Melissa's Bio

Melissa's Diary

It's impressive how much information can be covered in one week! Here's the rundown:

Monday: The only thing scheduled for today was for us to spend some time in the anatomy lab during the afternoon. My lab group isn't dissecting yet so we had to wait for the other group to get something done for us to look at. We started on the back and there were only a few of the superficial muscles to look at today. Since the lab time started at 3 pm, I spent the morning reading for Tuesday's lectures and studying the histology and anatomy images online (the school has developed great resources for us!).

Tuesday: The day started out with an anatomy lecture (back muscles), then biochemistry (starting slowly with metabolic fuels, but I'm sure it will pick up!), followed by histology (a lecture on the cell). In the afternoon we had our first histology lab in which we had 29 micrographs along with a number of slides to look at. I only managed to get about 1/3 of the way through the assigned materials (I don't think anyone got completely done, but I was taking time to draw what I was seeing so that I can review it later). After histo lab, we again went down to the anatomy lab to look at what had been dissected. They had gotten farther and we were able to study more of the muscles, along with some of the nerves.

Wednesday: Anatomy (vertebral column) and biochemistry (fed state/absorption of nutrients) lectures again this morning, but the histology slot was replaced with our first Osteopathic clinical skills (OCS) class. We had a general lecture on the Osteopathic philosophy, along with some stress management info. Our lecturer today is an OMM specialist (Osteopathic manipulative medicine), and she'll coordinate our lab time. In the afternoon I had some time between classes that I used to catch up on histo lab (lots of micrographs!). My day finished up with OCS lab: a session on relaxation and stretching. We got to practice techniques and I found them to be useful (and I wasn't the only one, as a classmate relaxed enough to fall asleep!).

Thursday: Back to the schedule from Tuesday with anatomy covering spinal nerves, biochemistry covering fasting, and histology covering epithelium. I've been recording the lectures each day and listening to them in the evening so that I can fill in my notes. A few of the lecturers go quite quickly, and I'm afraid that I'm going to miss something important (aka: on the test). So far I've been having enough time to listen to them…hopefully that will continue. In the afternoon, histology lab consisted of many epithelial slides (I'm still trying to draw them all) and then we studied the back more in anatomy lab (down to deep back muscles now).

Friday: Today we only have lectures in the morning: anatomy (some embryology: germ disc) and biochemistry (acids/bases/buffers and some basic organic). I stayed at school studying (and talking to classmates) until it was time to pick my daughter up from her school.

I know that was pretty dry, but it gives you a decent idea of my school days. I'm impressed with the amount of information that we're being given. Most of it isn't particularly difficult, but the volume makes learning it all tough! I've been studying from about 8pm (when the kiddo goes to bed) until 1-2 am. I do take a few short breaks in there, but I try to use my time well. So far I'm keeping up decently, but I don't feel like I've had enough time to really learn the info (especially anatomy). I spent part of this weekend trying to put together some study sheets for anatomy and histo (I like to have everything together in one place). My first anatomy exams (lecture & lab) are coming up in a couple of weeks so I need to get those muscles, nerves, and blood vessels in my head soon!

Another mass of information to learn is all of my classmates' names. There are 90 of us, which really taxes the name-remembering portion of my brain! So far, fortunately, everyone is quite likeable and we all seem to be getting along well. We have a lounge area where 1st and 2nd year students (along with some PhD students) spend time during lunch and between classes. It's nice to have a bit of time to relax (briefly) and to try to get to know my classmates.

My family managed to survive my first week intact. I was able to take my daughter to school every day, but I've only been able to pick her up on Fridays so far. My mom has been getting her, but my parents are now on a mission trip so I've had to ask for favors from the mom's of a couple of my daughter's friends (she goes to a private school…no buses). I'm assuming that when I get done with school and residency I'll owe so many friends favors that they'll all be asking for free medical care! I finally managed to get my house cleaned (long story, but I'm on my third house cleaner already!), and my husband has been helping a lot with all of the miscellaneous day-to-day things. So far, so good, but another week awaits me … and this time I'll be dissecting!

Melissa's Bio

Melissa's Diary

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