Contents 1 First-Year Reflections – What Is It Like To Move Here? 1.1 On Coming From A Small School 1.2 On Coming From A Big School 1.3 On coming from Case Undergrad 1.4 On Coming Straight To Med School 1.5 On Taking Time Off 2 Relationships In Med School – Are They Possible? 2.1 On Dating Someone In Med School 2.2 On Living With Your Significant Other 2.3 On Being In A Long Distance Relationship 2.4 On Being A Parent 3 What Is It Like To Be Here At Case? 3.1 On Being an International Student 3.2 On Coming From California 3.3 On Coming From The Northwest 3.4 On Coming From The East Coast 3.5 On Being Asian-American 3.6 On Being African-American 4 Finding Balance In Med School – Myth or Reality? 4.1 On Making Time To Exercise 4.2 On Maintaining Outside Interests 4.3 On Finding Time To Work 4.4 On Being An MD/PhD Student 5 WR2 Curriculum - Ins and Outs 5.1 IQ Sessions 5.2 Large Group Interactive Sessions (Lecture) 5.3 Board Preparedness 5.4 Preparation for the Clinical Years 5.5 Preparation for Residency

[edit] First-Year Reflections – What Is It Like To Move Here?

[edit] On Coming From A Small School

• I remember looking over the class list during orientation last year and noticing a theme in the “Undergraduate Institution” section: Princeton…Northwestern…Harvard…Berkeley…Hopkins…Stanford…etc. I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into, and whether I would be as prepared for the intensity of med school as my classmates who went through pre-med courses at larger and highly competitive schools. Thankfully, entering Case from a small, relatively unknown liberal arts college doesn’t require as much adjustment, academically or otherwise, as I thought it would when I started. You should have no concern about how you will fit in academically with the many students from “name brand” universities; as you will quickly realize when you start getting to know your classmates, everyone who is accepted at Case (this includes you) is smart and capable of doing well. Anatomy has a way of correcting for whatever academic advantage there is to be gained by doing pre-med in the Ivy League – no matter where your lab partners went to school you can be very sure that they are learning the “Epiploic Foramen of Winslow” for the first time, just as you are.
• You also shouldn’t worry about adjusting to life at a large university. In fact, because the class is small and you will see everyone every day, the first year of med school has a lot in common with high school; so in some ways you will have less of an adjustment to make than your classmates who attended larger schools. You will, of course, need to get ready to sit in a lecture hall with 140 people instead of 10, but other than that the only advice I can give is to prepare a response for the many blank stares you will get when people ask where you went to college.

Top 5 Study Breaks

1. Ping-pong in Caughey Lounge

2. Check E-mail

3. G-chatting

4. Youtube.com

5. Working out

• For all the ways in which med school can be like high school, however, the Medical Center and the rest of the University definitely are not small. This means that there probably will be many more resources and opportunities available than you were accustomed to during your undergraduate years. Remember that you are not just a med student but also a student in the University, so all of the resources of the undergraduate and other professional schools (the gym, libraries, cafeterias; as well as concerts, non-medical lectures, etc) are open to you as well. Whether you will have time during the first year to take advantage of these things (other than the library) is another issue, but you can at least know that they are there. For the most part, coming from a small college really is a non-issue, and in many ways you get the best of both worlds at Case – all of the resources of a large university but the feel of a smaller school.

[edit] On Coming From A Big School

• The transition from a large-public university for undergraduate education to a small-private university for medical school may initially seem like the difference between night and day. At the University of Michigan, I was used to a large campus, a series of academic buildings, numerous student organizations, an extensive athletic program, and over 36,000 students. Attending Case for medical school is different in the sense that your campus is essentially the medical center, your classes are in a single building, and your class size is about 140 students. Thus, the adjustment from a large university to Case may require some patience at first. Nevertheless, there are many advantages to being at a smaller university for medical school that I didn’t initially realize.
• At a large institution, going from class to class could require a 5-10 minute bike ride across campus, and voicing an academic concern to the appropriate administrators could take weeks. In addition, getting to know professors and faculty members could seem daunting in a class of over 300 other students. The advantage at Case is that all of your classes are in the Robbins Building, so you never have to worry about traveling across campus or wonder whether or not you’ll be late. Administration is directly across the hallway as well, so if you ever have a question, comment, or concern, you don’t have to wait weeks to set-up an appointment or share your thoughts. Finally, Case professors and faculty make it a priority to get to know you as a person, student, and future physician. The professors and faculty are always engaged in your personal well-being and academic development.
• Although there are fewer student body organizations than what you may be accustomed to, the medical school student body is close knit and many students are always actively involved in various activities. Some of these include Intramural sports at the Rec Center, attending cultural activities around Cleveland, participating in athletic club teams, and mentoring high school and college students. There are also various social events among the professional schools at Case, so that’s another way of meeting new people who don’t know the names of the branches off the internal iliac artery. Taken together, if you’re coming from a big school, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the change of pace Case offers for medical school. Get to know your classmates, get to know your professors, and welcome to Case!

[edit] On coming from Case Undergrad

• Congratulations on your decision to spend another 4 years at Case! If you are anything like me, you won’t be disappointed. I came to Case for the great academics and the laid back, friendly people, and it just got better when I moved across the street to the Med School. The administration is amazingly student friendly as compared to undergrad and the faculty are always willing to make time to give you extra help or advice. You’ll find that the students, while school oriented like in undergrad (let’s face it, this is medical school), are incredibly social! The admissions office does a great job of finding people that not only are smart, but would work well with others, which makes for a class of regular, if brainy, people.
• As to staying in Cleveland, for me it has been a major comfort. Med school is hard enough without trying to find your way around a new area. Also, having friends from undergrad is a great way to keep yourself balanced. You’ll have a support system already in place for when you are stressing out and need to get away from medicine. The hardest part is having friends come back to visit, or people having parties, when you are too busy studying to take the time out. And after a while, you might find yourself so busy you don’t have time to maintain relationships. Trust me, it is much more frustrating to lose contact with someone that is right down the road than across the country! But overall, I think you’ll find having old friends around helps you keep your balance. Just be careful not to let them be a safety blanket… don’t miss out on med school life because you are still wrapped up in undergrad!

Top 5 First-Year Experiences

1. Finishing the Block 4 SSEQ

2. Block 1 Partying

3. White Coat Ceremony

4. HippoBall

5. Spring Break

• Something you might be worrying about is staying in Cleveland. I know a lot of people complain that there is nothing to do here, but I never had that problem. Granted, people do still like to hang out in Coventry since it is close, and ‘going out’ still means West 6th, but I have discovered so many great sides of the city I didn’t find in undergrad. Having all the new people here exploring will help you to find new things, too. Who knew Tremont was the place to go for great restaurants? I certainly didn’t!
• A few final words: Don’t give up the things you loved about Case as an undergrad just because you’re in med school. That said, don’t get so caught up in undergrad life that you miss out on med school. It’s a delicate balancing act, but it can be done. When it’s done well, you will have a unique and amazing experience!

[edit] On Coming Straight To Med School

• It is my task to give you a few pointers on coming to Case Western Reserve School of Medicine straight outta the box some call undergraduate education. While some of your new classmates may have spent years in the Peace Corps, attended law school, or practiced in the time-honored tradition of circus trapeze artistry, you have chosen the wise path and come to Case in peak condition to succeed in med school. Congratulations.

• Through high school and college, you have become adept at balancing a busy schedule, excelling in academics, and hopefully having a little fun on the side. Now you just need to do it better. First of all, don’t worry about school too much. You’ll study more than ever before, but as I mentioned above, you are a highly trained learning machine. Second, coming to Case offers the opportunity for you to continue nearly every extracurricular activity you enjoyed last year. You just won’t have as much time to fit it all in, so learn to use your time efficiently. Additionally, many of you coming directly from college may frequently look for a continuation of your carefree days in the animal house. Well, I am happy to inform you that at Case you will find many like yourself to help you forget about 8am class or that last Anatomy test. Perhaps the biggest adjustment you’ll have from college will be coming to grips with the deceivingly small class size here. On the one hand, it’s great because you will get to know everyone very quickly and make fast friends, but at times, it can feel like you are in a bad Saved by the Bell episode. Overall, the first year of medical school isn’t entirely different from undergrad. Just make sure that you take it in stride and watch out for yourself. Hey, I made it, so you don’t have any excuses. See you soon.

[edit] On Taking Time Off

• Starting medical school can be a daunting endeavor, especially if one has taken a few years off doing other things since graduating college. The opportunity to learn alongside and work with such a dynamic and talented class of individuals on a daily basis proves invaluable for your growth as a person and a physician. The flexibility and freedom an academic schedule allows was a welcome relief from the rigor and rigidity of the business world. Adjusting to the demands of medical school and reintroducing yourself to studying are challenges any non-traditional student faces, but also ones everyone confronts, regardless of background. Each student comes to Case with different skills, experiences, and values…it’s quite a ride to converse and share in a highly charged learning environment.

[edit] Relationships In Med School – Are They Possible?

[edit] On Dating Someone In Med School

• When I came med school at Case, I immediately found myself in an environment where EVERYONE was an intelligent, hard worker who truly desired to be a doctor. This has drawn my classmates and me to form friendships based upon many common bonds. I had no intentions of getting involved in a relationship for some time, but I met David on the first day of Second Look Weekend and we immediately hit it off. I was worried that a relationship would cause me to lose sight of my focus that got me to med school in the first place, but then realized that as med students, we shared many common goals and interests. For the past 15 months, we have been dating, and we recently became engaged.
• At the beginning of our relationship, David and I didn’t do much of our schoolwork together, but over time we have realized what a great resource we have in each other. The curriculum at Case is designed for students to learn through discussion and interaction, and we found that when we studied together, discussing concepts and drawing out ideas, we benefited greatly and really cemented the material in our minds.

• Another benefit to having a relationship with someone in the med school class is that a lot of the long-term questions that many couples deal with do not apply to your relationship. Since we are on the same track in our careers, we will both be doing rotations and residency at the same time, and we won’t have to worry about our careers pulling us in opposite directions.
• That being said, one downside of dating someone in the class is that med school can be a lot like middle school. Everyone knows everything about everyone, and if you date or break up, it’s very public knowledge. With this in mind, it was important to us to try to be discreet during the first several months that we dated, because when you are just getting to know someone it’s not ideal to have 145 people speculating on your relationship. Needless to say, even with our attempts to be discreet, others eventually did discover the nature of our relationship, and we have become known as “that couple that met during Second Look,” to our classmates, deans, and even older med students we don’t know.
• Altogether, I would say that there are definite benefits to dating someone who shares common interests, career goals, and life plans with you, but you need to be aware that it can sometimes feel like your classmates are viewing your relationship under a microscope. I’d encourage new medical students to carefully weigh the pros and cons of dating a classmate and make the decision that they feel is best for them and their situation.

[edit] On Living With Your Significant Other

• My greatest fear this year was that I would become neglectful of my fiancé amidst my new responsibilities as a medical student. It’s an issue common to any couple that has to adjust to a new career or promotion, but as a medical student, you have a significant advantage over other couples in making this major life change jive with your relationship.

• Since Case allows us to define the majority of our afternoon schedule, I structured my study time to coincide with the time when Austin was at work. By eating lunch while I studied, forgoing social events in the afternoon, and saving errands and exercise for the evening (when he and I could go together), I was able to get in a solid six hours of study time each day before my fiancé got home. As soon as Austin came in the door, study time for me was virtually over. We made the effort to cook and eat together, watch each other’s favorite TV shows, and go out for the occasional date.
• The healthy balance between school and your partner will probably evaporate come exam time. You will be much busier studying, and when you aren’t studying, you’ll be talking and thinking about studying. My only means of buffering my relationship from Exam Blitzkrieg were to a) Tell Austin that an exam was coming, and that he should expect that I wouldn’t be as available at night or on weekends, and b) To start studying early enough that I only had to put in 6 to 8 hours a day of review, which kept me from having to cram until the early morning hours the week before the exam. By keeping your partner informed of your school schedule, he or she can prepare themselves to miss you dearly, plan to help out more around the house, and look forward to the end of an exam as much as you will. It is also up to you to maintain as relaxed a schedule prior to exams as you can, so study effectively and leave plenty of time to review the Block’s material.
• It will probably take a few months for you and yours to find the beat. Meanwhile, do your best to be as loving and supportive of your partner as you’ve always been. Your partner will be your greatest cheerleader; reward them with your time, energy, and (obviously) your love.

[edit] On Being In A Long Distance Relationship

• As you can imagine, a long distance relationship in medical school is tough. You have to talk it over with your significant other and decide together that it is something you both want to do. That said, if the relationship is something that you are both fully committed to, you can and will make it happen. A long-distance significant other can be a big asset during medical school. My girlfriend and I talked on the phone every night before I went to bed, sharing the events of the day, discussing current events, and planning our next time together. Not only did talking to her on the phone before going to bed give me nice closure to the day, keeping her up to date on my everyday activities really helped me throughout my first year as she always offered a different, refreshing perspective on medical school. She was my calming influence through the hectic weeks of class and helped me survive my first year. It was also nice to always have trips to see each other planned out. Although she was in California, we managed to see each other about every five weeks and often had the next trip planned out before the current one was over. This always gave us something to look forward to and having a definite time in mind really helped a lot.
• You will have your rocky moments, but your ability to get past these moments and remember the reasons you have for the relationship are what will get you through the hard times. One thing my girlfriend and I did was exchange cards telling the other what they meant to us. I still have my card today and always referred to it whenever we came across difficult times in our relationship as a way to remind myself what she means to me and what I mean to her. Nevertheless, you should not hesitate to use your support system—your friends from back home, medical school friends and colleagues, and even society deans. You will be surprised how many of these people have seen or gone through the same sort of situations and can give great advice.
• A long distance relationship during your first year of medical school has its advantages and disadvantages. Make an effort to always keep your significant other involved in your life and maintain open lines of communication. You may long for the past when things were easier, but one thing to remember: Things will never be the same, but the more things change, the more they stay the same.

[edit] On Being A Parent

• All medical students feel that there just are not enough hours in the day, and that they are being pulled in too many directions to properly focus. For most of us, we can put some of our activities on the back-burner until Med school studies are no longer as pressing. However, for students with children, this usually isn’t an option, and the balancing act between school and other activities becomes more important. Though the exact method one may choose to balance these two competing activities will be highly variable, I would suggest that to achieve a good balance, one must create a dedicated portion of time to family life. In order to handle the balancing act, I decided to treat school like a full-time job. I leave in the morning at 6:30-7:00, and get home between 5 and 6:30. The rest of the evening is family time, giving me a chance to not only rest from a busy day of classes and studying, but also to play with my young daughter. Knowing that this time was dedicated family time prevented me from feeling guilty that I should be studying, which allowed me to more fully appreciate it. Similarly, on the weekends I limited myself to no more than 5 hours of studying per day, typically early in the morning.

[edit] What Is It Like To Be Here At Case?

[edit] On Being an International Student

• Having attended a liberal arts college in MN, I was a bit apprehensive on how different things were in Cleveland. Of course, you hear a lot of things about the the city but I can definitely say that the negative statements were simply not true. Cleveland is very diverse for a city of its size. We have quite the gamut of ethnic restaurants, from Ethiopian to Indian to Brazilian. The CWRU Community also has special events like the International Food and Cultural festival which medical students are welcome to attend. The community makes an effort to welcome International students and help them feel like they belong in the family.

[edit] On Coming From California

• For the first few months in Cleveland, I felt like I was running on a treadmill set on reverse. Everything took more time then I thought it should, every action more energy then I believed it warranted. I realized that I had lived a lifestyle of convenience that was almost exclusively unique to California. Adjusting to this new environment required me to realize not only what I didn’t have in Cleveland, but also what I did in California. Living in Cleveland requires patience and tolerance that was rarely called upon during my time in California. Slowly I’ve adjusted, and it’s enabled me to see things that were once obscured by the frustrations of moving to a new place with its own culture and pace.
• Cleveland’s cultural and ethnic diversity is a wealth of knowledge that can teach a medical student many things about others and his/herself. Surprisingly, there are areas of Cleveland where I felt I was amongst more diversity then many places in California that are heralded for their diversity. The difference in Cleveland is that the diversity is compartmentalized, like spices in their respective jars, and they rarely mix. Different areas of Cleveland are clearly inhabited by different cultural groups with strict unwritten rules dictating their boundaries. Though this segregation is masked by the amalgamation that is a hospital waiting room, its something that affects the health and well being of the patients you will see. It’s important to remember this idea when choosing a place to live, finding a place to eat, or interviewing a new patient. Cleveland’s diversity is sometimes paradoxically rich and bland at the same time.
• The pace of the city is another change that will take some time getting used to for a person coming from California. You will soon notice that errands that took a couple of hours in California can take the better part of a day. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of a large thoroughfare that goes through the city and its suburbs making trans- metropolitan driving practical. For many Californian’s this may be your first time experiencing a beltway. Your first trip on it may leave you incredulously questioning its use. Your best bet in most situations is to take the surface streets. Find the roads that cut directly through the suburbs. Those are the ones that are your best bet for getting around town.

• You’ll find grocery shopping is much cheaper in Cleveland then anywhere in California, but its difficult to find one store that serves all of your needs. I find myself spending a good portion of my Saturdays driving around Cleveland’s suburbs to get everything on my list. Its difficult to find some food items that I considered staples of my California diet. Say goodbye to the Tortilla end cap with dozens of different types to choose from at the grocery store. If you are in to Hispanic foods (as I am) you will find yourself pacing the “Hispanic foods” isle for things that were everyday items back at home. With a little patience you will find them. If you’re an adventurous eater try the other ethnic food isles that are absent in California.
• Cleveland is going to require an adjustment, without a doubt. The secret to success is to not to try to make Cleveland a city in California. You will be disappointed and frustrated by the things Cleveland doesn’t have which won’t allow you to appreciate the things that it does. Let Cleveland be Cleveland and you’ll realize it has a lot to offer.

[edit] On Coming From The Northwest

• I had lived in Seattle for 11 years before starting med school here. Of course I miss home, and being away has given me much more pride for the Northwest. Nonetheless, Cleveland has surprisingly grown on me in the past 2 years and I have come to enjoy much of what it has to offer. While Cleveland is not exactly the hotspot that everyone's dying to visit, it has all that you need from a big city while in med school. Any more and you'd be too distracted to study. Any less and you'd be adopting pet rocks. Yes, you're probably thinking the same thought as me 2 years ago: "But it's the Midwest. You mean it's not cow and plow country?" No, but I'm sure you could find some if you drive far enough, same as the Northwest.  :)

• When I first moved to Cleveland, it was a large culture/weather/environmental shock. Ethnic breakdown in a nutshell: if you took the ratio of Asian Americans and African Americans along the West Coast and reversed it, you'd have Cleveland. Though Cleveland has its fair share of ethnic restaurants, it is nowhere comparable to the diversity you see in Seattle. For example, Indian, Thai, Japanese, Ethopian, Lebanese (etc) restaurants do exist here in Cleveland, but the quality may not be as up to par as you're used to. Ribs and burgers though, glorious. Beer is big here too, I never realized there were so many types and brands. Cleveland has it's own brewing company, Great Lakes, which is famous for its Christmas Ale. We have a street called Coventry close to school (which is similar The Ave if you're familar with the area around University of Washington) where you can find a bar selling $1 or $2 brews on almost any day of the week. Cleveland also takes a lot of pride in its sports teams, which is a big past-time here (which goes along with the big beer thing). We have the Indians, the Cavs, the Browns, even our own arena football league, the Predators. Cleveland Orchestra, famous. Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, fun. Outdoor music concerts at Blossom, relaxing. Lots of sports to get involved in as well. My med school class holds two intramural basketball championships, one in softball (I think), maybe one in soccer (?). Either way, we have tons of pick-up games for soccer, ultimate frisbee, basketball, etc. Other big sports that you'll find popular in Cleveland, or at least around Case Med, are cycling, running, rock climbing, and golfing. Once again, Cleveland doesn't have as many pretty trails as Seattle, but there are quite a few decent ones and a couple new ones being built.

Bottom 5 First-Year Experiences

1. The two weeks before a SSEQ

2. Pharmacology

3. ePortfolio

4. Winter

5. Block 1 Anatomy

• Weather-wise, you'll be used to the rain. However, be prepared for the snow and the humidity (yes, we actually have defined seasons). For the past couple of years that I have been here, Cleveland has usually had about 6 months of winter. It's a bit of a waste with all the snow that falls here because there are no good mountains in Ohio to enjoy downhill winter sports. However, there are a few good ski resorts in NY and PA which are only 3 hours away (yup, they're that close). Nonetheless, I will say this: you are spoiled by West Coast skiing, just accept it and don't let it prevent you from enjoying winter sports here. Spring and fall are gorgeous but short. Summer is humid and unless your apartment has central air, I highly advise investing in a good window unit. Rent is cheap (a little less expensive than housing around the university district in Seattle). We're talking $350-$500 a month with a roommate (and $500 is pretty high end). As with any campus, the farther away you live from school, the cheaper the rent. Houses have yards; some have gigantic yards! Not the tiny 6 foot by 5 foot patch of grass you find in backyards in Seattle, but rather huge soccer-field-like yards! Parking tickets: $10. Awesome, compared to Seattle's $35-45 tickets. You can actually find places to park downtown and the nightlife is buzzing on the weekends. Most clubs downtown don't have cover, so you can club hop all you want. If you want a chill night, there are a lot of sports bars and wine bars around Case. Cleveland is all about local roads. From Case, it's about a 20-30min drive locally to any nearby highway, but you most likely will not be using the highway much since you can reach everything locally. That being said, I highly advise having your own car here, though you can get by the first couple of years bumming rides off classmates.

• All in all, Cleveland is a great city. No doubt I love Seattle more, but I've grown very fond of this city. Take time to explore Cleveland and it will reward you with some awesome experiences.

[edit] On Coming From The East Coast

• Welcome to Cleveland, my fellow East-coasters! Whether you have been living back East to go to college, work, or – like me—you have spent your whole life there until now, you are bound to undergo a bit of a culture shock upon your arrival in City of Rock n Roll. But coming from the East coast, I have found that every day in the Midwest holds an exciting adventure; I am surprised by something new and wonderful about Cleveland or Midwestern culture every day. The people here are sweet and kind, the sky is big, the food is tasty, and air-guitaring is FUN. Plus, your rent is cheap, there are tons of independent shops and stores (unlike New York City, where I’m from), and the weather is pretty warm in the summer. What surprised me the most is how strange people thought I was for wanting to come to Cleveland (one member of the faculty actually called me “brave” for venturing over here). While I have felt homesick every once and a while, I thought my life this past year was enhanced by the atmosphere of Cleveland. While the culture is much more conservative than I was used to, life here seems less anxious somehow, which I greatly appreciated given how stressful med school could sometimes be. So, enjoy yourself. Cleveland is a great city, and there is more here than just Rock n Roll music (which is also excellent!). I encourage you to experience as much of it as you can.

[edit] On Being Asian-American

• Before coming to Case, I had not realized the “minority” aspect of my Chinese ethnicity. I was born in Singapore and raised in the Bay Area in Northern California, where Asians account for more than 40% of the population and the Lunar New Year Festival is a city-wide event. My sheltered view continued as I went to UC San Diego for both undergrad and grad school, where Asians are just as numerous as Caucasians. While preparing to move to the Midwest, I looked up Cleveland on Wikipedia and was surprised to learn that Asians make up about 1% of the city’s population. Upon meeting the rest of the class, however, I found I was far from being the only Asian.

• Our class is pretty diverse and I have never felt marginalized for being Asian. On the contrary, having an Asian ethnic background has become a useful resource for both my classmates and me as we are learning how to care for racially diverse patients. In the classrooms, lecture hall, and in the hospitals, race does not play a role and I receive the same respect as do my non-Asian classmates. I have never felt uncomfortable or slighted for being Asian at Case. Socially, I do not feel any pressure to hang out exclusively with my Asian classmates. Asian or not, some of my classmates and I have gotten together to celebrate some of the major Chinese holidays, including the Lunar New Year and the Dragon Boat Festival.
• Though there are plenty of Asians in our class, off-campus Asian sightings are rare. Despite this, there is evidence of a thriving Asian community in Cleveland because the Asian supermarkets here are well stocked with most things from durians to Indonesian sugar to Malaysian or Thai or Singaporean curries and the selection is on par with the Asian supermarkets from my hometown. Cleveland does have a sort of Chinatown that is sprinkled here and there within a 15-30 minute drive from campus. When we are craving Asian food, my friends and I can head to Chinatown for dim sum, a bowl of Pho, or bi bim bap, or pearl milk tea.
• In Cleveland I have received curious stares for being Asian, but in the restaurants, shops, and bakeries I’ve been in, I have not experienced discrimination for being Asian. It is slightly amusing to hear some people refer to us as “Orientals,” and I once talked to a stranger who commented on my “excellent and accent-free English,” but for the first time, I see that my Asian ethnicity is truly unique and I enjoy the knowledge that I contribute to the diversity of the class.

[edit] On Being African-American

• Most African American students are interested in what the minority population at their new school is going to be like. I was pleasantly surprised that Case clearly valued diversity among their student population and there were far more black students than I was expecting, close to 20 in my class alone. I was also impressed with the diversity within our black student population; we have classmates that attended HBCU’s, Ivy League schools, state schools and come from places such as Trinidad, Miami, Alabama and Cleveland. Every class dynamic is different but my experience as Co-President of SNMA has illustrated that black students at Case have a strong support system and relationships with black faculty and physicians that ensure success among our peers. That said, I would not define us as overly “self-segregating”, a phenomenon common in predominantly white institutions. While we are a very tight knit group that commonly forms study groups, takes trips together and frequently goes out for dinner or drinks, we all agree that our classmates are amazing people and often point out that we can hang out with virtually anyone in the class.
• Medical school can be stressful and as a minority student in new place you may feel isolated and overwhelmed. Case pays special attention to the needs of its students and I am more than pleased with the academic, social and emotional support that is available to minorities. In addition to the events and activities of our SNMA and LMSA chapters, the Cleveland area is rich in black physicians and faculty who are more than eager to mentor medical students and provide shadowing and other opportunities. Also, Cleveland has a rich African American history with HBCU’s in the area and variety of music venues (yes, other than Rock n Roll). I have made an unbelievable group of friends here at Case and I know our relationships will last a lifetime.

[edit] Finding Balance In Med School – Myth or Reality?

[edit] On Making Time To Exercise

• From those are avid sports participants to those who just want to shed a couple of pounds, Cleveland offers many opportunities for the busy medical student to exercise. The Case Western medical school curriculum offers ample time to get a in a quick workout , play a five set tennis match, or play an intramural soccer game. So get out there, have some fun, and be fit.

• Gyms
  • For those who do not like to stray too far away from the medical school campus, there are two gyms that are open for use by Case Western Students. Veale is located on the south end of the Case Quad. The facilities include an indoor track, indoor basketball, racquetball, and tennis courts, two indoor swimming pools, a newly renovated weight room, and a cardio room with elliptical and treadmills. There are very few times when Veale is crowded making it easy to get a quick workout in. Best of all is that it is free to all students as long as you present your student ID. The website has more details including hours for Veale. http://wiki.case.edu/Veale_Center
  • For those students who like a more structure to your workouts, there is the One to One Gym located directly across Aldelbert from the School of Medicine. This gym was voted one of Cleveland’s Best Gyms as it offers many structured classes such as yoga and cardio kick-boxing, a large and extensive cardio room, and a weight room. In addition, there is a juice bar, saunas in the locker room, and even sunless tanning. Cost for membership at 1-2-1 is approximately $35 (this includes the exercise classes they offer).
• Intramurals and Team Sports
  • Many medical students participate in various intramural activities from basketball to soccer. Med students are welcome to form their own teams or even join other teams. Intramural sports is a great way to participate in team sports, get to know classmates, and have some good fun. Teams can form and play other organizations through on-campus intramurals, or your team can play in one of the various community leagues all around Cleveland. Last year, our school won the IM Basketball Open League division title.

Top 5 Ways to Know You Are a First-Year

1. Smelling like cadavers

2. Being lost in the hospital

3. Loss of normal vocabulary

4. Self-diagnosis

5. Know useless information

• Cardiovascular Sports
  • From marathons to triathlons, Case Western medical students love their cardio workouts. Cleveland offers a plethora of great running and biking routes from the Shaker Lakes (http://www.shakerlakes.org/) to Cleveland Metro Parks (http://www.clemetparks.com/) that makes is very conducive for outdoor cardiovascular activities. There are many students in Case Medical school who run and swim, thus getting running buddies takes nothing more than asking fellow classmates. For those looking for a challenge there are many races from 5k to marathons, to triathlons and bike races all around Cleveland and Ohio.
• Making Time
  • As mentioned before the Case Western medical school curriculum is very conducive to getting a workout in. Whether you are an early bird or you like going later in the day, there is ample time to get a workout in. At times you might feel stressed and you might want to skip your workouts. Remember that exercising is a great stress relief and it helps to calm your mind, thus making your time studying even more productive.

[edit] On Maintaining Outside Interests

• First things first. I really believe that maintaining outside interests while in med school is vital to not only becoming a well rounded medical student, but most importantly, maintaining one’s sanity when facing the gauntlet of WR2. Many people feel that when you get to med school that everything you enjoy should be dropped in favor of focusing entirely on achieving those top board scores… but really, there’s MORE! While excelling both clinically and academically should be top priority, it’s imperative that there is balance.
• This balance can be achieved through many routes like having a friend base that does not consist solely of medical students, as well as keeping up with past hobbies like ballroom dancing or wine cork collecting. Our class put forth tremendous effort to maintain this balance, and I had multiple friends this year that trained and competed in marathons and triathlons, one that consulted for the University Marketing Department, and yet another writing a column for Case’s student newspaper, not to mention the mom’s and dad’s in the class whose often sleepless nights had nothing to do with physio readings. All are happy people, enjoying being busy while continuing to succeed academically.
• During my first year, I decided that I wanted to bring the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life to Case. Having participated in Relay for 14 years with my family before starting medical school, I was intent on continuing to do so by bringing this amazing event to Case and Cleveland. For 5 months, I chaired a 12 person committee, of which each of my chairs had a full committee of their own, and I was “doing Relay” anywhere from 10 to 24 hours per week, depending on my academic schedule. Although, infinitely time consuming and by no means a low stress endeavor, bringing Relay For Life to Case… having over 1,000 participants our first year and raising over $60,000 – it has to be one of the greatest achievements of my life, not to mention SO much fun! It was an opportunity to do something significant and motivate a community for a cause that I really believed in, not to mention getting to play in a Rock Band tournament at 3am!

• Essentially, pursuing an outside passion comes down to making the commitment, knowing when to compromise, and using your time efficiently. Knowing how important Relay For Life was to me, I made it a priority to schedule time to hold meetings with everyone from President Snyder to the members of the Swing Club, as well as to get out in the community and raise awareness of this new event. Just as important was scheduling time to study and sticking to it. Because you will never be “finished” studying and there is always more to learn, it is easy to convince yourself that you must put everything else aside. For me, the best approach was to plan ahead and stick to a schedule that balanced the demands of both endeavors, and to have friends that were supportive of my passion, but could also reign me in when it was time to get down to business.
• It’s doubtful that you are coming into Case Med without an extensive list of activities that you enjoy and extracurriculars that you excel in, so my advice – take advantage of this new dimension of your life (med school), and realize that although you will likely have never done so much work in your life – your life is not about work. Get INVOLVED and stay ACTIVE. You can even CREATE something! Medical school is just your next step… nothing has to be lost in order for you to move forward. Cheers!

[edit] On Finding Time To Work

• Medical school itself can be very much a full-time job, so if you are thinking about searching for another job, or are presented with the chance to work, I would definitely think over your schedule carefully before accepting, and perhaps wait until Block 2 when you begin to appreciate more of a full-time study schedule. That being said, if you can find the right opportunities, working part-time during medical school is possible, and can even serve as a great opportunity for you. The ideal situation is to find a job that can help you in other ways as well. I worked for a physician who was doing a clinical research project and needed help with some of the chart review. It allowed me to develop a working-relationship with the physician as well as become familiar with charts and the various diseases in the study. Other jobs such as library jobs may allow you to study while working, or have other benefits.
• As far as timing, I found Thursday afternoon the easiest time to work. Normally there are not a lot of afternoon activities that take place then. I worked around 3-5 hours per week. Depending on your level of engagement in extracurricular clubs, sports, and other activities, you may be able to work more or less hours than this. And finally, finding a job with flexible hours is very helpful as your medical school schedule is liable to change based on what block you are on and whether or not you are in exam week or clinical immersion week. Take home message: An extra job is entirely possible with a little thought and planning. The extra money is nice, as long as it doesn’t adversely affect your studying.

[edit] On Being An MD/PhD Student

• Over and over during the spring of my senior year of college, I found myself dealing with the puzzled looks and “you must be crazy” comments I got from family and friends in response to explaining that I’d be joining a seven- to eight-year MD/PhD program after college. I imagine you can relate. I got good at bravely defending my decision, with “Oh it’s ok I like being a student” and “Well if you think about it, it’s the best of both worlds – an ideal program, really.” But secretly, I had many doubts and fears of my own, and often wondered myself if it actually was a crazy decision. (It’s ok if you can relate to this too – turns out it’s normal.) How could I know for sure that this was the right path for me, and worth being a student for the rest of my twenties? How was I going to manage extra responsibilities on top of medical school? Would I connect with the other people in the program, or would I find myself stuck somewhere between being a medical student and a graduate student, not really belonging anywhere? I was skeptical about all of these things, and felt nervous about my decision to join the program right up to the first day of orientation. But very quickly my experiences with the Case MSTP confirmed for me thousands of times over that I had made a good choice. So when documenting my perspective on being an MSTP student at Case, the two things I must focus on are discoveries I made about the program during my first year that made that flurry of anxieties I brought as an incoming student disappear.
• My first realization was that the MSTP is more like a family than you could ever imagine possible for a group of seventy budding scientists. You are entering an incredibly supportive, energized, inspiring environment where you’ll do your training, find lifelong mentors, and make best friends. By the end of my first summer, I looked around in awe at the program I’d joined, feeling so connected not only to my classmates and the administration, but also to the philosophy and objectives behind the education we were pursuing. We’re a tight bunch, and the closeness I feel to the MSTP family definitely grounded me through the whirlwind journey of First Year.
• My second realization was an equally refreshing one: nobody stamps “MD/PhD” across your forehead. As first-year medical students the nine of us MSTP’s were pretty much indistinguishable from our CaseMed classmates. (For one thing, you’ll find that every student entering Case School of Medicinel brings some special interest and a set of unique strengths, so our emphasis on a particular component of medicine certainly does not set us apart.) True, there are a few extra MSTP requirements you’ll encounter as a first year, but I’d wager that these will do nothing to detract from your CaseMed experience and more than likely will serve to enhance it. The summer rotation, for example, gives you a head start on settling into Case, your apartment, and Cleveland. (Trust me, if you haven’t assembled your new entertainment center by the time Anatomy begins, it’s not going to happen until December.) Seminar Series, the scattered MSTP meetings and dinners you’ll be invited to, and even the big quest to choose a lab will all similarly boost your experience as a first-year medical student, as they merely represent a structured, productive way for you to pursue your expressed interest in academic medicine. In my case these experiences and the personal reflection they prompted also amplified my interest from its original level; as the year progressed, I became more and more wide-eyed about this career and its possibilities.
• Those are the minor differences that distinguished our First Year from the CaseMed standard. But overall, despite being in a separate program, we had the same day-to-day concerns as everybody else, namely keeping mnemonics straight and aiming for that P. We had the same opportunities as our classmates to participate in all of the student organizations; many of us embraced those opportunities and became involved in one project or another, often as leaders. We studied and gossiped and let loose alongside our CaseMed classmates without feeling the slightest bit different or alienated; after all, Case is known for its tight-knit classes. We integrated into our class so well that even through April and May I heard “Oh he’s an MSTP student?” once in a while. We integrated perhaps too well — I am already bracing for what I know is going to be a very tough goodbye when our classmates go on to Third Year as we move into the graduate training phase. It’s a good thing I’ve got that family. Welcome to it.

[edit] WR2 Curriculum - Ins and Outs

[edit] IQ Sessions

• Inquiry groups, or IQ groups, are the central aspect of the new WR2 curriculum and are what distinguish our school from many others. They operate on a case-based format (aka problem-based learning) that really puts you in control of your own education. While this may seem a little daunting at first, especially given the volume of knowledge you are expected to know, it is actually the best (in my opinion) means of preparing you for your future role as a physician. First of all, you are presented with a case/patient and this means you are not simply learning about a disease, but how a certain condition affects a person. At times during the first-year, my IQ groups lost sight of the case and wound up going off-topic. It was only by returning to the case presentation that we understood what were the salient points for us to understand the pathophysiology. Moreover, it wasn't enough to simply recite physiological principles - we had to tie everything back into the patient and be able to explain how all the pieces worked together to affect the whole. Secondly, you will have to adjust your learning style. When you transition to the wards, no one is going to give you a study guide nor tell you which books to read. So, by starting out from the beginning of your medical career to learn how to research topics and report back to them amongst a group of your peers is basically preparing you for your future role as part of a medical team. Granted, there were times when I felt like I was lost in an ocean of information. With time, I became much more familiar with consulting texts on my own and using reference manuals, the same ones practicing physicians use on a daily basis. Moreover, I could consult my peers and learn from them, which brings me to my next point. IQ groups are great for developing communication skills and, more importantly, your student colleagues will as a whole know more than you could have covered. I very much enjoyed learning from them or even their previous experiences.

• It may take some time for your group to find its groove - this is natural. Part of the learning experience is learning how to interact with 7-8 other people who may have different learning styles from your own. Its also not as easy as you might think to cover so much information in two hours, especially when many of the concepts are difficult. Additionally, you will learn to give feedback as well as take it. I feel that my performance has improved as a direct result of the comments of my peers and facilitators.
• Finally, IQ groups are way better than sitting in lecture for hours on end. The active learning experience makes things stick in my head better. I also find the amount of time that they give us to prepare for IQ sessions as independent study time much more useful than passively trying to absorb the drone of a lecturer. I feel like this has made for a much more enjoyable and productive first year of medical school. I'll take the lessons I've learned from previous blocks and apply those to the coming year to be a more fully engaged member of the group and to learn as much as possible.

[edit] Large Group Interactive Sessions (Lecture)

• You have already gone through an undergraduate curriculum (and perhaps even a post-baccalaureate program), so you know generally what lectures are and how much or little you get out of them. Therefore, your opinion of them will be very much based on the you as a person and I can therefore not offer much more on the subject. What I can offer, however, is a few words on how lectures fit into the anomaly that is the Western Reserve 2 curriculum; this was a new concept to me and will no doubt be new to you as well.

• In a so-called “traditional” curriculum, lectures are the foundation with small group sessions, labs, and the like at periphery - in that if you studied such that you knew everything presented in lecture, you were in at least decent shape. This is not the case in WR2. The transition from the Western Reserve curriculum (Pre-WR2) to WR2 saw the emergence of the small-sized Inquiry (IQ) groups as the curriculum centerpiece and lectures as a secondary resource. The decisions to schedule six hours of IQ group each week and to additionally decrease the number of overall hours each week spent in class of any kind (to allow for so-called “independent learning”) led to a lecture component that is both compressed (multiple pre-WR2 lectures compressed into a single WR2 lecture) and not as comprehensive (some material presented in pre-WR2 lectures is not presented in lectures now).

• What this all means, at least for me, is that I use lectures as one of many secondary resources rather than as a foundation. I benefit a lot of from them and therefore rarely miss them; some colleagues of mine do not derive benefit and choose to spend their time in other ways. The point is, learning the lecture notes cold at the end of a given block will not be enough. In my opinion — and I am going beyond the discussion of lectures here — WR2 is about finding the right study method with the right combination of resources for the right student. It allows students to get to a common end result through some extremely different pathways. It took me nearly two blocks to find my path, so give it time.

[edit] Board Preparedness

• Coming Soon!

[edit] Preparation for the Clinical Years

• Coming Soon!

[edit] Preparation for Residency

• Coming Soon!

Top 5 Study Locations

1. Caughey Window Lounge

2. IQ Rooms

3. Society Rooms

4. KSL

5. Coffee Shops