UnwaveringMed

Alright so the final grades are in. If you got what you wanted, congratulations I'm so happy for you 🎉🎉 and if you didn't I'm still proud of you too ❤️. Term 4 is a beast and congratulations to us all for sticking it out.  As you all know, I failed T4 the first time but I came back with a vengeance. I realized that all along I was not studying in a way that was efficient for me. Once I switched my methods this term, everything changed. I realized that making concept maps 1000000% is the way that I learn best. I am excited to carry this with me into T5. If you have found that your study strategies aren't working for you and you aren't seeing the grades that you want I advise you to consider your method. It's not you, it's your method. You just have to figure out what the method is for you. For everyone it is gonna be different. You have to keep that in mind. I don't do anki and others swear by it. I used to white board a lot and didn't do it that mu...

Post Exam 2 reflections: This exam was a little lower for me than the first but I've also been dealing with a lot as you all know. It's important to give yourself grace and remember that you are more than just a number. If you didn't do as well as you would have liked, I would encourage you to reach out for help. Don't be afraid to ask for help.  Figure out if your issue is content, if you didn't practice enough, are you answering what is being asked, etc. Do you pick up on the important things in the vignette?  Also, remember that term 4 is very different than previous terms. There is a lot more integration required. Do as many questions as you can. I swear by them as they are truly key 🔑. Try writing your own vignettes. It helps me so much. I think doing it daily was a lot but I'll still be posting some don't worry. The only person that can place limits on you is you. ✨️ Until next time! 

 Hey y'all!  So we have received our exam grades for the first exam. 360 improvement for me compared to last term. This was honestly the first exam that I left since starting medical school knowing that I had passed. I walked in calm and left calm. My level of preparation was totally different than previous terms. I attacked every topic from every angle that I possibly could. This was my 2nd highest exam score to date and to add to that I have never seen scores on individual blocks like what I saw yesterday! There is a purpose in everything. Sure I had been passing exams but sometimes I was barely getting by and I couldn't figure out why for the life of me. This experience of redoing the material has taught me so much and it has only just begun.  If you didn't get the score you want on this exam, I would encourage you to dive a little deeper. Have you been memorizing or actually learning? In my case I realized I never properly learned so many things because I had simply m...

Happy New Year 2022! As promised, I always said that I would share the good, bad, and the ugly on my medical school journey. This past term I completed Term 4, but I didn’t end up achieving a passing score. I fell a few points too short. This term was very different for me and tested me in ways I never imagined both academically and emotionally. This was the first term that we started to think like a Doctor. We came up with differential diagnoses during clinical encounters and learned pathology & microbiology.  When we first started the semester, there was a lot going on. We had weekly lockdowns for the entire weekend. There was also a period where we switched back to online due to the lockdowns. It was honestly a lot to deal with on top of school. I also didn’t really figure out how to study for term 4 until after the 2nd exam. The style of testing is different in term 4. Buzzwords aren’t really a thing and that is something that we have been accustomed to all along. The key t...

 Wow! I cannot believe how fast time is flying. Here at SGU we have 5 terms of basic sciences before starting clinical rotations. I am currently in Term 4 (of 5). We are going to experience our first real patient encounters this term. I’m excited but also a little nervous. I’m sure as things progress it will continue to get better though. It has only officially been 1 year since I started medical school but so much has happened. I’m definitely here for the growth that I’ve experienced and I’m ready to take things up a notch. Until next time! -Candace 

Hey y'all! I honestly forget to update this thing. Basic sciences is NO joke. Having said that, term 3 is officially over and I made the cut once again. Term 3 was a 6 week course where we took Microbiology, Immunology, Biostatics/Epidemiology, Public Health, and Ethics. Those were the LONGEST 6 weeks of my life I swear lol. This 8 credit course sure required a lot lol. I decided to give Anki another try and I think that it helped me a lot especially for the microbiology. I realized that before I didn't really know how to use it effectively and that played a role in how well it was working for me. It is imperative that you keep up with the reviews otherwise they stack up and then it becomes a mess.   I am getting ready to move to Grenada tomorrow to begin term 4 next week. I fit my whole life into 3 checked bags lol. I have TWO more semesters of basic sciences left before I take Step 1 (the first of 3 board exams that I have to take). I'm so thankful for this opportunity to...