August 2017

When I think of “home” I think of comfort, routine, and the norm. After spending four years in New Orleans as a Tulane University undergraduate, I knew this city is and would always be home for me. However, once I started the Master’s in Pharmacology program at the Tulane University School of Medicine, I didn’t feel the comfort or the routine I felt as an undergraduate. It seemed strange that I would be living at the same place as last year, but would be commuting to the downtown campus and attending lectures by the faculty of the medical school. As I expected, things began to pick back up, and I was able to gel again with the city and the school.

This program has definitely been challenging so far, but it was never going to be easy going from undergraduate level courses to dense science classes, which included learning the physiology of the heart. It was very helpful to have a month of our program dedicated to the principles of pharmacology, especially since it served as a smooth transition to the denser Cardiovascular/Autonomic Nervous System block. I’ve learned a large amount of information, and we’re only about two months into the program, which is exciting because I feel like I’m getting so much of out this program with eight months left!

Another aspect of this program that I appreciate is the community service. As a Tulane undergraduate, I’m used to having service learning since we are required to take two service learning courses during our four years. So far, I haven’t had the chance to get back out in the New Orleans community because I’ve been trying to adjust to this new course load, while building new social circles. I will be working with Habitat for Humanity this weekend though with quite a bit of my classmates, and I am looking forward to further serving the New Orleans area with these new friends!

Until next time,


Josh


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