A Golden Month

     With the start of the new year, we promptly began class on January 6th. In Louisiana, locals know that January 6th is all kings day. It marks the begging of Mardi Gras season. My favorite part about this day is bakeries begin selling king cakes. The past month flew by with numerous events happening each week. Jumping right in, we set out on our journey with the Endocrine Pharmacology module. Many new drugs were covered in this module including Hypoglycemics like Metformin (a DOC) and Insulin formulations. Also, some previous drugs were expanded upon in this module providing a great review in preparation for the upcoming NBME in March. The Thursday after the exam marked my golden birthday, which I was lucky to celebrate with many friends and family at a surprise party. My best friend flew in for the week, which was also a great surprise. The busy month has come to an end with the Neurology module and our first cellular control mechanism exam is approaching soon. In this neurology block, we have been introduced to many drugs like opioids and drugs used in anesthesia like Propofol. I presented on a possible new therapy (intranasal Methylnaltrexone) in the Advances in Pharmacology course for opioid-induced constipation, so learning about opioids just prior was very helpful in comprehending the mechanism of opioids. Both modules relate to two new courses we have started this semester in the Tulane Masters of Pharmacology Program. I, also, presented in both of these classes this month. For Neuropharmacology I discussed Oxytocin impacts on social cognitive performance in Schizophrenia. In Endocrine Pharmacology, I spoke on the overall stress-response. Taking information cross curriculum has provided a better, more holistic view of pharmacology. I look forward to seeing what these next months have in-store. I have not yet completed by service hours, but look forward to completing them soon.

Southern Pharm

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