I’ve been meaning to make this post for awhile but like has been crazy lately. If you asked me a few weeks ago I would have probably said crazy in a bad way but now I say crazy in a good way!  

My first semester at Ross was less than stellar. Those close to me know the whole story but, long story short, I had a lot of difficulty adjusting and dealt with a lot of anxiety and depression. I have to admit I was surprised that the adjustment was so hard considering I had already lived in the Bahamas, however, while I actually really enjoyed Dominica it was just a different feel. I felt even more removed from my family, especially because there is absolutely no time to get off the island to visit home. Being away for nearly 17 weeks straight was tough (considering I went home twice while living in Freeport). 

Despite my struggles, I stayed determined and I stuck with it and worked my ass off. I ended up coming up just a couple of points short in two blocks which, as most people familiar with Ross know, means dismissal. This left me with a choice - bow out or appeal the decision. While I had the support of one of my professors who really helped me during the semester and who told me he would help me with my appeal, after a few days of consideration I decided to withdraw from Ross and come home (which involved last minute travel, 3 airplanes each way, and only about 36 hours to pack everything up in Dominica!). 

First, I can tell you that I feel so much happier being home. Medical school is stressful and while I had amazing friends on the island who I miss dearly being away from my main support system, namely my fiance and mom, was really difficult. Even in one week home I felt immeasurably better. 

However, this is NOT the end of this blog. I came home, relaxed for a week, got my grades, wallowed for about 6 hours, and then got right back on the ball. I am back to work as an ER scribe. I have signed up for summer courses at UMass and am back to studying for the MCAT (I feel so old … my scores are too old to use now!). My plan includes applying to DO school if I can improve my MCAT score but to definitely apply to several NP programs in my state (luckily many in the Boston area so I can stay close to home). 

I must say the blog name may be changing because I feel like I am leaning more and more towards NP rather than MD/DO. I work with a lot of great NP’s right now and I can do a lot of the things I could as a doctor (work in an ER! suture people!) but with less schooling, most likely a lot less stress, and more flexibility for my family (getting married and having babies). 

I’ve come around to not thinking of this as a failure but rather life throwing me onto a new path.

Bottom line - I will keep posting and make updates on work and application process for the programs I am looking into. Also, any people interested in Ross, please feel free to continue asking questions. While I am no longer there I would love to help you with any questions about MERP or first semester! 

fuckyeahmedicalstuff:

Meningitis is caused when the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord - known as the meninges - become inflamed, usually as a result of an infection.

This infection is usually caused by viruses or bacteria, but can be caused by a fungal infection or by other pathogens. It may also develop following a serious injury to the head or spine. 

Meningitis and septicaemia caused by bacteria are usually more serious than other forms.

Read More

We’ve done 3 lumbar punctures to test for meningitis in the last week at work! 

The last bits of my first semester review. If you have questions or there is something I didn’t cover, let me know!

Dress Code

For class there is no dress code. However, there will be times when you are expected to wear professional dress. This will happen more in second semester when you actually interview standardized patients. In first semester the only time I dressed nicely was for White Coat ceremony. For the 2 sim labs and 1 blood pressure lab there is an option to wear professional dress, however, you can also wear blue scrubs which is what most people opt for. For anatomy lab, you MUST MUST MUST have green scrubs. They request hunter/dark green but people in lighter shades were fine. On campus, green scrubs are considered “dirty”. You cannot be anywhere but the sidewalk and the anatomy lab with them. Even if you are wearing freshly clean green scrubs, say, studying in the library you could get in trouble. Blue scrubs are considered “clean” and are fine to wear anywhere. 

Campus 

While I personally feel the library leaves a little to be desired (and most of the study spaces in there smell like feet) overall campus is nice. The upper semester classrooms, the anatomy lab, PBL rooms, library, and professor offices are all on campus. There is also the student center (CAC) which has the gym on the first floor, empty rooms for club/meeting use on the second, and Student Services on the third. There is also the Subway deck at the back of campus overlooking the gorgeous Caribbean Sea. They also have basketball/tennis courts by the main gates. Other places of note - RUH (Ross Housing), Jenner Hall, and St. James Center not directly on main campus but very close by. 

Then there is the Annex. Oh the Annex. This is where first semester classes are held. It is a 10-15 minute walk from the main campus gates. Ross also runs a shuttle to and from classes in the morning and afternoon which is nice on rainy days or, let’s just be honest, mornings where you just don’t have it in you to walk more then 4 feet at a time. 

Campus is open nearly 24 hours a day. The library is open from 7am - 5am while classrooms are open from 7am - 2am

Transportation 

The only time I use taxis on the island was when my dad visited and we hired a driver for the day to tour around and when I need to get to and from the airport. For everything else I walk. Everything you need is within walking distance. If you are doing events with clubs that are far off campus they will over transportation. Ross also has a free shuttle to Roseau on Saturday mornings if you ever need to get down there. The main area you will be spending your time in though is very accessible. 

From campus there is a shuttle that runs at night beginning at 7pm. It leaves from the library, Jenner Hall, and the Annex every half an hour between 7pm to 2pm and then from the library every hour until 5am. They will take you right to your apartment unless you live up a steep hill in which case you will get kicked out at the bottom of the hill. 

Food

There are several places around campus to eat including the Shacks where there are several foods places serving things like pizza, chicken, smoothies, etc. My favorite shacks were Nelson’s (chicken) and Woody’s (pizza). Restaurants that I frequented a lot were Uptown across from the Shacks (awesome pancakes), Hong Kong and Shawarma King, both across from Jenner Hall (Chinese and Middle Eastern). As far groceries go there is an IGA in between the main gate and the Annex. They usually have the basics but, of course, expect to pay more than at home. That being said, I honestly didn’t find groceries to be too outrageous. If anything it would just get frustrating not having access to certain items you were used to - namely milk. Real milk will not come around often so enjoy it when the stores have it! Other options for shopping include Picard Grocery (behind Shawarma King) which is a small convenience  store or the farmer’s market in Portsmouth where you can find lots of great local produce and fish. I didn’t get down to the market a lot but I would definitely recommend checking it out at least once! 

Housing 

I lived at Avies Luxury (“New Avies”) and I really liked it! I would recommend it for sure. I never ran into any problems. If I needed something in the apartment fixed it was done the same day. The apartment came with pots, pans, utensils, some dishes, a microwave, and a coffee maker which were all big pluses. Lots of desk and study space. They just completed a gorgeous pool area too. There is housekeeping three days a week and they do laundry for you on site for a pretty good price. 

Avies is on Banana Trail so if anyone has questions about Banana or other apartments I can try my best to answer them! I don’t know much about Lizard or Moo Cow Trails so I would not be the person to ask about housing there.

Communication 

Easy - GoogleVoice and Skype! GoogleVoice is free and will let you set up a phone number with a US area code so when you use it (via your computer) you can talk and text people back home for free. I used this to text daily. Sometimes the calls can be fuzzy and hard to hear but it is usually fine. 

If you’re having trouble calling to the States with GoogleVoice there are VOIP phones on the third floor of the CAC on campus. They are free to use and while you have zero privacy it is nice to have the option. I used these phones to call home when I first arrived to school and didn’t have internet yet.  

Skype is a no brainer. I found this to be the easiest way to talk to people back home (when I had the time!). 

As far as communicating on the island, I would recommend getting a cell phone from LIME. The phone and SIM card cost about $20US and they have about 15EC of minutes preloaded on the phone which is nice because you can use it as soon as you arrive (they will be selling cell phones when you are brought to campus your day of arrival). I used my phone (an unlocked iPhone I put the SIM in) mostly for texting friends on the islands, sometimes calls on the island, and very rarely texting people in the States. During the semester I put 50EC (~18US) on it after the initial balance ran out and it lasted me until my last week so definitely not a huge expense and nice to have.