New Block Resolutions

When I first came to Saba, one thing that became immediately clear was how helpful the upper semesters were at giving advice on how they studied, from what materials, how much time they devoted to each class, etc. This advice is really variable. I remember on Day 1 someone telling me to follow the same study methods that worked during undergrad. A few minutes later, a different student was telling me not to rely on my previous methods because these courses were more intense. I heard over and over again "Don't worry, but hit the ground running and don't stop until you're back in Canada in December." Needless to say, I was thoroughly freaked out early on, which definitely lit a fire under my ass for first block.

Coming from a non-science background and an undergrad that ended more than 4 years ago, I was sincerely anxious about my ability to actually pull this off. Everyone hears the stats - 25% of the class leaves in the first semester, a number of people fail or drop, etc. I think it's important not to listen to these statistics. For example, already 30% of my class has left. But the vast majority of these people left because they genuinely didn't like it here or they had problems back home.

The relief I felt after passing block 1 exams was great. But I knew I could do better so i set out to revise my strategies. I thought I'd share them.

Block 1: I didn't have much of an idea in this block. I studied mostly in my room and I spent most of my time pouring over lecture slides and converting them into cue cards in question and answer form. This was very time consuming and I ran out of cue cards in the first two weeks. Even with all of these hand-made cards, I still felt like I was losing a lot of information and that I was missing details because of how tedious it was. What was worse, so much of my time went to cue card making that I had very little time to review them. Some of them I still haven't taken a second look at.

Block 2: My new block resolutions were to exclusively study in the library, to sit nearer to the front of the class. By the end of this block, I was making very few cue cards, knowing that it really wasn't that efficient. I would read the lecture slides, then refer to Dr. Rao's notes to summarize what I had been studying. Dr. Rao is a past anatomy professor whose notes are still circulating among students years later. I did even worse in this block and I felt it was because I wasn't being active enough in my studying. I would read but it wouldn't stick.

Block 3: Early on in this block, I came across the blocking method and it changed my life. Really. The idea is simple - using the power point slides, block out the important words or diagram labels or whatever you would normally highlight in a textbook. The key to doing this is blocking in a way so that once you come across the slide again in the future, you have an idea of what's behind it. So blocking an entire sentence or slide doesn't make much sense. I think this works well for me for a number of reasons:
- Blocking requires active reading because you don't want to block irrelevant shit. So the first time you go over it, you're actually studying.
- It can be started in class. Although I like listening to the prof during class, a few blocks can be made here and there without missing out on the lecture.
- It's fast. I can get through an entire lecture and maybe even review it before the night is done.
- I'm not losing any information this way, like I was with cue cards. Each diagram is in perfect form (not hand-drawn). Because the slides are developed from a number of sources, there's little reason for me to consult another source, unless I'm not understanding something.

I tried to make sure that I went through each lecture 3 times before writing the exams. I'd finish each lecture by night time, review all the lectures of the week on the weekend and again before the exam. By the third time, I usually had a great idea of what was going on.

Anyway, I felt I had a lot more time with this method, I knew the material way better and I kicked ass at the exams. Of course this won't work for everyone but I suggest you give it a try.

I supplemented this method with doing all the BRS and Michigan questions the weekend before the exams.

Block 4: This block I want to doodle and write out lists, etc. Not anything fancy to study from, but just to make the process even more active.

Oh I should also say what I love about this method is that there's a defined amount of work to do thus I know exactly how much I'm behind at any give time, or when I'm done the lecture that evening, I don't have to feel bad for taking the rest of the night off. This is important for sanity purposes.

Anyway, hope this helps.

Paradise

Block 3, Semester 1, Year 1

I sat down tonight for supper on the balcony of my residence with the sun setting and the view of two rocky hills divided by the ocean, and I couldn't help feeling how privileged I am to be here. I had to laugh and think, This is ridiculous. Not only am I pursuing my dream, but I’m doing it in paradise. There’s no crime here and the streets are clean. The only thing in the air is clouds and rain and birds I’ve never seen before. Yeah, sometimes the power goes out, but the running water doesn’t give you amebic dysentery. The mosquitoes don’t give you malaria. I come from a country that will gladly foot my tuition costs until I’m finished residency. I’m healthy, I eat well and I exercise. And I’ve intimately experienced enough places and people not only to recognize these qualities as indulgences in my life, but to be able to appreciate them as such. I don’t imagine that I’m any more or less privileged that anyone else on this Island; hopefully my peers are sharing my sense of appreciation tonight as the purple sky gives rise to the sounds of crickets.

Island Woes

So every couple of weeks we have an in-class quiz. If you get 100% on it, you get an extra 5% attached to your block exam mark, which is a pretty sweet deal. They also give incentive for the students to keep up with the material which I think is a great idea. The day before the last quiz I worked my ass off in the library - put in a solid 7 hours. I didn't do so hot on the quiz due to a few really stupid mistakes, but more importantly, I felt caught up with the material. All of these facts that were tumbling around loose in my brain had solidified into something more complete. Even better, that feeling of despair melted away.

Today, I thought I'd hit the library and catch up, maybe read ahead. But that my-ass-is-on-fire just wasn't there because I knew that the next quiz isn't until Friday. I ended up reading over the same slide for 2 hours before I called a spade and spade and went home.

Then I realised it - this place is really very boring. I had no idea! I've been too busy worrying about how I'd break it to my parents when I flunked out. Or too busy calculating if retirement was a viable option to notice this before. Without school filling my every waking moment with anxiety and deadlines, this place is severely limited. My classmates are figuring this out too.

I was going to lay low tonight but a cute girl asked me to go to a party - how could I say no? There, I got to talking to my drunk peers and quite a few of them were having a difficult time with the Island life. Until this afternoon, I really couldn't relate. I'm not saying that I'm having a difficult time living here - On the contrary, often times when I look at the hills surrounding campus, or I walk at night under a bright star-lit sky, I smile knowing what a lucky life I've lived and have been living. I could have certainly done worse, and God knows I've lived with less. To say that I'm comfortable here is an understatement.

With that said, I realize that this place isn't for everyone. I'm coming to understand that people have different levels of what they consider basic necessity... This necessity has probably derived from a number of things like how they've lived their lives before coming to this Island, and their expectations of what going to med school Should Be Like. Socially, this place is more like high school. The same people who were out last night were the same people that were out tonight. And Monday morning, in class, these people will be there again. A few of the guys I was speaking with were talking about wanting to get laid. It's understandable, but basically the gender ratio isn't in these guys' favour and, I could be wrong but it seems as if everyone is too busy and anxious to put out. Heck, I know I am. Well... I could spare a few minutes. But I'm not most people. Most people need to be woo-ed and there's no time for that here - being brought out to dinner, complimented in a variety of ways, you know the deal.

I digress. The moral of my story this evening is that if you're thinking about coming to Saba, there's a great chance this Island isn't for you. But, if your lucky, the class material will intrigue and captivate you in such a way that you won't notice. And in your goal-oriented, time-managed life, you might even take comfort in knowing that there is very little here to distract you. That the Island itself is just as helpful as the profs, peers and upper semesters at seeing that you reach your goal.

Tonight was definitely an eye opener. The 3rd semester class held a fundraiser for their Mid-Way party, which is held every semester to celebrate the half-way point of our time on the Island. Tonight's fundraiser was a doctor's auction where students and faculty auctioned off a variety of talents and goods, from cheesecake to tutorial sessions.

But first, I want to say that my professors are among the most talented people I've ever met. They do what they do Very Well. I sit in class most times just wishing that whatever I do in life, I do it with the same accuracy and insight that they use in their jobs.

The fundraiser tonight was held at Lollipop's - a bar in the Bottom. A buddy told me that one of our profs was buying rounds. I really have a lot of respect for this guy, so I thought I'd find him out and buy him a beer. When I found him he immediately grabbed my arm and said "Philips! Philips! I must buy you a drink, Philips!" I couldn't believe he remembered my name - there are 100 of us in our class and he has only taught us for half a block. I couldn't turn down the opportunity to have my prof buy me a drink and it afforded me the chance to chat.

Another professor, for the auction, rapped free-style (all I remember was him singing BOOM-Shacka-Lacka-BOOM a lot) and bid on ridiculous things like manicure/pedicures just for the heck of it. Another, the head of the department, dressed as Bob Marley while he explained what he was auctioning. He commands so much respect and reverence amongst the school that his hat sold for $400 USD! In only a few minutes he raised $1500 for the cause.

The point that I'm trying to make isn't that I witnessed another side of a group of people that I have a lot of respect for, but that they are sincerely interested in seeing the school function as a place conducive to learning. I'm not talking about how they take attendance and turn off the internet for classes, but that they realize to get through this, we all need a release so that we can use the rest of our time efficiently. Tonight was their way of showing us that less sometimes really is more.

Welcome to my Blog!

I'm starting this a bit late. I intended to have it up and running sooner but, to tell you the truth, I wasn't sure how long it would be before the admin here figured out they made a mistake and sent me back to Canada. That and I really haven't had the time.
I've been on Saba for a little over three weeks, yet I feel like it's been at least 3 months. And it's not that time isn't zipping by, because it really is. I guess it's because I've done so much in such a small amount of time. I mean, I've done stuff - like hiking and scuba diving - but every day is crammed with force feeding my brain with more information - 100s of power point slides, how to dissect the palm of a hand, MRI scans of the mediastinum. In the short time that I've been here, I've literally doubled all of the things that I know. My brain is pregnant with facts I didn't know that I didn't know. And the new stuff is kicking out the old. I forget normal words because my life is all about new words. New words are turning my brain into fois gras. I even forgot about the words fois gras so I wikipedia-ed it.

Side note - it is me or are we generally turning more nouns into verbs? The other day a guy that I met here said how he didn't go out the night before because he was too busy "skyping his girlfriend." I thought it sounded funny, so I asked if he skyped her hard. He didn't get it.

I guess my intention with this is threefold. One is to let everyone at home know that I'm still alive and what I'm up to. Two is maybe a bit naive - but I thought a comprehensive blog of my experiences at Saba would be helpful to those interested in coming down. Of course, this would require people actually reading this, which I highly doubt. Third is less altruistic - I can't sleep after studying. My brain feels fried but it's too hyper to let me sleep, so I figure this will provide me with something useful to do while I wait for it to come.