Music of the Heart: The Finale of Block II

Music, besides its round about connections with similar principles of study and discipline, would help me decipher heart sounds. Arrhythmias come in all different tones and qualities form a grand Chopin Waltz to a smooth jazz and every rhythm in between. I think I even heard Dave Brubeck's "Take 5" in split s1 and s2 with a systolic murmur thrown. After dissecting and analyzing of all different types of music listening for qualities like tone, pitch and rhythm are second nature.  It is too bad that they were not tested on the recognition of the sounds in a practical exam format. That will come next year.

This block was all about Cardiovascular System. So far it has been the most clinically oriented section this year. The skills and knowledge are directly applicable to the practice of cardiology many of the techniques and knowledge gained are in use on a daily basis and not just the necessary background information.

Well, Another Block is finally over and time is continually increasing its speed. It seems like only a few weeks ago I was scrambling to move all my things down to Cincinnati and looking for a place to live. Opportunities have been piling up and filtering through the different group involvements has been challenging. Coming from undergraduate when it was feasible to participate in every extracurricular known to man to medical school where one must make tough decisions of involvement.

I have narrowed things down to a select few that do not conflict with each other. They are as follows:

• IPJH Vulnerable Populations Student Elective -  this ties into my work with the homeless and will enable me to have a heightened involved with the medically undeserved.
• Neuroscience Elective Scholars Program - will allow me to continue in a limited capacity with research and help me gain clinical experience in neurology and neurosurgery.
• Medvouc - which I have discussed in previous posts. This will tie into the IPJH elective.
• American Medical Association - a form of student leadership in a national medical organization.
• Medical Wilderness Club - this one is just for fun.

Writing these down seems like there is a lot of extra work on top of classes, but most of these are a long term commitments which only has about 3-4 hours per month or less, and working with these organizations comes in spurts.