itsartipatel

[The final homestretch of basic sciences]

January 13, 2020. The last first day of basic sciences. It felt surreal that I was so close to finishing off basic sciences and ending my journey in Barbados. The start of the semester was different since we had a two-week study block before the new module began. My plan was to start reviewing everything from the very beginning in order to be prepared for Step 1. One week into reading First Aid for Step 1, I realized that this is not working for me. Instead, I decided to pre-read all the lectures for the upcoming module and get ahead on the material. Pulmonology 1 was not the best for me during Semester 2 and I did not want to start off Semester 5 in the same manner. Although Mini 1 went decent, it was a bit frustrating when it came to studying for it. The module was only 1.5 weeks long and the exam consisted of 37 multiple-choice questions. It was difficult to figure out what the high yield topics were since only a limited amount would be tested. 

[5C curriculum and the pandemic]

Semester 5 was the shortest compared to the rest. With only 3 exams and a final exam, the semester ended almost 1 to 1.5 weeks earlier than the others. When COVID hit, it caused a huge panic at school. We all received an official email stating that we were allowed to leave Barbados and go back home if that’s what we wanted to do. By the time I had gotten back to Coverley from campus, all my roommates had packed their stuff and were heading out the door. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back home at the time since we only had a month left before the semester ended. All lectures and exams were going to be online and at home, but I didn’t want to lose the motivation to keep going. Within the next couple of days, majority of the students had left, and Coverley became deserted. It didn’t feel the same anymore. I tried to study and go through lectures, but my mind was somewhere else. There came a point when airports were stating that people from other countries were no longer going to be allowed into the states after a certain date. I finally decided to book my flight back home and let me tell you, it was hectic. I packed all my things within a couple hours and emptied out my room since my flight was the next morning. I don’t even know what I felt that night, but it was something I’ll never forget. I was excited to go back home but this wasn’t what I had imagined when I thought about leaving Barbados. The best part about going home was being able to see my niece and having that extra comfort during my last semester. It was difficult to maintain my daily routine and there were days when I didn’t follow my schedule as much. But, I made sure to know my material for exam days. I kept thinking that being at home would drop my scores, but it did not. I surprised myself once again and reassured myself even more that I am capable of being a doctor. 

Basic Sciences

Clinical Sciences

[Halfway there]

Bringing each semester to an end was a moment of joy for me but ending basic sciences overall was a huge deal. The last 1.5 years was an adventure filled with so many memories, good and bad. But all worth cherishing. Not only did I end the semester strong, but I also ended it with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Each semester, I wanted to be a better version of myself than before and I had finally reached my goal of being on Dean’s list. It took a lot of self-doubt at first to even think that I would pass each semester on the first try. But I made it happen because I wanted this more than anything. It doesn’t seem like such a great accomplishment when someone looks at it from the outside, but when I look back at it, this was a giant step towards my end goal. I was no longer going to be just watching lectures and reading. I was soon going to start applying what I learned to real patients that I would be working with. 

[Lesson learned from Semester 5]

Don’t let the little things get in the way. 

Being hit by a pandemic mid-semester threw me into panic mode. For a couple days I felt ungrounded and clueless. And having to move mid-semester was not easy. But I didn’t let it stop me from doing what I had to. Yes, it might take longer to reach some goals and it does add some more stress to life, but life is unexpected. We have to learn how to work around those things and a lot of times, it shapes us into a better and stronger individual.