From D1 to DR: May 2016

Yes, you read that right people, today marked my last first day that I will be sitting in a classroom. So surreal, yet terrifying at the same time. The next step after this is the USMLE Step 1 in October, and the preparation starts now.

Fourth semester is a grind. Classes are MWF and thankfully Tues/Thurs are "off", but still may be filled with hospital visits, AIST prep, and simulation sessions. I feel as though this semester for a lot of students is the "easiest" and they can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I also feel that it is the most daunting, as our time on the island comes to a close, the "real world" sets in.

Entering my last semester on the island is one that I am still trying to find the word to describe. I am shocked at how fast the time has gone, and I am overwhelmed at the material that we have learned so far. I feel proud, but I still feel like there is so much to learn. Thankfully, Ross has a program called IMF (Internal Medical Foundations) after the island and before clinicals to get students up to speed on entering the next step in our studies: clinical core rotations and elective rotations, essentially our third and fouth years.

I am happy to say that I made Dean's List for the third consecutive semester, and I am going to try for 4/4 on the island. I study just a bit harder to make the grade, and with this semester starting off with a sprint, I am going to try and keep that motivation. We also have a cumulative final at Ross (mine is on August 19th) where we get two weeks to study sixteen months of material. I shutter just thinking about it. Two weeks for some students is plenty, but for most, two weeks is definitely not enough to review all of the material that we have learned thus far. That is why my preparation is starting right now, every week I will pick a day to review all of the material from way back in first semester, one year ago exactly! I will try and make notes and highlight my trusty first aid book, along with Uworld and Rx questions. If your an incoming Ross student reading this, do not worry, you will find what works best for you and if you do not recognize any of the resource names, you will have plenty of time to research them. Get through Ross first, then the USMLE exam later (I am still working on that thought myself).

On another note, I got the best email today. One of my favourite MERP professors, or I should just say favourite professor, emailed me today to see if I would like to be interviewed to talk about the MERP program for prospective and current MERP students. I have to send in a headshot and another picture of myself studying and my profile write-up will be on the news section of both the MERP and RUSM websites, pretty cool! With Ross sharing my blog a couple times (thank you to whoever in is Admin reading my blog posts!), it has really created an avenue for me to reach a lot of people, which is amazing. I absolutely love answering your questions, and sorry if I say "refer to my blog", as a lot of students tend to ask my experience with Ross thus far, and instead of typing all my thoughts out again, I just thought it would be easier for people to read what I have to say on here!

I usually do posts in the morning, but I know that I would never have a last first day of classes EVER again, so I made sure to do a post tonight, even though it is 9:30pm. With Domi falling asleep on my legs as I type this in bed, I think it is time to say goodnight. One more semester guys! Thank you for being on this journey with me!

Bye for now,

-E xo

Pics!