Dean's Chat

My first year of school at Arizona College of Podiatric Medicine has been everything that I hoped it would be.  The first two quarters have been challenging to say the least, but I can already see the foundation being laid for the coming quarters leading up to APMLE part I and years beyond. Something I have appreciated from the curriculum is that there is distinction between classes, enough to keep things interesting, but enough overlap to help reinforce major concepts between biochemistry and gross anatomy, and physiology. Since we are on a quarter system here, there are times where the amount of material to learn in a brief time can be overwhelming; I remember times when I would be studying for an exam and already be learning new material for the next exam in the same class. But once you develop a routine, the learning and studying becomes clockwork. In the past few months, my time-management skills have improved tremendously, which is huge in our profession. 

Enough shoptalk let’s talk about the people. Our school is a tight-knit community, between our classmates in AZCPM and the Osteopathic Medicine students we share classes with. It has been a joy to build relationships within my class, but also to get to know a whole other profession we will work alongside in our own careers. There is a synergy amongst our peers; everyone wants everyone else to succeed and we all help each other along the way. I cannot stress enough how crucial this is while in medical school. Hard days are made easier when you get to study and relate with your classmates like we do here. I’ll also add that our professors are top-class. Each of them is as approachable as the next, and all of them understand our goals and struggles as medical students. They want us to succeed and give us every opportunity to do so while still preparing us for our respective board exams. I have confidence in their teaching and curriculum and the leadership in our college.

 

Lastly, there are plenty of things you can do outside of school, and plenty of opportunities to do so.  Remember how I said my time-management skills improved at this school? Yours will too and it will allow you the liberty to get out of the books regularly. Not once have I felt anywhere close to getting burnt out. Some things I like to do are hiking on the hundreds, if not thousands, of trails in the area, working out, trying local restaurants, and more. Plus, our smaller class size makes it easier to coordinate events that we can all do together.  

 

Across the board, our first two years in school are an investment period in skills, techniques, and people that prepare us to enter the next two years of school, residency, and a career in podiatric medicine. I am more than pleased that my investment is in safe hands at Arizona College of Podiatric Medicine, with strong leadership, understanding professors, and encouraging peers.