Finally, a New Year

At last, the dreaded year of 2020 is over and I for one could not be more happy. I am optimistic this year, 2021, is going to be a return to normalcy for all of us. My first step towards getting back to normal came in the form of dose 1 of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine that I received a week ago. Not only does it help protect me from a deadly virus, it is also a practical application of a few topics we have discussed in our studies in addition to the result of the hard work many of our professors put into their research to help develop this drug.

Needless to say, the month of January has been a great month for me as I got my first dose of the highly coveted COVID-19 vaccine. But it has also been a month filled with fascinating topics in school covering subjects that have such large implications. The first main topic we discussed during the month of January was about diabetes, its pathophysiology and how to treat it. I knew the basics of type 1 diabetes involved malfunctioning beta cells while type 2 diabetes revolved around insulin resistance in peripheral tissues. But that was the extent of my knowledge. I had no idea the shear number of insulin formulations that existed (e.g. short acting, intermediate acting and long acting), how many non-insulin drugs we had to treat hyperglycemia (e.g. GLP-1 agonist, Metformin) and how a build up of fatty acids in the mitochondria can lead to glucose intolerance in cells. Diabetes is probably one of the most important topics we will cover this semester because of the huge number of people in our country who are afflicted with this disease. As future physicians, our patient population is likely to have many diabetics in it and knowing things such as metformin is contraindicated in kidney disease could prevent a disaster. I had a physician I shadowed tell me that diabetes was the most difficult and complex topic he covered in medical school. If you conquer it, he said, you had a great chance of being a fantastic physician. Thankfully, with the help of our great faculty, we were able to understand and conquer this sophisticated module. 

The second main focus during the month of January was about a subject I really had no experience with or idea about. Learning about contraceptives, their various formulations and contraindications was an eye opening experience for me and something that I am grateful to know. I was particularly interested in learning about the feedback system the brain has with the anterior pituitary and the gonads that normally regulate androgen and estrogen release. By targeting and disrupting different points in the loop, pharmacologists have devised various contraceptives that can be used by women to control the reproductive health and their lives. I was struck with Dr. McLachlan's characterization of the advent of oral contraceptives in the 50's when he said "These drugs allowed for change in the role of women in society". It is remarkable how much scientific discoveries can change our world for the better and this is one of the best examples of that happening.

Thankfully, this module I have just described included material I found to be very interesting, so studying for it's exam was not that hard. I have also refined my study techniques to be even more efficient than they were last semester and I believe that efficiency allowed me to do well on the first block of tests. I am looking forward to finetuning my study habits even more as the semester progresses.

Outside of the classroom, I am looking forward to volunteering at a farmers market this coming week. Since it is just after the start of the month of February, I am going to include the hours on my February blog. I also have a medical school interview this week that I am very excited, but slightly nervous for. I hope to report back in my next blog with good news on this front!