Time...does somebody have some I can borrow?

When I woke up this mourning I forgot that it was sunday! This week has flown by! The work load picked up tremendously this past week. I usually stay on campus from around 8am till 11pm. I am starting feel the pressure of having to learn something that day and turning around and learning something new the next. Do not worry though I feel that I am doing fine.

My study habits include watching all lectures and taking detailed notes that highlight what the professor is stressing during class. I have another sheet that I jot down key words that are important during that lecture. This allows me to have a list that I can look over and in a way keep track of the material. I can go back and look at my key words and quiz myself. Ill sit there and discuss these key words to myself out load. Yes I am talking to myself....hopefully that isn't too wierd!?! It seems to help me with my recognition skills. Every lecture is recorded and the program called "mediasite" that Ross has developed lets you watch the professor teach as well as simultaneously the power point slides will move along as she is moving along. It is like you are in class again. You speed up the lecture up to 2x the initial speed. This way you can watch a 60 minute lecutre in half the time. So I can follow along with my initial notes and maybe add some more as I watch the lecture over. This is a really good way to follow up with what the professors are looking for from us. I also try to make my own reveiw sheets that are condensed into individual pages that I can draw concept maps and pathways. For instance the arterial bood supply that breaks off the subclavian artery that runs down into your limb. There are several important branches and areas on this artery because it is the main arterial blood supply to the shoulder, upper and lower limb. If I draw the structure I feel that I can later visualize it as I am tested on what structures recieve blood from it's branches. Lastly I have been meeting with one of my friends, BJ, to reveiw the material with him and go over what we have learned that week. We do this on Saturday usually around 8 hours. This has really allows both of us to quiz and help eachother with understanding the material. I can also go into the Anatomy Lab anytime during the day or night when there is not scheduled lab to look over the structures on the body. There are also models in there that I can look over the osteology of the bones. It is important to understand where each landmark on the bones are so that you can understand how each individual muscle works. So this is my life right now....I cannot wait to get home at the end of my day and talk to my wife on skype! It is the highlight of my day each day. Other than that I have my first big test on Monday Feburary 8th. It will be the first of three "mini's" this semester that are compiled between all the material in all of the classes thus far. There will be a certain amount of each course on the test depending on how many lectures I had in that subject. For instance medical biochemistry is 30% of my entire grade on this test! So I have been hitting biochem pretty hard. I have ample amount of practice questions to due that are comprable to what I will see on my test. This is the last thing I due after I have thoroughly looked over a subject area.

So anyways I am rambling but I just wanted to let everyone to know how I am handling this. Sometimes I still cannot beleive that I am really in medical school. I have to take a step back and look at all the hardwork that has placed me in this position. This puts everyting into perspective for me giving motivation to keep trucking along. When you put your mind to something you can really make it happen. I think this applies to anything that you do in your life. I have also found that staying close to the lord has really helped me and he has given me the ability to do this.

Everyone keep your head up! Ill let you know how everything goes next week! C-ya