Block 4 re-cap, or why I haven't posted anything in 4 months.

It's hard to know what to say about an experience like Block 4. Even more so than Block 1, the first, ten-week anatomy course, Block 4 felt like what hazing must be like, except that I think there is supposed to be at least a superficial element of fun in hazing. I wish I had written during the block, because now, looking back, it's all blurry and vague, like when you wake up from a bad dream with only the sense of unrest to tell you you've had a nightmare. Reading what I've just written, I realize how dramatic and exaggerated it sounds. But really, there's nothing funny about memorizing all the bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites that can infect dogs, cats, horses, cows and chickens.

Some highlights:

I was color coding my flashcards depending on whether they were bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. I used up my green "bacteria pen." Twice.

One of our labs involved running an ELISA (a test that can detect antibodies) on serum from our own animals, to determine if they were allergic to anything. I got to draw blood from my own dog, which was pretty cool.

Pathogen Bowl: Supposed to make learning pathogens fun, what it actually did was force us all to watch one person with a photographic memory answer every question almost before it was finished being asked. Not fun.

The cells of the immune system make great Halloween costumes: meet the Sexy B-Cell.

Puppy pile: the best way to de-stress from Block 4. 

So, with Block 4 safely out of the way and successfully repressed in my memory, I hope to write more this semester!