A lot has happened since my last post

Hello all!

Today is the first day of Christmas break for me! I actually made it through the semester… I’ve already received final grades from my University and I’m waiting for grades from my community college. I had my last final yesterday.

I have a lot to catch up on and I will include everything that has happened in the last two months in this posting.

In October, I completed a legislative brief on SCR30 – Requesting that the Department of Health and Department of Education collaborate on educational materials about the Human Papilloma Virus that can be provided to parents of middle school children.

I did a lot of research and I became passionate about this bill. When I shadowed a Nurse Practitioner, we spoke about HPV and she helped me get a lot of information about the virus from credited medical databases that I hadn’t heard of.

The photo above was taken right before I left my house, on the way to school to present in front of my class and a real legislator. I was really nervous but I was prepared to answer any questions the legislator had. By the way, the presentation was on Halloween so our professor said that if we dress up as your speaker you will get 5 points extra credit! I was an Infectious Disease Expert, so I immediately thought of a white coat and a CDC badge. I loved wearing it so I wore this outfit to my next class and on the ride home. I figured, I might as well, its Halloween.

In November, the last NHSPM workshop was held. We did mock interviews which was extremely nerve-racking. I was interviewed my Dr. Carpenter who was really nice. She helped me out a lot by giving me advice about interviews and we went over how I did afterwards. On the last workshop, everyone in my group received certificates of completion. A few of my group members took the MCAT and were waiting for their results.

I learned a lot from this experience. It was 32 hours of valuable learning. Almost all of the medical students who came to speak with us were actually in the NHSPM program and now current JABSOM students which was very interesting.

In December, I went to a suture workshop that was sponsored by MSMP. I had a lot of fun and I got to meet my MSMP mentor! Here are some photos of the event:

I had so much fun, the time flew by! I would’ve stayed longer if I could. I can’t wait until the next workshop.

Also in December, the University of Hawaii West Oahu had a groundbreaking for their new Allied Health building. The doctor I shadowed, who was my professor, will be the head of the department. I was there for the groundbreaking and gave him a lei. The governor and legislators were also in attendance.

The last week of classes was the week of the groundbreaking. For my health policy and politics class, we had an assignment to advocate for the Department of Health Strategic Plan. The scenario was that Donald Trump became president (this is before he actually won) and he was thinking about adopting the DOH strategic plan to make America great again. It was a fun assignment! The people who created the DOH Strategic plan were supposed to be at our presentation but they couldn’t make it so they gave all of us a health pin and a DOH paper weight. Here’s a photo of some of the class on our last day:

That’s the last two months in a nutshell. Talk to you on the next post!

When I was beginning to feel overwhelmed, I received this!

On a day when I was feeling down, I received this email:

I was so shocked that I received this invitation because it’s almost the end of the year but it really cheered me up! All the hard work I put in, paid off. I’m happy to say that I am now a part of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society!!!

My Very First Shadowing Experience!!

Today I had an awesome experience! I was given the opportunity to shadow a doctor AND a nurse practitioner. It was sooo great to be shadowing health professionals at a health center that is located in the neighborhood that I grew up in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After this experience, I know that this is what I want to do. I want to be a doctor, possibly a pediatrician, and serve the people of my community because I was once a patient from the same community that received services from the same health center! It is so rewarding to give back. The doctor I was shadowing was actually my pediatrician when I was 2-4 years old and he just so happens to be my professor at UHWO. It’s weird but really cool, its like it was all meant to be.

I have also signed up for the UH Manoa Medical Student Mentorship Program and the first workshop is on November 4th. The JABSOM NHSMP ends in November so I will be going straight into tthe UH Manoa mentorship program. In this program, you are paired with a medical student who is currently attending JABSOM. I’m excited!

I will keep you all updated! School is really busy and exams are coming up soon so I will be blogging as much as I can throughout the rest of the month. Talk to you all on the next post!

Hello October!

Its been a while since my last post. A lot has been going on with school. If you read my last post, you know that I had to do a presentation on a health policy which I did last week. Thankfully I got a 90%. The next assignment is to create a legislative brief for bills that relate to health policy and legislators will actually be present during our presentation… I need to practice speaking in front of a lot of people, I get really nervous and you can hear it in my voice. This presentation will be some time during the last week of October. Wish me luck!

So far, everything is going well with school except for Math. Math is killing me. I’m trying to add math to my schedule on a daily basis so that I’ll be prepared for the next exam.

On a happy note, I made the dean’s list for 2015-2016 academic year at Kapiolani Community College. I took 5 classes in the Fall of 2015 and 5 classes in the Spring of 2015 and got 9 A’s and 1 B. This semester I’m taking 6 classes (4 at UHWO and 2 at KCC) and next semester I will be taking 6 classes also (5 at UHWO and 1 at KCC). I’M ALMOST THERE. I just have to keep that in mind.

If you’re wondering, the NHSPM (Native Hawaiian Student Pathway to Medicine) program is great. We met last month for the 2nd workshop and it was a lot of fun. We got our results for the LASSI and Myer Briggs tests which was interesting. We also practiced some interview questions to prepare us for the next workshop this month. I will let you all know how that goes.

As we speak, I’m 5 problems away from finishing my math homework. I still have to take a social science quiz and I also have to begin my programming assignment. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Public Admin Class UHWO – Health Policy Issues

Remember my post a few weeks ago about Micronesia, bikini atoll, and the health issues that arose from it? Well, I now get a chance to do a 5-minute presentation relating to it!

In my health policy class we were given a list of issues to choose from and at the very top of that list was “Increasing funding to expand health care access for the Micronesian population”… As soon as I read it, I knew it was the issue for me. It will be a 5-minute presentation in front of the class. I’m a little nervous but because I’m passionate about the Micronesian culture and health care, I should be fine. There is also a 5-page paper to go along with the presentation. I will post the PowerPoint on here if WordPress allows it. My presentation is on September 19th. Wish me luck!

Honolulu Top Doctors Magazine

Went to Longs to accompany my other half who was getting a Hep A shot. While we were waiting for his name to be called, I spotted this magazine under the counter. I didn’t get a chance to read it in the store so I decided to purchase it. I’m glad I did. It’s interesting to read about a doctors background and where they are currently. I would recommend picking up this magazine in-store to check out the top doctors in Honolulu. (And inside the magazine it says “JABSOM is the leading producer of Hawaii’s top doctors”)

Football Season and Concussions

It’s about 4 days into the Fall semester and I’ve made a schedule for the next few months based on assignments, exams, presentations, etc. Taking 6 classes is not easy but it can be done. During the pathway medicine program, we were told to have 2 goals, one academic and the other staying healthy physically, mentally, and emotionally. My goal was to take a walk around the neighborhood for an hour but the week was so hectic that I didn’t get a chance to do that but before the fall semester began, I was able to watch a movie (selected by my boyfriend) called Concussion.

It was about football and the extreme blows that players take while in the game. As the movie went on, you realize that the hits don’t end in the game, it becomes a lifelong illness.

I wanted to talk about this because it fascinated me and it got me thinking about the world we live in today and how football is so popular. It reminds me of the colosseum in Rome and the battles that used to take place in the arena. We may not realize it but football players are risking the future of their health while playing the game.

Dr. Bennet Omalu is a brilliant man. He is a doctor from Nigeria that noticed strange characteristics of football players that we’re coming in dead and autopsies needed. I admire Dr. Omalu because he did not brush off his curiosity and he was persistent with his research and theory. He did not give up even when it meant going against the big dogs, the National Football League. Dr. Omalu brought a devastating problem to light and because of that he is and has probably saved many lives. He was the first to discover CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and publish his findings about it. Dr.Omalu is actually a pathology professor at UC Davis and a medical examiner in a well known county in California. I would feel honored if I had the chance to listen and learn from him, it must be amazing.

Just today, I watched a preseason football game on tv. Before seeing this movie, I was a fan of the game but now I’m not really sure. I don’t cheer as much.. When I look at the players, I think.. Do they know how this may affect their lives in the future? And I feel sad for their families to have to go through something that could have been prevented. This triggers a visualization of the colosseum and the gladiators fighting for their lives while the crowd cheers them on.

I’m not sure what, if any, changes will be done in the NFL but I hope something is done soon. A Helmet does not absorb a tackle. Picture the brain in a jar, when the jar is shook, the brain moves side to side. That is exactly what happens in a human skull. Although there has been over a thousand lawsuits, we need to somehow make this game safe to play and stop thinking about compensation.

Summer has come to an end… Hello Fall!

Summer session went by so quickly! 2 classes down and just 12 more to go before graduation… almost there! Grades for summer will be posted this Wednesday at 12pm (waiting patiently). Today, I bought my books for Fall from both UHWO and KCC. This is the most books I have ever bought for one semester. I will be taking 6 classes because it is the quickest way to grad with my Bachelors degree so that I can start my Post-Bacc journey towards the MD program at JABSOM.

Above is a photo of my books……. They’re all pretty interesting, well except for the math book haha. Fall semester begins this Monday and I’m happy to say that I won’t be attending classes alone, my husband has enrolled as well! We will be taking different classes at different times on different campuses but its okay! Both of us will be bookworms, not just me for once! A lot of exciting things are coming up starting this weekend so I hope to blog a bit more often. Till the next post 😀

NHSPM Program Acceptance!!!

Yes!! The morning of the JASBOM PBL demonstration I found out I was accepted into the Fall 2016 Native Hawaiian Student Pathway to Medicine program at the John A. Burns School of Medicine! The program is a part of the Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence at JABSOM.

How I found out about this program was on the Medical Student Mentorship Program page on Facebook. This page is run by UH Manoa and it is a part of the Mentopship program for students interested in Medicine. You are paired with a student from JABSOM who will mentor you for a semester or a school year, can’t remember..

Well I saw someone post the opportunity on that Facebook page and I went to the NHCOE website and read all of the requirements and thankfully the deadline was extended so that I could apply for it! I had about 3-4 days to write an essay and send in all of the necessary documents. On the website it says they only accept up to 20 students and the deadline was August 8th. Everyday after the 8th, I would check my email constantly throughout the day to see if I received a response. Tuesday, no response. Wednesday, no response. Thursday, no response. So I began to think.. I didn’t get in, its okay I’ll try again next year… And Friday morning, I woke up, not thinking about receiving a response and there it was!! I was so nervous to open the email. I opened it and it said “Congratulations!”… I was so happy to read that opening line and I was also so thankful/relieved!

The first workshop is this Saturday from 9am-4pm at JABSOM and I cannot wait. I will post more about the program as time goes on! Here is the link for future reference: http://www.hawaii.edu/nhcoe/students/native-hawaiian-student-pathway-to-medicine/