Back to Work.

So I'm back from my winter holiday and have had a week of lectures which was an introduction to Specialties and Acute and Critical Care Medicine. Essentially how this year works is that I will go through 4 core rotations: Acute and Critical Care Medicine, Specialties, Community and Palliative Care, and General Care Medicine. Each core is about 8 weeks each. Within each core there will be sub-attachments/sub-specialties. Anyways I'm starting with Acute and Critical Care Medicine and my first 4 weeks will be in Critical Care so I will be getting to know the anaesthetists! Then my next 4 weeks will be in A&E/ED (emergency department). I am quite excited about this year as this year is quite focussed on specialties and I will have plenty of opportunities to be in theatre this year. Yay!

To give you an idea what sort of lectures we had this week - we went through topics in Urology, Opthamology, Haematology, Anaesthetics, Dermatology, Trauma, Oncology, Infectious Diseases, and ENT. To be fair, covering all of that in 5 days was ambitious and tiring. It just stresses the importance for you to go home and do some extra reading before you go into that specialty placement as a 1 hour lecture is not going to cover enough for you to get through the placement. Because of this, I spent my weekend reading up on Anaesthetics and Critical Care. In a way I am really excited for this attachment as I am placed in the main hospital and it is quite busy so I know I will be able to get a lot of hands-on experience instead of swivelling in my chair. I also spent the weekend trying to get as much sleep as I can (12 hours today!) as I'm starting at  8 am every day. I felt a bit of me cry, but at the same time if it's a good attachment I don't see waking up being an issue.

Hmmm....to be honest there isn't much to talk about from this week as it was really dull and I won't bore you with the details. Hopefully next week will be action-packed and hopefully can give you all a more exciting read!

Taking Notes 101.

Attending lectures is one thing. Paying attention during a lecture is another...but taking notes during a lecture is almost like an art. Essentially, note taking is a unique thing. Every one takes notes differently. Back at school, everything was spoon fed to me. What the teachers wrote on the board, I would copy it down. This method doesn't exactly work in university...unfortunately. When I got to university, I was pretty confused about how to take notes during lectures. Fortunately, my university uploads the lecture slides ahead of time, so I usually print them out and take them to lectures. What notes do I write down? Well it depends. It helps to read the lecture ahead of time so you can pay more attention to what the lecturer is talking about and you'll know when to add to the slides.

For me, I bring a laptop to lectures as I think it is easier to type my notes as I don't need to really pay attention to my typing and I can pay more attention to what the lecturer is saying. Plus, I type quickly so I can take down more notes. If I know I have a brief/not detailed lecture, I would tend to write down most of what the lecturer says. Some people find it difficult to follow lectures, so some people bring a dictaphone to record the lecture and to listen to it later when they have time and to take more notes. I think it's a good method ONLY if you go back and listen to the lecture. I'm a bit of a lazy bugger....so I know this method wouldn't work as I wouldn't go back and listen to a lecture and make notes.

Then again, some people don't take any notes and rely on their recommended/extra reading to get the notes. Also you need to know what kind of a learner you are. I'm not a great oral learner...I'm much more a visual learner so I need to see things written down. I can't remember things that are told to me. I have to either do it or write it down; therefore, note taking is a very unique thing and only you'll know what is best for your learning.

I wish I can tell you in more detail how to take notes, but this is something you have to try and discover yourself. Try different methods...and eventually you'll find what works best for you.

Reality.

So I've been back for just over a week now and have started lectures. These lectures have literally made me question why I am studying Medicine. It has been a horrible week. 9am - 5pm lectures. I can fly back to Canada in that time period! I do not know what is going on with my medical school...but 9-5 lectures do not work. No one can concentrate for that long. I really have to admit it was tough. Not only was it tough, but I was dealing with jet lag so my days felt like weeks. I actually thought time had stopped as my days were going by so slowly.

All these lectures actually made me lose focus of my ultimate goal: to be a doctor. I was struggling to find my footing and was not motivated at all. I mean I have definitely found my footing again after having a good rest during the weekend. Yesterday I had Diabetes Teaching which was more interactive and practical. Definitely lifted my spirits and gave me a bit of motivation. I'm sure once placements come around again I will be inspired and motivated again.

After talking to a few good friends, I feel a bit better. One of my friends pointed out that I never give up in anything I do and giving up Medicine is not an option. And you know what, she is right. I never give up and I am not prepared to give up now. I'm halfway through my degree and it can only get better. Just need to put my head down and power through these lectures and assignments. I had a passion for medicine and when I really think about it - I still have a passion for it. There were some sparkles of hope today during our practical session and tomorrow I will be seeing diabetic patients. I am actually excited so I know my passion for medicine is still with me. Just need to get through 3 more days of lectures and I'll be back on the wards. I will be examined on my clinical skills soon so I'll be able to do some clinical skills on the wards. I just need to be patient and keep going.

You know while writing this post, it made me think. This is what medicine is about. Fighting adversity. Overcoming challenges. Pick yourself up and keep moving. On the wards - you will face challenges. You will have to make difficult decisions. There will always be ups and downs throughout your career and you have to learn how to deal with them. These days have been long and will only get longer when I become a doctor. Time to get used to it. This is reality.

Hectic.

Okay...I may have lied in my last post about updating my blog sooner. Oddly enough, I did not expect to be this busy. No I am not on summer holiday. I had a 4 week holiday...well 2 weeks after results. Started back on June 6. It has been non-stop 9am-5pm lectures. I have never really had 9-5 days. Usually I would be in lecture for the morning and get the afternoon off. There will be a day here and there where we would get the odd lecture from 3-5 after 2 hours in the morning from 9-11. But I have never had 9-5...non stop. We're talking about 1 hour lunch breaks. Most of you reading this will be like "...9-5 is nothing. What are you talking about?" I find it quite difficult to sit for so long, so by the time I get to the afternoon lectures I am mentally drained and can't really focus. On top of that all my friends feel the need to cram a million events into these next few weeks as we'll be splitting up for placements and all of us are in different hospitals so we will not be seeing each other very much. Can't handle so many dinners and outings!

Anyways my lectures have been mostly about clinical examination sessions, such as how to examine a patient with a vascular disease. Or how to examine a thyroid patient, or how to do a breast examination, etc. Also I finally got to use my stethoscope. Really started feeling like I am studying to become a doctor. It was really weird. The feeling will only get greater when I start placements in 2.5 weeks. Quite nervous and excited at the same time about placements.

We have also been learning clinical skills such as catheters, injections, etc. Crazy jump from sitting around in lecture theatres learning about medical science to suddenly learning how to do stuff that you do on the wards. Finally get the feeling of doing something practical and I feel that I can finally call myself a student doctor.

On a side note the weather has been something. Been roasting this weekend and today. Sitting in a lecture theatre with over 250 students with no air conditioning, and attempting to concentrate for 4 hours of microbiology is almost impossible. It was quite annoying that during the winter the air conditioning would be on and you would be freezing to death, but during a mini heatwave they decide to not turn on the air conditioning. Hopefully they'll turn it on tomorrow, but I don't think it will be as warm.

Anyways these last few weeks have been quite dull so I won't bore you with the details. Hopefully in a few weeks I will be updating you on my first time on the wards as a clinical year student...or as a "student doctor". Hopefully I'll be placed with a good consultant who is enthusiastic to have medical students around.

Quick Recap.

Finally have some downtime to update my blog.

Anyways as some of you would know I'm now starting 2nd year of medicine in England and wow. We literally jumped right into lectures on the first day of school (20th Sept). First unit is on Skin/Urinary/Endocrine/Reproduction.

Same with last year - my enemy is still physiology. I can't get my head around renal physiology. It just seems so complex. This year's topics are starting to make last year's topics seem like child's play. Getting a bit worried - especially for exams. This year's exams will include some material from first year and they will not be specifying which materials from last year will be examined...so that means reviewing all of last year. Hopefully I'll survive, but this year I have adapted a new way of studying/reviewing.

Last year, I used to print out my lectures the day before and take a quick glimpse of it. After a whole year I realized it is a horrible way for preparing for next day's lecture. You cannot even consider it as preparation. This year I have decided to take my laptop with me to lectures. The night before I would type up the powerpoint for next day's lectures and when I get to class I'll add to the powerpoint that I typed up the night before. My notes are looking much nicer and organized. Also this forces me to read my lectures beforehand as obviously to type the powerpoint...you gotta read it. It has helped quite a bit as when I go to lectures I know what to expect and am more ready. Also this year I am trying to keep up with the recommended reading. Last year I left all my reading to the last 5 weeks prior to exams and it was the WORST idea ever. It was torturous and dumb. This year I have started marking all my recommended reading and actually taking a quick read through first so when I go back to read em before exams it won't be new/fresh. Hopefully this new method of preparation and revision will help me out.

Also side note: I hope all you freshers had loads of fun during freshers week. Hopefully no one is feeling homesick yet and have made lots of friends! Most importantly I hope everyone is enjoying their course and not regret their decision of studying medicine/regret their uni choice. If you are feeling a bit down/regretting your choice - please keep your chin up and try to enjoy it as much as possible. Let go of your previous impressions of the uni and try and experience the uni. Hopefully as weeks pass you'll get more and more used to the environment and actually start liking your decision to study at that uni.

Good luck to all with your course and hopefully I'll have more time later on to keep updating.

Newborn Medical Student - 7 months old to be exact!

According to the consultant paediatric surgeon who I shadowed for a week: I am just a newborn medical student....7 months to be exact. And what have I learned so far? A crap load of stuff.

Highlight so far has been the two week placement at the hospital. I got the opportunity to shadow two consultants (well technically three) which I found a lot of fun. Don't know if the consultants enjoyed being stalked but they seemed pretty helpful and ok that there is a first year medical student following closely behind. First week I was at the HPB Surgery ward and I saw mainly elderly patients. Also got the opportunity to scrub in and watch a few surgeries. Highlight surgery I saw was a gastrectomy. Made me realize how complex and how intricate surgery is. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the 3.5 hour surgery. On the other hand, I don't think my back enjoyed it...nor my feet. But I was genuinely fascinated. However, my partner somehow was bored to death and non-stop bugged me to go back to the ward with her to watch ward-rounds. Second week of placement was probably the best week. I was placed in Paediatric Surgery and shadowed a consultant who was quite busy so another consultant took me under his wing. His team of doctors were really knowledgeable and taught quite a bit. Learned about various illness that affect children. Saw patients with appendicitis, Hirschsprung's disease, Barrett's syndrome, Meckles, and many more. Again, I had the opportunity to go to theatre and this time my partner was ill so it was just me and the consultant. I learned so much more and I felt more ready to ask questions and be more relaxed. The consultant did remark that he quite enjoyed my company as some of the students that has shadowed him have been very quiet and boring...and not keen/interested at all. It was neat hearing that from a consultant - I didn't think I was overly keen but I guess I was just enjoying my time on my placement. I did have a lot of fun. I have to admit, prior to this paediatrics placement I was pretty sure I would not specialize in paediatrics but to be honest, after one week of shadowing and finding out so much about it, I just might reconsider paediatrics. It is amazing seeing such small babies who are critically ill, and with medical technology, their disorders can be corrected and these babies can live a full life. Truly fascinating. One thing that hangs on my mind about going into paediatrics is the stress of doing surgery on such small bodies. One wrong move can send everything into a nosedive. Surgery on children is so delicate and some of these kids probably have only lived for a few weeks! But again, I found paediatrics fascinating and I think I might apply for another placement in paediatrics in third year. Just maybe.

To be honest, this two week placement was mainly for us to learn how to take patient histories and to just see how a hospital works. Some of my friends hated it and thought it was a waste of their two weeks. Some people did not mind it. And some were like me: thoroughly enjoyed it. I personally think that I took away quite a bit from this experience and it will be an experience that will stick with me for the rest of my career. I never had the opportunity to visit hospitals or watch a surgery. It was my first time and it really gave me a kick up the rear end and certainly turned my motivation level up a notch to do medicine. For others, I have heard it actually shot down their motivation to become a doctor and some people are now reconsidering whether or not medicine is right for them. Scary how it can easily go either way from one two week experience. I experienced quite a bit: ward rounds, clinics, paperwork, surgeries, etc...pretty much the life of a doctor. I found all parts of it interesting. Yes there were some boring parts but that comes with every job and every career. It is not fun and games 24/7. There will be parts that is boring and repetitive. But I really don't mind. I also got to say that after placements I really am starting to think what I want to go into for specialties. I know it is a bit early to start thinking about it, but it does not hurt to do some planning/thinking. I feel like I am strongly leaning towards specializing in surgery. I feel that I really want to be in the operating theatre and I like being on my feet. I have this fascination to be able to diagnose and fix things. Makes me feel more complete. Definitely this will be something I will be thinking about for the next four years and definitely will seriously thinking about specialties once I go into hardcore placements starting in third year.

Currently I'm on my final unit of the year. We have gone through cardiovascular and respiratory. Now we're covering GI and Liver. Scary to know that exams are just around the corner though. After sorting out my notes the other day, I was a bit shocked at how much I have learned in the last 7 months. I have two 2.5" binders stuffed full of notes from lectures. Slightly worried about the amount of stuff I have to study. But I think it'll come quite easy as I am interested about these things and I'll feel a bit more motivated to study. Some of these topics have been quite interesting. So far, I have enjoyed the cardiovascular unit the most. I really felt like I understood most of the stuff and have a strong interest for it. I found myself wanting to know more and more motivated to read up on it. Hmmm.

What has been annoying me lately has been histology. I am a bit worried as it is hard and you look at microscopic samples stained with H&E. Our lecturer says that we should be past the "pink and blue blobs" stage and should start recognizing things, but I still see pink and blue blobs. Yeah some stuff I recognize but I'm scared that everyone else is seeing stuff clearly while I'm still going like "yeah...blue blob...oook...". A bit worried about this for exams so I know this Easter break I'm going to work on my histology so I can at least pass the exam.

In general university life is still great. Getting a bit busier now. Had like 3 essays/assignments due within like two weeks. Lots of reflection from our placements. My friends think that they have done so much reflecting, all they can do now when they sit around is reflect. But I guess it is something you need in order to learn. I'm sure they teach/drill us to reflect for a good reason. I don't mind reflecting...actually if I hated reflecting I wouldn't even be typing up in this blog. It is nice to look back on what you have done and what you have learned from it. Initially you don't see it, but once you take some time and think about it - yeah some of the stuff that you experience is quite handy. I know once placements were over I thought I didn't learn anything and it was just shadowing (stalking) doctors around. After doing my reflection I really appreciate the placement and it definitely gave me a lot of motivation to work hard.

However, lately I feel like there is a chip on my shoulder. All my friends have not been acting like normal especially after placements. My friends claim that I'm not acting normal after placements too. I think it is the thing in the back of our head going like: "Eeeek exams in 9 weeks!". Scary close. I think we're all a bit stressed and working a hell lot harder than usual. We are all medics and we got in for a reason. They don't accept a bunch of lazy people. When we need to we can work like horses and get a lot done. Starting to see this now and I feel like I definitely turned it up a gear in terms or working. Finding myself more tired than usual, but I have been getting a lot of work done. Give and take. Sometimes you got to make sacrifices such as less time hanging with friends, or having less night outs. Speaking of night outs...I haven't been out since the CNY party in February. Jeebus. I don't think I'll be going out anytime soon either. There is a light at the end of the tunnel...after exams will be summer! And that means I can go out as much as I want?

Work hard. Play harder.

Summary of my 5 weeks at Medical School

Sorry for the long wait!

First I want to say good luck to all the 2010 medical applicants! Hopefully you'll be hearing from your universities soon!

So far medical school has been A LOT better than I thought it would be. I always hear that medical school is EXTREMELY busy and tough. I cannot confirm the tough bit...yet, but so far the work load has been pretty moderate. I have seem to already enjoy Surface Anatomy lectures and practical activities in the dissection room. I always get excited when I see either of these on my timetable. At the moment I have seem to found a new enemy: Biochemistry and Histology. Biochemistry because I felt like we went through it way too fast but I think we are going back to it later in the year to study it in more detail. I was told that the first eight weeks are still like module introduction, where we cover almost everything that we will be doing this year. Not too fond of histology, not because it is hard or anything, but this is where we have to do online practicals at home. I have been finding them quite annoying as it is quite a challenge to find the answers to the questions. Plus it takes a really long time to complete like what...ten questions? We are allotted two hours to do the histology practical so that kind of gives you an idea why I find histology slightly annoying.

Social wise I am loving it! I am glad I have made lots of friends who are very nice. We hang pretty often and we usually go have lunch in the union or something after our morning lectures. So far I have went to all the medic socials:

Freshers Foam Party
Medics Fancy Dress Pub Crawl

Yes there has only been two events for us medics BUT the two events were AMAZING. The MedSoc really put a lot of effort into these events to make sure we all have loads of fun. Plus who does not like a nice discount at the bars during these events. From time to time I do go out with some of my friends at night to go sit at a bar and play some games. Pretty fun. Great bonding time too.

So far I have learned to keep up with your lecture notes and do your recommended reading (especially before practicals such as dissection)!!! Every week I would type up all my handwritten notes and merge them with the lecture powerpoint that is always posted up on our med school website. I guess I just want to do these notes for the future as when it comes exam time I don't want to be trying to remember stuff I did in September. But yes do your recommended reading so you don't get lost! Feel really dumb at dissection when you don't even know what topic you're learning about for the day...so avoid it by reading!

I shall end this post as it is getting long...and boring...but I will try to update more often. Maybe sneak in a interview tips post...which I should have done quite awhile ago.

FRESHERS WEEK - SEPT 25, 2009

Luckily our first lecture of the day was at 1pm so most of us could get over/recover slightly from any hangovers. When I got to the lecture theater, half the class was holding a water bottle which I found pretty hilarious. Schedule for the day was just:

1:00pm - 2:00pm : Summing Up Introductory Activity

Pretty easy day to be honest. Anyways by 1:15pm our lecturer still hasn't showed up and people started to get bored. People started throwing paper planes and paper balls around the room. It was quite the scene. Things flying from side to side, from back to front. By 1:40pm a MedSoc rep. noticed that our lecturer was still not here and contacted the med school that there are 250 students are impatiently waiting for their lecture. So at around 1:50pm our lecturer shows up and everyone was really bummed out for obvious reasons. The lecturer was pretty considerate and just rushed through the conclusion of our task and went over the answer. The diagnosis for our case study ended up being H1N1/Swine flu and the differential diagnosis was just the common flu. Lecture ended at like 2:10pm which was REALLY fast. We all ran off pretty fast back to our flats.

After the lecture I quickly went over the student union to check our the Sports Activity Fair. There was SO MANY PEOPLE! By the time I finished my late lunch (after lecture) and got INTO the sports fair, the stands were starting to pack up. I didn't get to see much and was interested in signing up for some stuff but sadly they were all done for the day and took away their sign-up sheets.

Oh forgot to mention: I could hear the beginning of freshers flu flying around the class (oh no!). Nice short post as I didn't do anything interesting and just went home and took a nap.

Tip of the day: Load up on vitamin C during freshers week if you want to avoid freshers flu. No guarantees though. Oh and party really hard during freshers week because you won't be able to party as hard during actual uni time...too much work. Oh and if you really want to go sign up for stuff at a fair and you know you'll be in a rush after your lecture to go to the fair...just go before. It makes life much easier.

Side note: Hopefully most of you have already submitted your UCAS application for medical school by now or putting in the final touches to your personal statement. Good luck!

FRESHERS WEEK - SEPT 24, 2009

Right so today again was pretty hectic and I have been super super excited for the entire day as tonight is the medics FRESHERS FEVER FOAM PARTY!!!! Anyways I had to get through two lectures for the day which isn't too bad. Here's my schedule for today:

11:00 pm: Dissection Lecture
2:00 pm: Small Group Work

So first lecture I had was at the dissection room in another building (not med school). Today's lecture was mainly based around the dissection activities that we will have pretty frequently throughout the year. However, the dissection room is the hardest place to find. I was with a group of people and it took us 30 mins to find the room. Apparently they made the room to be super hard to find so people of the public will not accidentally walk into the room as we do full body dissections (hence many cadavers). When we got there none of us were really prepared to see anything. We thought it was going to just be a quick introduction, set some rules, and ask some questions......NOPE. When we walked in there were two gurneys in the middle of the room with a cloth covering each one. None of us really thought much about it. Let's just say when it was unveiled many people weren't exactly "ready" and didn't exactly feel too well. We'll leave it at that.

However I am very glad that I managed to get into a university which does full body dissections as the amount of things you learn from dissections are priceless. Being able to see where things are in a real human body and how things are connected just makes the learning process so much more interesting and in depth. I am truly excited for dissections and I am really looking forward to it.

After the dissection lecture we had a two hour lunch break. Had some lunch at the student union with some peeps. Lunch was okay....nothing special. Kinda disappointed because people kept hyping up the cafe. Anyways after lunch there was the official university Activities Fair. Went to go check it out and joined a few societies. It wasn't that great...again had to fight the crowd and got bounced around.

At 2pm I went over to my lecture and it was so DULL! All we did was discuss in small groups about the case study that we got on Monday....yup did that for an entire hour. The discussing itself within the group probably took 10 minutes MAX. Was so glad when the lecture was over. Made some plans with my friends to meet up before going to the party tonight. Then I went home to get ready and chill.

The medic's freshers party was SO AMAZING that I have to give it its own post. Please see the next post for details about the party. If you don't give a crap about it...don't read it. :) Again here's another tip for freshers: TRY to look ahead of time which societies you want to join at the university. It makes signing up so much easier and faster as you don't have to wander around looking for stuff to catch your eye...plus less pushing around. Pretty much you go in sign up and leave. Simple.

FRESHERS WEEK - SEPT 22, 2009

Today I gotta sleep in which was nice as I didn't have anything to do until 1:00pm. The schedule was:

1:00 pm - Collect Welcome Packs
2:00-4:30pm - Welcome Talks from School of Medicine

Anyways I decided to take my sweet time to go get my welcome pack as I totally thought I was done with lining up. To my surprise when I got to the Medical School, the line up was all the way OUT of the school and along the street! I thought to myself: "You can't be serious...". I was pretty annoyed as that meant more waiting/more standing around doing NOTHING. I decided to say "Hi" to the people around me and started having a few conversations. It was nice to talk to someone as it made the time pass by faster. Finally got my welcome pack and went into the lecture theater. Had to prepare myself for a long haul as it 2.5 hours of lectures. It actually went by pretty fast as it was just a bunch of introductions. It was neat meeting the rest of the medical department. There wasn't anything special at these lecturers so I will keep you guys away from boring details. After the lectures I decided to start on the right foot and head to the library to work on my assignment (details of it below).

I forgot to mention something cool that we did yesterday. At the medical lecture we also jumped right into a case study about a woman who returned from Mexico City and was ill. We got a list of symptoms and we got to ask the patient some additional questions. We were supposed to answer a few questions by Friday which were:

1) What is your diagnosis?
2) What are your differential diagnosis?
3) What treatment will you give?
4) What other actions would you take?
5) Why do you think you are right?

So I did a bit of research today and found my answers and took down some notes. It really wasn't hard at all as it is pretty obvious. But wow what a way to start med school. Just dumping us into a case study. I can see that it will be an interesting/fun/exciting/stressful year.

Just a quick tip: Do your assignment the day or the day after it is assigned! If you let it drag you will eventually forget about it and you will be rushing last minute to finish it off. Plus if you get it down early you don't have to think about it at all and you can go off and party as much as you want! Makes sense right? Too bad it is easier to say than to do. Hmph.