September 2023 Blog

It is truly unbelievable that we are a little over a month into the program. Of course, the tried-and-true adage, "time flies when you're having fun", applies in this context, but I can attest to the fact that time indeed flies when you're learning a ton! As an undergraduate, I had the opportunity to be a courier in a hospital pharmacy, yet what I have learned about the relationship between drugs and the body, the similarities and difference between drug classes, and even drug-drug interactions pales in comparison to what I knew in August. 

Ironically, each time we begin a new module, I end up having a direct, "real-life application" that is relevant to what we're learning in class. From having a deeper understanding of my thyroid medication dosage change my physician made during our basic principles module, having a random (minor) allergic reaction during our inflammation module, and having friend casually ask if I thought they should finish their antibiotic regimen during our infectious disease module, it was truly blissful to be able to apply and appropriately explain what we were discussing in the classroom. I especially enjoyed our inflammation module: the inflammatory process, and the outcomes of it, is incredibly multifaceted. The term "inflammation" most often conjures up thoughts of pain relievers (NSAIDs and corticosteroids) for  injuries or even chronic inflammation such as gout. In class, we learned about the systemic effects of this immune response, and how different drug mechanisms target different phases of the immune system's response in order to dampen the effects of the process. The inflammatory response is a very natural, highly regulated cellular process that our bodies use to repair itself;yet, when cellular systems become dysregulated, an opportunity for pharmaceutical treatment may be required. This idea broadened my view of what pharmacology truly is: an attempt to understand and work "with" the human body's natural responses rather than working against it. Developing treatment regimens for devastating neurodegenerative diseases with inflammatory markers as drug targets in mind is a prime example of this idea. It has been incredible to learn about these current research projects and drug regimen developments in our Friday seminars. 

As I think about what the next eight or so months will bring, I am eager to incorporate what I learn as a Pharmacology student with my desire to increase medical literacy as a future clinician and even more grateful for the opportunity to learn about the field of pharmacology than ever!