The End

This month's hours- 18
Total semester- 33
Total for the year- 73

April is coming to a close which means we did it! This week marked our last exam for Cell Control and our last seminar. It's hard to believe how much has changed in the last year, how much we have grown, and how much we have learned.

As for volunteering this month I participated in an event at the children's museum which focused on teaching children about dinosaurs. It was a so much fun, we had stations where we taught about a particular dinosaur or era and the children loved it. I also continued at St. Margaret's. This month on Monday afternoons I have been assigned to sit with a woman diagnosed with ALS, she is very enthusiastic and is a great communicator despite her progressing disability. The experience there has been invaluable and I hope to continue there throughout the next year. For environmental signaling we also contributed to an ongoing project of soil testing for lead deposits in children play areas. Other than volunteering and finishing up classes I have been focused on studying for the MCAT and working on my lab research project for which very excitingly has been accepted into publication.

All in all this semester has been very fun and interesting. I look forward to my next year in New Orleans and am glad some of my classmates will be staying as well. My decision to do this program has been one of the best I could have made for my career. The network connections, opportunities, and friendships I have made throughout this year are invaluable and it is bittersweet to say goodbye. Well that's all, good luck to next year's pharmers you're in for fun ride.

March '17

Hours this month-11
Hours total- 15

So the fun of Mardi Gras and spring break have passed here in NOLA and its been straight back to work in the program. This month we took the Med Pharm shelf exam which was a comprehensive exam covering all the topics we have studied from July until now. Prepping for the exam was a lot of work but I think it paid off though it will be a few weeks until we get our scores back. Other than the shelf we also had our second cell control exam. Coming up in the next month we only have one more exam for cell control and then thats it for exams! It's hard to believe it will be our last.

This month has been a slow month for volunteering with CRCL's coastal restoration due to bad weather cancellations. In the meantime I participated in a really cool volunteering event with the children's museum doing science experiments with elementary students. I also started volunteering at St. Margaret's Hospice here in New Orleans it's been a great experience so far and it is definitely something I can see myself doing longterm. Specifically I have been volunteering in their ALS residence which is provided for by Team Gleason an organization started after former Saints' safety Steve Gleason was diagnosed with ALS and it raises money to fund treatment and care to ALS patients as well as raise public awareness for a disease that is rarely talked about.

Next month I'm looking forward to continuing volunteering at St. Margaret's as well as participate in an upcoming planting event for CRCL.

February

It's Mardi Gras day 2k17! We are currently on our spring break this week and have all been having so much fun in the city at the Mardi Gras parades together! During this month we had another PBL and our second TBL for the reproductive and endocrine blocks. We also had two block exams so this being a short month has been a very busy one in the program! It has been such a nice change of pace to celebrate the ending of Principles, Med Pharm and our last block together now that we are on spring break and that its Carnival season!

So far this month I have participated in one service event with CRCL which was a lot of fun. All the volunteers gathered in Buras, LA which is one of the most southern points of Louisiana to gather up oyster shells to place on the shorelines in an effort to preserve the coastline and prevent erosion. Next month will have a lot more in store for me volunteering as our schedule will be much lighter after the shelf exam for Med Pharm.

Coming up in the program is our Shelf exam for Med Pharm and though we are done with Principles and Med Pharm we will still have tests in Cell Control and continue to have the rest of our classes. The semester is quickly coming to an end, and it is very bittersweet as we have all become such good friends but I look forward to everything thats to come this semester and the future.

Hours this month- 4
Hours this semester- 4

January 2017!!

We were very fortunate to have a quick break between semesters to unwind, spend time with our families back home, and prepare for Spring. This semester took no time to get started, immediately we began four new classes on top of Med Pharm, Principles, Advances, and Seminar. So far the new classes we have been introduced to are Cell Control Mechanisms, Advanced Topics in Cardiobiology, Environmental Signaling, and Endocrine Pharm. Sounds like a lot, but so far has proven to slightly less intense than what I was expecting!
This semester is really all about time management and for a lot of us its a big task as we prepare for the shelf exam and prep for the MCAT. As for me, I recently started doing research in the genetics department which has been great but has made my free time more limited.
We recently took our first block exam of the semester in Neurology and are now working through the Psychology block. Something this month and in this block that I really appreciated and found fascinating was a patient interview session in Med Pharm today. It was an unique and enlightening experience where a patient spoke to us about her condition and I think made many of us feel inspired and excited to continue to pursue careers in medicine.
So far, I have yet to get started on my service hours this semester but plan to get started following our next exam. I am excited for everything to come this semester and all the opportunities we will be given, but at this pace it will all be over before we know it!