Life Cycles and Epilogue

It seems like a long time ago, but I figure I should write a post about the last block of our core curriculum. Although I was pretty iffy about it at first, I really liked it. I thought it was great how they weaved in many different disciplines: we covered anatomy of the pelvis and perineum, endocrinology of bone metabolism and the reproductive system, organ physiology by discussing changes in pregnancy and childhood, histology of the reproductive tract, and more. We also touched on a few new fields like urology and neonatalogy. Although at first it seemed like a hodgepodge of topics, it helped me think about the big picture and realize how much I have learned since a year and a half ago. We had some awesome patient interviews, and I think as a whole, the block was pretty well organized.

Epilogue review sessions every Friday were fairly good. Some lecturers were awesome, reviewing really difficult concepts and focusing on diseases we are likely to see next year and on the exam. We had an exercise in the lab where we covered 35 cases looking at pathology or microbiology specimens. There were a few small group activities with adequately difficult questions and an autopsy case where we came up with a diagnosis based on gross and histologic pathology. I'm not sure how efficient the reviews were from a USMLE prep perspective, but I do think they were well designed, fun, and educational. Good integration and consolidation.