That's All Folks

For everyone who has been following my blog, this is it. I took my last every test at Tulane on Monday. Graduation is in 18 days, and I couldn't be more excited. I never thought I would be receiving a Masters degree in pharmacology, but life is crazy and unexpected and I am so happy I was given this opportunity. I have learned so much in this past year. This program has helped bridge the gap between what I have learned at LSU as an undergrad to what I will learn as a medical student. I honestly feel like I have learn more pertinent things related to the medical field than I have learned throughout my four years at LSU. I can now read research article with ease, and I can easily understand the methods, statistics, and results behind the research of a study. I now have 31 new friends, and I want to wish them the best of luck in everything that they strive for. As long as I live in New Orleans they will have a friend here. As for the faculty, I want to give a shoutout to Dr. Clarkson and Mrs. Linda. Y'all have made this program such a special thing, and it wouldn't be what it is now without y'all, so thank you. This has been such a beautiful and amazing experience, but now it is time for me to close this door and begin the next chapter of my life. Thank you following along during my experience as a student at Tulane School of Medicine. Knowledge is power. As I sign off for the last time, I want to leave this behind for whoever reads it. It is a short simple prayer that I think about when times are tough in my life.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.


Geaux Tigers and Roll Wave, 

Michael Joseph Saacks 


# of Service Hours: 4 

Total # of Service Hours: 36 

March

Hello everyone,

I cannot believe that it is already the end of March, which means I am less than 2 months away from graduating. March seemed like it started yesterday. Two weeks ago I took the NBME cumulative medical pharmacology exam, and it might have been the hardest most stressful test I have ever taken (besides the MCAT). To make things worse, they do not give you your grade right away so I am still waiting on my results. Last weekend one of my best friends got married. He was the first one of my good friends to get married. It crazy to think that I am now getting at the age where my friends are starting to propose and get married. There was a beautiful ceremony in Avalon, Georgia, and I wish Larry and Caroline Wink the best at life and their marriage. This year I participate for in Hogs For The Cause. This was the first year doing it and let me tell you, I had a blast! It was so fun, and a bunch of my friends came out to our tent and ate the food that we cook and had a good time. Hogs For The Cause is a multi-million dollar non-profit organization who has partnered with local and national children's hospitals to offer monetary relief to families with children who have brain cancer. All donations and proceeds go directly to the families who are fighting the good fight against pediatric brain cancer. If you have never been to Hogs For The Cause I highly suggest you buy a ticket for next year. It is so much fun, and you are helping these families at the time! It's always a good feeling when you are able to enjoy yourself while knowing you are helping families with children who have brain cancer. On top of Hogs For The Cause, I went and volunteered with Dr. Cashman at West Jefferson Medical Center where I helped update medical records and do patient check-ups and one of the nursing homes on the West Bank. Thank you for tuning in! Next time you hear I will almost be graduate with a Masters degree!!

# of Service Hours: 9

Mardi Gras Mambo

Im back,

 February seemed as if it flew by and honestly was a very low key month for me, besides Mardi Gras. It is basically the biggest celebration the city of New Orleans offers. People from all over the world fly in to partake in floats riding down St. Charles Ave. and hopefully catching some beads. New Orleans always finds a reason to party. Mardi Gras last about a week and a half and ends on Mardi Gras day, which is always the day before ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is actually a French word meaning "Fat Tuesday", and it marks the beginning of Lenten season. I'm glad that all of my classmates from other states and counties got to experience this very unique celebration. I also learned a lot this month from my Masters program. We knocked out the Psychology Block which was very interesting because in short term "a healthy mind is a healthy body". I also presented a few research articles to the class. In Endocrine Pharmacology I talked about the male reproductive system, which to say the least was very interesting. In Neuropharmacology I talked about a novel new drug called NFEPP, which acts on the opioid receptor and produces analgesic effects without producing the typical central nervous system side effect such as respiratory depression. Next week I have another presentation for the class, and I think I am going to do it on the recently (2 days ago) FDA approved use of intranasal ketamine in patients with depression. Two weeks after that I have my cumulative exam covering every drug that I have studied since I started the program last year and to be honestly I am very nervous. Knowledge is Power.

Until next time,

# of Service Hours: 8

The Saints "No Call"

It has been awhile since I have last blogged, and I have a lot to share with y’all. First off, it has been way to cold recently. I am ready for it to get hot and humid again. Speaking of which, this year is the 50-year anniversary of Jazz Fest and the lineup could not be better. Just to give you a little taste of the action, The Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, Katy Perry, Curren$y, Alanis Morissette, Santana, and many other good ones are all playing this year. I already have my ticket. Some other good news is that I passed all my finals, and I heard back from a few of the medical school I applied to! I am just waiting for my interviews now. I was grateful enough to go to the NFC championship. A win in this game would have put the Saints in Super Bowl LIII. I will never forget this day. My mother, father, brother, and I were selected to hold the flag on the field during the national anthem. It was an incredible day until the last 1 minute and 47 seconds of the game: the “no call”. If you are a Saints fan you will understand when I say I am still not over it. Overall, I had a very nice winter break. I got to spend time with my family and friends, and do volunteer work with Bridge Hospice and Dr. Cashman. I am currently working on volunteering as an EMT for one of the days of Jazz Fest and for Buku Fest.

Until next time,

# of Service Hours: 15 

It Finally Feels like Winter

A lot has happened since the last time I've blogged. First, it finally feels like winter in New Orleans (although it did get into the upper 70s today). A little update on the Tigers. We lost, bad. I don't really want to comment on it much further. The Saints snapped their 10 game win streak with a lose against the Dallas Cowboys last night. It has been pretty rough football wise, but all is good. The Saints are still 10-2, they are still Superbowl contenders. Some other (good) news: I have continued my volunteer work with Bridge Hospice. I am now Dr. Cory Cashman's medical scribe and personal assistant. In doing this I provide assistance to Dr. Cashman by taking part in patient visits, tracking and updating medical charts and lab results, recording consultations, and recording documentation in the electronic health records. This experience has allowed me to gain great clinical experience as Dr. Cashman is very knowledgeable and explains various diseases and medications as we go from patient to patient. 

One day volunteering, I saw an elderly man walking in the hallway and asked if he needed any assistance. We immediately struck up a conversation, and his animation startled me. I had never seen someone in a nurse home so full of life, funny, and personable. After our conversation, he thanked me for all I had done and for “spending time talking to an old man like himself.” I was touched by that moment long after he left. I later told Dr. Cashman about this man and he informed me that he was just diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Later, an employee approached me and said that he was told to relay a message to me from the man that my kindness made his day “brighter.” As a volunteer, I’ve always felt I was not making enough of a difference. That day forced me to realize that making an impact can be as simple as striking up a conversation.


This semester is coming to an end pretty soon. I can't believe it has already been four months since I have started this program. I am thankful for all of the opportunities I have been giving. Now pray for me as I begin to start studying for the final and that I hear back from one of the medical schools I applied to. As always, I will keep y'all posted. See you at the end of December.  

Total # of Service Hours: 37 Hours 

Happy Halloween Y'all

It's Halloween! Kids are running around and screaming "Trick-orTreat"! It's a fun time for everybody. This year, I spent my Halloween with my family and my new nephew. We handed out candy to all of the kids in the neighborhood.


I spent a lot of my free time this month volunteering with a few different organization, including Bridge Hospice, bingo at the Southern Yacht Club, and the United Negro College Fund walk for education. During my high school career at Brother Martin I participated in Track and Cross Country so I felt the most connected with the walk for education. For this event in Audubon Park, I got there early in the morning to help set up the tents and stages. I also helped hand out water and glucose to runners that participated in the event. At the end, I got to the call out the names of the top 3 finishers for both men and women. Finally, we packed everything up and the walk for education was over before I knew it.

A big shout out to Dillard and Xavier University who by far had the most people participating in the event. I am looking forward to all the other opportunities I will receive while I am earning my masters degree from Tulane. This Saturday I will be in Baton Rouge cheering on the Tigers as they play the #1 ranked team, University of Alabama. Stay tuned and Geaux Tigers!

A Day In The Life Of A Student

Nobody said it was going to be easy. Since undergrad at LSU it has been a constant grind of studying, working, and volunteering. Now that September is coming to an end I get to reflect on my first month of graduate school at Tulane University. The program I am currently enrolled in is a Masters of Science in Pharmacology. Going into this program I only knew 1 out of the 33 people enrolled in the class. Over the past month, I have made 32 new friends, learned an exorbitant amount of new information relating to the medical field, and have listened to some of the brightest people speak on their current research they are doing in their lab in hopes to modify and progress the future of Pharmacology. Some of the interesting topics I have studied in this program include: pharmacokinetics, eicosanoids, corticosteroids, drug disposition, and my personal favorite, cytochrome P450. All of these amazing things have happened in the classroom setting at Tulane’s School of Medicine in downtown New Orleans. With the block 1 exam under my belt and still so much information to learn, I am looking forward to see what other incredible things I experience in this program.