Congratulations!! You've either survived second year anatomy (and can now watch Grey's Anatomy and be like "Hey, that's not right!") or you've passed the WAPT (like a boss!) and are now going into in GEMP I. You're going to love it.
"What should I expect in GEMP I?" I hear you saying? (Auditory hallucinations on my part?)... So GEMP I is divided into several different "blocks" lasting a couple of weeks. Sounds like a long time, but it goes by so fast!
You start off with what is known as (enter dramatic Stars Wars music here) PCMS. PCMS officially stands for Preliminary Concepts in Medical Science, but I think it's some Latin acronym that loosely translates into Death by Studying. This will be your greatest challenge in GEMP (at least, I thought so).
In PCMS you are expected to learn a LOT of new things in a very short period of time. You'll be covering Pathology (Dr King is great, just sit close to the front in his lectures, you'll see why...), Pharmacology, Microbiology, Ethics, Immunology, some Stats and other random, but important, stuff.
The trick to tackling this overwhelming block is to remember one fundamental principle - you are always behind. Even before you've registered, you're behind. I don't say this to scare you, instead, to motivate you to start studying from day one. As clichè as that might sound, it's honestly the biggest tip I can give you.
The importance of PCMS is that it forms a base for the blocks to follow. You will notice that in all the other blocks the same Path, Pharm, etc. comes up in addition to the new material covered. So if you work hard in PCMS it will make subsequent blocks easier. In fact, I used my PCMS notes to study for a 5th year exam just the other day. Oh how I wish I studied Pharm harder... Sigh...
One last tip: I believe in goal directed living. I apply this to my studies as well. Set short, medium and long term goals for yourself and write them down. Short term goal - study pages 1 to 35 in Rippey's (you'll get to know Rippey's well) before 18h00 tomorrow. Medium term goal - Revise the first three weeks' work next Saturday. Long term goal - become ruler of the world by the year 2035.
Your goals will change day to day, but it's important to have them. Take it one day at a time.
Okay, last tip (I promise): remember to laugh and have fun (a synonym for cake). Life is short and isn't all about your studies, or medicine. My fiancée was in my GEMP I class for 6 months before we met. Don't be that blind.
Anyway... the next entry will be about the Life on the Streets (LOTS) block. Hope this was useful!
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