Pharmacology ePortfolio

 Volunteer Hours this month:0 Total volunteer hours this semester: 12 In the month of march, we covered the psychology as well as the neurology blocks of pharmacology. Coming from a background of neuroscience research as well as having a bachelors degree in neuroscience, I had been looking forward to march all year long. I was fascinated by the developments we have made in treatment as well as how much more room we have for improvement. I also appreciated learning the foundations for the majority of the papers we have been reviewing in the neuropharmacology block. The medical pharmacology and cell control mechanism lectures allowed me to put all the puzzle pieces together in order to further understand the pathophysiology behind many neurological diseases. Having wrapped up all of the med pharm blocks was a little bittersweet. For the remaining part of the semester, we only have the elective courses to focus on as well as the shelf exam that we take mid April. While I am not looking fo

Volunteer hours this month: 10  Total Volunteer hours: 12 Time flew by in the month of February! We finished the reproductive module at the beginning of this month, which I found very interesting. Specifically, I appreciated the overlap between our environmental signaling class, where we discuss the effects of environmental estrogens, and the content of the reproductive module, as this furthered my understanding of how crucial a role estrogen plays in the human body. Since then, we have moved on to the Neuro-pharm module, which is my favorite one thus far. Because I was a Neuroscience major in undergrad and have done a considerable amount of research in the field of neuroscience, I am excited to expand my understanding of neurological disorders and their treatments.  For this month's volunteering activity, I volunteered at the first aid station on Mardi Gras day at the St. Charles and Canal street location. Through New Orleans EMS, I was able to work as an EMT at the station and be

Volunteer hours: 2  So far in the month of January, we have finished the endocrine block and focused a significant amount of time on diabetes. We have just finished the block and now we are moving to the reproductive health block.    I have always been fascinated by diabetes so it was very interesting to learn about the many drugs that individuals can take to manage their H1c and blood glucose. As an EMT working in new Orleans, it was very common to have a patient who is pre-diabetic or diabetic. In many of those cases, individuals were taking metformin. To learn about metformin and its drug profile was very helpful and will better my ability to understand the medications my patients take. Something that I am looking forward to is the Endocrine pharmacology class we are taking this semester. The textbook that we are using is titled "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers".  I find stress and its side effects very interesting and Dr. Sapolsky does a great job being informative while

New Volunteer hours: 0 Total volunteer hours: 19 November has been the most difficult, yet most engaging, month thus far in the pharmacology masters curriculum. My favorite block in the month of November was the cardiology block, as we were able to participate in the simulation lab. As an aspiring physician, I am eager to take on any activity that will expose me to clinically relevant situations, and working through our patient simulation was a phenomenal way to get a better understanding of what a real-life ER room scenario would look like. However, for the majority of the month, our program focused on the renal and pulmonary systems. I never truly understood how interconnected the systems were until I saw the overlap of the renal and cardiovascular systems. I can now say that I have a greater appreciation for the complexity of treatment when it comes to patients that have diseases across multiple systems. I am looking forward to taking on our final module, GI and neoplasia, before he

October volunteer hours: 7 Total volunteer hours: 19 This month has been a challenging but very interesting month in the pharmacology program. We have gone through the neuromuscular, ANS, and CV and are now currently working on the cardiovascular pharmacology module. In my EMS work, the paramedic on the truck has always been the one to analyze ECGs, and when I would look at them, I would have no idea how to go about reading them. Thus, learning about ECG and cardiac arrhythmias has been very exciting for me as I look to implement my knowledge in a clinical setting. While I have enjoyed all of the modules so far, my most recent advances presentation was the highlight of my month. I presented the results and limitations of the article as well as the health disparities that exist for t-PA treatment in ischemic stroke.  I am fascinated with the pathology of stroke, and learning more about the disparities in care and outcomes from this debilitating disease only continues to motivate me to a

 New Orleans EMS volunteering month of September: 12 hours  The organization I chose to volunteer at is New Orleans EMS, the local EMS agency responsible for providing emergency medical services to all parts of New Orleans. I have been volunteering with New Orleans EMS for close to a year now, so I am glad that I have the opportunity to continue my volunteer work there throughout the duration of the pharmacology curriculum. What I love about volunteering with New Orleans EMS is the opportunity to parallel what I am learning in the classroom with clinical application and patient interaction. I believe that taking pharmacology courses has significantly improved my skillset as an EMT. I can better recognize my patients' medical history with the knowledge of their prescriptions and understand what drugs are clinically indicated in the pre-hospital setting for the patient.  While we have only progressed through three exam blocks in the master's program, during my shift, I was able t