One Block Down, Three to Go!

Kelly Buchanan, MS1

The first year med students just finished our first block of first year pre-clinical courses!! Granted, the first block (Molecules, Cells and Tissues) was only 6 weeks of our nearly 40 weeks in class this year, but of course, many of us used our successful completion of MCT as a reason to get out of town.  Some of my classmates went to Asheville, NC, some traveled to Washington D.C., and a group of us went to Topsail Island for a beach weekend. It was amazing. I am from Chicago, and driving 2.5 hours southeast from Chicago would put me in the middle Indiana’s cornfields. So, I was pretty amazed that driving 2.5 hours southeast of Durham landed us on the Carolina beaches.  The weather was perfect, and the company was even better. We drove down Saturday morning after a fun mixer on Friday night with the MS1s from UNC Med. We spent all day at the beach, rented out a house for the night, and returned to the beach Sunday morning for one last dose of Vitamin D before driving home. After 6 weeks of classes, it was an appreciated vacation. 

Photo credit: Jania Arcia Ramos and Sruti Pisharody

It was an awesome weekend with some of my amazing classmates, and I honestly cannot believe that I just started medical school and met these people a little over 2 months ago. Adjusting to med school could have been difficult, but having a school full of people who are genuinely excited to learn, eager to help others succeed, and always willing to explore Durham and the surrounding areas has made the transition easy. After an awesome weekend of swimming in the ocean and staying in the sun for way to long, we started our second block, Normal Body, on Monday. As fate would have it, in the first lecture, we learned about skin...and about the harmful effects UV rays can have on the skin if you don’t wear enough sunscreen.

MSFree

Taylor Broome, MS3

So I made it. 12 months of clinical rotations, 8 specialties, 5 Shelf exams, 2 pair of hideous danskos, and enough caffeine to power a city. Second year was an amazing experience. I learned an insane amount of information and had interactions that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

My vacation? 6 weeks of studying for Step 1. My second year was very heavy towards the end. I finished up the year with my surgery, then internal medicine rotations, so I wanted to keep the momentum going and knock out Step 1. I won't bore you with a recap of the last month, aka: me sitting in my pajamas with my cats, eating cereal, and listening to Dr. Husain Sattar. I am now 2 1/2 weeks away from my exam and desperately trying to maintain my momentum. But I am looking forward to having Step 1 behind me so I can fully embrace my third year.

Sterling thinks First Aid is good for sitting.

So I will be a busy bee once Step 1 is over. My research this year is basic science and will be in Dr. Sampson's lab, which focuses on creating and testing immunotherapies for brain tumors, notably glioblastoma multiforme. My specific project will be to create an immunotherapy for a pediatric brain tumor called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. To be totally honest, I have never done wet lab research before (I did mathematical modeling as an undergrad), so I don't know how this year will go. However, I am thrilled to be involved with a lab doing such amazing things. Completely switching gears, I will also be directing the Student Faculty Show this year. The Student Faculty Show is a full-blown musical that is written, directed, and performed by medical students each year on Medical Families Day. I don't want to give too much away, but I will give you this preview: Dr. Chudgar in a mullet.