Snickers + Water = Med School Survival

[leadzeplane]

I have kept putting this blog off for quite a while now, so I am glad that finally.............FINALLY....i have started it as it seems a pretty interesting thing to do.

Anyhoo, I am a first year med student (today being 5th December) at Queens University, Belfast. Should I give my name away? I shall maybe divulge it later in my blogging career (....as it were).

At the moment I am fearing the revision sessions in Cell and Molecular biology which are going to happen next week as they will remind how unprepared I probably am at the moment. Very scary indeed.


Anyway, I must go to revise now. I would be doing an essay but bloody Medline on QUB (queens uni belfast btw) isn't working so I can't get that neccessary journal entry I need - great, eh?





(enough sarcasm - leadzeplane's inner monologue)

[leadzeplane]

I finally got my essay handed in today so I now feel that a major weight has been lifted off my shoulders so today I just relaxed and then watched the fabulous Liverpool give a masterclass (kind of) in football to Marseille. Au revoir for them to champions league!

The essay was on the implications from 'opt-out' organ donation legislation and I did find it quite interesting to be truthful. My skills with Medline (this is a very large online database of medical literature for those of you that don't know) are improving and my referencing improved after the ass-whooping I got last time. Let us forget that.

This is my final week of my first semester and I haven't really realised that my next set of lectures won't be till around February 2008. It is probably not best that I don't think of that now though as now the exams in January are my major priority and I hope next week to have the revision regime of a-Buddhist-monk-strictness factor. I do feel intimidated at the moment by it all in honesty but there is still alot of excitement inside of me. Either that or I have eaten a dangerous amount of chocolate today. Probably the latter.

I finally got Radiohead's album "In Rainbows" today, for free no doubt, and I am finding it to be pretty damn good. 'Nude' is beautiful and you can really hear Jeff Buckley seeping into Thom Yorke's vocal style in it. Now I just I need to get 'Kid A' and a few others before I see them live next year.

Bitchin'

[leadzeplane]

Not much to report back, except that I am now off for Christmas (since last Friday infact). We had a big lunch which I know my stomach didn't really appreciate but it was fantastic so I suggest to anyone to give Fook-In Noodles a shot. Yes, that is the name and yes it is fook-in lovely.

I am at the moment currently revising (or attempting to) so they won't be much to report between now and 7th Jan when I have my first exam. Bugger.

Anyway, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

[leadzeplane]

Ah....post exams day 2. It is an amazing feeling, like diluted nirvana (the state of mind, not the band with Mr Cobain). One and a half weeks of joyous freedom in which I can party, goto Holland and then kick back some more. Glorious.

The exams? Better than my expectations which was MORE than welcome and I have a hope (touch wood) of passing them all first time - once again, diluted nirvana. I do believe that I did work hard and that it did pay off having very little Christmas (I'm athiest, it's fine!) but I don't want to be too cocky about the whole thing, just incase I do feck it all up and deflate my ego to microscopical size from whence never to return.

Now, the careful dissection of the fabulous exams, the first 1/10th of my medicine uni course exams.

Cell and Molecular Biology - this was the first, and probably biggest as a third of the year above failed it last year, and one of our lecturers admitted that they got it wrong with its structure and content (feck, said I). However, I felt it was more than possible to pass and come exam day the questions were to my taste (much like snickers).
Compare mitosis and meiosis - ha, tis but A-Level (said I)!
Morphological features of Apoptosis - the clue from the lecturer that this would be on the exam was a very nice aide. Draw a graph of postprandal levels (post meal) showing the changes in glucose, insulin etc over a few days - the toughest question IMO. I should have been more prepared. Nicotinic Acetylcholine recpetors - quite a nice question, I drew some delightful diagrams and felt quite pleased. Huzzah.

First exam down. Microanatoy Practical now. Not bad, my group were all sound and I impressed my self by being able to state the (hopefully correctt) answers before the rest in my group. The specimen report sheet was good aswell, just some skin to recognise...easy.

Microanatomy exam - not too bad. A few parts left me a bit flustered, but only 5 folks failed it last year, so I fail it, then I deserved to be lashed by peers.

Science, Society and Medicine- the least (probably) revised for. Worried sick on the Sunday night before that I was going to get fecked over by this fecking device on paper.......(....the exam). After to praying to every God found on wikipedia (including Tom Cruise) the exam wasn't horrendous (cheers scientology). I feel some miniscule hope of passing and that is a beautiful relief. Health Belief Model had been learned and it popped up - I'll take that, thank you!

ICT Exam - a bit duff. Passable, but really Queens, was it necessary?


So, now my exams are over. My love life is still crap, but at least there are some positives. Plus Holland should be good, and no, I don't go for some chemical diluted nirvana (I ain't Kirk Cobain). Screw the drugs, I am going for the fecking architecture.


Seriously.

[leadzeplane]

Exam results back!

All passed with above average results in 2 of the modules and then a below average mark in the third ( ) But they are all passed and now I must concentrate on the much more interesting/concentrated/life determining/life ruining second semester of first year medicine at QUB.

First two weeks of the second semester have gone so I will try to summarise on the significant events so far.

Most significant event for me was the beginning of dissection and it is fantastic. We get alot of pre reading to do (alot being the significant word) but the actual practical hands on work is enthralling and while I cut away at the cadaver I didn't feel ill as I would have feared. My only worry was that the old grumpy grampa ex-surgeon who was teaching my group was going to flick some damn intercostal musicle tissue into my mouth with the rate he was going with the scalpel. Otherwise it was splendid... kind of.

Probably the next most significant event was the Clinical Attachment part of the course which has began. This involves me and a group of renegade doctors (and some dossy dental types) heading out to a local GP practice (in my case) or a local hospital ward, so as to learn the basics of history taking, venepuncture and another whole load of glorious clinical skills! It was good although the pub near to the GP's surgery is pretty damn shifty (from the exterior, for all I know inside it could be a classy establishment run by this snazzy character)



But I don't think so. The pub looks like a sectarian hole probably chocked full of the narrow minded scum-focks that ruin this piece of country called Northern Ireland. Ask them for a history lesson on the country from either side of the divide and they couldn't tell you jack all, rather they are the off spring of more sectarian bigots and they adore the nasty sick world which they propagate.

Bloody hell, that was off topic.


Anyway, the rest of these two weeks have involved more Systemic (eg renal, skeletal etc) lectures and practical classes (I am not too fond of those devices to cut your own skin so as to get a drop of blood). I have also cut down on the amount of junk food eaten.....huzzah...maybe.

[leadzeplane]

Long time no bloody see.

I apologise for my lazy approach to this blog, I thought that I would make sparse posts over long periods of time so that I could concentrate them into being beautiful posts of Stephen Fry-esque grandeur. That was my excuse anyway. In reality, I am far too lazy for my own good which is not a preferred trait in a future doctor (I would guess).
At the moment I have stopped working on my student selected component essay for the day. It's on cancer, but I won't reveal anymore about it to keep my slightly anonymous approach to this blog going (if I give away the proper title, I shall give away who I am easily to anyone with common sense and google).

Currently off for Easter hols aswell, eating loads of rubbish and trying to revise Systems (which I didn't properly learn the first time round) and it seems to be going well. So far we have tackled the blood, cardiovascular and respiratory systems with quite a lot of detail.
Other work that I need to do over Easter includes my family attachment project and the coursework involved with it. It is 4000 words (...I think) and is split between my partner and moi. So far, very little done in it but it shouldn't be THAT bad....I hope. Then I have my Personal Development Portfolio work to do. It seems to be a pain in my side but unlike alot of my peers, I can see its relevance when related to the system we have at the moment for installing junior doctors at the moment, so I do try to do it often (I may do some after this blog entry). Plus anyway, the skills entries are EASY. Praecordium exam, venepuncture, blood pressure taking........it's easy to write about. FAB.

A few weeks ago I had a fantastic moment. I was enjoying a sandwich (....I think) at a local Spar/Centra/VG/corner shop near the City Hospital in Belfast. As I saw all the doctors milling about I thought to myself, "I really do want to do this."
It could have been something in the sandwich I know, or I might have meant it. Who knows. But it was a beautiful quick moment. Nearly as important as the next day when I went into the men's toilet in the city hospital, only to see a woman walk out of a cubicle. The moment when our eyes met must have been amazing to see.

Pure WTF. Granted that she speaks internet speek, which I am adament she does.

What's that I hear you ask? How's MY lovelife? It was going good. I met a girl, we dated and then I had to stop it. It was a golden time though I was kind of bummed that it had to end but I felt it necessary. I am not going to give any reasons, or that would reveal the person (per chance that you knew her). She was really pretty aswell.......heart breaking stuff.


Still, plenty of fish........

Here's some Nick Drake which I have been listening to quite a bit while all romanticised!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ze5Bktb2jiQ

[leadzeplane]

Today, I have mainly been drawing penises, vaginas, rectums and kidneys....


Yeap, it's exam time. I have my first two on Thursday, Microanatomy (not so great) and anatomy (love it except for that bloody smell which ruins my taste buds for 24 hours) and I don't feel bad for these two.

However,

I have my systems MCQs a week after that and I am SCARED. Seriously. S-C-A-R-E-D! I have looked at some past papers (....*cough*frowned upon by the establishment*cough*..... ) and I really do not understand a whole lot of the questions and this is has made me feel a little ittle bit stressed out. I hope to gawd that my peers feel the same or else I am screwed....
Then later on in the glorious month of May I have my clinical skills exam - the OSCEs (pronounced oz-keys - go figure) which should be alright....I hope. During my weekly clinical attachment sessions I felt that I severly lacked the knowledge of a number of my colleagues in my group. This has added to my biggest worry that I may fail an exam. And I really don't want this. I am scared shitlesss of that. I don't know what it is, maybe never having failed a proper exam in my life, that faced with the prospect now I am very, very worried.

On the coursework front I have handed it all in except my family attachment report (for Monday). Statistics coursework was poor and I didn't enjoy it at all..........bloody bored the socks off me. For my SSC I got my marks returned - 74% - and I was relatively pleased. I have a feeling I was probably the lowest mark in my group and that my colleagues probably got over 80%. This disheartened me a bit but in retrospect my dissertation for this module was quite poor regardless of how much bloody time I spent on it. Aw well.


And my love life you ask? Pff.......





(BTW, those vaginas and penises at the top were for my anatomy revision......honest!).

I shall return after my exams with my feelings and word on my summer plans - hopefully without the prospect of repeats.

[leadzeplane]

Shit. This was a long delay.



But I will start doing this again. Just not right now. I am tired.

But to summarise so far

• Passed all exams first time!
• Got girlfriend
• Girlfriend buggered off
• Had a splendid summer
• Felt bad about not returning to this blog sooner.
• Apologies

I will make some free time to make a good entry! Promise.


Current musical obession:



(That's Beck btw).

[leadzeplane]

Hello.

I am soooo sorry (for those that care). One post this semester. I do not know whether that makes me appear lazy or that the semester flew in very quickly but I think it is a little from column A and a little from column B.

So, this semester was interesting....it was like a guerilla period of learning. Rapid and very hairy.

To begin, in human biology we studied the Gastro intestinal tract which wasn't too tasking. What does insulin do to this; what does gastrin from the G cells do to this; peptic ulcer - what drugs to use in triple therapy? Not difficult really and the dissection in Gross anatomy was also pretty damn interesting.

Then the second half was neuroscience which for me has been the most interesting part of the whole one and half years I have spent in Queens' wonderful educating walls (the walls do teach me quite a bit for I do a shocking amount of daydreaming and staring at them). It electrifies my brain to think that our thinking, emotions and daily control of our beautiful bodies comes from a mass of tissue in our head and the spinal cord descending from it. How can a few pieces of brain matter tell me what matters to me? IT'S AMAZING.
I have been contemplating an intercalated degree in neuroscience. I don't want to be a neurosurgeon (too competitive/I am not good enough/we have a neurosurgeon dissection tutor - very furry). But neurology as a speciality seems very appealing. I have heard that it can be pretty bleak but at the moment I am unaware. More research needed so watch this space when I reply with another post in two decades time. Also, Happy New Year, I forgot that.

Elsewhere in the course we had neuropharm (why do I find the drug names so hard to remember?), individual in society (Freud and his oral/anal phase - cheeky bugger), microanatomy (microfun IMO), epidemiology (important but still....rather dull), immunology (mass amount of work but only ~4 questions on a 100 question mcq?) and microbiology (see immunology).

I am probably (read: definitely) a bad blogger for this medicine stuff. I do it when I am tired (like right now) and I have poor bloody English but still, I enjoy it and I hope you do too.

Expanding on my own life is a personal favourite ending of mine for these blog entries, so rather than change this, I shall stick with it as it is kind of like therapy.

My life is fine in honesty. Nothing bloody interesting. However, I would like to profess my undying love for the waitress who works in the Parlour. She always flirts with me and I don't know whether it is legit or not. We always pay a sufficient tip (10%) so maybe she does like me. Hmm. But I enjoy the Parlour's lunches too much that maybe I would be jeopardising them if I asked her on a date. Would I?


Man questioning yesterday

I also like to finish with some music for you all.....hmm.... at the moment I am listening to DJ Shadow "...entroducing" (check out my avatar picture) so I don't want to suggest that (check it out anyway, it's outstanding). Check out some Talking Heads ( YouTube - talking heads ) or Q-tip's new album. It's a jolly romp through the fields of proper hip-hop.



I shall definitely post back here next Thursday or the Thursday after, or sometime within my lifetime.

[leadzeplane]

SEE YOU AT THE PARTY, RICHTER!

Ah, the joys of being off and being able to do whatever I see fit for one beautiful, lazy week. Like watch Total Recall (which that quote is from) or even better, obess over The Wire



Many people have said that this may be the Greatest TV show ever and trust me, it is very enthralling. You learn so much about the characters and get sucked into their world. Sometimes keeping a tab on everything is tough, but it is worth it in the end.

I suppose I should stay on topic though. I had exams in the last few weeks and I shall give you a run down over them.

In general, I didn't think they were that bad. Much better than May where I believed that I had buggered the entire MCQs up. This time the MCQ exam paper was my first exam and I found it to be do-able. I had done a lot of revision (IMO but it never feels enough) and I concentrated on neuropharmacology. Infact I had to learn a table with all the drugs and all the diseases they were used for, and then write it out at the start of the exam for reference, which did thankfully help.
The neurology questions weere quite nice as were the GI sections and the immunology and microbiology were also pretty much beginners' questions, PRAISE THE LORD. Individual in society was fine though epidemiology was a bit of a bitch at times even though I did expect that. :/

Two days after the MCQs came my Anatomy and Microanatomy. The microanatomy was quite simple in honesty, though I am a bit gutted that I mistook colon tissue as stomach....I thought there were three layers in the muscle externa! Then the anatomy itself was alright, even though I wrote down buccinator muscle one times too many! That night however I had a lovely evening of drinking awful Leffe Brune beer.



I must note to stick to heineken next time.

Last week was my final exam, the OSCE. We had 8 stations.

1. Upper Limb Motor Exam
2. Glucometer
3. GI History
4. Diabetic History
5. Abdominal Examination
6. Eye examination (w/o fundoscopy)
7. Rectal Examination
8. Ear examination

They all went pretty well except for the ear examination which annoyed me at times. So much to do in 5 minutes!

It is all over however, results should be coming out around the 17th Feb and I shall be knee deep in my final hellish semester of my pre-clinical years. Aghast!

Anyway, here is Tom Waits to finish with "Down in the Hole" which is the Wire theme tune (season 2).

YouTube - Tom Waits - Down in the Hole