We have officially reached the halfway point in the first semester of the program. In my opinion, the exams have gotten progressively harder and required a lot more preparation. Overall, I am still pleased with my current performance. We are currently finishing up the cardiovascular block which has been one of my favorites thus far. On October 30 th , we were able to witness a cardiac simulation that was really intriguing. Being able to witness first-hand what is like when a patient experiences a heart attack or goes into ventricular tachycardia, and to see in real time how effective the medications are really helped to put into perspective everything that we had learned. In my opinion, this exercise was one of the most effective ways of actually learning the significance of the different drugs that we are learning.             This month I did not actually do any volunteering. On October 12 th the Hard Rock Hotel collapsed which is right down the street from where I lived. As a r