One week left till i go back and face another new module; this time its Cardio-Respiratory.
In good timing for this, my parents have done the unoriginal, yet amazingly sweet thing of buying me a stethoscope for Christmas. I'm sure i won't get to fiddle with it much, or even understand what I'm suppose to listen out for till 2 years down the line, but its a nice gift and I'll cherish it. Currently i've only listened to my dog's heart, and the amplified sound of my finger tapping on the diaphragm.
So, other than eating a lot and catching up with friends, the remaining week will be to finish of these HD notes and sleep lots so i'm feeling fresh for the new start!
Monday, 28 December 2009
Saturday, 12 December 2009
Funmed moving on HD
Funmed has finally been drawn to a finish with the last of the section results out. Slighlty miffed by my B, (esp. when i'm only 2% from an A gahhh). Well it will only serve as some motivation for the next set of ICAs in feb.. but until then, its relaxing time.
After funmed exams i was like: "OK this it it!" and I was so keen on keeping notes up to date and learning as i go along; but once again i have fallen back on my lazy ways. So far i've done notes for 1 lecture in the last 2 weeks, and i've probably spent more time out ragging on the one day of rag, than i have on reading through text books. So whilst im relaxed now, i'm going to have to work during this X'mas break (officially a week away! ^.^)
Generally, i would say HD isn't very difficult (it is, when compared to funmed), but its definately a case of a LOT of information, in a very short space of time. >.< (... and i always feel like i don't have enough time)
After funmed exams i was like: "OK this it it!" and I was so keen on keeping notes up to date and learning as i go along; but once again i have fallen back on my lazy ways. So far i've done notes for 1 lecture in the last 2 weeks, and i've probably spent more time out ragging on the one day of rag, than i have on reading through text books. So whilst im relaxed now, i'm going to have to work during this X'mas break (officially a week away! ^.^)
Generally, i would say HD isn't very difficult (it is, when compared to funmed), but its definately a case of a LOT of information, in a very short space of time. >.< (... and i always feel like i don't have enough time)
Sunday, 29 November 2009
End of Funmed
On Friday i sat my first exam at BL -> Fundamentals of medicine '09
It's been 3 years since i've sat any EMQs, and i had forgotten what a pain they could be; though no pain can even come close to the spotter exam !!
Flicking through the microanatomy slides before the exam, in combo with my stupid "fingers crossed" ritual, had come no where close to preparing me well. I predict a flop.
At least i now know i really need to work on my anatomy!
The final kick of the day came in the form of my SSC allocations >.<
(though i'll try and keep an open mind)
So... that brings Funmed to an end..
..........................roll on human development!
It's been 3 years since i've sat any EMQs, and i had forgotten what a pain they could be; though no pain can even come close to the spotter exam !!
Flicking through the microanatomy slides before the exam, in combo with my stupid "fingers crossed" ritual, had come no where close to preparing me well. I predict a flop.
At least i now know i really need to work on my anatomy!
The final kick of the day came in the form of my SSC allocations >.<
(though i'll try and keep an open mind)
So... that brings Funmed to an end..
..........................roll on human development!
Friday, 20 November 2009
Funmed
Being a science grad on an undergraduate course, I get the:
"you'll do fine, you've done this all before"
comment quite a lot, and if i'm being honest, i'm sure i've muttered those words among the grads a few times myself. It's a bit of a weird feeling, even more so now that the.....
FUNMED assessment is in 7 days time!!
OK i don't really know the exact weightings, but i think its worth like 27% of paper A overall.... and the spotter component makes up 5% of the 27%....
so its decided, im giving up on the spotter!
(well i'll revise a bit of it, and have my fingers crossed for the bits of anatomy and microanatomy i like to pop up, but im not going to stress over it too much....now lets hope i've made the right decision!)
"you'll do fine, you've done this all before"
comment quite a lot, and if i'm being honest, i'm sure i've muttered those words among the grads a few times myself. It's a bit of a weird feeling, even more so now that the.....
FUNMED assessment is in 7 days time!!
OK i don't really know the exact weightings, but i think its worth like 27% of paper A overall.... and the spotter component makes up 5% of the 27%....
so its decided, im giving up on the spotter!
(well i'll revise a bit of it, and have my fingers crossed for the bits of anatomy and microanatomy i like to pop up, but im not going to stress over it too much....now lets hope i've made the right decision!)
Thursday, 8 October 2009
new experiences
Med-Soc: GP Placement
I HATE the hour long journey to uni, and from next week onwards, i'll have to add a 2 hour journey to my fortnightly rota, as we start Medicine in Society >.< Luckily for me, its still within the zones of my travel card (I would be even more whiney if i had to pay anything ontop of the £81/month travel card!!) BUT, travel pains aside, i'm actually genuinly quite excited about med soc; in contrast to some of the people i've spoken to, i quite like the idea of being in a general practice.
PBL: isn't so bad.
If i have to choose one word to define my first session of PBL, i would choose: Awkward!
It really was a bit odd, none of us actually knew what we were meant to do, and i think the chair had a hard time getting everyone involved. (the tutor pointed us in the right decision throughout, and finally got us there)
However, the follow-up PBL session went a LOT smoother, we went through the objectives quickly, and onto the next case scenario. This time we knew what we had to do, and it actually wasn't so bad (actually i quite enjoyed it). I think it will just take some time to get use to.
Anatomy
Anatomy consisted of walking around to different stations, looking at specimens and seeking help from the demonstrators; asking one of the demonstrators a question about the brain was probably the best decision i made of the day.
Whilst answering my question and describing the different features of the brain, the demonstrator whipped out a pair of pink latex gloves from his lab coat pocket, handed them to me and told me to pick up the brain "Go on pick it up, i know you want to", and he was right.
The smell of formaldehyde was bearable, but I did feel a little queezy.
I HATE the hour long journey to uni, and from next week onwards, i'll have to add a 2 hour journey to my fortnightly rota, as we start Medicine in Society >.< Luckily for me, its still within the zones of my travel card (I would be even more whiney if i had to pay anything ontop of the £81/month travel card!!) BUT, travel pains aside, i'm actually genuinly quite excited about med soc; in contrast to some of the people i've spoken to, i quite like the idea of being in a general practice.
PBL: isn't so bad.
If i have to choose one word to define my first session of PBL, i would choose: Awkward!
It really was a bit odd, none of us actually knew what we were meant to do, and i think the chair had a hard time getting everyone involved. (the tutor pointed us in the right decision throughout, and finally got us there)
However, the follow-up PBL session went a LOT smoother, we went through the objectives quickly, and onto the next case scenario. This time we knew what we had to do, and it actually wasn't so bad (actually i quite enjoyed it). I think it will just take some time to get use to.
Anatomy
Anatomy consisted of walking around to different stations, looking at specimens and seeking help from the demonstrators; asking one of the demonstrators a question about the brain was probably the best decision i made of the day.
Whilst answering my question and describing the different features of the brain, the demonstrator whipped out a pair of pink latex gloves from his lab coat pocket, handed them to me and told me to pick up the brain "Go on pick it up, i know you want to", and he was right.
The smell of formaldehyde was bearable, but I did feel a little queezy.
Sunday, 27 September 2009
First Week
I did plan to update after the first day at BL, but i think i've already slipped into my old student routine of pushing things back for later... so i'll have to settle with blogging about my 1st week instead ^^
Things on a whole have been going well, theres not really that much going on as its the typical induction week; however there was this GREAT welcome lecture on friday (i don't want to go into great details in case i ruin it for others) which was a combination of shock, fear, laughs and feeling stupid right at the end for believing it all from the start ^^, if this is BL, then i think i'm going to love it!
Freshers fayre was another highlight of the week (!!) - a concise medical dictionary, highlighters in the shape of syringes, and random pens were nice gifts, but i think the free mini oxford handbook of clinical medicine was the cherry on top! (especially since i was planning on buying it!).
Roll on week 2, and my first session of PBL on Tuesday!
Things on a whole have been going well, theres not really that much going on as its the typical induction week; however there was this GREAT welcome lecture on friday (i don't want to go into great details in case i ruin it for others) which was a combination of shock, fear, laughs and feeling stupid right at the end for believing it all from the start ^^, if this is BL, then i think i'm going to love it!
Freshers fayre was another highlight of the week (!!) - a concise medical dictionary, highlighters in the shape of syringes, and random pens were nice gifts, but i think the free mini oxford handbook of clinical medicine was the cherry on top! (especially since i was planning on buying it!).
Roll on week 2, and my first session of PBL on Tuesday!
Saturday, 5 September 2009
Welcome Pack
Despite how much economic sense it would make to go for the unexpected 4 year GEP offer, i've decided at the end to stick with the 5year..... so roll on enrolment!
(Thank you Sengcheek and Lily for the supportive advice, but my fear of failing and flopping med school has both hands shaking me and telling me to stick with the less intensive 5 year course... and as seng put it, its still a win-win situation ^.^ )
**My welcome pack arrived this afternoon!**
OK, to be fair the excitement only lasted through the receiving, running upstairs to my room, and the careful opening part; after that it sort of died down as i flicked through the paperwork. Nestled inside the A4 sized envelope was a letter from BLSA, a book list, a two-day timetable, the pre-enrolment form (this just means i have to go to the student office next week and show them a few certificates), and few other bits and bobs. On a plus note, theres advice on getting myself a new student oyster card (i need one of those!), and real excitement in knowing i'll finally be starting on the 21st !!! (even if its a horrible 8am start to the day >.<)
(Thank you Sengcheek and Lily for the supportive advice, but my fear of failing and flopping med school has both hands shaking me and telling me to stick with the less intensive 5 year course... and as seng put it, its still a win-win situation ^.^ )
**My welcome pack arrived this afternoon!**
OK, to be fair the excitement only lasted through the receiving, running upstairs to my room, and the careful opening part; after that it sort of died down as i flicked through the paperwork. Nestled inside the A4 sized envelope was a letter from BLSA, a book list, a two-day timetable, the pre-enrolment form (this just means i have to go to the student office next week and show them a few certificates), and few other bits and bobs. On a plus note, theres advice on getting myself a new student oyster card (i need one of those!), and real excitement in knowing i'll finally be starting on the 21st !!! (even if its a horrible 8am start to the day >.<)
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