Some unexpected challenges from the cardio block in medical school

I woke up Tuesday morning to the only news a recent test taker in medical school wants to see – their exam results. I frantically logged in to ExamSoft. Then I automatically refreshed the page because I thought it was a mistake. Or that I was reading it wrong. After all, I was still half asleep. So then I logged into my student portal to check my gradebook. But there it was. 123/126. I really did get 97%.

I’ve actually gone back and checked my grade several times since then because I keep thinking there may have been a mistake and it might get updated to the “real” mark. I really didn’t expect to score more than 90% on this exam. I had a difficult time in this block. This is a continuation from the last post about my first cardio block. Here are some additional reflections from the last few weeks of medical school.

Some challenges from the last few weeks in medical school

A lot of content in the cardio block

There was a lot of content during this first part of the cardiovascular, pulmonary & renal block. I know I said that about the MSK module as well, but the cardio block felt different.

During MSK, when we first started with the abdomen and upper limb, it was very overwhelming. But by the time we made it to the lower limb, we got comfortable with the pattern. Learn the muscles, the innervations, blood supply and drainage. And it was the same for all the regions of the body. So in a way, we had to train ourselves to think in one way for those 4 weeks. Also, there were some parallels between the upper and lower limbs. So once we knew the upper limb, it made the lower limb a little easier to learn. We also had a lot of assigned questions. That practice and repetition made all the difference.

With the cardio block, there were a lot of different topics to cover. While the MSK lectures were a systematic flow through the body’s regions, the cardio lectures felt disjointed. We covered all aspects of the cardiovascular system. From histology of the heart and blood vessels, to the embryological development of the heart, to heart contractility and physiology, to blood coagulation. All very important but different so most lectures had to be learned independently. There wasn’t information to carry over that would make other lectures easier to learn. So it was a lot of content to process, understand and apply.

Too much group study

As I mentioned in the last post, my group spent a lot of time studying together. Which was definitely helpful in some ways. One big way that it helped was that it forced me to focus and study during those times. Whereas, on my own I may have slacked off. I know my friends were struggling to focus too during this block. We’ve been studying long hours for weeks on end now (since January) so it’s wearing on us.

However, it came at the expense of individual study time. Working through the material on our own and truly understanding the concepts. Our goal had been to learn all the material by our last lecture day so we could spend the long weekend on practice problems and fine tuning any weak areas. However, each of us still had several weak areas and topics to cover.

The exam was on a Wednesday and I was still consolidating concepts until Monday evening. Luckily, practice questions helped me narrow down which topics to focus on. I made a list and systemically worked through them. By Tuesday afternoon, I finally felt more comfortable. It worked out in the end, but that was cutting it close.

Life

And of course, there were challenges outside of classes. I realized during this block that there will probably never be a “smooth” or interruption free block. This video sums things up pretty well lol. Before my 2nd exam, I had to deal with meetings and apartment hunting. Before my 3rd exam, I got COVID (just sitting at home). And during the cardio block, we had an unexpected relative stay with us for almost a week. So I’ve realized that I just need to be able to roll with it. Life won’t stop just because I’m in medical school.

I also switched over to a new laptop at the start of this block. Although I loved it, my Microsoft Surface Pro 8 kept crashing. It would heat up during extended Zoom calls, especially when I had the camera on. If I had to share my screen, just forget about it. It was probably just a defective device but I didn’t want to risk getting a replacement only to face the same problem. The return policy was 90 days from purchase so I had to deal with this asap rather than wait for the term to end. So I decided to completely switch devices.

Much to my chagrin, I got the MacBook Air. I don’t want to say I hate it. Although, I strongly dislike a lot of things about it. Getting used to this operating system is a pain. I mean, how can you make a laptop with no right click feature?? I want to switch back to Windows immediately. But as a broke student, I am stuck with this device for the foreseeable future.

Some good things from the last few weeks in medical school

All was not lost. There were some upsides during the last few weeks of medical school.

Long weekend

The great thing about this block was that our lectures ended right before the Easter long weekend. So we had 5 days off before the exam. I was finally able to visit my parents after more than 2 months. I had thought I would have a pretty relaxed weekend with some light studying and review. However, it didn’t quite work out that way. I had long study days with my group, and still more studying on my own. But it wasn’t so bad because I was with my family. It also really helped that I didn’t have to do anything. My mom had delicious food ready for me at all times. All I did was sleep, eat and study those 3 days lol. And watch the NBA Playoffs of course.

NBA Playoffs

Aside from the long weekend, the highlight of this block was the start of the NBA Playoffs. Yes, the Raptors were just eliminated. It was a tough match to watch. Especially to lose like that at home. It was a depressing evening. But I’m still excited for the rest of the playoffs because I love the energy and intensity in the games at this time of year. The Nets vs. Celtics series was incredible. Now, I’m waiting for the Celtics vs. Bucks series to start this weekend. Jason Tatum has been playing incredible. To see him take on Giannis and the reigning champions is going to be amazing. Can you tell I’m excited?!

These games give me something to look forward to every night these days (since we’re still finishing up some round 1 matches). I’m able to push myself to focus more during the day so I can enjoy the games in the evening. Ideally, without my ever present laptop with Anki cards or lecture slides. I can’t wait for the term to end so I can watch the games burden free.

So that’s how medical school has been these last few weeks.

Are you watching the NBA playoffs? Who do you think will win?

-M

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