Prologue to Medicine

Before I dove head first into medical school, I was afforded the opportunity to participate in PittMed's Prologue to Medicine Program by the Office of Student Affairs and Diversity. When I was initially invited to this program in March, I was super excited and looking forward to spending a portion of the summer on campus with my fellow classmates, but little did we all know that COVID-19 was peeping right around the corner and was ready to shake up the world. From originally staying in Pittsburgh, learning and touring the city, we were now all in the comfort of our homes across four time zones learning the ins and outs of becoming a medical student. Even though I was not able to engage with my colleagues in person, I can confidently say that we took away so much knowledge and insight in the five weeks we spent together. Here's a little insight to the program!

As an introduction to first year coursework our curriculum included: intro to medical anatomy and embryology, molecular biology and biochemistry/fuel metabolism, evidence based medicine, physical exam, medical interviewing, and introduction to professionalism. Out of all the courses we'd be taking, I was the most nervous about anatomy. This would be my first exposure to anatomy and I didn't know what to expect. However, instead of being hard on myself about it, I decided to look at this intro class as a study strategy opportunity. One thing that the BMP taught me was that different classes require different approaches to studying. Some require memorization of pathways and body parts, while others require being able to apply the knowledge you gain into new clinical situations. So why wouldn't I use the one time that med school anatomy wasn't graded to test out my study strategy? Luckily, my strategy of reviewing/rewriting my notes, drawing diagrams from Youtube videos, reviewing my Netter's book textbook artery by artery, and working through practice questions worked! At the end of that block, I did pretty well so I'm hoping that when it's game time and the course load in heavier that I will get similar results.

Out of the classes that we took, anatomy/embryology and medical interviewing were my favorite. In anatomy and embryo, they put us to the test by teaching us the most complicated aspects of each course. For anatomy it was the autonomic nervous system and blood flow to the abdomen, and for embryo it was early development and neural folding/derivatives. Even though all the topics had their challenges, I could feel how challenging anatomy and embryo were, and felt on top of the world when I got derivative and clinical questions right. You couldn't tell me nothing!

Medical interviewing was also my favorite even though it made me the most nervous. I've had patient interactions before, but never had I experienced one-on-one interactions to retrieve the chief complaint and med student level introduction. What was even more nerve-wrecking was that it was all on Zoom (like everything else) and I feared that I would start sounding like Darth Vader or forget what to say or have to "time-out" because I couldn't think on my feet and run out of things to say. On top of that, my peers and facilitator were watching! To my surprise, the interviewing sessions were great. My facilitator believed strongly in positive feedback and it felt really good when my peers could identify parts of my interview that stood out to them. Even the standardized patient gave us feedback. Being told that I was welcoming, compassionate, and was able to make my patient feel that I was trustworthy was the best feeling.

Beyond the coursework, our days consisted of meeting and getting to know PittMed's administration, staff, faculty, and upperclassmen through our "Pitt Talk" sessions. I really enjoyed this segment of the program because it gave us a break from all the lectures and it gave us an opportunity to ask questions about each Dr.'s personal journey and path to medicine. I also enjoyed how much exposure we had to diversity in medicine. Being able to interact with physicians that looked like me and talk with them was inspiring. Everyone's journey was so real and unique, and most of all, made my career goals that much more tangible.

Another great aspect of the program was our Speed Mentoring night. Now, at first I was under the impression that I would get to meet a future mentor in the fields that I'm interested in. So I was ready to network! Little did I know, we were actually the mentors. Even though I was shocked at first, I was even more excited that we were given the opportunity to mentor pre-med students from different colleges. I have always loved being able to support and give others advice when it comes to being pre-med so this was right down my alley. That night there was about 75 of us on the call and broke out into break rooms where we could get to know the students more. Surprisingly, I was able to get to know an incoming BMP student and answer her questions about the program. What a small world right?

By the end of the program, we began to focus on small group learning, problem based learning, study strategies (shout out to Make It Stick), and our beloved Pittsburgh Projects. Now the first several topics helped us begin to think critically as a medical student would, strengthen our relationships with our peers, and ask the questions we had about how studying would be different in the semesters to come. However, our last topic, the Pittsburgh Project, allowed us to dive deeper into the city that we will spend the next four years of our lives. The presentations ranged from fun things to do, arts and culture, nature activities, and sports (Go Steelers!). But y'all know I had one of the best topics available...FOOD. Being that Pittsburgh is one of the top foodie cities in the country, my group and I took the class on a deluxe virtual tour of Pittsburgh's food scene.

Now since the program is over, to be honest, I have no idea what I'm about to do with all this free time on my hands (lol). Since I started my master's program last August, I have been in classes the entire time. From the fall to spring semesters, and then to summer session (required by my program) to balancing both my master's clinical pharmacology and Prologue's anatomy/embryo, I've had no break at all. I know this four week break will be good before we hit the ground running, but I will definitely miss logging into class everyday and seeing the faces of my peers who I can now call friends. Prologue to Medicine was just the beginning and I can't wait to see where this four year journey takes us (: