Friday, April 27, 2018

April 2018


This last month of the program has been quite enjoyable. With classes coming to an end, everyone is gearing up for the summer and their future. A highlight of this month was the “elevator talks” in our environmental signaling course, where each person was given three minutes to discuss an important topic that impacted the environment. I chose to speak on golf courses and their impact on nitrogen runoff. Other interesting talks included lead contamination in popular chocolate brands, the impact of rising sea temperatures on food poisoning from oysters and alteration of sex determination in sea turtle hatchlings. Due to the lighter coursework this month, I was able to volunteer a lot with Habitat for Humanity. I worked a couple days with fellow classmates, where we worked on the sub-flooring of houses and blocking between joists to make the house more stable. The other day was similar work, where we installed rat runs and w-framing to reinforce the roof of another house. I really enjoyed the program. Not only did I learn a ton about pharmacology, but also became a more well-rounded individual. This program has definitely prepared me well for medical school, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds.





Community Service Hours this Month: 24
Total Community Service Hours: 32

Saturday, March 31, 2018

March 2018


This has been another wonderful month at Tulane. Our most interesting class has been environmental signaling, where Dr. Mielke and others have been informing us on the issue of lead and other heavy metals in the environment, including the exhaust from automobiles and small aircraft. Especially concerning is the contaminated water sources throughout the nation. The contamination comes mainly from the pipes of our water supply, and is almost unavoidable in our aged infrastructure. Many people unknowingly consume unhealthy amounts of lead, which can lead to serious long-term health issues, especially in children. This can easily be avoided by using commercially available filters or purchasing bottled, filtered water. With this knowledge, we can go forward and be more aware of this health crisis, be better informed physicians, and in turn better educate patients about how to live in the healthiest manner possible. This year, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend Easter with my family back in Maryland. Seeing them all again was a great reward for all the hard work over these past months, and has recharged my energy to continue performing well in school and give back to the community. With spring in full swing, I have gotten involved in playing volleyball with some current Tulane medical students, and could not be happier to see what a great community there is at the medical school. Also, I am excited to possibly explore the area and go golfing more often. Every springtime, the itch to get outside and play golf returns, and I am very pleased that the pharmacology program allows us enough time to pursue hobbies and become more well rounded individuals.




Total Community Service Hours: 8

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

February 2018


This past month, I volunteered again with Habitat for Humanity. I worked alongside a great group of high school students from Vermont, who make yearly trips to various parts of the country to work on habitat houses. The tasks at hand were to remove the framing from the freshly poured cement driveway and sidewalk, leveling the yard, and sodding. A brief afternoon shower cooled us all off, and the day ended with us working on some finishing touches for the interior of the home. School has been going well, and we recently had a guest speaker come and share with us her work on cardiovascular changes seen in mice that experience space flight. This by far was the most interesting seminar to date, and allowed for the understanding of the complexities that go into space flight and research in space. This research is important not only to better understand how life works on earth, but also to enable us to safely travel further into space. The final shelf exam is next Thursday, and the semester has flown by so quickly. I believe our professors have prepared us well for this challenge, and looking back on all the medical pharmacology information makes me realize how much we have learned this year. Once the test is complete, we will have a couple more classes, seminars, and smaller exams, but the end of the year is fast approaching. I have greatly enjoyed my time here, and look forward to spending more of my life in New Orleans.






Community Service Hours: 8
Total Community Service Hours: 8

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

January 2018

With the new year has come a new semester. Enduring a few cold snaps, we continue to grow our knowledge. This semester, we have more classes that are focused around presentations, and incorporating information from the world around us into our curriculum. One class that best characterizes being aware of pharmacology’s role in our daily lives is our environmental signaling class, where have discussed environmental estrogens and the removal of tetraethyllead from gasoline, and the impact of lead in general on our cities. I am excited to see the future direction that this course takes. In our advances in pharmacology class, our professor has begun to allow us to select which papers we present, affording us the opportunity to select portions of our curriculum to elaborate on, or just current issues that are engaging to learn more about. This has been very informative, and I believe makes the class more interested in the presentations. I will look to continue my work with Habitat for Humanity starting next month, and can’t wait to get back to building homes for people in the New Orleans area. The shelf exam is looming in the distance, just over a month away. I am nervous, I believe this program has prepared me well for this cumulative exam, so as long as I continue to be diligent in my studies there shouldn’t be too much to worry about. Signs of Mardi Gras are everywhere in the city, and there is definitely an excitement in the air that is special and unique to the city. Since this is my first time in New Orleans during this time of year, I am curious to see what will happen closer to Mardi Gras, and am sure that it will serve as a fun break from school.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

December 2017

In just a few days the semester will be over. The program so far has been great, and just last weekend we had our winter celebration. Being able to see our teachers outside the classroom was refreshing, and everyone had fun. The live band was engaging, and the venue at the Columns Hotel was also memorable itself. Today I volunteered yet again with Habitat for Humanity, this time mostly working on the roofing trim, soffit, and small finishing touches on some of the base boards and quarter rounds inside the home. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Tulane so far, and can't wait to get back next semester!

Community Service Hours December: 8

Total Service Hours: 32

Thursday, November 30, 2017

November 2017

The semester is drawing to an end, and the weather cools with each passing day. The climate is very pleasant this time of year, and I am beginning to wonder if winter will ever come to New Orleans. Classes are going well, and we are moving onto the brain and behavior block, for which I am very excited. As I am writing this, I am relaxing after another long day of work on a Habitat for Humanity build site. Today I was tasked with completing a staircase, building a stand for the AC unit, installing the remainder floorboards and quarter rounds, and helping a group of high-school students dig out the driveway and front walk. Also, the stove and refrigerator came today. This was the first house I have worked on that was in such a complete state. Previously I had mostly been helping on houses that were still in their inception. It was a treat to see the nearly finished product, with the counter-tops, cabinets and appliances installed. The homes that we work on turn out to be surprisingly high quality, given that countless untrained volunteers are the ones constructing the house. I believe this result can be attributed to the care and effort volunteers work with, and it is a service to which I am proud to belong. Furthermore, these builds are making me feel more like a part of this community, a community that I have enjoyed serving.




Volunteer hours: 8
Total hours: 24

Thursday, November 2, 2017

October 2017

This month has been another great month at Tulane. Classes are going well, and fall has arrived with cooler temperatures and breezy, clear sky days. Fortunately, our intramural volley ball team has started to find success with victories in our past two games. Intramurals have been a great way to blow off some steam and relax at the end of the day, and is something I look forward to every week. I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity once again, this time on the construction of a new house. There were many volunteers that day (about 30) and we got a lot of work done. One volunteer that was great to work with was the future homeowner himself. He is a musician, and this house was being built near some of his friends, who he had performed alongside with for several years. This corner is a musician’s paradise. It was just nice to meet the person who I was volunteering for and to work alongside him, allowing me to associate a face with the house that I was working to help build. This truly made me feel that I was making a direct impact on someone’s life. Hopefully our paths will cross again in the future.

Volunteer hours: 8
Total Hours: 16