Holly Clarke's blog

Life at Sherman College!

Life at Sherman College is ON FIRE right now!  I am doing workstudy, tours, running for CSG secretary, getting ready for Entrance Exams, and last minute blogging all at the same time!  Even though I am buried up to my ears in things to do, I still do not feel as overwhelmed as I did during last quarter. 

This is the first time that I am doing workstudy on campus and it is going very well.  I split my time between the Admissions and Financial Aid offices, mainly during ten o’clock breaks.  My duties are fairly easy and consist mainly of filing, making copies, and other secreterial duties.  I am so glad that I finally decided to start making some extra money, especially with the Christmas season right around the corner! 

Due to my diligence as a Tour Guide last quarter, I was named Tour Guide of the Quarter for Fall 2009!!  My picture is featured on the main bulletin board and I get a special VIP parking space all quarter. I was given this award during Bagelfest a few weeks ago, which was rather interesting because I was definitely shocked! 

October has been full of several group tours.  Typically, group tours consist of an introduction to chiropractic by Dr. Ron Castelluchi and then a visit to the cadaver lab.  We have had everyone from high school students to nursing students visit this quarter.  Also, I found a body in the lab that had gallstones in the gallbladder!!!  Neat!  When I tell most people about how excited I was to discover this, they tend to think it’s a little creepy that I am so excited about dead bodies, but I can’t help it!  I even dissected the gallbladder removed several stones so that our visiters could see and touch a real gallstone!

I am also running for the position of secretary with Chiropractic Student Government.  My main reason for pursuing this position is more community exposure for our college.  I am totally shocked by the fact that there are people that live in Boling Springs and Spartanburg and have no idea where Sherman College is or what we are all about.  In addition to trying to make us more well-known, I also intend to fulfill the current duties of secretary, which include keeping meeting minutes and planning fun student activities, among other things. 

Entrance Exams.  During the Clinic Challenge, I left test anxiety at the top of a really high pole and that is where I intend for it to stay.  Yes, I have a lot of preparation to go through in order to prepare myself for this challenge, but it is all things that I have seen and been tested on before.  I am ready to rise to that challenge. 

Of course, I must keep blogging for all of my loyal readers out there!  I know that there are times when I go weeks without keeping all of you updated (such a now!), but I truly appreciate the people that do read my entries.  Please feel free to comment any time!

 

"The roots of true achievement lie in the will to become the best that you can become." 

Harold Taylor

 

We Are Interns Now!

Eighth Quarter has finally arrived and my classmates and I are officially Sherman College Interns!!  This has been one of the fastest and best experiences.  I cannot believe that less than two years ago, we were just getting to know one another as first quarter students.  Now, we are less than two years away from graduating.  My, how time flies when you're having fun in between boards, tests, and entrance exam preparation! 

 

Pre-Clinic has been a blast so far!  We still have quite a bit of time before we can adjust one another, but things are moving along very fast.  I will receive a student patient in January and start seeing outpatients by April.  With that in mind, most of us are already thinking of ways that we can find new patients.  Previous experience in interpersonal communication will come in extremely handy for me over the next few months.  There is nothing that I love better than meeting people and telling them about who I am and what I do.  For some people, the idea of public speaking is a nightmare, but it is a thrill for me…weird huh! 

The next few weeks will be filled with lots of practice and preparation for Clinic Entrance Exams, but I am sure that my classmates and I will do very well.  We have worked very hard to get to this point and cannot wait until our first official adjustment!

 

"Achievement is largely the product of steadily raising one's levels of aspiration and expectation."  Jack Nicklaus

How Sweet It Is!

I made it.  Looking back, I can remember how impossible it seemed, but now that it is over, I am overjoyed!!  I PASSED ALL SIX PARTS OF PART 1! 

After actually taking the test, I put it out of my mind.  I was at peace with my performance and could only hope for the best.  All in all, I am usually better at standardized tests than regular class tests, because I am more level-headed during those types of testing situations.  On the other hand, I did gag a little once I actually arrived at school on themorning of boards, but that was normal pre-test jitters…haha! 

When October 23 arrived, it was just another Friday to me.  My classmates and I had talked about the impending doom of checking scores, but I totally forgot about all of it until I was walking up the hill to class and one of my classmates asked if I had checked my scores.  Of course, at that point, all the nerves returned, but I still remained calm.  In my mind, I was still thinking, “it’s ok.  I will check my scores after class.”  That didn’t last very long.  I sat in my seat for about 4 minutes and simply looked at the professor talking because I was not hearing a word that was being spoken.  So, I got up out of my seat and made a quick sprint for the computer! 

Two of my classmates were in the hallway, so I made both of them come with me because I didn’t want to do it alone!  If I didn’t pass, I wanted someone to cry with, but if I did pass, I definitely wanted someone to scream with!  Long story short….it was a SCREAM!!  I squealed so loudly that I later found out that Kathy Wilson heard me through the walls in the Financial Aid office! 

Passing boards is one of the most important milestones of my chiropractic student career.  After conquering Part I, I feel as if I know how to prepare myself and can make it through all of the other parts.  The best advice that I can offer to people is study hard and stay focused and you will make it through!  Congratulations to everyone!

 

"Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one's values."  Ayn Rand

How to Prep for Boards!

Now that I have passed Part 1, I am officially certified to give tips on how to perform well!  Just kidding!  But I can offer advice that helped me do very well. 

1.    STAY CALM! 

Ok…I will be honest with this one!  There were times when I needed to take this piece of advice to heart.  The best thing that you can do to perform well on Boards and any other test is to keep your cool.  I was calm up until the day of the test.  My brief waves of anxiety would come and go, but I tried to stay as calm as possible at all times.  It is especially important to remain calm while studying.  If you are uptight and restless while reviewing, you will definitely not retain as much information as you would if you were calm and relaxed. 

2.    STUDY HARD, BUT STUDY THE SAME WAY THAT YOU NORMALLY STUDY.

I know this tip seems to be a no-brainer, but read it again.  I don’t advise simply studying hard, but study the way that you are normally used to studying.  If you are used to getting together with your classmates and drilling one another until you know the information in 2 languages, then continue to do that for boards.  All in all, if your study habits have been working this far, there is no reason to try and re-invent the wheel now.  Stick to what you do best! 

3.    PREPARE AS MUCH AHEAD OF TIME AS POSSIBLE.

For those of you who know me very well, I am sure that you are laughing hysterically at the fact that I had the audacity to put this tip on here!  I will be the first to admit that I am not the best at time management and therefore am often scrambling to get things done at the last minute.  Sometimes this technique works and sometimes it blows up in my face!  I am not going to say whether or not I prepared early enough, but I do advise everyone to start early and pace yourself in order to avoid freaking out at the end because you're running out of time. 

4.    USE ALL OF THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE AND MORE.

It may seem redundant to review the same information from several different sources, but I am very glad that I studied from more than one set of review materials.  Each review source presents information in a different way and there are some that included more information than others.  In the end, you will pick up the most information from the one that works the best for you!

5.    TAKE A REVIEW!!!

Honestly, it doesn’t really matter which company you decide to take a review with, but I wholeheartedly recommend taking some type of formal review, in addition to the reviews on campus.  Even if you feel as if there is nothing more than you can learn about several of the subjects on Part I, I recommend the review as a way to help you determine which areas are weakest/strongest for you as a student.  The review will help you assess which subjects you need to review the most, as well as the ones that you are better prepared for.  I am very glad that I took the review because it helped me structure my study time properly so that I avoided wasting time. 

Sometimes, a little bit of friendly advice from someone that has been where you already have to go is very soothing.  I am not the queen of boards by a long shot, but I hope that these tips are somewhat comforting to the next set of test takers now and in the future. 

 

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." 

Colin Powell

Clinic Challenge 2009 - Part 1

Clinic Challenge 2009 was one of my best experiences at Sherman College and maybe of my life so far.  In the beginning, I was honestly somewhat dreading the experience.  I had no idea what we would be doing for two whole days, and I definitely was not looking forward to being outside and getting messy.  Now, I am not exactly what you would call an “indoor girl,” but hanging out in the woods is not exactly my idea of a good time!  I can get out in the yard and get dirty if need be, but I cannot say that it is something I have ever looked forward to. 

 

The entire experience involved my classmates, the class ahead of us, and all health center faculty and staff participating in various trust and teambuilding activities.  All of the students were split up into three different teams (black, green, or purple) with several faculty memeber on each team.  I was a member of the black team.  There were several events spread over the two day event, but there are some that definitely stood out for me. 

 

The very first event of day 1 was simple, yet profound all at the same time.  The students were broken down into the three teams, and each student had to find a partner within their team.  We then had to blindfold one or both members of the pair and walk down from the Olsen building through the parking lot and into the woods next to the student parking lot.  That was so amazing because the blindfolded person has to trust that the other person would not lead him or her into cars or let him or her fall and injure themselves.  It really helped us to come closer together first thing in the morning. 

 

The most profound event of the entire experience was the trust fall.  Basically, each member of the team climbed to the top of a wooden plank that was nailed in a tree about 8 feet off the ground.  From there, we had to talk about things that we wanted to let go of and free our minds of all fears and pressures that are holding us back.  After verbally releasing all of the things on our mind, we then had to fall backwards into the arms of our classmates. 

 

This was very emotional for my entire team.  We learned things about each other that we would have probably never known otherwise.  By the time that we got to the last person to fall into our arms, almost everyone on my team was in tears.  We went into those woods as a group of students and came out as a family. 

 

Getting ready to go into student clinic can be a very intimidating experience.  Most of us have had very little interaction with the faculty doctors and staff that work solely in the Health Center, so Clinic challenge was an amazing way to help us understand that they are all there to help us in every way possible.  It was so helpful to get to know these people outside of our daily student/professor relationship. 

 

Clinic Challenge was so much more than two days of activities.  It was a time of learning, understanding, and experience.  Even though I was not happy about having to give up one day of vacation, I am so glad that I had the opportunity to be a part of such a special event.  My classmates and I are about to embark on the second half of our journey to becoming the future of healthcare in America.  It is so refreshing to know that we have so many professionals that are there to help us 100%.

 

"What is important is to keep learning, to enjoy challenge, and to tolerate ambiguity. In the end there are no certain answers."

Martina Horner

 

So This Is Boards...

Wow!!!  I used to think that waking up at 7am was tough but 6am is even harder!  When I woke up on the morning of the first day of Boards, I was still surprisingly pretty calm.  I followed the same routine that I do every morning...coffee, music in the shower, Facebook mobile.  My heart didn't skip a beat until I pulled into the parking space on campus and said to myself, "do I have a test today?  No!  I have four!"  So I kind of gagged a little when I stepped out of the car, but I was not alone because several of my classmates were doing the same thing!  Things really just did not become real for us until this very moment.  Most of us were thinking about how much information we actually had to know.  Mixing medical terms into regular conversation had been all fun and games up until this point.   

Things turned out totally different from the way that I expected. So, Day 1 included four tests: Anatomy, Spinal Anatomy, Physiology & Biochemistry. Once the day was over, I really was not sure what to say.  As the day went on from test one to test four, questions seemed to get harder and harder.  As I have been saying all quarter, I was very worried about how difficult the Genral Anatomy section was going to be.  Now, as I look back on the day, General Anatomy may have been the only test I passed!  It was much easier that I anticipated. Basically, if you can pass one of Dr. Clayton's anatomy tests, Boards will be a breeze.

On the other hand, the day pretty much went downhill after General Anatomy!  The tests seemed to become more & more difficult, which totally surprised me, because Biochemistry is one of my best subjects. Weird!  The only good thing that I can say about this is the fact that my classmates also felt that the day was pretty tough as well.  Hopefully, that means that all of us picked the same answers and the grading system wil work in our favor!

Now, it is the night before day 2 and I actually felt rather confident about things. On the other hand, I felt confident about the Biochemistry section and look where that got me..haha!!  Day 2 included Pathology and Microbiology & Public Health. I studied well for these two sections and I definitely felt that my classes at Sherman prepared me for the last 2 tests. Honestly, I was very ready to get things over with so that I could get through finals and not touch a book for a while.

"Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer."

Charles Caleb Colton

The Night Before Boards

The night before boards was fairly calm and serene, with a few small moments of anxiety here and there.  Finished up some last minute studying.  Made brownies & took them to a classmate's home. Played a few games of Uno. Most of the anxiety that I felt happened a few weeks ago when I was almost halfway through the quarter and had barely spent any time actually studying for Boards. 

Once the night before arrived, most of the anxiety was gone. Yes, I thought about writing a little jingle similar to the Night Before Christmas but, as Brandon would say in true southern fashion, "I ain't got time for that!"  HaHa!  Honestly, I am not sure what I was feeling at this point.  I felt as if I knew enough to do well on everything but my biggest concern was still the Anatomy section. 

Also, the idea of being stuck there all day bubbling circles was not my idea of a fun Saturday.  I had to make sure that I found a sweater without a hood or pockets and that I did not take anything into the test site with me, which was really interesting since I am used to having the Blackbery with me at all times!  So many thoughts were in my mind, but I fell asleep pretty fast on the night before Boards. 

"Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or by the handle of faith."

Author Unknown

Holly Random Thoughts, Part IV

Every now and again, I have random thoughts that I like to share.  Here goes nothing...

I really loved being in undergrad, but there is only one thing that I definitely do not miss about it: taking notes!  Pre-printed notes are by far the best thing about grad school!  It is so awesome because you can actually get all of the material that you are expected to know without having to ask the professor to repeat the information over and over again.  Also, if you have to miss a day from class or just cannot concentrate while in class, you have all of the material at your fingertips, without having to stalk your classmates the day before the test.

Isn't it amazing how the bodies in the cadaver lab smell terrible, but a bouquet of freshly cut, yet dying roses smell amazing?!  (See my blog titled "Fresh Cut Flowers" for the whole story behind why freshly cut flowers are considered dead!)  For all of my Sherman readers out there, we know how strong the stench from the cadaver lab can be.  It is rather interesting to me how much we cringe at the thought of smelling decaying flesh, but absolutely love the smell of decaying flowers.  Interesting, huh!

Have you ever cooked something that turned out so badly that you lost your appetite?  Haha..I have!!  With my cooking, it is usually a hit or miss type of situation!  Either I cook a meal that is absolutely INCREDIBLE or downright TERRIBLE!  As with most things in my life, there really is no gray area.  It either is or isn't!

Well, that is enough for now.  As always, I welcome any questions or comments, especially on my random thoughts.  If you ever have any random thoughts of your own, please feel free to leave them here!!

Anxiety is REAL

Have you ever tried to convince your inner self into not freaking out?!  That is a pretty hard job and believe me, I should know.  Hi..my name is Holly...and I have test anxiety. 

Lately, I feel as if I have been spending a good chunk of my day convincing myself not to freak out!  Week five started all of this madness.  Midterms were beyond hectic and I basically had two weeks of midterms because I have several classes this quarter that require both a written and practical midterm.  There were points during those two weeks when I knew all of the material being tested, but simply could not remember it at the time.  Now, Boards are less that 2 weeks away and things have slowed somewhat, but now every evening is dedicated to reviewing for Boards!  It just never ends. 

Speaking of Boards, I actually took the Irene Gold Review a few weeks ago and I definitely recommend it to all students when their time comes.  Even if the information I received during the actual review was not as detailed as I would have liked, I still think that taking some sort of formal review is a great idea because it helps you realize what you know and what you need to work the hardest on.  I found that Microbiology, Pathology and Biochemistry came back like second nature.  On the other hand, Anatomy has been getting most of my study time so far because I feel as if I have to learn all of that information all over again!  I definitely have quite a lot of information to get through, but I will survive...I hope!

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

Colin Powell

Shoe Shopping and Chiropractic

I am always looking for an opportunity to tell people about the wonders of chiropractic!  I was shoe browsing a few days ago and that opportunity just appeared in front of me.  I love high heels!  Since becoming a sudent, I have definitely not worn heels as much as I used to and I miss it!  I used to wear heels on a daily basis and I became used to being tall every day, but I digress.  I was looking at shoes yesterday and a family of older adults came into the shoe store.  One of the sisters was on the isle with me and she saw me trying on a pair of very high heels.  Of course, a conversation about shoes and clothes followed.  I did not think that she was very old, but as we continued to talk, she informed me that her days of wearing heels that high had already passed.  At this point, a light bulb turned on in my head!  I told her that I really had no business wearing them either because they are so bad for your back and the health of your spine.  I also told her that I really should not be wearing them because I am a future chiropractor and, unlike most people, I know HOW they can affect the health of your spine.  We continued to talk about chiropractic and how important it was to keep your spine checked.  I invited her to visit the Sherman College Health Center, but unfortunately she is not a resident of Spartanburg.  She was here in Spartanburg visiting her daughter. 

My work here is done!  Even if I am unable to direct a person to a Sherman College chiropractor, I have at least informed one more person in the population about how great chiropractic is for everyone!  Unfortunately, I did not buy the shoes because it is week 8 and I have already squandered all of my money…haha!   

"Fashion can be bought.  Style one must possess."

Edna Woolman Chase