"Pharmacology, so you're studying to be a pharmacist?"

The question in the title is one that I've gotten quite often since I started my master's in pharmacology. I thought it would be productive to explain what pharmacology is. At its core, pharmacology is focused on studying the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs. In simpler terms, what drugs do in the body and what the body does with drugs. Over the past month, we have been studying the pharmacology and physiology of the autonomic nervous system and the cardiovascular system. Covering everything from ion channels and smooth muscle to cardiac arrhythmias and how to read an EKG, these modules have been far more difficult and nuanced than the previous ones. This difficulty certainly presented itself on our last module exam. Afterward, I knew that my current methods of studying for module exams would need some adjustment. In addition to my use of Anki and Yuja, I've started setting review benchmarks and creating more detailed study plans. I believe that these changes will help me perform better on our upcoming cardiovascular module exam. Perhaps my favorite aspect of the program so far has been our classes that haven't been traditional lectures. Just in the past week, we did a case-based learning exercise and patient simulation. These "special classes" made me critically think about the material we have been learning and how to apply it in real-world situations. I also got to live out a life-long dream and shock a "patient" that was in ventricular tachycardia. Don't worry, it wasn't a real person, just an incredibly realistic dummy named Mr. Boudreaux. Overall, I've been loving the program and am excited for the rest of the semester.

In other news, I have begun my community service as a middle school debate coach. It's been exciting working with the students that I coach last year and watching them grow not only as debaters but also as people. I've been working with them and the other coaches to get them prepared for their next debate tournament on November 23rd. In addition to coaching, I had the opportunity to volunteer as a judge at the Crescent City Debate League's last tournament. Having never judge before, it was an experience that was much more difficult than I expected and certainly gave me a new appreciation for debate judges. The hardest part is scoring the debate and giving the debaters feedback afterword. Giving criticism that is both supportive and productive is certainly a skill and one that I need to continue developing.

Until next month,

Your friendly neighborhood pharmacology student

Community Service Hours:
October Hours: 8
Total Hours: 8

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