September Blog

 This past Sunday (9/24/23) I volunteered at UMC for 3 hours in the radiology department. During my interview prior to my first volunteer day, I chose the radiology department after being informed that they were in need of volunteers. I decided to volunteer at UMC specifically mainly after hearing about the volunteering opportunity from my peers during my undergrad years at the University of New Orleans. I had volunteered at UMC before during my undergrad years where I volunteered in both the ED and radiology department. In the ED, I sat at the liaison desk and brought visitors back to see a patient. I also went to grab wheelchairs for any patients coming in who were in need of one. I was also occasionally tasked with doing rounds as well. I decided to return to the radiology department as I heard that volunteers in that department were going to be more involved. This was something I had expressed interest in before leaving several months ago. While volunteering in the radiology department previously, I only helped with folding letters regarding the results of patients' scans and sent them to the mail room. My first day back was not busy at all, so I just helped fold letters and sent them to the mail room. I assumed that I would be able to help prepare the rooms before a patient was scanned, but I may get that opportunity in the future on a busier day.  As I continue to volunteer in the radiology department at UMC, I hope to learn more about and maybe witness different types of scans take place.

During the recent modules, I learned that the guidelines for medications and treatments are always changing, which is why it was not mandatory to learn for the exams. This showed me that while there may be gold standards, the discovery of new drugs and the adaptation of resistances may lead to changes in the future. I have identified that my area of weakness may be in understanding mechanisms and the function of each enzyme or protein involved. A couple specific lectures that I need to work on are oxygen reactive species, gene therapy, and monoclonal antibodies. I am not happy with my performance on those exams and will need to work on it. What I could do is seek out the help of my classmates who have done well on those exams and have them help me. My classmates may be able to explain concepts to me in a way that I can understand. I could also try using outside resources or watching videos that could better explain the concepts in a way that I can understand rather than just relying on the slides given during class.