Cory's Blog

I have been conspicuously absent from the blog pages lately, and with good reason. I am smack in the middle of a two week “test stretch o’ fun.” During one of my earlier test stretches, I wrote about my fantastic pneumonic device for remembering all of the topical anesthetics, “But Everyone Loves My Pet Rock”. Go back and check it out if you haven’t already. My fun saying was just one of the many ways I try to remember material as I study. You see, when you have to spend as much time studying as I do, you have spice it up a bit to keep the interest level (not to mention sanity level) tolerable. Plus, when studying is “fun,” I tend to remember more.

It was with this fun filled attitude that I undertook my studying for my Pharmacokinetics exam last week (and yes it is just as difficult a class to understand as it is to try and pronounce). I was having some serious trouble understanding the basic concept of hepatic clearance and how it affected drug concentrations in your body. In “easy” terms I was trying to understand how your liver gets rid of drugs and how this process is affected by how much blood is flowing there. To make matters even trickier, drugs can be bound to proteins in your blood that affects if your liver can get rid of the drug at all. Are you thoroughly confused? Now you know how I was feeling!

So there I was, stuck in hepatic clearance wasteland not knowing what was going on. Then, the “epiphany” occurred. I was reading in my “Pharmacokinetics Made Easy Book” and I read that in a “high clearance” drug the drug is literally ripped away from a protein and it hit me: it was just like when I eat my favorite guiltily pleasure ,chicken wings. You see, I am the “high clearance” liver, the chicken wing is a highly bound drug to protein, and I being the highly efficient machine I am rip the meat (aka drug) from the bone (protein). Viola! I am full, er, I mean clearance happens!

Alas, after much struggle, I had related one of the most difficult concepts in Pharmacokinetics to the simple (albeit delicious) act of eating chicken wings. My analogy was able to help several other people in class understand, or, at the very least, get a hearty chuckle. In any case, I was able to lighten the mood for everyone else, and made life a lot easier for me as remembering hepatic clearance was as simple as understanding how I go about attacking a 25 wing sampler from Wild Wings. I feel like the test went all right, but for some reason, by the end of it, I was really hungry. How could that be? Take care!

Posted by Cory at 07:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I bet you are wondering what that title is all about. Does Cory really have a pet rock? Is someone not giving said pet rock any love? And, does Cory really have a pet rock? The answer to all of those questions is no. I do not have a pet rock, and as such it cannot be disrespected. However, that is a true phrase I came up with the other day studying pharmacology. Pharmacology you say? How does that relate to a pet rock?

To get to the end, you have to start from the beginning. Pretty simple concept, and to arrive at this title, I had to start somewhere. That “somewhere” started when I began studying for my pharmacology test this past weekend (when I wasn’t running through mud that is!). A very wise person once told me that I have to have fun while I study. Seems impossible I know, but I wholeheartedly agree, and have tried to adapt that idea as my “philosophy of studying.”

Before you begin to say that studying can never be fun, I want to assure you that I DON’T enjoy spending the majority of my time studying. However, it is simply the reality of the situation that I face almost daily, so I might as well make the most of my time. Also, there are little quirky ways to make studying more fun, and EASIER too! My 8th grade science teacher was great at making little jokes during class that helped ideas and information stick, plus they made us laugh. He made a great point when he asked us to recite our favorite comedians best jokes. No problem right? I can bust out with literally hours of Mitch Hedberg, Dane Cook, and Bryan Reagan jokes. Right off the top of my head. No problem. Why? Because they are funny, so I remember them!

So, let us just take this concept back to other day when I was studying pharmacology. I was having a devil of a time remembering the “parenteral amide local anesthetics” and so I tried to come up with a device of remembering them. So, when they are in alphabetical order, the first letter of each drug is the first letter in “But everyone loves my pet rock.” Silly? Yes. Corny? You betcha. Effective? Most definitely.

Such is my story of how that title was coined and how it hopefully helped me pass my pharmacology test (I’ll stay tuned for those results at a later date). No matter what the grade, I was able to make studying fun and effective with a simple phrase. Take that to heart the next time you are having trouble memorizing something. It may help you, and who knows, you may actually have fun doing it!

Posted by Cory at 07:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So the first full week of classes has come and gone. We have all had the chance to get a feel for what we think our semester will shape up to be. We have, of course, enjoyed the “first week back” festivities about campus. However, this “grace period” as I like to call it ends now with the first week being over and done with and the rest of the semester ahead of us.

You may be wondering what the end of the “grace period” really means for us as students. Well, first and foremost the professors who have been taking it a little easy on us as we got settled in and used to their polices and styles will be turning up the dial next week on their lectures to make up for lost time caused by taking classes a little bit easier in the first week. They may also start pulling a few things out of their “bag o’ tricks” so to speak and hit us with some unusual quizzes, unexpected material or any number of other surprises. While it may seem unfair or harsh to us, after a week of dusting off the rust of summer, it is time to get back into the full swing of things.

Although this harsh return may seem a little bit unnerving, I am quite used to it, seeing as how this is my FOURTH year here and all! It just means that I have to put down the “Welcome Back Ice Cream, Pizza (or any other welcome back treat for that matter)” and pick up my notebook and kick myself into a higher gear. I mean, I have been “getting back into the swing of things” for a week and a half now, so I should be all set to take whatever those pharmacy school professors can dish out at me.

Although seeing the “Grace Period” drift off into the sunset like so many a summer day is not the most fun experience in the world, I guess that we all are here at “school” for a reason, so I best be getting back to what I came here to do. So it is off to the library, or the Bookstore, or wherever else I can find a comfy place to study so that when test time comes, I can show some that I have broken free of the “Grace Period” and can show some “grace under pressure” on their exams! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 05:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Man am I good at this “before and after” title thing. I think this is the second blog with a title fitting into that Wheel of Fortune category. Last I left you all, I was talking about some of my favorite study food and hinting about the last two finals I had left on the docket. Well, last Monday came around and I had to tackle Pathophysiology followed by Biochemistry (and the inspiration for this title) on Tuesday. I will just make a quick note about the Patho test: it was definitely challenging, but it was a mere 20% of our final grade, not to mention my favorite teacher of the year, Dr. Soltis, had his material on the exam. I have become pretty accustomed to his style of tests, but I still studied hard (as usual) and was able to pull out a solid grade.

Now to my good ol’ friend Biochem: a lot of the information presented involved genetics and exploiting it our pharmacological advantage. I won’t bore you with the details, but it was pretty cool stuff, or at least that of which I could comprehend. You see, that genetics business can be quite tricky, and I must admit that I was a little concerned about our final because a lot of it went right up and over my head. That was concerning, not to mention the fact our final accounted for a massive 50% of our final grade.

So, I put in quite a few hours the weekend prior (when I wasn’t studying Patho of course) and as soon as Monday’s Patho exam finished up, it was off to the library to study ‘til I couldn’t stand Biochem anymore and that is exactly what I did! Many hours and flashcards later, I was ready for to take it and get my summer started with.

And so it was at 9 AM on Tuesday I settled in and took my last test of my first year of pharmacy school. Was it bittersweet? Sort of. Bitter because I was going to miss a lot of my classmates, but it was also sweet because it would be nice to finally be all done with class and say “good bye” to Biochem so I could enjoy some summer fun!

Anyways, the test went well, and I was out of the door to enjoy summer break…kind of. Unfortunately for me, I still had to pack and clean out the apartment before the fun could begin. In a nutshell, I took care of what I had to do around the apartment, moved it on outta there, enjoyed a couple days of the beach in Hilton Head, and after a plane ride, here I sit back at my old home in Tucson, Arizona (quite a large nutshell indeed). I am pretty glad to be done with school for the summer, but am really amazed at how fast it flew by. Over the course of the summer, I will do my best to keep you up to date on my “adventures” and hopefully here in the next couple days I have a fun “semester wrap up” to bring everything to a close with a nice neat little bow on top. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I know that I am dating myself with the title of this particular blog, but I am a big fan of the classic rock group “Dire Straits” and I particular like the song by the same title of this blog, “Heavy Fuel.” For a kick, type it into YouTube for a fun trip back in time to rockin’ guitar riffs and some “fun” 80’ outfits. Anyways, despite the slightly random title to this blog, I am still referring to finals. How so? Well, I would say that because of the long hours required by studying, students tend to rely on their on version of “heavy fuel” to keep them going and studying late into the night.

Personally, I prefer a “healthier” approach to tackling the books for a long afternoon or a late night. Typically if I am going to spend an afternoon/early evening in the library, I make sure to pack up a full lunch. I try to keep it healthy, yet full of the energy I will need. It typically will consist of a PB and J (only my personal FAVORITE sandwich ever that I could and sometimes do eat literally everyday), a baggie of baby carrots, a protein or breakfast bar, and my special energy source: a tasty apple. Now I know that baby carrots don’t sound like a gourmet meal, but, along with the rest of my favorite snacks, they provide me with good fuel and energy to keep me going all afternoon.

Another strategy is the late night type of studying. When going for this particular flavor of studying, I will typically pack my secret weapon as a staple (that apple I mentioned before). In addition, I will typically add in a Clif bar for an added kick of energy, or if I am at the Barnes and Noble Café in the bookstore, I will invest in a granola bar. I did find a particular favorite during this semester’s installment of finals: trail mix. The salty mix of peanuts and cashews complimented to the sweet raisins and M&M’s gave me nice balance of nutrients and some added sugar to push me through even the longest night.

I mention what I typically eat, but I would venture a guess to say your “average cookie cutter student” doesn’t go my culinary route. I think a few too many depend on the allure of those new-fangled energy drinks. While they do provide a boost, they also provide an unsettling crash after their intended effects. In addition to the new energy drinks, folks tend to cling to caffeine, be it in soft drinks or in the staple of many a late night study session: coffee.

In any case, everyone has their own ways of staying awake and alert during finals or before any other large test. In my humble opinion, it is smart to pick something that has some health value that will also give you that burst of energy. All I know is that I was able to survive a rough finals week eating healthy, and I highly recommend it. However, if you go for that cup of joe or a diet coke, don’t let me make you feel bad, we all have our own methods of keeping awake. Anyways, as I mentioned in that previous blog of mine, I had gotten through those first three finals, and since I was nice and fueled up, it was time to bring it home with the last two! Stay tuned for the final chapter in this “Finals Thrillogy”. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I had five finals ahead of me, but at least I had an easy one to get off to a good start and feel good about myself, right? False! The first final started last Wednesday with my old friend, Medchem! Regarded as the most difficult class in the spring semester of your P1 year, SCCP 620 Introduction to Medicinal Chemsitry/Pharmacology has been the metaphorical gorilla on our class’s collective back the entire semester. In one sense, it was kind of rough to kick finals off with the hardest class we had, but at the same time, it would be kind of nice to get the gorilla off our back so we could get on with the rest of our finals.

Ideally I wanted to set the tone and feel good about my first final, and the studying came early and often, as I began the study guide making process on the Wednesday prior to the exam. In addition to preparing for MedChem, I also had to be wary of the other two exams in that first week, Intro to Drug Information on Thursday and Pharmaceutics on Friday.

In order to break up the monotony of straight MedCehm studying for a week, I took “breaks” of studying for Drug information and Pharmaceutics with small “respites” to sneak peeks at Patho and Biochem that would come the following week. I think the worst part about studying for such an extended time in advance of the exam is that I spent too much time focusing and waiting. As Tom Petty sang, “waiting is the hardest part” and I think several of my classmates would agree that having to wait, study and wonder what would be on the exam was pretty difficult to stomach. I mean, after so many times of reviewing, quizzing, and re-reading my notes, I began to get sick of just looking at anything related to our exam.

Anyways, Wednesday came, and I can say looking back at the time I felt, how should I say, “lukewarm” about how I did. Luckily, the delay in posting has allowed me to see I scored a solid 97.5, allowing me to keep my A. In retrospect I could feel good about setting the tone for finals with a strong start. I think that the strong start kept me going through to my next two exams as I was able to snag a 95 on Fridays pharmaceutics and a 96 on Drug Info.

With the end of the Pharmaceutics on Friday (if you love transdermal drugs, you would have LOVED this exam!) came getting “over the hump” of the five finals. Just two classes stood between sweet summertime and me: Pathophysiology and Biochemistry, but those deserve a post all their own for another time (that is pretty soon actually). Until the next installment, take care and stay tuned!

Posted by Cory at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

That title pretty much sums the last two blogless weeks up. MIA stands for “missing in action” and while I was quite literally missing from the blog (as you can obviously tell) I was most definitely “in action.” Allow me to begin by sincerely apologizing for my absence. Although I had plenty to blog about but there was just one little ingredient missing: time. Yes, much like The Guess Who song, I had “No Time.”(See didn’t you miss my obscure song references and other tomfoolery?)

Where was all this time going? I can answer that in six short letters: F-I-N-A-L-S. In all I had seven, but “only” five during the seven day stretch of official “finals week” with two coming the week before. Starting last Wednesday, I had Medicinal Chemistry followed by Intro to Drug Information on Thursday and Pharmaceutics on Friday. Monday it began again with the ever popular Pathophysiology and the madness finally ended with Biochemistry on Tuesday. As you can tell, there was not a lot of wiggle room in there for much other than memorizing the different drug receptors in the brain and learning the in and outs of acid base disturbances.

So, in the next few days I am hoping to blog in more detail over my last week or so, starting with Wednesday’s Medchem test and ending with my move out the following Wednesday. This short little message was just to let you know I hadn’t forgot about you and I hope you hadn’t forgotten about me! Take care and, oh my goodness, it’s summertime! (At least for me!)

Posted by Cory at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You are reading that title correctly my loyal blog followers. I had the chance to work in a NUCLEAR lab Tuesday. I must make a couple of things clear, this “nuclear” lab was really just our compounding lab that was set up with 20 stations simulating some situations and information from a nuclear pharmacy lab, and when I say I “worked” I had to do a lab worksheet. Those are just small details, the point is I get to tell you about my nuclear lab experience, but first a little background information.

The world of nuclear pharmacy was new to me before we learned more about it this week, but it is quite interesting. The vast majority is used for diagnostics such as finding out where an infection is deep in your intestine, or for locating a tumor growth. It involves using radioactive tagged drugs that adhere to the “bad” tissue, and using special imagery that picks up the “radioactive markers” in your body.

Very brief and slight boring and confusing background information aside, I was ready to play around with some radioactive material! Not so fast there hot shot, there would be no actual use of radioactivity, but some “fill in”materials designed to simulate actual “nuclear” pharmacy. This particular aspect was fine by me because while I usually leave compounding lab in a glowing mood, I didn’t want to literally leave “glowing” if you get my drift.

The 20 stations in lab consisted of everything from the ever pressing and important radioactive safety to filling orders behind a lead screen, and wrapping pigs. Yes, I said wrapping pigs, but it has nothing to do with what those folks on a farm do. It actually means taking an order that has been placed in a lead safety container, and covering it with a cellophane wrapper that is tamper evident. No slop, no smell, and definitely no actual pigs.

My only problem with the lab experience was how the pharmacist pronounced the world “nuclear” in nuclear pharmacy. If I remember one thing from physics class, it was that our teacher insisted upon our learning of radioactivity that we pronounce “nuclear” correctly. Our pharmacist pronounced it “new-q-ler”. Incorrect. The way it is spelled as well as pronounced “new-cle-er.” If anything it made me feel a little better about all of the other stuff I didn’t know about what we were learning, but I still knew how to pronounce “nuclear.”

By the end of the day I had gained a new appreciation of the exciting world of nuclear pharmacy, gotten a little smarter, remembered the correct pronunciation of “nuclear” and had a new “glow” as I left. All right that last part wasn’t true, but I still really enjoyed the new lab experience. Hopefully you got to learn a little something new about the cutting edge world of nuclear pharmacy, not to mention how to pronounce it correctly. That is all for now folks, that compounding lab’s final is coming up next week and 11 labs won’t learn themselves. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 09:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Although it is just the first week back from spring break, I believe it is not too early to start thinking about summer. In fact, I never think it is too early to start thinking about summer, but that is beside the point. What I am talking about is what to do with the summer when you are a student at USC. If you are a smart student, you are taking summer class, getting a summer job, or doing an internship.

Once you are here at USC and looking for that summer internship, you might find the whole process fairly overwhelming and confusing but lucky for you we have a fantastic resource: The Career Center.

I bring the Career Center up because last night the Out of State Mentors, one of my organizations, held a seminar for summer internships and other help hosted by the Career Center. Viki from the Career Center (located on the sixth floor of the Business Administration Building, for your future reference) put on a fantastic and energetic presentation, and it even went beyond subject of internship .

Their website alone contains many resources: including a resume builder, interview help, and a major specific job search, all on top of the internship help. In addition to the website help, as a student you can come in to what is called “on call” hours everyday from 1 to 4 and get quick help with whatever you are having trouble with: be it a resume critique, interview questions, or even help with choosing or changing a major. The Career Center is really there to help you and the best part it all of their services are included in tuition! So, when you get here you might as well go ahead and get your money’s worth by using it!

From my experience as an Orientation Leader I can tell you that the Career Center has told us to really encourage freshman to get over there and utilize their resources early. You see internships are not just for upperclassmen. It is never too early to start building up your resume and getting experience, and what better way then to get help from our resident experts over at the career center during your freshman year when you are on campus.

Here is the link for you to go and start messing around with some of their features if you want a sneak peak at what you can do there: www.sc.edu/career.

I will warn you that in order to access some of their feature you must be a student as it asks you for a student email address, but have no fear, if you are coming here in the Fall you will have the chance to do that soon enough. As for me, even as a junior who had a pretty good idea of what the Career Center was all about, I was still impressed with all they can do for me as a student. So, keep the Career Center in mind when you head to campus in the fall.

That’s the report for now everybody. I think I may head outside and enjoy the first official day of spring or stay in and check out some March Madness on TV. Got to love the options! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 09:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We all know him (or her). You know who I am talking about, that person that no matter what you do will find a way to “one up” you. So you got a 95 on that test? Oh, too bad, the “one upper” pulled a 96. You went on a 10 mile run? Oh, too bad, they did 11. You can do 23 pushups in a row, well they can do 24. It seems no matter what you do, they do it just a bit better, and it was much easier for them too. Fortunately for me, I sit next to just such a one upper in class.

Hold on one second, did he just say “fortunately”? I most certainly did, you see last semester my buddy Chad always seemed to one up me on every test we took. No matter how much I tried and studied, he found a way to best me by the slimmest of margins. However, the difference between him and our classic “one upper” is that he did it in good fun. Chad never was one to try and rub it in, and we viewed it more as a friendly competition than a bitter rivalry.

I also don’t really mind because I have turned the tables a bit this semester, besting him by a point or two on most of our first tests. In fact, I had a pretty good streak going until the Biochem exam we had last Wednesday. He nipped me by three points, but we both ended up with solid grades, so you shall hear no complaints from me. In fact, I think having a little competition brings out the best in both of us, neither of whom wants to be “one upped” by the other.

I have included a little bit of a treat for you guys to show you an example of a BAD one-upper. The following video comes courtesy of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Kristen Wiig plays a character named “Penelope” who takes the one upping game to extreme heights. Please enjoy and I will be posting again with something other than Spring Break filler material when I get back to school and life gets hectic for the final run of class for the school year. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New England Patriots couldn’t do it. The Memphis men’s basketball team couldn’t do it. And, as of Sunday evening, the AC/GC intramural men’s basketball team couldn’t do it either. What is it none of these vaunted sports teams could do? Go undefeated on the season. Sure, the Patriots lost in the last game, and Memphis won a ton of games before going down to Tennessee last week, but even after two wins to start the season, hopes were high in the AC/GC camp that we could run the table.

hardest part about losing on Sunday was that it was to the historically most impossible team to beat made up of the intramural student supervisors. We have yet to beat them in basketball, and the string of losses continued for a third year now(although Somebody’s co-ed softball team was able to pull the feat off this year). Many on our team and in our fan base would argue that they only won because they got all the calls because of their positions within the intramural department. While the large number of fouls called against us didn’t help, losing our three point shooting touch and focus on offense didn’t help our cause either.

, since I am now on the “inside” of the intramural sports world now as an umpire, I realize that calling games a certain way does not really happen. In fact, I have had to umpire two games for the pharmacy fraternity, and believe me, after a few calls, I didn’t want to have to face them in the halls the next day.

, the point of all of this is that many on our team got so caught up with the fouls called and supposed “unfair play” that they lost site of what made us a good team. You cannot control how the refs call the game, but only how you yourself play. If we had done less complaining and more rebounding maybe we could have won. Instead, we were left with a one in the “loss” column, and a bitter feeling towards the other team (myself NOT included).

principle of controlling only what you can runs over into other areas of college life. I cannot control what a professor puts on his test, or how hard he makes it, but only how I prepare. So many people (and I mean a TON) get so caught up worrying about how a test will be, how hard it will be, and how much they “hate” the professor that they lose sight that they need to study. In the scheme of things, if a PhD in Biochemistry wanted to make a test none of us could pass, he could without a problem, but odds are he or she won’t, and all you can hope to do is get ready the best that you can.

, at least in my book, there were no excuses for losing other than us not playing well. Enough said. End o’ story. The same goes for all those tests. Ya, they are going to be hard, and studying for them can be no fun, but no use in worrying about something I have no control. I can control how I prepare myself. Until I write again, remember, “control the controllables” and lay off those referees and umpires. We’re doing the best we can! Take care!

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            So my blogging activity has been slack the last few days, that much is obvious. Don’t worry, I have a good excuse though: you see, finals start tomorrow, and I have been huddled over tables, desks, and anything else that can hold my notebook for the last week or so. You read me right; I said I have been studying for a week. In the rough and tumble world of finals, if you don’t start early, you put yourself in a major hole, and as the saying goes, “Rather start too early and be safe than start too late and be sorry.”

            On the subject of starting early, I have been doing just that this weekend over at the Thomas Cooper Library. During finals week, they stay open 24 hours as usual during the week, but also open up their doors all day on the weekends for us hard studying students. Unfortunately, seating can be tougher to find than at a Carolina Clemson football game, and so I have been over there to stake out my table by 9:30 in the morning yesterday and today.

            The early bird truly does get the worm, or at least the table as by noon. It felt like every table on the main floor was occupied. I know my friend Tim had to share one with me because by the time he got there around 2, he was out of luck finding a table for himself.

            Anyways, me and my early morning self sat at said table today from 9:30 until nearly 4 in the afternoon and despite being in one location for such a long time, I feel like I got a lot accomplished. The key with finals is to break up the material into smaller parts so that you are not overwhelmed, and so I was able to stay on top of my biochemistry (which is tomorrow by the way), pharmaceutics, and microbiology. Don’t worry about pathophysiology though; just because I didn’t mention it doesn’t mean I haven’t been studying it nightly before bed as a sleep aid (did I say sleep aid? I meant study aid).

            At any rate, I have started early and often putting in the hours, and hopefully I will be able to reap the benefits once this week is over and I can enjoy my winter break! There is a light at the end of the tunnel! Well, I best be getting out of here, there is still much to be done, but I will do my best to check in with you guys this week to update my progress. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Finals week doesn’t officially start until two weeks from today on December 10^th (which just so happens to be my birthday, in case you wanted to send a card). So why am I sitting in my room already trying to cram 200 drugs and their medical classification into my head for this Wednesday? The answer is that for some of the smaller lab and 1 credit hour classes, finals often will fall a week or two early.

            These early finals have some advantages and drawbacks. I think I shall start with all of the positives that come out of having some finals earlier. First, it means that regular class time usually ends a week or two early. For example, my community lab ended the Tuesday the week before Thanksgiving Break began (if my calendar serves me right, that should be November 13^th). It is always nice to get a class done with, trust me. Those three hours spent in lab can be used for many other tasks.

            Another positive of early finals is that you can get them over and done with so they don’t fall in the middle of all the “regularly scheduled” finals. Take for instance my schedule: I will have three classes with an early final exam. The results? Instead of muscling through 7 tests during finals week, I have a “mere” 4. Quite a nice luxury if you ask me.

            However, there is one GLARING drawback to having these finals early: and that is I have to start getting ready for finals even earlier! I have my lab final on Wednesday, followed by my Clinical Applications final on Friday, and I cap the “early bird” final crowd off next Monday with a rigorous Calculations and Medical Terminology final. Whew! Welcome back from Thanksgiving huh?

            In any case, most students feel the effects, both positive and negative, of having at least a few of their finals come a little early. I personally don’t mind the early stress too much as I am someone who enjoys getting as much of the “dirty work” out of the way as soon as possible. However, I must be off, 200 prescription drugs just don’t learn themselves do they? (This was a rhetorical question, but in case you were wondering, no, they don’t.) Take care!

Posted by Cory at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Ah, the signs of fall: leaves turning, shorter days, and crisp temperatures. It is those crisp temperatures that eventually will turn into cold temperatures. It is those cold temperatures that often send some of nature’s warm weather critters scurrying for their cozy warm dens to hibernate for the winter. I know that anything below 40 degrees makes me want to scramble right back into bed!

            Cold weather aside, I bring up the idea of hibernation because I will be “hibernating” from you all for the next week. The reason, or reasons, to be more accurate are the two tests, two quizzes, and two presentations this week! A good old fashioned “triple double” on my plate. I definitely could never make one of those happen on the basketball court, but I am just so lucky to have one for sure this week! On top of my scholastic “triple double,” the playoffs start for softball on Sunday, and they roll on for flag football Monday night. I don’t know what I am going to be worrying more about: the components the TCA Cycle or who is going to hit cleanup for me? Such are my problems, but good problems they are to have if you ask me. Believe it or not, I really do like keeping my schedule chocked full of “goodness.” The only drawback of course is less time for writing to y’all.

            Needless to say, my time is going to be at quite the premium, starting tonight. So, just because you all don’t hear from me, have no fear. I will be back at about 10:00 next Thursday when my microbiology test is all done with. Until then, I will have my nose buried in a book, flashcards, or in the grass or dirt of the playing field. I am out of here for now. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 09:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            As I mentioned in my previous blog, I had a Microbiology test this past week. Also, as I wrote, I was having some trouble finding a good way to study for it, unlike the previous tests. Part of the problem was that we had a new professor for this particular section of the class, and I had grown accustomed to the other professor’s teaching and testing style (not to mention having some pretty good success!)

            Not only was I used to our other professor’s style, I, like the rest of class, had also grown accustomed to having “objectives” derived from the material to study. The problem with microbiology class is that we cover such a large amount of information that to try and test on everything would be quite difficult for us as students, so our previous professor tested from his lecture objectives. Our current professor also had objectives. The only problem was that he only gave them to us two days before our exam, so it gave less time for “focused” studying.

            I put “focused” in quotations because it felt like the objectives pretty much had us copy all of the material! I think I speak for most of the class when I say that it felt like we had to just re-copy our notes, so the objectives were not as helpful as I would have liked to say the least.

            However, I can’t control how our teacher wants to test us, and that goes for every class. Some have specific objectives or study guides, while some are very ambiguous and cover all of the information. The key is to just try and tailor your studying to how the professor teaches and tests (easier said than done I know).

            Something that is very helpful to know is that you will not know everything, and that is ok! I always go into a test a little shaky on certain topics, or specific details , but that is just the way it has to be sometimes, and the hardest thing to learn is that it is ok to not know everything!

            As for me, I definitely did not know everything, despite my hours of studying for that micro test, but I guess we shall have to wait and see what the “return” on it was when I get my grade back. Until next time, study up and take care!

Posted by Cory at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Fall break doesn’t start until class ends tomorrow. However, looking around the classroom today, you could have sworn it had begun today by the barren and empty desks that abounded in our classroom.

            Yes, it seems that a lot of students took the liberty of taking their own personal vacation days off from class, in addition to the Thursday and Friday that we get off as well. Even those that were in class didn’t seem too attentive. The vibe that I was getting was that after our Biochemistry test yesterday, most of us decided to “phone it in” by either skipping class, or showing up but not being very attentive.

            The inner nerd in me came out, and I was a little perturbed to be quite honest with all of you. I was as tired as anybody there, but I battled through my heavy eyelids to give the professors the respect that they deserved, as well as to take good notes for my own benefit. It was amazing to look around and see all of us tired pharmacy students napping right through our lectures. Although they were catching some Z’s, they sure didn’t look very comfortable slouched over their chairs, awkwardly squirming to find a position that didn’t strain their neck.

            Folks, I think this is time for me to get in lecture mode, and preach how important it is to go to class, even if it is almost fall break. Who knows what important information you may miss by skipping class? More important to some after our Biochemistry test is the possible bonus points available to us by taking part in interactive classroom quizzes. I know that my physics teacher would give extra credit on days when attendance was lower to reward those of us who came to class. In case you couldn’t already tell, I like to stress the importance of getting yourself ready to go, and going to class to actively learn.

            As for myself, I didn’t “phone it in” today, nor will I tomorrow (I waited until after class to catch me a nice two hour nap!). While tired and worn down from this first semester, I will continue to press onward until 12:05 tomorrow, at which point I will let my laziness kick in, if at least for a day or so before I have to get ready for a midterm the day I come back (not fair, not fair at all I say!).

            Anyways, I think I need to go and get some rest; at least I can sleep in, no class until 10 tomorrow! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 08:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            I will go ahead and apologize in advance for my use, again, of a post with a metaphor to baseball, but for a big fan like me, it just makes the explanation of what I am trying to say so much easier. In any case, I hope you can appreciate it and enjoy it!

            So, I have been here in pharmacy school for a month now, and the past week was my first of actual tests. Sure, I had been studying a lot, spending many hours in the library after class reviewing, but I really hadn’t been “tested” yet. I was still enjoying my time in professional school, enjoying my afternoons off since I get out at noon four days a week, and just taking in the full experience. However, as I mentioned, I had my first three tests and two quizzes this past week. My hectic schedule of tests reminded me of how my rise up to pharmacy school is not unlike a major league baseball players trip through the minors up until he gets to “The Show”.

            You see, baseball players, like myself, spend a few years preparing for the time when they get the “call up” to the major league team, or, in my case, pharmacy school. They pay their dues with long bus rides and poor salaries. I paid mine with lots of late nights studying and preparing for the PCAT. They spend long days honing their baseball skill and learning how to be a professional, while I spent my time fine tuning my organic abilities and learning how to handle an intense workload.

            Then, one day, you get “the call”. For them, it’s the time they get called up to the major league team and experience all of the luxuries involved. A rookie will arrive wide eyed, surrounded by the best of everything: the best players, the best hotels, and the best stadiums. I got my “call” from the dean of pharmacy school, and over the past month while I have not had quite the same “wide eyed” look, I have still enjoyed nicer classrooms, expert instructors, and being surrounded by the best students.

            Another parallel is that while a player may have been the best on his minor league team, once he gets to the “bigs”, he is just another player surrounded by all of the other best players like him. He must quickly learn to adjust, and in many cases, takes his “lumps” against competition that is better than he has ever seen before. I was, in my opinion, an exceptional student in the pre-pharmacy coursework, but like the new major leaguer, am now surrounded by talent in the form of a classroom full of extremely bright students.

             I guess that you could also say that last week I had to “take my lumps” and had my “welcome to the show” moment in the form of my biochemistry test. You see, not only did I have three tests last week, but two of them were in my hardest subjects: microbiology and biochemistry. I took my micro test on Tuesday, and felt pretty good about it. This good feeling was nice to have after my first ever pharmacy school exam. However, I got my rude awakening the next day during my biochemistry test. Upon receiving it, there was an audible gasp from the class as we all set eyes upon what was, in my opinion, one of the hardest tests I have ever taken.

            At any rate, I did what I could do, battled through it best I could, and in the end, despite my worries and apprehensions, ended up with a B+. Typically, I aim for an A on whatever I do, but I realized at this level of material, I can’t possibly know it all, and it’s not really fair to expect myself to ace everything they put in front of me.

Posted by Cory at 04:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            There are several ways that I like to study and prepare for tests: flashcards, study guides, practice problems, and whey protein. Wait a second! Whey protein you ask? Why, indeed I did not mistype. For my biochemistry test that I took Wednesday, I used all of the following methods, whey included.

            In order to prepare for tests, I usually make a “running study guide” after each class period, and Biochemistry was no different. Basically, after each lecture, I go over the key points, write them down and elaborate a little on them. It helps me to retain the lecture of that day, plus when it comes test time, I won’t have to frantically make study materials, only to run out of time to actually use them!

            Another bonus that Dr. Warr, our biochemistry teacher, gave us was some practice problems to work so that we could “get our feet wet” with water disassociation questions. Practice problems and old tests are a fantastic way to help prepare for tests, and I have found them extremely helpful in my time here, and for those you heading to USC next year, repetition of problems is one of the most affective ways to study.

            Well, on this biochemistry test, we had to memorize all 20 amino acids in our body, and lo and behold, I had 20 different flashcards. Each one had the structure, the name, the three letter and single letter abbreviation. On top of that, I had to know the special properties of each. I will refrain from giving you any more detail than that for fear of boring you (although I wish Dr. Warr had made the same considerations for our feelings of boredom).

            So, I felt like I had everything I needed to study, although I was having trouble remembering all of those amino acids when I happened to glance at my bottle of whey protein supplement (Such I health nut I am) and noticed all twenty of those amino acids listed in the amounts found in the whey. Epiphany! All those amino acids together make the protein I was taking! I had found a way to make school relatable to life, and so it was I practiced my amino acids by making sure I could know the properties every time I walked by my bottle.

            Did it work? I sure think it did. I knew all those amino acids by test time. I was also reminded of a valuable lesson: sometimes class material can get a little dry, and you need to find a way to make it relatable and/or fun so it is easier to remember. A key helpful tip for myself? If it is funny, I remember it. How is it that I can memorize entire episodes of The Office or every line from a favorite movie of mine? It is because when it is funny or relatable, it sticks!

            So, that is what I did with my amino acids, they no longer were twenty “things” to know, but now they were the building blocks of what I put into my own body! Instant relatabliity!

            Anyways, there you have my story of finding a new “whey” to relate material and study better. I hope you can take this and apply it to your own study habits now and in the future! I know from experience it helps! That’s all for now kiddos, take care!

Posted by Cory at 02:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Ahh, Labor Day: Sunshine, blue skies, some very comfortable temperatures, and dozens of people enjoying their day off, frolicking in the sun on the Horseshoe. Yes, this was the picture I saw yesterday as I made my trek back and forth from my apartment to the Barnes and Noble Café in the Bookstore to study. I probably spent about a third of my “day off” with my nose in the books.

            Don’t get me wrong, I am not asking for your pity, nor am I complaining, I am just explaining the way life is looking like it’s going to be for the semester with 17 hours of credit spread out over 8 classes. In fact, I almost feel like a freshman again: between the “unknowns” of knowing how classes will be, to the new organizations to join, and the new people I sit in class and meet everyday.

            Much like my adjustment to the class load my freshman  year, I am trying to soak up as much knowledge and ask as many questions from the people in pharmacy school who have already gone through what I am going through now before. My fellow colleagues and I are asking many of the same questions a lot of the freshman pre-pharmacy students I met this summer were asking, such as: “Which teachers are the easiest/hardest?” and “How hard is it really?” and “How can I get through it?”

            My perspective as an orientation leader who’s heard these same questions helps me to step back and understand that it is a matter of going to class, reviewing the notes, and, like my Labor Day, studying quite a bit. However, a little advice from the elders can never hurt. I think the best advice I received was from a student who is a year older than me. He equated the course load in pharmacy school to trying to stop the water from a fire hydrant: the water as a substance isn’t hard to deal with, but it’s the volume that gets you. So basically, the material isn’t so hard it can’t be done, but there is just a lot of it to do, so I have to stay on top of things or I will get “washed away.”

            Which brings me back to how I spent most of my Labor Day, “staying on top of things” by putting my time in reading notes, making study guides and writing flashcards. Hopefully, all of this work I am putting will pay off in the end, but I can rest easy in the fact knowing that I am giving it all that I possibly have. Until next time when I can spare a moment, take care!

Posted by Cory at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Mrs. Smith decided that she wanted to bake a cake to sell at a local bake sale. She decided upon trying to make a triple chocolate walnut cake. It sounded delicious to her, but she didn’t have a recipe for one. So, Mrs. Smith went to the store and bought all the ingredients she thought she would need, as this cake was to be made from scratch. All of the ingredients cost her $15.

            After going home and baking the cake, it fell apart and didn’t taste so good, so she decided to give it another go, because she thought the cake needed just a couple of adjustments. Her second trip to the store to gather more ingredients cost her $5 more. Unfortunately for her, the cake still did not pan out.

            Being the determined baker she was, Mrs. Smith felt like she really knew how to make the cake perfectly, and it was off to the grocery store to find herself a couple more key ingredients. These final ingredients cost her $5, bringing her total to $25 for the cake.

            Her persistence paid off as the cake was a huge, delicious hit! Her friend, Ms. Thomas thought the cake looked so good she wanted to bake and sell it too, so Mrs. Smith gave her the perfected recipe, and Ms. Thomas was able to buy all she needed for the cake for $15.

            Both wanted to make a $10 profit, but since Mrs. Smith had taken all the extra effort and ingredients to make the cake, she had to charge $35 to make the same profit that Ms. Smith only had to charge $25.

            What’s the whole point of this cake story? Well, it was the same story that my Intro to Community teacher, Dr. Papajohn (no relation to the pizza chain) told us regarding generic prescription drugs. Companies (symbolized by Mrs. Smith) spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing a specific drug, and must charge more in order to make a profit. Once the patent on the expensive drug from the parent company runs out, the generic company (Ms. Thomas) can just use the same perfected technique from the company that developed the original at a much cheaper price for them and the consumer because they don’t have to pay for the research and development.

            I thought I would just mention this analogy because it illustrates the breadth of knowledge pharmacists must have. Not only must we know the scientific explanations, but also the social practices and reasons that we can explain to our patients. Also, I just thought that it was a pretty cool analogy that Dr. Papajohn gave us that really helps to put drug development into perspective. Aside from those two reasons, I hope that you can take something out of the analogy as well, hopefully learning why some of your “generic” prescriptions can be so much less expensive than the name brand.

      Personally, I thought drug companies had some sort of plan to make as much money off of us, the consumer, as possible. However, after this story, plus the information I learned in my Pharmaceutics class about the difficulties, time, and money involved in developing a new drug, I have a new appreciation for the reason why some drug costs can be so high.

            I hope you enjoyed my little “what I learned in pharmacy school” post today. I just wanted to make sure y’all knew I was staying awake and alert and maybe give you some insight into the “wide world of pharmacy”. Until next time, take care!

Posted by Cory at 02:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Three days down, about four full years yet to go! I am talking, of course, about my first week of pharmacy school last week. If I had to give a “feeling” I have about it so far, I would have to go with, “so far, so good.”

            Class, for me at least, started a day before the rest of the university on Wednesday instead of Thursday. Instead of having the burden of starting a day early, I like to think that I am getting my money’s worth. = My first official pharmacy school class began at 10 in the morning, and was SCCP 600, standing for South Carolina College of Pharmacy 600. This description still isn’t quite enough to understand what the class really is about, so I will go ahead and let you know that it is a two hour integrated Physiology/Pathology class. Impressive sounding, huh? Well, the only other class Wednesday was SCCP 615 aka Biochemistry/Biotechnology. Both classes look to be a nice balance of challenging and interesting.

            Thursday was my first 8 AM class of the semester as I got the introduction to the class “Introduction to Pharmacy Practices.” (Sorry for the redundant use of the word “introduction) From the classroom in Charleston, our instructor got our attention by immediately making fun of his old age and his experiences as a “Yank” from New Jersey here in South Carolina. This class promises to be very informative on the different aspects of the profession of pharmacy, as well as entertaining; as long as our professor keeps up his antics!

            Changing pace next class was Microbiology, which lasted for two hours! Alright, I’ll admit, this is a pretty cool class, especially to a biology nerd like me, but sitting there absorbing for two hours is going to take a lot of focus. Luckily, I remained awake and alert the whole class, unlike my poor roommate Nick who had himself a nice nap after about 45 minutes of lecture!

            The final class of the day was pharmaceutics, and to be honest, I think I will need to have a few more classes to see what this will be about. We began with some history of the profession, but it also looks like we will also go into different aspects of drug delivery as well. With that, class came to an end on Thursday, and it was off to finally finish this shortened week.

            Friday brought a reprieve from the 8 AM start…with 9 O’clock instead! Although just an hour extra, it goes a long way after a busy week. First class was SCCP 660, or, for understanding sake, Clinical Applications. I am excited about this class because it will basically be a recitation class where we meet up in groups and work on real world pharmacy problems. We also have to do some oral and PowerPoint presentations, which is right up my alley!

            The final class was another installment of Biochemistry/Biotechnology. No need to bore you with another description.

            So, there you have it, my first three days of pharmacy school. Coming up next will be my first full week, along with a couple more new classes that I am sure I will be sharing with you. As I said, so far, so good, but as with any science experiment  or medication development, the bigger the sample size, the more accurate the results. So, we shall see what kind of tune I will be singing in four months! Until next time, take care!

Posted by Cory at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

All summer long I told tales of long days of freshman orientation, with me on the orienting side of course. Well, as a new professional student in the South Carolina College of Pharmacy, it was my turn to be “oriented” at the pharmacy school’s own orientation over the last two days.

            It was quite a change of roles for me as I sat back and let the heads of the college take care of the day’s details; from learning about pharmacy ethics to the logistics of lunch. Overall, the first day was a nice introduction to the college, as well as to the other 109 people that I will be spending the next four years with in class.

            Day two began with an introduction by the Dean of our school, Dr. DiPiro, only there was a little twist involved. You see, the South Carolina College of Pharmacy has a campus here at USC in Columbia, and one down in Charleston at the medical school. So, as Dr. DiPiro gave his speech, he was talking live and in person to us, and live via video to Charleston. This new technology was intriguing, and it is how many of our classes will be taught, with professors here at USC being “beamed” to Charleston and vice versa.

            While I thought it was pretty cool to be sending video of us to Charleston, I was wondering how much quality there would be in the audio and video coming back up to us. However, with one short PowerPoint presentation from Charleston, my fears were gone. The speech was clear, we could see the teacher, and he could highlight anything on his PowerPoint presentation and have it show up in real time on our screen. Pretty cool stuff if you ask me!

            After the bells and whistles of this “distance learning” were shown off, it was time for the “main event” down in the Columbia Convention Center. Our White Coat Ceremony was where all of the pharmacy students were given our white lab coats (hence the name of the ceremony”) and signed our pharmacy oath. It was a very exciting event, especially when my time to walk across the stage came, and Dr. Buff, an associate dean here, made reference to how USC “gets them from a long way away” as he mentioned me being from all the way in Tucson, Arizona.

            Once all of us “newbies” had gotten our coats, it was off to a lovely reception at the Convention Center. While we were out there, myself, Nick, and his lovely girlfriend, Melisa, had our picture taken. Here ya go! Do we look professional or what?

 http://uscbloggers.com/cory/Me%20nick%20and%20Mel%20White%20Coat.jpg

            Well, that’s all I have time to tell you for now. The last few days have been a whirlwind of moving, unpacking, organizing, buying for the apartment, orientating myself, and just trying to prepare myself mentally for class to begin. As of this minute, I am only about ten hours away from my first ever pharmacy class! I better get some shuteye. More news to come, I promise! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            For the last two years I have spent what seems like an eternity in one classroom. I speak of the large lecture hall in the Jones Physical Science Building room #210, or PSC 210 for short. I remember the first class I had was my second semester of freshman year chemistry 112 class. This year I had the privilege of having both my Organic Chemistry Physics classes there as well. We are talking almost five hours a week spent in one class. Luckily I didn’t sit in the same seat in each class, that would have been boring or somethi