January!

January volunteer hours: 1.5hrs- letters to prisoners
Cumulative volunteer hours: 1.5hrs

So far school has been going well! My first med pharm test went great and I am hoping to repeat that for this coming test. I have also been spending time studying for the MCAT and in February (only 2  more days??) I will begin reviewing all the meds from the year!
This month I got to go back to writing letters to prisoners. I even came back to a Christmas card from my pen pal! Complete with fun artwork and kind wishes! I also began another pen-pal relationship with a new inmate. He only introduced himself with a couple short sentences, so I am looking forward to learning more about him!

I don't think I've ever shared why this Letters to Prisoners volunteer work is important to me, so here's just a bit about why! Prisons have a long history of prisoner abuse and neglect of human rights, and when we look back at this in history we think surely we've moved forward. However, this is still occurring. I've heard many letters written to others in this group about the inhumane conditions, such as heating/cooling, having books and crayons taken away without reason, working all day on 18,000 acres of crop fields in the hot and humid Louisiana summer and many other instances that make me cringe. Throughout my time with this program, I have undoubtedly heard the worst reports from Angola, officially known as The Louisiana State Penitentiary, that houses a population of 6,000 inmates.
Of course these poor living conditions bring on both physical and mental illnesses (in a population that likely would be of high benefit to have increased mental health resources). Looking further into it, a class action suit that occurred in 2015 looks at theses medical inadequacies. It details 90 pages of unacceptable instances, including denying treatments, unaccountable physicians and "cruel and unusual" punishment. One example of this is a man who had a tumor discovered in his lung. Despite this knowledge, it was not biopsied for 16 months. It was cancer. Many health professionals in the prison believe that the majority of prisoners fake their symptoms, and are allowed to give out punishments if they believe the prisoner to be faking their symptoms.
Mercedes Montagnes says it well: "People are suffering. People are dying."
We have come a long way in making prisons more humane, but we certainly have quite the challenge to overcome regarding unacceptable prison conditions. Prisoners are people too and I enjoy building true pen pal relationships with people that may need more support, everyone needs a friend.
Here is the link to the article if you are interested in hearing more medical situations within the prison.

Finishing Up the First Semester!

Total volunteer hours: 13
Total December volunteer hours: 2

For December I continued to write letters to prisoners with Abolition Apostles! I now have a continuous pen pal that I have been corresponding with! It is nice to both be supporting someone else and hearing that it means something! I did have a conversation with someone recently that didn't support this volunteer work and while this was disappointing, it also made me realize how much I had grown to love it and have a passion for it! I can't wait to write one more letter before heading home for the holidays and then continuing beginning in new semester! Classes are still going well and I'm so happy that I chose this program and continue to learn new and interesting things from professors that truly want to us to learn and succeed!
Happy Holidays!

November can be Cold!

Volunteer hours this month: 8 hours (heart walk 6 hours + 2 hours writing letters to prisoners)
Total volunteer hours: 11 hours

I think in moving here I was thinking that the most I would need is a heavy sweatshirt, especially because I am used to the Colorado snow. I definitely didn't pack sweaters or coats. Clearly, I was mistaken. Luckily it's been warmer the past few days, thank goodness!

Last week, when it was still freezing, I was able to volunteer at the American Heart Association's Heart Walk! Despite the cold I really enjoyed meeting different groups of volunteers as I assisted with getting company photos alongside Sharelle! There were so many amazing stories and such a high morale! It was also so inspiring to hear that they, a relatively small event, were able to raise over 400,000 dollars that day!  It was interesting to also talk with the photographer who made sure to supply ample CV events along with quizzing us on his many medications such as Losartan and Heparin!

I've also written letters to prisoners the past couple week and am enjoying that! I am excited to receive a letter back and begin a more consistent pen pal situation! The man I wrote my first letter to hadn't received a visitor in 30 years, so I'm hoping that my letter was a nice surprise! The other people I've written to requested a pen pal and I'm excited to converse and learn more about them!

My classes are continuing to go well. I am so happy that I decided on this program! I have amazingly supportive professors that want you to succeed, a curriculum I'm very interested in and enjoying learning, as well as great friends!

Talk to you next month!

New Orleans Jazz

    This month, I volunteered at the New Orleans Jazz Market on Friday, October 18th. I thought this would be a neat opportunity to not only volunteer, but also to discover more about this New Orleans' staple. I mean, what would New Orleans be without jazz! I loved learning more about jazz from the other volunteers, many of whom have been in New Orleans for decades. My favorite was the man who took tickets at the door with me, who would point out the different jazz musicians and tell me how impressive they were, including one who he claimed to be the best jazz musician in New Orleans. As I worked the door, the jazz music filled the building and the bustling of people made me feel as if I were at a Great Gatsby-like party. I thoroughly enjoyed my time volunteering in this lovely  location that housed a large library and digital jazz archive. I also enjoyed feeling like I was helping to preserve jazz here in New Orleans by volunteering and allowing funds to be used for preservation and bringing together of this historical, and current, staple.

    My courses have been continuing to go well, however this current module I have been extra motivated and hope that this is reflected in my grade on the upcoming test! One study habit I have developed that I think helps me most is putting all the drugs into a chart with their effects, side effects, mechanisms of action, etc.

Total Community Service Hours: 3 hours

Month 1 is Done!

I have officially completed my first month of my master's program! It's been a big change, and I'm not just talking about the climate change from Colorado to Louisiana. I've been studying more than ever, and enjoying it more than ever as well! 

            What I've enjoyed most about the curriculum is the focus on clinical applications. I enjoy that the lectures, the practice questions and the test questions all focus on these applications. It makes it easier to study and learn, and is also rewarding to know that I am learning about situations and their solutions that I will encounter later in my career. 

            One study technique I would like to employ in future modules, as well as ultimately for the comprehensive exam, is to do more research on practice quiz questions. I think it would be helpful for me to write out why the incorrect answers are incorrect and why the correct as correct. I think that doing this will challenge my brain to look at questions more carefully and to learn more about other options that could be asked about in future questions, as well as to document and review this for repetition in the future. 

            I've been happy with my exam scores so far, but also doing well motivates me to want to do even better! This next module I would like to implement the study idea I mentioned above. Additionally, I would like to make flashcards for not only pharmacologic drugs and tests, but also for processes and other lecture material.

            This coming weekend I am looking forward to volunteering with a group that reads letters from prisoners and writes them back, along with sending them a book that aligns with their interests. I am excited to share the experience with you in my coming posts!