Wow, it's been quite some time since I posted a blog. It's been a crazy month-and-a-half, and not necessarily in a good way. There are probably more things going on than I have time to talk about, and some things I just don't want to talk about. That's not to say I'm down in the dumps right now or anything, but I think there are some points in your life where you look back at the last several days, weeks, months, or years and realize that they probably weren't a high point in your life. This is not going to be a where I sit here and complain or anything, but Alesha said that I had better post to the blog or else...
School has been kicking my butt as of late. I think I just got off on the wrong foot at the beginning of the semester. Hmmm... checking back through the blog, I just realized that I haven't given a description for my classes this semester like I did last semester.
PHAR 5201 - Health Sciences Applied Terminology
This is a medical terminology class, and an elective. So you might be asking, why would I want to take a two-hour elective during a semester when I'm already taking 19 hours of credits already? First of all, I thought it might be good to take a class to learn medical terms. For example, "dia-" means "through" and "-rrhea" means run. If you learn Latin and Greek roots to words, you can figure out a lot of things in the medical profession. Alesha expressed interest in the class, so we agreed to "take the class together". However, it turns out that with our schedules, it is very hard for us to study together. I am learning a lot, but the class is very time-consuming for a two hour credit.
PHAR 6112 - Pharmaceutical Care Practice II
The follow-on to Pharmaceutical Care Practice I from last semester. In this class, we learn about a medical conditions and how to treat them. For example, one week we learned about hypertension. We learned about the condition, why it's bad, and what you can do with and without drugs to treat it. We had a quiz, and then homework about a specific scenario where we decided how what to do with a patient with their circumstances. I really like the class in that it is the first time we are actually learning about drugs and what they do. I am frustrated with the class because the grading seems a bit too arbitrary for my liking.
PHAR 6152 - Biochemistry of Medicinals II
The follow-on to Biochemistry of Medicinals I from last semester. I think I am learning more this semester than I did last semester. The professor is a dry lecturer, but the information is very organized. My problem--again--is that the goal of the class is to memorize the names of a bunch of enzymes and mechanisms (i.e., how the molecules and enzymes physically move around to do their thing). That is honestly not my forté. I did very poorly on the first test of the semester, but we just took the second one and I think I did better.
PHAR 6159 - Pharmaceutical Immunology and Biotechnology
This isn't really one class, it's two classes smooshed together to make a two-credit class. The immunology portion ended this week. We learned all about antibodies and learned more about vaccines. I was frustrated by what I felt was a combination of my poor test-taking and the poor grading on the first test, but we just took the second one and I think I did better.
PHAR 6162 - Drug Delivery II
The follow-on to Drug Delivery I from last semester. (Do you see a pattern developing here?) We learn about chemistry and physics of what happens between the time you swallow a pill, inhale a solution, or inject a liquid, and the time it gets to where it is supposed to and start working. There's a lot of math, so as long as I remember which equation applies where, I'm doing alright. I didn't do well on the first test, but I've got a near-perfect homework average.
PHAR 6165 - Pharmaceutical Calculations
This class is a review of eight-grade math. Seriously, that's how the professor described it. He says we have all learned how to do math, but we've never been taught math in a way that ensures we are 100% accurate 100% of the time. And those statistics are exactly what you want when someone is calculating how much heparin to put into your IV dozens of times a day. I really like the professor; he manages to keep a somewhat boring subject kind of interesting.
PHAR 6172 - Pharmaceutical Care Skills II
The follow-on to Pharmaceutical Care Skills I from last semester. We get to make stuff in this class! Well, not all the time, but that's the fun part. I got to make Vick's Vapor rub one week. We've also made IV bags, learned how to use crutches and canes, got to try different blood glucose monitors to measure our blood sugar, and injected our abdomens with saline.
PHAR 6177 - Patient Assessment
In this class we learn how to take blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer, look into ears using an otoscope, take a pulse, and listen to breathing with a stethoscope. I'm looking forward to be able to fake being a medical doctor.
PHAR 6230 - Ambulatory Pharmaceutical Care Clinic
This is also an elective class. The reason I'm taking this is because we get to actually evaluate real-life patients to figure out what their drug-related needs are. This includes making sure they can get drugs they need, aren't taking drugs they shouldn't be, their dose isn't too high or low, and that they are willing and able to take what they need. People can schedule appointments at the University, just like in the Dental clinics where you have students work on your teeth. This is one of the most rewarding classes I'm taking right now.
PHAR 7002 - Early Pharmacy Practice Experience II
The follow-on to Early Pharmacy Practice Experience I from last semester. We get assigned a pharmacist from the community and spend 10 hours with them. I was assigned to someone who works at CVS. I've been disappointed with the whole experience, but none of it really has to do with my mentor. First of all, I've worked at Walgreen's for a year-and-a-half now; what am I going to learn from someone working at CVS? Second, my mentor got an email from the school that they didn't need him this semester, and he only found out I was his mentee when I emailed him. Third, he got transferred from the store he worked at in Woodbury to one in White Bear Lake. This adds a good deal of travel to see him at his store.
Now Alesha probably didn't realize that I was actually going to sit down and blog, and I think we have to get packing. For what? you may ask. We are visiting Texas this week over spring break. It's bound to be a good time. At any rate, I have to make sure our new camera is working.
I can't wait to tell you all about Texas.
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