November

November hours- 10 hours

Total semester hours- 40 hours 

November is coming to an end and marks the start of our last block of the semester, the GI block. This past month has focused heavily on Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology which we will complete with this last block. It has been a hectic month in the program with two block exams for each the Renal and Pulmonary blocks, but fortunately we earned a long and well deserved break for Thanksgiving. 

This month I continued volunteering at ARNO with Mythili and we even signed up for a couple of adoption events one event took place outside of a pet store and one took place at Lafreniere Park in neighboring Metairie. The events allow for people to meet and play with puppies that are currently being homed by the shelter in hopes of finding them a forever home. At the shelter I have been working mostly with the pups taking them for walks, a few of the dogs there are kenneled together and can be walked side by side, so for those Mythili and I are able to walk them together and chat. The time there really flies by as it's such a fun time, it has truly been a rewarding experience. Aside from ARNO I also volunteered at the Alzheimer Association's Walk to End Alzheimer's which took place in New Orleans' Audubon Park. At the event I helped with participant registration and helped hand out water to participants along the course of the walk. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet a lot of great people who work with the organization. I am looking forward to volunteering at more of their events in the future and maybe volunteering at the association's community homes for Alzheimer's patients. In December I am scheduled to volunteer at ARNO on the 4th and 11th for a total of 8 hours. 

It's really hard to imagine the program is halfway over and this semester is coming to an end. The fast pace of the beginning of the semester really made for a progressive semester and I cannot believe how much material I have learned and am able to use in everyday contexts now. Being a part of this program was such a great decision and I am excited for everything the spring semester will bring about. 

October

I can't believe October is almost over it has truly flown by. This month, for me, has definitely been the busiest month in the program thus far. We are currently in the renal block, the fifth block of the program. The CV block ended earlier this month and only focused on med pharm. In the CV block we had a PBL and also our first SIM exercise with the med students. Coming up later this week is a PBL for the renal block. Having the CV block before renal has provided some overlap in material which has been a huge benefit to studying and preparing for the exam which is coming up in the next week. Also this month we started Molecular and Cellular Pharm.

My time volunteering has really occupied a huge portion of my schedule this month. I started volunteering at ARNO- the animal rescue of New Orleans, upon my friend and classmate, Mythili's recommendation. So far I have spent the last three weekends there helping out walking dogs and I really like the people there who are all volunteers as ARNO is only functioning due to volunteers who care about animals in our community. Following the floods in Baton Rouge, shelters like ARNO have experienced a big influx of adoptable pets and also a lack of enough volunteers to help run the shelter. So my experience there so far has truly been a rewarding one.
In addition to volunteering at ARNO I volunteered at The Terraces, an assisted living home, two days, however they do not usually need very much help. I also planted trees in the wetlands this month for an all day event sponsored by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL). It was an incredibly taxing experience but I know the efforts I and all the other volunteers put forth will make a huge difference to help stop the erosion of coastal Louisiana which is a huge issue especially in storm season.

There are only two more blocks this semester Pulmonary and GI. I am excited for everything else we are going to learn this semester and also to keep volunteering with ARNO and also volunteering at the New Orleans Alzheimer's walk that raises money for Alzheimer's research, a disease which is near and dear to my heart.

Hours this month- ARNO- 12, CRCL- 8, Terraces- 4 total for the month- 24 hours.

Ashwin & I planting trees in the wetlands for CRCL

September

It's finally fall here in New Orleans and though its been unbearably hot all month as I'm outside today it finally feels pleasant! We are now in block 4 covering cardiovascular which for this block is only taught through Med Pharm. Today was the first TBL of the program and going in I felt very anxious, but on conclusion I thought it was a helpful learning exercise and I thought it was really fun to work with my awesome group (who were really helpful!!) to come up with answers to some difficult questions.
This month I started volunteering at The Terraces which is a unique community for elderly residents. I found this volunteering opportunity through Volunteers of America and because of their lengthy background requirements I have not been able to work with the residents yet and have only assisted the staff there. Tomorrow I have a meeting with the staff and I will finally be placed in a group to focus on helping in a particular unit. I am so excited to finally meet the residents I will be assisting and even more excited to start building a kinship with them.
The next learning block is the renal block and I can't wait. After working on the CRIC and SPRINT trials here at Tulane I have become particularly fond of the topics surrounding CKD and blood pressure. I think a lot of the information we are learning now will be of particular use in the next block and this block is very dense so there will be a lot of studying in the next week and a half before the CV block exam.
Hours this month- Terraces- 6 hours

August

It's hard to believe its only been about 6 weeks into the program so far and we've already had 2 block exams and have covered so much material. Last week we started block 3 Neoplasia/Heme and so far the material is challenging but definitely feasible. The program so far has really challenged me to perfect my study habits whilst breaking other routines such as binge watching Netflix in exchange for more study time, self-studies, JiTTs, etc. There is surely no room for procrastination as the courses are very fast-paced. So far has definitely been a hard transition after being out of school for 2 years! The last two block exams I have felt really satisfied in some areas and I know there is room for improvement in others.

Though not originally from New Orleans, I've been calling it home for the past 6 years. I grew up in a small town north of Monroe, Louisiana and moved here to do my undergrad at UNO. Though I didn't pursue my degree at Tulane I have worked here for the past 2 years in clinical research, so unlike many of my classmates, I'm lucky to say that I have been pretty familiar with the campus and New Orleans in general. I do envy the ability of my peers to walk to campus everyday as many of my classmates live in the student housing. I live in Gentilly, a really beautiful and quiet neighborhood of New Orleans near Lake Pontchartrain, and though my drive is about 10 minutes everyday I truly love the sense of community there.

I have always been passionate about helping others and am so excited to start volunteering. Though I have not started my community service project yet, I have an interview this afternoon for a position helping the elderly. I'm interested to see where they place me and the opportunities I will have while I to get to know some New Orleanian natives and give back to the community.

This semester is shaping up to be a fun and exciting journey and I can't wait to see what it holds!