Biostatistics

Biostats is an unusual course at AUC because it lasts just under a month. Class started the day after Block 1 exams, May 24th, and will continue until June 22nd, where we will take the final midway through Block 3. Although it is a one credit course, it is extremely annoying.

Annoyance #1: We have back-to-back classes from 8:00-11:20 however there is an inexplicable 40 minute wait for Biostats at Noon (we tried to get the class moved to 11:30 but there were some who vetoed the act). Most people will run for food in the cafeteria or some place else nearby, but I end up waiting since I have lunch at home. When we didn't have biostats first block, I was arriving home at 11:30 every day, and now I get home at 1:00

Annoyance #2: The one month of class is punctuated with two quizzes that are each worth 15% of our overall grade. This wouldn't be bad except for the fact that the quizzes are only 7 questions long. If you miss one question, you are already down to an 86%.  With that being said, we actually had our first quiz today and I did end up scoring a 100%. But to get that score, I skipped all my classes this morning and just did Biostats practice problems for hours because I am that bad in math. I learned a long time ago (5th grade exactly) that I'm not naturally good at math, but with enough practice applying the same equations or system over and over again, I just learn how to use certain equations without really knowing why I'm using them.

What's the difference between a Z Score and T Score? I would say one's constant and the other isn't. What does that mean, you ask? I really couldn't tell you...

Related articles

• Semester Two: Block I Results and Revisiting the Idea that AUC is the Best Medical School in the Caribbean (medschoolcaribstyle.com)

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!

Unfortunately I don't get the day off and I actually just got back from class a couple minutes ago. Days have been longer since we do have Bio Stats at noon now for this block. Thank god it only lasts three weeks.

In honor of Memorial day though, I will be making hot dogs and pork beans. I'll probably pick up a couple beers later on as well. Then I'll have to study a good 4-5 hours for the Biostats quiz tomorrow. I literally have no clue what is happening in that class.

I hope you all have a good holiday. 

Cupecoy Beach Club

I've already posted pictures of my new home a few months back, albeit just the inside so this is why I want to take the time and show you the rest of Cupecoy Beach Club.

I'm in the unit up on the second floor

The walkway to my apartment I take everyday

Ocean-facing apartment. Unfortunately mine only overlooks
a portion of the pool

My second floor apartment. Picture taken on
top of the gym

I've been spending a good amount of time out here

Ping Pong. Played for the first time yesterday

The gym here is a lot quieter and  more open than the one
at AUC. 

I've worked out here more times this last month
than I ever worked out the entire first semester.

Walkway to our private beach. What's a Beach Club
without its own beach?

Little guy we saw along the way.

The beach during high tide

The other side of the beach.

Using some of
the cool settings on my camera.

Another one putting skills to use

We have many Iguanas at the Beach Club
but this is definitely the biggest one we
have seen.

Probably two feet long.

Related articles

• Pictures of My AUC Dorm Room (medschoolcaribstyle.com)
• Pictures of the Interior of My Apartment (medschoolcaribstyle.com)

Semester Two: Block I Results and Revisting the Idea that AUC is the Best Medical School in the Caribbean

It wasn't too long ago when I shared AUC's 2010 USMLE Step 1 results with you all. In case you never saw the post, I took the liberty of re-posting the results that were put together by our Associate Dean of of Academic Affairs, Dr. Y, who also happens to be my Biostats professor (class started this past Tuesday).

If you don't know much about the USMLE and how it's scored, the results to the right may not mean anything to you. If this is the case then please go ahead and take my word for it that these results are pretty amazing. The first time pass rate for US medical schools in 2010 was a 94% and AUC matched it. The average score for US med students was a 222 and at AUC it was a 217. What is even more astonishing about the AUC statistics is that approximately 1/3 of the 2010 test taking class scored a 99! To really put this in perspective please refer to the graph below. Notice that the cutoff for a 99 was a 231 in 2010. Also notice that if you scored a 99 you were  AT THE VERY LEAST in the 70th Percentile out of all test-takers in the United States and countries around the world! One-third of the students in this tiny little Caribbean school were among the top scorers and I think that is something to be very proud of.

I didn't just pull all the stats on this page out my ass, by the way. After Biostats today I stayed after and spoke with Dr Y about all the USMLE scores. She is the woman responsible for collecting and compiling the GPAs, MCAT scores, USMLE Step scores, AUC GPAs, Residency matches of every single student who has graduated AUC in the last ten years. She frequently travels around the United States giving presentations about AUC and these statistics in conferences with other medical schools deans and heads of residency programs sharing their information. She actually told us in class yesterday that she had just come back from a conference in Boston (home sweet home) where other medical schools reps from Harvard, Boston University, Case Western, etc were in attendance and the people in the conference were astounded that a school of our size, with "lesser" students could score just as well and even better than the students attending their schools!  FOR EXAMPLE: If you would please notice in the chart above, the best Step 1 score among the 2010 AUC test taking class was a 262/99. Do you know what that boy's MCAT score was? A 21. 21. Let me say that again.... he scored a 21. Naturally he wasn't accepted to any US medical schools and yet after his basic science education here at AUC, he still managed to score a 262 which pretty much puts him in the 98th percentile of all test takers from the United States.

So what does all this have to do with my block 1 results? Dr. Y told me that there was little to almost no correlation between MCAT scores and how well a student will do in the USMLE Step 1 (from her data on AUC students at least, I know many US schools say there is a correlation). She said the single factor that has the greatest chance in determining your success on the USMLE Step 1 is your AUC GPA from the first 5 semesters. Don't settle for an overall grade of an 80, she told me. Try to honor every single exam and every single class. The students who put the most work in these 5 semesters are the ones who score the 99s. And with that ridiculously long introduction here are the scores of the new, studious me:

MCB II-
Average: 85%
Me: 100%

Immunology-
Average: 88%
Me: 91%

Physiology I-
Average : 86.5
Me: 92%

And that my friends is a Med School Hat Trick.

Related articles

• Re-evaluating Caribbean Medical Schools (flusteredgrad.wordpress.com)
• Caribbean Medical Schools (pankeys.info)
• Why AUC? (caribbeanmedstudent.com)
• Why AUC Opposed to St. George's? (caribbeanmedstudent.com)
• What Led Me to Choose AUC: Objective (myplasticity.com)
• What Led Me to Choose AUC: Subjective (myplasticity.com)

Second Semester!!

I know I'm long overdue for a a post with some substance... I just finished off block one of my second semester and I am astounded at how much better second semester has been so far in comparison to first.
Why is that, you ask? My simple answer: NO ANATOMY! If you've been keeping up with my blog, I know it comes to no surprise that I am ecstatic that it's over. No more two hour lab periods, no more bodies, no more smell, no more sifting through futile slides, and no more Netter's. The thing I hated most about anatomy was the fact that it was so disorganized. I felt like I had no real direction when I was studying for the course and because of this, I wasted more hours on anatomy than I would've liked and preceded to neglect my other two subjects- Histo and MCB. In general I think all my grades suffered because I was not more efficient with my time. I was forced to find my own way and after three months, I felt that I had finally found a system that worked for me. I devoted quite a long post on "my system" a few weeks back and if you're interested you can get to it by clicking here.

In second semester you take MCB II, Immunology, Physiology I (and 2 weeks of BioStats) at AUC. Class is from 8 am to 11:20 like always but this time you have nothing in the afternoons! Well at least for the time being. In Block 4, I will start having ICM II (Introduction to Clinical Medicine) two hours a day in the afternoons, but at least it is a hands-on class that teaches us how to interact with patients, take a medical history, perform a physical exam, use a stethoscope etc. But since that won't begin for another couple months I've been making the most of my free afternoons.

I'm always in  bed around 11:00 pm and then I wake up the next morning and do it all over again. I slightly altered my study regiment this semester and I think it has been working out pretty well for me so far. I just finished my Block I exams yesterday and once final grades are posted, I'll be more than happy to let you know how I did and what changes I employed for this semester. So far things are looking pretty good.

Until next time

Congratulations Benji!!

I know most of you have probably been to Benji's blog, Diary of a Caribbean Med Student, and those of you who do follow it regularly know Benji has been dating his girlfriend Irene for quite a few years now and well.... he just announced today that he is engaged!!!

So I just wanted to congratulate Benji on the great news! CONGRATULATIONS!!! You two are absolutely adorable and I am so excited for you!

Internet Problems Solved (mostly)

It turns out getting internet wasn't as complicated a process I initially thought because not only did I NOT need my landlord's approval, but I didn't have to wait days or weeks for the installation. CaribServe offers a WiMAX alternative to their wired option. I didn't know what WiMAX was, but after getting an explanation I liked what I heard. It's basically a wireless modem that you plug into any outlet to receive 4G signal broadcasted by CaribServe. They offer two WiMAX models: with or without a WiFi router. The device with the WiFi router set me back $200 (as opposed to $150 for the modem without WiFi) but I will hopefully be able to re-sell it close to that amount when I'm finally off this island. I bought the "Gold" package which costs $90 a month, but because I am sharing this internet with 2 other people, it's only $30. For anyone interested getting CaribServe internet, here are some of the prices below and be sure to go visit the site for more information.

The Gold package has been really good. I get full bars (when the modem on the side of my apartment that is closest to the interior of the island) so I'm able to stream videos fairly quickly and my pages load in a couple seconds. I'm able to upload photos up to facebook much faster than I ever could at the dorms, but my download speeds are ever so slightly slower. Overall I'm very happy with my service, although there are times where my computer says I'm connected to the internet, but my web browser says that I'm not... it's happened once already but at least things go back to normal when I restart the WiMAX modem.

Speed	Annual Prepaid	Quarterly Prepaid
WIMAX Bronze Best Effort Bandwidth: Up to 1.0 Mbps Download, 256kbps Upload	$ 50.00 * Subscribe >>	$ 55.00 * Subscribe >>	$ 60.00 * Subscribe >>
WIMAX Silver Best Effort Bandwidth: Up to 1.5 Mbps Download, 384kbps Upload	$ 65.00 * Subscribe >>	$ 70.00 * Subscribe >>	$ 75.00 * Subscribe >>
WIMAX Gold Best Effort Bandwidth: Up to 2.0 Mbps Download, 512kbps Upload	$ 80.00 * Subscribe >>	$ 85.00 * Subscribe >>	$ 90.00 * Subscribe >>
WIMAX Platinium Best Effort Bandwidth: Up to 3.0 Mbps Download, 768kbps Upload	$ 140.00 * Subscribe >>	$ 145.00 * Subscribe >>	$ 150.00 * Subscribe >>

Update:

I recommend buying the model without the built-in WiFi because I have experienced problems with the built-in WiFi router. It resets to the default settings every time it is unplugged and moved to a different location within my apartment. The WiFi router also broadcasts a weak signal (it worked fine in my apartment, but I needed a strong signal to share it with the other 2 people) and takes a lot of fiddling around to get it working with my computer. To fix the problem, I connected a different WiFi router to the modem and it has been working great ever since.

Struggling for Internet

It's been annoying trying to get internet for my new place. I need a signed agreement from my landlord who happens to be in Canada at the moment. Boo
So it looks like these next few days/weeks, if I want to talk to anyone I'm going to have to walk to campus or the casino to access the internet. 

Rambling thoughts on my way back to St. Maarten

It's 9:25 at the moment and I don't get to start boarding my flight for another hour and half. What better way to utilize my time than to write a new post? I would like to send out a special thank you to all the folks who run Logan Airport in Boston because the internet here is always FREE, unlike most ridiculous airports in the world. They had the ingenious idea to have advertisers sponsor our free internet by making us watch a one minute video of their product or do a survey. I happened to watch a BMW video on the new M6 and woolah, free internet.

So Osama bin Laden is dead. That's great news, although I thought he's been dead in a cave somewhere for the last ten years. Now news people are reporting on the probability of repercussions.... good thing I'm jumping on a plane right now.

I was partially devastated by the Celtics loss yesterday, but remain hopeful because even though we played horribly, we still only lost by 9 when James Jones and Wade had the games of their life (Wade has been terrible against the celts all season). The only Celtics player who came out to play was Ray Allen, but this isn't going to be the case again Game 2. We will be back and intense.

I'm drinking a Dunkin Donuts hot chocolate right now, and it is, in my honest opinion, the greatest mass produced hot chocolate around. It's unfortunate my first trip to Dunkies since I've been back home was 5 minutes ago on my way back to St. Maarten.