is currently doing. Initially she (and most AmeriCorps volunteers who work with Habitat) was supposed to work as a volunteer supervisor/coordinator on building sites. But because there are peaks and troughs in volunteers signing up throughout the year, mostly she spends her time working on the houses. With MardiGras and the Superbowl occurring in New Orleans over the course of this month, followed by many university and college spring breaks, Habitat expects to see an influx in the number of student groups that come to NOLA to volunteer. I know of people who have been involved in these week-long trips, and they seem to provide potential to get a lot accomplished. Faith did mention, however, that "getting stuff done" is dependent on how much partying the student groups do while in town.
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| There was an incredibly long line for Parkway Bakery and Tavern, and for good reason! |
I think talking to Faith helped me realize just how important it is for people to become involved in volunteer activities consistently and for the long-term. I remember when I initially visited my pre-medical advisors in college, they emphasized the importance of long-term volunteer commitments. A lot pre-meds complain about this; it's hard to get into a hospital or clinic for a long-term position, and 1-day opportunities seem like a great way to receive many hours for a small commitment! But I can now definitely see the value of getting involved for the long haul. Even though I only volunteer with Habitat once or twice a month, I've had the opportunity to work with the same people five or six times now. For them, it is easier to determine what sorts of tasks we as individuals or groups can accomplish, because they have supervised us before. For us, it becomes a lot more fun to work with the same individuals over the long-term and to learn more about the intricacies of the organization and the work they are trying to achieve. I think it's a downright shame that more people don't volunteer consistently with Habitat, especially considering the strong presence they have here in the city and the large number of students that live here too. But I can't do anything about that; I can only commit to helping out on a regular basis.
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| Srinath with their classic hat. |
Although painting took all day, I had a great time :) It was nice to chat with my classmates about winter break, plans for MardiGras, and thoughts about next year. We all went to lunch together at Parkway Bakery and Tavern: a Mid City hotspot for Po' Boys. I hadn't had a Po' Boy yet in New Orleans, and I was surprised at how delicious they really are. It was a great way to fuel up for the rest of the day's work and also to check out another neat, local favorite.
Gearing up for a service-oriented semester: KIPP New Orleans Leadership Primary
Located on the edge of Marigny, KIPP Leadership Primary is a charter school that is part of a host of national KIPP schools. New Orleans itself has more than a few, and this one opened about two years ago. The school only has kindergarteners and first graders, but expands every year with one more class. Unlike many other charter schools, KIPP recruits students from all over the city; no testing or raffle is involved in the process, and they encourage anyone to sign up. The school uses metrics to determine where students are and how they are expected to perform as far in the future as the SAT and ACT. Based on the needs of the individual, teachers create a curriculum that helps each student on his/her own level so that he/she can "learn excellence" from the get-go.
After giving us a brief overview of the school and its mission, Assitant Principal McLachlan and her colleagues gave us an introduction to the types of tasks we will be doing. Teachers at the school work 10-12 hour days on average: leading classes, meeting with students individually, talking to families, planning for future classes. Each teacher is incredibly involved in the success of each student, but that leads to long days with even more work after the school-day is over. A lot of the teachers need help with administrative type work- from photocopying to helping out with general tasks, which is where we as volunteers come in.
Principal McLachlan then gave us a tour of the school allowing us to visit every classroom. It was amazing to see both how young and invested each teacher is. They each have their own, unique style, but in every classroom we saw incredibly engaged, loving, curious children. Although the building the school is in is far too large for the two grades it currently holds, and although it looks a bit run-down, each classroom and hallway that the students encounter is filled with bright colors, hands-on materials, and warmth. The teachers and students were so excited to see us, thanking us with songs and class chants and running up to give us hugs as we passed.
I'm really excited to help out at the KIPP Leadership Primary school. I'm currently applying to AmeriCorps jobs in New Orleans for next year, and I definitely want to be involved in either a public health or education position. Therefore it was really neat to see just how a charter school functions in this city that is dominated by these types of schools. Although I won't get a chance to interact consistently with the students at KIPP in terms of the type of work I'll be doing, I think it's incredibly important to come in with excitement and positive energy to help out in any way possible. I look forward to it!
Gearing up for a service-oriented semester: Common Ground Health Clinic
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| The office for staff and health-care providers operates out of "The Yellow House" a few doors down from the clinic. |
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| This is the front of the actual clinic, on the of Teche and Socrates. |
At the orientation I was able to meet with Desiree (the outreach coordinator), as well as some of the other staff members who handle everything from billing to funding, restarting LHOP (the Latino Health Outreach Project) to hiring nurses and doctors. Desiree met with myself and three other volunteers from various backgrounds. While most of my time was spent filling out documents and going through a HIPAA powerpoint and quiz, Desiree did talk to us about the different work with which we can become involved. Because medical students from Tulane come out to volunteer in the clinic, most other volunteers are involved in the outreach side of CGHC, which is perfectly fine with me! When I apply to medical schools this summer, I definitely want to look into MD/MPH programs as well. This desire to explore public health didn't really happen for me until late into college; I would really like to volunteer with organizations that have a public and community health focus now, so that I can have a firmer grasp on what it means to be involved in real public health work.
More specifically, I looked into the CGHC because I'm really interested in the ways that they achieve this particular aspect of their mission statement: "We continue to advocate for increased access to healthcare services for all individuals. In order to do this, we must address all forms of injustice, including racism, sexism and homophobia. This includes addressing societal factors such as disproportionate numbers of people of color in the criminal justice system, and unequal access to quality housing, education, food and healthcare." As an undergraduate I definitely had the opportunity to learn about healthcare disparities that are based on different systems of privilege, but I have not yet been able to get involved in a clinic that works to address these through its services. Attending this orientation and meeting every-day people who have committed their lives to this type of work was so incredibly inspiring!
It was really interesting and exciting to hear Desiree talk about the different projects that are going on right now and that the CGHC needs help with. They often attend health fairs to hand out resource guides and meet with prospective patients. Additionally they plan events for the Algiers community, which includes free weekly women's classes, monthly events on herbalism and alternative medicine, and the development of a new community garden. They are also planning to host a teach-in at the local prison, put together a conference/forum on the changes in healthcare funding (for community members and other community clinics to attend), and host the 2nd Algiers cultural day. Overall I am so excited to spend a few hours each week helping out at the CGHC and to take on an event to plan myself.
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