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HAPPY 2003 EVERYONE!

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DATE: Sunday, January 5, 2003
Subject: On my way to Miami...


A lot has happened since the last time I updated this page! I can't believe it's taken me six months to do so. Man, how time flies!

I'm now officially off of Dominica... for good. WOO-HOO! I enjoyed the time I spent there, and I believe that I have grown through that experience more than I ever could've possibly imagined when I started. It was tough, but worth it. Now, I'm moving on to the clinical portion of my education.

The past two semesters were really challenging, but very rewarding as well. The second year of my medical education has, so far, gone much better than my first. I sincerely feel that Ross has done an outstanding job of preparing me by providing a basic sciences education on par with any that I could've gotten in the U.S. I honestly and truly believe that, and I base that on how well I've done on my "Shelf" exams (a.k.a., mini-boards) which are the exact same ones that are given to U.S. medical students. Now, I'm looking forward to sitting for the first real test - the USMLE Step I - in May.

Miami, however, is the first stop. During the nine-week "fifth semester", there is essentially one course. It is a 12-credit-hour course called Advanced Introduction to Clinical Medicine. During this course, I anticipate that we will be given a more in depth review of the significance of clinical findings during physical exams as well as begin to interpret and utilize laboratory and other supplemental investigations in making diagnoses. During third and fourth semester, we learned how to take a full history and review of systems as well as conduct a complete physical exam. It will be interesting to see how this is integrated in the clinic during our supervised training on "real" patients.

After completing Miami, I will be going into full seclusion to finalize my prepartion for USMLE Step I. This will be, without question, the most important test I will ever take in my life. So much is riding on this sucker, it scares me a little bit to even begin to think about it now... but, that's healthy. Fear is a strong motivator! (haha)

For those of you who may be wondering what I'm thinking about doing with my life after medical school, here's a short answer for you: I have no clue! Honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed my Behavioral Sciences course (much more than I thought I would) and I really have loved medicine so far. On my short list right now is, perhaps, a combined residency in Internal Medicine or Family Practice and Psychiatry. Of course, I really have to get into the clinic before I find out what I'm good at and know what I want to do for sure. It'll be interesting to see how that changes over the next year or so. As well, I loved working in the pharma industry and, after getting my full medical license, returning to pursue my career in corporate-based clinical research is still a strong option.

Once again, I'd love to hear from you guys. Please let me know how things are going. And, now that I'm back in the U.S., you can also call me very easily (hint, hint). Just email me and I'll send you my new number: greg_k31@hotmail.com.

Hope to hear from you in some way, shape, or form!