Unprotected TextUnprotected TextA scallywags journey through medical school. 
Articles
Great Expectations
2007-10-15 22:35:00 It seems that the old adage of medical student ‘glamour’ is true. The adage that is, not the reality. Recently I have found myself coming under relentless questioning from eager friends and family for the nitty gritty details that make up the first month of medical school. The reality of course, is there are very few, if any.Take for example the recent phone call I had with my mother:“So have you been in any hospitals yet?”“No”“What about GP practices?”“No”“Met any patients?”“No”“Seen anything interesting??”“No”“Had any tests or work back?”“No”…“So…what did you do today?”“I watched a video on pregnancy”“Oooh that sounds exciting! What was it about?!”"Pregnancy.""Yes I mean, what happened in it?"“We’ve seen it before on BBC, you know the Robert Winston one”“Ah”I got asked by my friends probing questions into the life of clinical medicine the other night. It was quite fun to burst their balloon and tell them all I... More About: Great , Expectations
Reassurance
2007-10-12 18:24:00 "Seriously, if you tie a donkey to the medical college I guarantee you that in 5 years time it will graduate.""You don't need morals to be an expert in medical ethics, in the same way you needn't be a potato, to be a potato expert."- Lecturer on medical ethics
Karmacology
2007-10-08 00:38:00 About a week ago I attended an emergency medicine society meeting in the basement of the Royal London hospital. I actually really enjoyed it, there was a short quiz that us freshers sucked at (though not too badly, surprisingly!) and a mini-lecture with lots of gory photos and information in it. For example in an explosion did you know your ear drums burst and sinuses literally explode? I didn’t ever consider that, though it makes perfect sense in retrospect.Later in the session we spent time putting on cervical collars and practising a log-roll for c-spine immobilisation. You wouldn’t think that it would be that hard for several people to roll a casualty following a ‘ready, brace, roll’ command. Yet, it really isn’t that easy to synchronise, trust me. I left the session feeling pretty elated; I really enjoyed the glance at clinical medicine, no matter how basic it was. Hell I felt like a medico-god, briefly.Of course karma had other ideas, as a group of us made our way to... More About: Arma
The sweet with the bitter
2007-10-04 14:57:00 The Anatomy Room Whilst staring at a clearly enlarged heart (not far off dinner plate size!) which had been cut in halves through coronal section, one of the anatomy professors walks over to me and quizzes me on the atria, ventricles and major vessels coming in and out of it. I pause for a second whilst noticing this black/gray grainy material in the walls of the heart chamber. “Is it like this because of haemochromatosis?” I blurt out. … “Err, well it could be?! Why do you think that is then?” The professor asks me, looking puzzled. “Oh err…saw it in Greys Anatomy.” I reply, clearly not thinking about what I was saying. His face lights up. “Ah! Excellent! Glad to see you’re reading up on these things!” Comes an over enthusiastic reply. I smile sheepishly and walk on to the next specimen. That wasn’t the Grays Anatomy I was talking about. ********** Cell Biology Practical We’re trying to convert milimoles and micromoles of creatinine into correct units for ... More About: Sweet , Bitter
Problem Based Learning
2007-10-02 22:43:00 You know all those swanky high-gloss images in the medical school prospectus featuring eager young medics participating in intensive PBL debates? That clean, trendy and fully equipped room full of wonderful gadgets like interactive whiteboards, computers for every student, plasma screen televisions networked together in some sort of euphoric PBL dream?Wake up, it’s all a lie.To start with our PBL room has a crappy whiteboard with scribble that doesn’t wipe off at all, a ragged tatty appearance and the climate of Siberia.There is an awkward atmosphere ebbing as we nervously dissect the given scenario. No one really wants to chair, or scribe for that matter. I’m the only grad in my group, which is proving more of a burden right now. I may have more extensive knowledge of the scenario but it is hard not to come across as a smart-arse when I try helping clarify terms or explain concepts I’ve come across in Biomed. That’s not to say no one contributes, there are a fair few memb... More About: Problem , Learning , Earning
Prosection Introspection
2007-09-30 21:51:00 As a child I would occasionally daydream on long car journeys or before I fell asleep at night, pondering what death is like. Back then as a naïve child with an overactive imagination I used to think that although you were dead, you could still feel what happens to your body on some spiritual level. Because of this I thought the idea of cremation was horrific, that you would feel the intense burning of your remains somehow. The same superstitious logic could therefore be applied to dissection – that you would somehow feel your body being cut open, manipulated and dissected out. I would shudder at the thought of such horrendous agony, but even as a child I knew it was a silly idea. So why was it I still shuddered at the thought of somehow hurting this prosected specimen? I guess I’d hardwired that false notion into my brain and couldn’t help myself - it is an intrinsic reflex now.Because of this mindset I had as a child I also used to think being buried and slowly decomposing ... More About: Introspection
Interprofessional Entertainment
2007-09-25 20:47:00 Interprofessional Education – that’s what I wasted my morning with. I guess this is my first insight into the bizarre world of NHS teamwork strategies. I’ve always been a cynic with regards to these sorts of things, so it is no wonder I have taken such a stance. In my opinion today was not really about forging the ideals of a slick and well-oiled multidisciplinary healthcare team. But rather concerned with reacting to some government target in which all medics, nurses, therapists, etc are put in a room together so they can say “well look what we’ve done to improve the NHS, we do listen to our patients, we are committed to healthcare teams”.Did I learn anything? Not really, only that we are all as reluctant to speak up when put in this very artificial environment for an hour and told to work as a team.There was a lovely speech and language therapist who introduced her self and asked what I was studying. When I told her I was studying Medicine she asked “Oh! So are you g... More About: Entertainment , Fess
FunMed: Step Right Up
2007-09-24 00:03:00 So tomorrow marks the start of medical school teaching, and as I understand the ‘Fundamentals of Medicine’ module is neither fun nor medical. I have had more than enough induction talks for my liking, and am just about ready to start some real work, no doubt this time in a few weeks I shall eat my words.So on tomorrows menu we have gross anatomy and microanatomy lectures for starters, followed by a microanatomy practical for the main. Unfortunately for me, I have a 3 ½ hour gap in the middle of my day. Not really long enough to come back to halls or do anything useful. I may spend it exploring the wonders of Whitechapel (Shitechapel as it has become branded) but I don’t really fancy getting pick-pocketed.I get my first session of PBL on Tuesday afternoon, and am not really sure how to feel about it. For one thing, I am the only one in my group whose name I can pronounce so I hope the other students don’t hold it against me when I cock up their names.Socially med school is f... More About: Step , Step Right Up
Does not commute
2007-09-20 16:33:00 We’re walking to lectures, it’s around 8am and there is an oncoming mob of Liverpool street station commuters. I wait at the traffic light slightly dazed by the morning sunshine and stare blankly at the other pedestrians waiting to cross. One hurried lady walks out, sees a silver BMW coming towards her and runs across the road in a fairly graceless manner to avoid getting hit.All I do is watch expressionlessly.“Yes darling, it’s called a car” she declares to me as she passes.Right? I’m clearly the idiot here…We made it to lectures on time. I had a badass sore throat, and sat through the lectures swallowing what little secretions of saliva I could to soothe the burn. The second lecture was however, hilarious, inspirational, eye-opening. London is quite tiring right now; I think we’re all finding it so. I’m trying to establish a daily routine and settle in but at the moment it feels as though I’m not living in London, but simply existing in it.Apologies for the sho... More About: Commute , Mute
My first day at med school
2007-09-17 20:23:00 Q. What is the most unpredictable way to start medical school?A. Have the very first person you meet ask “oh! are you the blog guy?!”More surprising still, was when quite literally the exact same thing occurred with the second person I met.That’ll teach me to blog without a pseudonym!(And seeing that they will probably read this at some point, I will take this opportunity to say “Hey! Fancy a cuppa in the kitchen??”)*****The first night was a ‘mummies and daddies night’, where freshers are paired up with current students (the parents) who have to look after their baby freshers. My dad is an alcoholic, but he did buy me a drink, told me to join the water polo society and suggested I should cheat on my girlfriend as it was my first night (I was NOT impressed).Needless to say, it was an uncomfortable conversation - being the sober one. Trying to be non-judgemental, I’m taking it with a pinch of salt. I got a text the following day asking if I’m settling in alright, an... More About: School , Med school
The Night Before Medicine
2007-09-14 22:41:00 Twas the night before Medicine , when all through the house,Harry was up late, agitated and rouse.His crates and bags ready, packed with due care,In hope that morning would soon be there.He lay there all snug in his single bed,While visions of freshers week danced through his head.All the while the house fell silent, counting down hours till dawn,He could not sleep, could not unwind, let alone yawn.When all of a sudden arose such a clatter,And he sprang from his bed to see what’s the matter.Gently, he prised open the laptop screen,But it turned out to be nothing, just MSN's routine.So he browsed for a while, checking his blog stats,But no one had visited, and nothing to look at.Now Facebook! Now Google! Now Hotmail! Now Play!On YouTube! On Blogger! On Amazon and eBay!All the while the seconds ticked on,And Harry grew weary of the internets song.And so he decided that that was that,He closed down the computer for a night cap.As morning broke and the birds did sing,Harry awoke to th... More About: Night
Summer by numbers
2007-09-12 17:30:00 In the style of Cal (who hasn't done one recently)Of the 84 days of summer…2 of which I worked…7 of which I went to London…75 of which I sat on my arseI read 3 books…of which 2 were goodRestrung my guitar twiceDrank beer on 54 of the nightsHad one mother of all hangoversWent on holiday 0 times (I am too poor)Had 68 arguments with my mother…of which I won 68 (at least in my eyes)Had 17 arguments with my little brother…of which I lost 15 (outfoxed by a 13 yr old)Graduated once…of which 3 bottles of champagne were drunkSaw 4 films at the cinemaWatched big brother for 6 and 1/2 weeks before getting boredLearnt two new recipesBought one pair of new shoesDanced the fandango onceVisited my med school twiceWent to four birthday partiesHad to get up before 9am 8 times…of which I overslept twiceGot up past midday 42 timesGot up past 2pm onceHad two hair cutsShaved 6 timesReceived 24 comments about my scruffReceived 0 compliments about my scruffSent 213 text messages…and 16 ... More About: Summer , Numbers , Number
Faceblogged
2007-09-09 13:06:00 It’s a little daunting to think that I am now in my last week of holiday. This time next week, I shall be mingling with my new hall mates probably discussing the previous night’s activities, deciding what to do for the rest of the day and feeling sufficiently out of my comfort zone… probably.To recap on this past week’s highlights:Hair – cutFriend – remindedFreshers pass – postedTuition fees – paidEssentials – boughtGuitar – restrungAnd that explains the lack of posting, or rather lack of anything to post about.Thanks to Facebook and the perhaps abusive way I have used it, I now know the names and thumbnail sized faces of three people who I shall be living in close proximity (i.e. pretty much next room) to myself. They did declare their room numbers in the freshers groups, so I have not turned out-right stalker as this may come across. I can’t decide if I like knowing before hand, as it almost takes the surprise out of arriving at halls. Certainly three years a...
Plan A
2007-09-05 16:12:00 Medicine = t- 10 daysThey say moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do in your life. I may not be leaving a career, selling a house, changing the bills, saying too many goodbyes or transferring an entire household content’s to another property, but I am moving, and I am concerned for one thing…In my single-parent family only one person is able to drive. Unfortunately for me, she hasn’t any balls either (pardon the expression, this is NOT a dig at women drivers). As I’m moving to central London my dear mother has point blank refused to take me and my possessions on a Saturday to my new halls. In all I’m a little thankful for this as sitting in a car and trying to direct her around central London would likely be the most traumatic event of the year for me.In the knowledge of all this, I asked my best mate from home if he could take me this one time. I’ve promised a free lunch, generous amounts of petrol money and gave 3 months advanced notice. I hate ask... More About: Plan
Things I would cite as the bane of my life:
2007-09-02 00:35:00 1. Plastic packaging when there really is no need for it2. When people pronounce Iraq: ‘eye-rak’3. People who declare themselves mad/random/crazy to compensate for a lack of personality4. People who boast about how much they drank the night before (look, we get it, you’ve got a small penis)5. Cricket on TV, all the time6. Cards with glitter on (and I don’t want to look like a 13yr old girl at a school disco when it sticks to me)7. Bloggers inability to publish a post without fucking up the layout (especially when pictures are involved)8. Offensively fragrant body wash (who really wants to smell like a mango first thing?)9. Flatulence jokes10. Cheesy clichés offered as worldly advice (well, it happens to the best of us…)11. Anyone who takes Facebook seriously12. BTHomeHubs seemingly endless seizures13. When people eat too loudly14. Chuggers15. Pushchairs, on busy streets with militant mothers at the helm (especially those designed for more than one infant)16. Bumping into ... More About: Life , My Life , Bane , Things
Wok a bargain!
More articles from this author:2007-08-30 18:18:00 Oh yes, you’re reading the blog of a proud new wok-owner:Cost me under a tenner, so I was pretty damned pleased. Even better, it’s a carbon-steel non stick wok. It’s better because I won’t be living off a diet of Teflon flakes (unlike last year when our undomesticated arsehole housemate scratched the Teflon off with wire sponge).But the bargains don’t just stop there, oh no. It’s pretty geeky to start buying textbooks before I’m there (this is the first one I’ve bought) but at just £5 it would be criminal not to. It’s pretty old, and I’ll end up buying a decent new anatomy book at some point but it may come in useful, who knows.The only thing that tainted my shopping spree had to be getting approached four times by chuggers from the same children’s charity trying to sign me up. Of course, I kept on walking and ignored them or shook my head at them, but it seriously pissed me off. Our town seems to get it worse than most others. They may well be collecting mone... More About: Bargain 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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