Year 2 Classes: Summer 2021

Welcome back to the fourth post about the classes I have taken as a student in the 6-year B.A./M.D. program at UMKC, and the first one for year two! Let’s get right into it.

• Medicine 9221 – Hospital Team Experience
  • Instructors: Dr. Brian Carter & Mr. Nathan Driskill: There wasn’t really any time when we had direct contact with any of the instructors this semester as it was 100% online. Like I mentioned in my last post, Mr. Driskill doesn’t teach the course any more but he conducted the pre-recorded interviews we used.
  • This is another one of those classes that is very different in the online format compared to what it would be in person. In person, my understanding is that the in-person experience involves a one-week assignment in the hospital exploring/shadowing various roles in the hospital team. Online, it was still a one-week course but each day there was a pre-recorded lecture we had to watch and a short essay to submit thereafter. We saw interviews with various specialities such as speech pathology, infection control, and social services. In total, we submitted 5 short essays and 1 final essay for the online summer 2021 course.
  • This class is meant to help you appreciate how all of the working parts in a hospital team are just as important as the next one and cannot function at full capacity without the other. It’s really helpful to gain a more holisitic insight into the healthcare field at a perspective that most medical students haven’t experienced. It does a really great job at combating the preconception some people have that the physician is the “most important” position in the healthcare field. With that being said, my greatest advice is to be open-minded and take interest in understanding the variety in the field.

• Sociology 211 – Social And Psychological Development Through The Life Cycle
  • Instructor: Dr. Deborah Smith: Dr. Smith is a good professor who is dedicated to the field of sociology. She is a great communicator and she makes the expectations clear. She provides all the necessary resources (and more) for you to exceed in her class. However, she is known to be a tough grader so it’s important you understand the criteria for assignments and get clarification if you’re confused. Other than that, I find professors like Dr. Smith to be compatible with my style of learning as I perform better when I mostly teach the material to myself.
  • I was in her blended class this summer where we attended class synchronously in-person for the first 5 classes. We had one test before we switched to asynchronous online. After that we had to post to two discussion forums each week and complete a short quiz. At the end of the course we had a project called a “life manual” and one final essay. There was also one extra credit opportunity that involved an in-field research project.
  • This class is straightforward. Dr. Smith will lay out the information that you need to know and heavily refers to the textbook as the main source of material. Reading the entire chapters is not necessary and is actually quite counterproductive because it is too time-consuming. Focus on the sections that she specifies for you and that will be more than enough. I found this course to be interesting and I think it’s a nice supplement to our medical curriculum because it helps us gain a deeper understanding of all life stages for our future patients. As long as you keep up with the material and assignments, you should be good to go.

• Biology 202 – Cell Biology
  • Instructors: Dr. Julia Snyder & Dr. Thomas Menees: Dr. Snyder and Dr. Menees each taught a different section/unit of the class. Dr. Snyder was always willing to be a helpful hand and meet with you to ask questions, review exams, or whatever else you needed. She did a great job at keeping us up to date throughout the semester. She packed a lot of information into her lectures and explained the main concepts well. She tied the chapters together, too, which I really liked. As for Dr. Menees, I never had any direct interaction with him but his lecture style was very slow and detailed; he has a very monotone voice which I find difficult to keep my mind from wandering. One thing I really liked about him, however, is that he specified the information to know or not on each lecture slide. Overall, they are both good professors that you shouldn’t have a problem with.
  • This course was taught both online and synchonrously, and it was separated into 3 units with about 5 chapters each. For each unit, there was about 2-3 homework assignments with one unit exam. Additionally, there was one quiz per lecture. There was an optional final exam that could be used as your drop-exam or replace your lowest score.
  • This class was a medium difficulty mostly because there was a lot of information condensed into such a short amount of time. You definitely have to study and keep up with the material because most concepts build off each other. What helped me was reading the textbook, taking my own notes, and using the lectures as a review. I also met with Dr. Snyder after each unit test to review and discuss my answers and that was very beneficial. This is another one of those classes where you will have to figure out the studying method that works best for you (if you haven’t already). To keep it real, there were a lot of moments I felt extremely stressed and defeated because of the pace. Getting out of those hard places just takes that “one more time” mentality; however, I cannot stress enough how important it is to take the breaks you need. There is no reason to push yourself past your breaking point because the reality is that you have come this far because you’re smart enough to afford self-grace. 🙂

At this point in your academic career in the B.A./M.D. program, you start to get a good feel for the things that work best for you (studying habits, time management, social life, extracurriculars, etc). Things don’t necessarily get easier, but you learn how to adapt and manage your own success. This will be your last “regular” summer in the program before you are immersed into a true year-round curriculum from years 3 through 6. Although your main concern for the summer is your coursework, take the time to enjoy the small breaks you get before, during, and after the semester. Accelerated programs come with accelerated classes and people who say it can’t get overwhelming are lying, it’s normal to feel like you’re on the other side of the leash of a 50-pound dog who just saw a squirrel. Stick with it 🙂