Fall! and catch up

As I sit at my study desk this afternoon getting ready to douse myself into some rigorous studying, I am quickly reminded that I must make time for the things that are important to me. I like to think of Dental School, or any professional school for that matter, as a virus, one that once you're exposed to it quickly invades, gorges through your system  making it's way to every crevice of your being and takes over your life to the point that all you can think, breathe, eat or sleep is Dental School. That's about to change starting...now.

Today marks the first day of Fall. That totally caught me off guard since in my opinion I haven't even had a summer yet. Where did the time go? I don't usually get excited at this time of the year because it means that it will soon be winter, which means I'll have to deal with temperatures below 50 degrees (F), which probably means I hate fall too since I'm grumpy at any temperature below 70 degrees (F) - but that may just be the Caribbean girl in me talking. One thing I do like about Fall though is all the cute sweaters, coats and boots! So in celebration of the season and in my effort to add a little diversity to my life, I think I'm going shopping this weekend, fall shopping! Who wants to come with? Hopefully that will steer me in a different direction albeit for a few hours and perhaps ease some tension as well. Tension? yeah tension from an Anatomy exam/grade that almost gave me an aneurysm yesterday. There I go again....

Anyway, that's as far off course my Dental School entrenched mind will take me for now. I gotta go study some head and neck anatomy, some Biochem, prepare for a test tomorrow and read 3 chapters of a novel called "The Pact." 

PS Remember how I said I'd have less time to blog because I'd be so busy with school? Well, I figured I'd MAKE time for my little corner on the www. My blog gives me such joy, and I spent a lot of time putting it together. So as I reflect on where I am thus far, I had to remind myself that my journey is not a Sprint but a marathon and hence the race is not for the swift but for those who can endure to the end. You are welcome to take that advice as well.

** Enter the digital camera giveaway here**

Does the word FREE mean anything to you?

FYI and just in case you were wondering,  my Biochemistry exam went well for the most part yesterday -good riddance! Preparing for that exam required harnessing a few extra brain cells which were quickly filled to maximum capacity and to the point where by Monday morning at around 2:32am I caved and just simply could.not.go.on.any.more (a little exaggeration never hurts). I intentionally took a few hours off from studying last night to recoup and revamp for my next major exam coming up soon, Anatomy. Even though that's a couple days away, I also have a few small tests and quizzes for other classes to get through before then.

Anycrazyexams, I jump at the word FREE! Don't you? yes? no? YES? good! because the deadline for the digital camera giveaway is today and so far I have only 12 applicants. But, because I care for my fellow bloggers and readers so much and because I'm choosing to give you the benefit of the doubt - just in case you missed the offer announcement, and partly because I've been slacking on my blogging duties, I've decided to extend my offer.
You have between now and the end of the month (09/30/10) to enter the sweepstakes to win a red digital camera - donated to me but specially for YOU by The Sharper Image.

 <3.0MP, 4x digital zoom, 16MB memory expandable to 4GB or 10,000 photos>

All you have to do is:
1. Send an email to patrice@stu-dentdiaries.com with the word: CAM (1 entry)
2. Follow this blog through google friend connect (1 entry)
3. Invite a friend to follow this blog ( 1 entry)
4. Follow Stu-DENT Diaries on facebook (1 entry)
5. Tweet this giveaway on twitter (1 entry). You will need to follow me so I can keep track @MzPTrice
**BONUS: Mention me and/or this offer in a blog post with a link to my site. Send that link/post to me so I can see the wonderful things you wrote :)

See here for additional eligibility rules and guidelines. 

The Journey Has Begun: Tip To Pre-Dents

My first major exam is today, Biochemistry, and it marks the official start to my journey through Dental School. Now that I've begun dental school  you may have noticed that the frequency of my blog posts waned a bit. However, in the essence of continuity, I do want to share a few tips to potential dental students. Dental School is not a cake walk. It requires discipline, tenacity and tremendous amounts of stamina to get through it. Since day 1 it has been non-stop studying and my days have extended to 20 awake hours and just about 3-4 sleep hours. This may sound tough but one of the beautiful things about the human body is it's ability to adapt and I have quickly adapted to this schedule (albeit how grueling and boot-camp like the first week was).

Curriculum vary from school to school but in most cases two of the first courses you encounter in Dental School are Anatomy and Biochemistry. I would highly recommend that all potential dental students take a course in biochemistry at the end of their  undergraduate careers.  Furthermore, I strongly recommend that you pay strict attention in your undergraduate anatomy classes. While the intensity and volume of work in your undergraduate anatomy class pales in comparison to what you will encounter in dental school, it is worth a million coming into dental school with some general knowledge of  both biochemistry and anatomy.  Moreover, as potential dental students, be prepared to spend the vast majority of your awaken time immersed in your studies. Dental school is not for the faint hearted. If you are not prepared to work hard and spend long hours studying, my best advise to you is to seek another career.

With that said, I'm off to sit this exam. Wish me luck!

Must have books in Dental School, Part 1

As if the 65 digital books I already have aren't enough for me to read, there had to be additional books that supposedly does a very good/better job at explaining the key things needed to know for some of the courses that I'm taking this semester. Hey, I'm not complaining, anything that makes it a little more clear/easier and can help me to understand the subject matter better, I'm pretty much game, which is why I'm investing in the following books:

So far Biochemistry has been pretty straight forward. However, looking further ahead I already see that I will run into difficulty. It was suggested by several upperclassmen that I get either Lippincott's Biochemistry or BRS Biochemistry as they both do a good job at breaking down the subject matter.











 Anatomy has been a whirlwind! The books I currently have, one of which is Netter's Anatomy, have been doing a really good job. Couple that with my professor's ppt slides, Lab AND the Netter's Anatomy Flash cards and everything is pretty peachy. However, I was told that the BRS Anatomy (board review series) book make things a whole lot clearer than any of the material I currently have. I'm definitely getting that!








 Occlusion so far has been simple, but that's because we haven't actually gone to the lab yet! Wheeler's Dental Anatomy, Physiology and Occlusion I hear is pretty good for this course. It's also good for Anatomy and Physiology.











And of course, last but not least, our first two years (one at some schools) is preparation for our Board exams Part 1. A good strategy would be to purchase the NBDE Part 1 book from now and as you go along through your semester(s) keep referring to the book to see what is required for the board exam on a particular subject area. It would serve as a little study guide for the future (wink wink).

**You can also get these books at The Book Depository (follow the link below). I love them! They have FREE shipping worldwide on ALL books. You can save some money here. I'm also able to get you a 10% discount so contact me if interested.

 D1s out there, I would cop some of these if I were you. Good luck in your studies!

How bad do you want it?

Success that is. I happened upon a video that is quite timely.

I have been in transition to Dental School from a one year hiatus after undergrad. Getting the momentum and rhythm going for my hectic schedule has been one of my challenges so far. Last week I was overjoyed when the weekend came along because that meant that I didn't have to get up at 6am the next morning and follow a strict routine into the next day. It meant that I could rest. However, when I ask myself how badly I want to succeed, my actions thus far have not been parallel to my answer.

See video to find out why:

When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful - Sean Walker

Also find inspiration on my other blog: Climb.Reach.Achieve

Weekday, Weekend - What's the difference?

It was a super long week and I somehow managed to make it through 7hrs of Occlusion, an hr of Intro to Clinicals, 10 hrs of Biochem, a 2hr talk/lecture from the dean, too many hrs of Anatomy and countless mixers/meet-n-greets. In essence, I made it through week 1 of Dental School. I believe I owe it all to Starbucks -1 tall breakfast blend (medium) to start the day and get me through 8 hrs of lecture and 1 tall chocolate mocha to, well... get me through the other 3-6 hrs of study thereafter, ugh!

With all the work that is required to get through each phase of DS, I believe it's safe to say that the secret to a successful transition is support. My school is really big on support and most, if not all students here function as a family unit - always looking out for each other. That comes to me as great relief. I have already gotten tonnes of help and advice from upperclassmen and it is well appreciated, of course.

So, It's the weekend which typically translates to sleep, movies, mall, night on the town, sleep and...more sleep, right? WRONG! It's sad to see my weekends go up in smoke. I took a night off from the books last night to catch up on a week's worth of sleep (no joke) and now my weekend has to pay for it. I have to stuff 32 hours of lecture in my cranium by Monday so that I am prepared to stuff another 32 hrs of lecture come Tuesday. My weekends have quickly gone from relaxation to work-work-work in no time (and no warning).

FYI, It took me 10 mins to think of what to post and 20 mins to write this post, which means I've lost 30 mins of study time, which means I'll have to make up for it later, which means even blogging has become a hassle. No bueno! Anycrazyweekend, enjoy! and have loads of sleep and fun times for both of us!

Fumes & Starbucks

It's Thursday morning and Biochemistry is at the top of the hour. I have approximately 5 minutes before classes start and wanted to give a quick update.
Dental School is in full effect and it is starting to feel like I have been handed a ticket and a warm welcome to zombie land. Since my classes now start at 8am everyday, I now have to get up at 6am, which, if you know me NEVER happens. Two days in and I'm already running on pure fumes and Starbucks. Starbucks is soo good! I'm not so sure I can keep up with the Starbucks-every-morning lifestyle though, being the poor student that I am and all, but I digress.
My schedule is crazy (but not as crazy as it can/will get). I have classes from 8am to 5pm EVERYDAY and sometimes have to stay back in the anatomy lab to finish up work that was not completed in the allotted class time, and if that's not enough, I THEN have to turn around and study! GOL-LY!
So you see, I may need to change my name to Ms. blog-a-little from now on. My posts will be brief, like the one today. Class is about to start...