Category: Diary

Here are the long awaited pictures from my family’s visit to St. Maarten during the September 2009 American University of the Caribbean White Coat Ceremony. Thanks Jason, Justin, and Irene for your pictures! I had a memorable time and appreciate the support! In the pictures are my two brothers Jason and Justin, my mother, and my girlfriend Irene, Irene’s mother,… Continue reading

One thing I really like about AUC’s campus is its gardens, elevated and overlooking the lagoon and the ocean. Everyday I pass by them to and from class, and just a small, simple glance at them along the way brightens up my day. The study of medicine isn’t merely the practical knowledge to prepare me for the work environment, but… Continue reading

Today I was feeling tired and was tempted to skip an optional anatomy wet lab review after my morning classes. I had had a big workout yesterday, and feeling sore all over, I was really tempted to go home and eat a big, warm meal, kick off my shoes, and crawl into bed and get that extra rest to recuperate… Continue reading

I remember when I was applying to medical schools I've always been curious as to what the campuses of these schools look like, besides what they show on their websites. St. George's University, of course, has pictures of their campus all over their site, because they are the largest school, and obviously have a very large, very beautiful campus as well, worthy... Continue reading

I felt pretty good yesterday. In anatomy lab, we had a pretty well-dissected eye on our cadaver, and so many people from other tables came to our table asking “Hey I heard you guys have a pretty good eye, can you show it to us?” and “Hey I heard you can see the superior cervical ganglion on your body! Can… Continue reading

Last night was a beautiful night, and I just couldn’t pass it up for studying in an enclosed room. A nice place to study I discovered are the study rooms on the topmost floor of the dorms, right on the roof. Hardly anyone’s there, and they have plenty of desk space, dry erase boards, internet access, air conditioners (which make… Continue reading

Within the past two weeks, we’ve gotten to know our first patient (our cadaver) to a more personal level. After dissecting the back and arms, we finally met our patient face-to-face. We explored the nerves and muscles that make her smile, frown, cry, and express herself to us. We explored the components of the eyes through which she saw the… Continue reading

Since the last block, I have changed my note taking habits dramatically. During the last block, I wrote everything down in lecture in a little notebook. I found it useful to take notes because in order to write a summary of the main points, I had to integrate and truly understand the information in my brain. Writing everything down onto… Continue reading

AUC has a strict mandatory attendance policy for every class, and so far, I have not missed any classes nor have I been tardy. I showed up yesterday and surely I will show up tomorrow, but today, even though I signed the attendance sheet and sat through all my classes, I was in practice absent. After studying til 2am every… Continue reading

As I sat looking over the sunset while studying on the second floor balcony of campus, I wondered if a couple of years ago I would have ever known that I would be destined to become a doctor. Then I realized, yes, actually. I made this decision. I worked to get to where I am. I persisted, despite difficulties, mistakes,… Continue reading

About: Maho Beach is probably the most famous beach on St. Maarten due to its proximity to the airport. Highlights: Seeing a Boeing 747 land just feet above your head on the beach. While I do not recommend this as it hurts, a lot of people like to hang onto the fence when an airplane is taking off to feel the powerful force of the jet engine blast. Another highlight is sipping on a drink with some friends at Sunset Beach Bar while watching the airplanes come in. Just to clarify, the bar is called "Sunset Beach Bar" while the beach itself is called "Maho Beach." A lot of people see the beach bar's name and assume the beach is called "Sunset Beach." Continue reading

Today marks exactly one month from when I first landed in St. Maarten. When I first arrived, I was feeling all sorts of emotions: anxiety, amazement, worry, happiness, tenseness, and wonder. Much of what I was feeling stemmed from all the questions I had about St. Maarten, AUC, my next four years, and the choices I have made. There was… Continue reading

Throughout my life, I grew up speaking English in public and Mandarin Chinese at home. They are my first languages and I speak them both fluently. In middle school, I started learning Spanish at school, and since my brain was still going through lateralization at that age, I retained a good bit of it. During high school, I became a… Continue reading

This coming Monday is our first block exam. Unlike in undergrad, in med school we take the exams of all our classes on the same day, back to back. The reasons for this is threefold:

1. To ensure we are studying for all of our classes at the same time, and not just focused on studying one subject at a time

… Continue reading

American Global University is not accredited by any medical school accrediting association and not even FAIMER-listed, yet still advertises itself as the “Best Caribbean Medical School” and claims graduates can practice in the states when in reality they cannot. Milik University turned out to be one-man team running the whole show. Dr. Nagy Milik is the founder, the admissions committee,… Continue reading

So the ulnar, median, and radial nerves are three of the many branches of the Brachial Plexus. They start from the arm, then extend all the way to the hands and innervate the areas I have indicated. The ulnar nerve is otherwise known as the “funny bone.” It feels funny because when the ulnar nerve comes around the elbow, it… Continue reading