Hi everyone! I’d like to talk more about my schedule for my Psych Rotation here at Royal Blackburn Hospital in Blackburn, England. I go on my rotations five days a week from Monday to Friday. Each morning from around 9:30am to 12pm, I attend ward rounds in which the consultant doctor, nurse, social worker and other members of the health… Continue reading My Psych Schedule at Blackburn 
Coming abroad to the UK for clinical studies, it’s difficult not to take advantage of the weekends to explore the country. Being in an age-old and dynamic place as the UK, the travel opportunities are endless, and relatively easy, with the extensive train networks and public transportation here. This past weekend, after a week of ward rounds, patient interviews, and… Continue reading Weekend in Scotland 
Hey everyone! Just wanted to update you all that I am doing well here in Blackburn. Last week I had been rotating with the Crisis Response and Home Treatment Team (CRHTT), so all of the psych patients I saw last week had been house visits. This is something you don’t really get to experience in the states. Over here in… Continue reading Taking a Psych History 
Being in England for a week already, I’m already getting a sense of some differences between American English and British English, particularly the English spoken in Blackburn, Lancashire. While I find myself putting a little more effort and focus into listening when other people are speaking, I find that adjusting to the English here hasn’t been as difficult as I… Continue reading English English 
On the first day of anatomy lab in the beginning of med school, Dr. Nash introduced us to our first patient, our cadaver who we worked on as a group throughout the semester. Today, two years and a step exam later, I had my first patient ever in my clinical rotations. Our first patient today had a really rough history,… Continue reading My First Clinical Patient 
After an overnight 9 hour flight from Miami to London, then a 1 hour flight to Manchester, and then a 1 hour train ride to Blackburn, and a short 5 minute bus ride, I’ve finally arrived at my new home for the next 6 weeks, the Royal Blackburn Hospital! My first impression of Blackburn when I arrived by train is… Continue reading My First Night in Blackburn 
The time has come. In approximately 24 hours, I will be in Blackburn, England, jet-lagged, cold, and excited to start my Psychiatry rotation at the Royal Blackburn Hospital! It will be my first rotation ever, and I will be joining a small community of five other AUC students, two of whom I already know from my class on the island.… Continue reading The Other Side of the Pond 
The transition from Basic Sciences to Clinical Sciences can be a challenge for many students. For the first time in nearly two years of being together, your class is now dispersed and you find yourself isolated from your friends and classmates. You have all this paperwork you have to complete and a big test to take, and your advisors, deans, and… Continue reading Clinical Registration Checklist 
Now that the step is over, I’m playing the waiting game… waiting to schedule my rotations and waiting to start clinicals. I feel like this entire semester has been a semester of anxiety: I’ve been anxious while studying, anxious during the test, anxious after the test, anxious waiting for scores, and just when I think I get a brief moment… Continue reading The Waiting Game 
Thanks so much everyone for the support! I have been getting some questions on what I used to study for the Step 1, and here I’d like to address that. At AUC, in order to finish Basic Sciences, every student must pass the NBME Comp as well as a Kaplan Comp, to ensure that we have acquired sufficient medical knowledge… Continue reading Preparing for Step I 
About two months ago, my brother Jimmy Ho came down to Miami for a business trip to shoot a wedding for one of his clients. As I had been out of the country for a while, it was truly wonderful to see him and his family again. As part of a wedding gift to Irene and me, Jimmy and his… Continue reading Engagement Photo Shoot 
Dear Friends, Family, and Blog Readers, I’m happy to announce that I have passed Step 1 of the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam! It’s such a big relief, and one that marks the end of the first half of my journey through med school and beginning of a new phase: clinical rotations! Thank you to my friends, family, all those at… Continue reading Passed Step 1 
Call me silly, but I get these four drugs confused all the time. To me, these drugs all look like slightly-varying combinations of A’s, M’s, L’s, D’s, and O’s. If you describe them, I may know which drug you’re talking about, but I just have difficulty choosing which name fits with the drug I’m thinking of. So here they are…… Continue reading 4 Confusing Drugs That Sound Alike You know you’ve been a med student too long when… Continue reading You Know You’ve Been a Med Student Too Long When… 
When we parted earlier this year, I never knew when was the next time I would see Chris and Arif again. While on the island, we were always together since the beginning. Together we can be so honest to each other that it didn’t matter what we said. These guys were the best. But as honest as we were to each… Continue reading Old Times Never Ended… 
Being away from the Caribbean for a few months already, I can truly say I miss the beautiful beaches, the community, the warm weather, the water, the cultural diversity, the food, the mountains, and the friends I’ve made there. However, there is one thing I DON’T miss about living in the Caribbean… Continue reading One thing I DON’T miss about the Caribbean 
Ever since I moved to Miami to study for my USMLE Step 1 exam, my life has been pretty routine: wake up, study in the morning, meet with study group, finish study group, and afterwards, you guessed it… study some more… you get the point. But today my routine was a bit different. While I was studying some medical case… Continue reading Breast Cancer Awareness 
In my med school experience, Female Reproductive Endocrinology is one of the more challenging things to learn in physiology, since hormones rise and fall, and interact with each other in different ways in different phases of the cycle. But when broken down to 28 steps, the process is easier to understand.
… Continue reading Female Reproductive Endocrinology in 28 Easy Steps 
Our generation is living in an age of social media, where communication is getting ever easier and learning has expanded beyond the books. With the advent of social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, we’re finding more and more ways to use social media to ease and enhance our learning experience. As a med student, here are 5 ways I’ve… Continue reading 5 Ways to Use Social Media in Med School 
With the approaching autumn, Irene and I decided to have our first hot pot night of the cold season. Hot Pot is a tradition in both of our families, with everyone cooking fresh meats, vegetables, noodles, fish cakes, and an assortment of other wonderful things over a steaming “hot pot” of broth in the center of the table while eating, sharing a good time together. While you can find hot pot anytime of the year, it’s especially common during the winter months. Here’s some fish cake. Continue reading Hot Pot |
My name is Benji and I am a third-year medical student at the American University of the Caribbean, located on the Dutch side of the beautiful island of St. Maarten. I am currently completing my clinical rotations in the US as well as the UK. I hope you enjoy my site as I share with you this exciting and challenging phase in my journey. Thanks for visiting Diary of a Caribbean Med Student!
    
Johnny B Under The Tree: Good Old Island Hospitality and FoodBy Benji - August 23, 2011 Atmosphere: Johnny B Under the Tree is literally under the tree. There are picnic tables around and Johnny cooks on the grill right on the side of the road. It’s a very modest place, but Johnny’s cooking is world-class. Service: Johnny B and his wife are a cute old couple, with a charming island hospitality. My friends and I got the VIP treatment when we were there. Food: Johnny B probably has the most famous lolo (roadside grill) on the island among locals and visitors in-the-know, and for good reason. His lobster is the best we’ve had on the island. Skip Jack’s: You Choose It From The TankBy Benji - August 18, 2011 Atmosphere: Skip Jack’s is right on the water of Simpson Bay Lagoon, very fitting for a seafood restaurant. Service: The service was really good when we went. The guy grabbing our lobster for us was really cool in letting us hold them to pose to take pics. Food: Lobster, fish, seafood.. a great place to go for seafood on the island. The lobster is so fresh that you choose it yourself live from a pool. GO TO: Restaurant Reviews »
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