For starters, it sure is good to be back in the US, and espicially in a great city like Miami. That said, your 5th semester grade has 4 components: 1) the final 2) the eipidimeology final 3) physical exam demonstration and 4) the patient write-up.

1) The final is supposed to be like the pre-test. The pre-test was a 90-question mock USMLE Step 1 (same type ?s). If you did well on the pre-test your going to do well on the final, espicially if you continue to study for Step 1 here in Miami and listen carefully during the small-group lectures, which have been over common USMLE topics (diabetics, heart failure, etc..). Doing poorly on the pre-test means you have a lot of work to do.

2) Epidimeology is an incredibly boring subject, the type of subject that can make you fall asleep in 5 minutes. That said, our epi professor is the best in the country. No joke. He is such a powerful speaker and presenter that he makes it interesting. He is the guy that teaches epi to the Miami med students and is a big national guy in his field. Kudos to Ross for hiring him to teach us. Buy the "episize" book and keep up.

3) The practice physical exam is what this semester is all about. Learn it cold. Not only will you use this every day for the rest of your career, but you should easily do well on the examination if you practice a lot. Start practicing early and often with your partner.

4) Patient paper. This is not a patient write-up, it is really a patient research paper. Bite the bullet and do as ********* says. A real PITA, but suck it up.

Overall, the semester has been enjoyable. The rumors of the semester being unorganized, ********* being a dictator, etc... have all been just that- STUPID rumors, just like everything I heard on the island. The entire 5th semester staff and the TAs have been very helpful. ********* is actually a really funny guy when you get to know him. We all got our schedules for the entire semester during the 1st week and everything has been flowing smoothly since. Use your spare time to study, whether it be for Step 1 or epidimeology, and resist the urge to spend all your free time smoozing with the incredibly good looking natives .

Thanks for the info. It gives all of us here, especially 2nd semesters like myself something to look forward to. I'm counting down the days until January when I start there. By the way, do have that professor's name that you spoke so highly of?

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Just remember that life down here is not a sprint, it's a 4 semester-long marathon.

Dr. James Schultz. He's a stud.

Thanks for the info. I'll look him up.

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Just remember that life down here is not a sprint, it's a 4 semester-long marathon.