July 11, 2008
I can finally take a sigh of relief! Exams are over, and today, I graduated from SEP.
This week has possibly been the most stressful, but rewarding week of the program. I feel like I performed to the best of my ability on my exams, but I feel like I did exceptionally well on my Quantitative Skills final! The past couple days have been spent doing some last minute packing and spending time with my friends before we go our separate ways. Yesterday, we had lunch with Ms. Benton and Ms. Borden, and reflected on the past eight weeks here at UNC. I am excited for the future because I can’t wait to work with my current classmates in the healthcare field.
The graduation ceremony was sentimental, although I couldn’t help but laugh as I, along with my classmates, almost slipped and fell on the stage! I rooted for my peers that were presented with classroom awards and the top three rankings, as they were well deserved. I can look back on the program and know that I have improved academically, and will definitely use this experience in the near future at my home institution. I hope to remain in contact with all my classmates, as well as the teachers and contacts that I have made in the pharmacy field as I continue on my journey through undergrad and proceed to apply to pharmacy school.
I am grateful for this opportunity, and thank Ms. Borden, Ms. Benton, Ms. Hardy, and Ms. Harris for giving me the chance to blog my experiences at SEP and share them with others. If you are a prospective student, apply to SEP early! Don’t be discouraged by the course descriptions or the length of the program. If you are serious about your future, then a difficult class or a lengthy stay at a great university should not sway your opinion.
The staff at SEP is so welcoming and helpful, as they truly want you to succeed. So once you apply, get accepted, and attend your first orientation at the program, listen carefully to Ms. Benton’s words. She’ll tell you that we’re a family, and you may be a little apprehensive. But after enduring eight weeks of late-night studying, running after Chapel Hill transit buses, helping each other stay awake after an exhausting night, getting lost around campus during the first few days, sharing groceries because everybody is stingy over their stipend, and the crazy van rides to off-campus tours, you truly will be a family.
Continue to reach for your dreams and I wish everyone the best of luck for the future.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
The Not-So-Gross Anatomy Tour!
On Wednesday morning, two teacher assistants from the MED Program came over to give us a Gross Anatomy tour, which is a class most students must take during medical school. We couldn’t actually visit the lab because a class was using it, so they brought freeze-dried slides to our classroom. The slides actually resembled the BODIES Exhibition that came to Southpoint Mall last year, where real cadavers are preserved for further research or exhibitions.
My group received a large slide of an elderly man’s head where we could see parts of his cerebellum, the remnants of arteries that flow to the brain, his nasal cavities, and even a part of his ear! Next, we saw a slide of the thorax which included the lungs, a small part of the heart, ribs, and the spinal cord. The teacher assistant’s told us that the MED students have to dissect a cadaver’s torso, but in medical school, you actually have to dissect from head to toe!
Although that might seem gross to some, I’d actually LOVE to dissect a cadaver and hold a real brain or heart in my very own hands! After analyzing the rest of the slides, we could ask the TA’s questions about the MED program, their undergraduate experience, and the ins and outs of their first year of medical school. I really enjoyed getting an African American female’s perspective on science and the medical field, and I received some great advice. The TA’s, Cintasha and Kira, were very inspiring and were living proof that African American females CAN be intelligent and successful (as if I didn’t know that before! ) Because of them, I am considering medicine as a second career choice after pharmacy.
It’s now crunch time as our final exams begin next week. Wish me luck!
My group received a large slide of an elderly man’s head where we could see parts of his cerebellum, the remnants of arteries that flow to the brain, his nasal cavities, and even a part of his ear! Next, we saw a slide of the thorax which included the lungs, a small part of the heart, ribs, and the spinal cord. The teacher assistant’s told us that the MED students have to dissect a cadaver’s torso, but in medical school, you actually have to dissect from head to toe!
Although that might seem gross to some, I’d actually LOVE to dissect a cadaver and hold a real brain or heart in my very own hands! After analyzing the rest of the slides, we could ask the TA’s questions about the MED program, their undergraduate experience, and the ins and outs of their first year of medical school. I really enjoyed getting an African American female’s perspective on science and the medical field, and I received some great advice. The TA’s, Cintasha and Kira, were very inspiring and were living proof that African American females CAN be intelligent and successful (as if I didn’t know that before! ) Because of them, I am considering medicine as a second career choice after pharmacy.
It’s now crunch time as our final exams begin next week. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
NC Health Professions Recruitment Fair
This past weekend, the SEP Program was invited to attend the NC Health Profession Recruitment Fair alongside other enrichment programs, such as the Medical Education Development (MED) Program based at UNC, and the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP) based at Duke University.
Friday consisted of various workshops that tackled subjects such as “How to Be a Competitive Applicant,” and there was even a talent show! On Saturday morning, we were treated to a delicious breakfast and a mock interview session prior to the start of the actual fair. Coming to the fair, I already expected few pharmacy programs to be in attendance because my program, along with the two programs I’ve already mentioned, basically consist of students interested in medicine and dentistry.
Campbell University was the only pharmacy school present, but they’re located in Buies Creek, NC, which is entirely too close to my hometown! So, as I walked around and met different recruiters, I asked if their university had pharmacy schools, or an MPH (Masters in Public Health) program. Some responded politely, while some recruiters looked at me as if they didn’t know why I’d ask such a question at a predominately medicine-based recruitment fair.
Nevertheless, I picked up some great information. I really liked the organization of the fair, and the variety of graduate and professional schools that were represented. In addition, the information at the workshops was helpful in preparing for the application process, regardless if your interests were in pharmacy or medicine. Hopefully, I’ll be able to attend in years to come and there will be more pharmacy schools in attendance!
Friday consisted of various workshops that tackled subjects such as “How to Be a Competitive Applicant,” and there was even a talent show! On Saturday morning, we were treated to a delicious breakfast and a mock interview session prior to the start of the actual fair. Coming to the fair, I already expected few pharmacy programs to be in attendance because my program, along with the two programs I’ve already mentioned, basically consist of students interested in medicine and dentistry.
Campbell University was the only pharmacy school present, but they’re located in Buies Creek, NC, which is entirely too close to my hometown! So, as I walked around and met different recruiters, I asked if their university had pharmacy schools, or an MPH (Masters in Public Health) program. Some responded politely, while some recruiters looked at me as if they didn’t know why I’d ask such a question at a predominately medicine-based recruitment fair.
Nevertheless, I picked up some great information. I really liked the organization of the fair, and the variety of graduate and professional schools that were represented. In addition, the information at the workshops was helpful in preparing for the application process, regardless if your interests were in pharmacy or medicine. Hopefully, I’ll be able to attend in years to come and there will be more pharmacy schools in attendance!
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