Offical Countdown to Exams....in 2 days.

Finally got the draft timetable (most likely will not change) for our exams and we will be the first bunch taking exams. May 24-26. 3 exams in 3 days. Funnnnnn. Pro: Done with exams nice and early! Con: LSKFJSLK:AKLJF SO SOON?! *hyperventilates*

Uhmm I was not expecting our exams to be so early so I had a mini wake-up call when I found out about our exam schedule. Pretty much have been burying my head in my notes ever since I found out. I really need to get snapping and get studying properly. I'm pacing at about 2 lectures a day...not good enough (and pathetically slow). I will not finish in time. BUT the last few days I have been studying biochemistry and I really do not like it. I am finally done with biochem so hopefully everything else will go smoothly and quickly. I'm hoping to finish revising 2 weeks prior to exams so I can break out my revision books! So in 2 days it will officially be properly 6 full weeks before exams. Eek.

Exam Prep.

After 3 days of prepping my notes I think I am finally ready to start studying. One problem: Where should I start?

I've got five 2" binders full of notes and four 1.5" binders plus 8 textbooks of reading. The crazy life of a med student. *headache*

SSC and Random Thoughts.

I just finished my SSC project (Student Selected Component) and sparked me to write a little entry about it as it is a requirement for all medical schools to do them. At my school, we have three of these per year. For first year we have:

1) History of Medicine
2) Critical Analysis
3) Communicating Health Information

The first one is a 2500 word essay and you would choose an essay topic from something ridiculous like 260 topics? I found this to be the hardest of the three assignments. If I remember correctly, they expect you to have about 12-20 references for this essay and it really kicked me in the ass. I cannot recall borrowing so many books from the library before! But other than collecting the info, writing the essay was pretty straightforward and easy. It was practically just summarizing your findings.

The second one is where we chose a drug from a list of topics and we would have to analyze it and present it to a small group. I found it pretty easy and actually did it up only a few days before deadline (shhhh). Really straightforward...and requires hardly any energy.

Third one is what I just finished. It is a public health assignment. We can pick our own topic just as long as it is a public health problem and do up an information poster about it. Again...really straightforward (zzzZzzzZZ). Finally pulled my brain together and managed to finish the entire thing in five hours.

I don't know what the other medical schools do for their SSC topics but personally I think the ones that we have are pretty bland and straightforward. Most of my friends truly believe that they give us these SSCs just to keep us busy. Personally I don't find that I learn a whole lot from doing the SSC unless I pick a topic that pertains to what I want to do in the future and what I am interested in. For example: the critical analysis SSC to me was pretty pointless. I found out a lot from ONE drug...and a bit about others but the stuff we present aren't that informative for the future. It was pretty much just a brief outlook on the drug. On the other hand the History of Medicine and Communicating SSC are the complete opposite. The two topics I chose are something I am interested in and I am considering to possibly specialize in either one of them - so I find these projects more informative. I guess it really depends from person to person.

Also forgot to mention that these are marked on a 1-5 scale.
1 = Outright Fail
2 = Borderline (kind of failed - require meeting)
3 = Satisfactory
4 = Good
5 = Excellent

It is pretty hard to fail...the only way to fail is to not hand it in or do absolutely nothing. OR the scariest part is plagiarism. I still remember the first lecture we had on plagiarism and the university takes it really seriously. I get really nervous every time I hand in my work and I always make sure I did all my citations correctly and stuff.

Random thought: I was thinking the other day if I should register for a volunteering job at a hospital back home when I go back for summer. The problem is that most hospitals are not keen to accept people for short term volunteering and I think I will only be home for 1.5 months, which ain't a long time. Hmmm. Thoughts? Opinions?

Countdowns

2 more days until Easter Break.
9 more weeks until Exams.

Seriously starting to get a bit nervous.

Goal: To start studying during 2nd week of Easter holiday! If not study - sort out all notes for studying!!!

In other words - Happy St. Patrick's Day to whoever celebrates it! Wishing good luck to those who are still having interviews or waiting for medical offers from their universities! And congratulations to those who already have their offers!

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.

Lack of Updates

Helloooo....to whoever is still checking up on my blog.

Sorry for the recent lack of updates...actually not recent...a very long time of no updates. Have been overwhelmed with work. Will try and do a quick update in the next few days. Still trying to get myself into a habit of updating this blog. I just keep forgetting about it.

Keep checking for a new post soon!

Interview Tips!

Today I feel like posting in my blog despite having a bit of work to do for tomorrow. I will make this one brief and hopefully informative.

I have noticed people are starting to get interview offers and I reckon giving out some tips should be useful.

IMPORTANT: REFLECT REFLECT REFLECT! AND EXPAND ON YOUR ANSWERS!

1) Look around the city before going to the interview! A common ice breaker question would be: "Why *City*?" Make sure you find something to talk about the city/university. Nothing better than completely messing up the first question. It is a great time to help yourself calm the nerves as you SHOULD know the answer.

2) Look at the medical course that the university offers. A common question would be something like: "Why this university?" This would be the perfect to time to show off your knowledge about the university and the course. Shows that you are keen and you know where you applied.

3) Please have something to say when they give you the good ol' vague question: "Why medicine?". I personally hated this question because it is SO vague and you could basically talk for ages. A great thing to remember when answering is to try and pull in stuff that you wrote in your personal statement. For example you can talk about your work experience/volunteering helped you discover more about medicine/educated you about the career. Also draw in positives such as your skills that you have picked up helping you to succeed as a doctor. Make sure you try to keep the answer short despite it being a difficult task. Just give a summary and make sure you cover the important points and cover some of the stuff in your personal statement.

4) Read the news especially about the NHS/health. In some interviews - the like to ask you about something recent that happened in the NHS or a recent medical advancement. The day before just go on BBC or something and read up on some stuff. Don't pick the hardest thing you saw in the news...pick something that actually drew your attention and that you find interesting so you can actually talk about it in the interview.

5) Reflect on what skills a good doctor should embody. This is a pretty common question. They could ask you to name a skill or they could name a skill and ask you to talk about that skill. Remember to always try and relate the question to yourself. If they ask you about empathy - find something that you have done which helped you develop empathy/care for people. Something like working at the hospital or care home would be good things to talk about. Remember in an interview the interviewer wants to know about YOU and how capable you are to becoming a doctor. Show that you are three dimensional and do other things other than go to school.

6) Be prepared for an ethical question. There is no right or wrong answer....actually none of the questions have a right or wrong. Do not fake an answer...answer honestly because interviewers are smart. Don't think you can actually outsmart them. The best thing about ethical questions is to prepare a structure on how you will answer it. Remember to look at both sides of the argument! Don't just completely ignore the other side of the argument as it is important to acknowledge it.

7) Some interviewers like to play the "Good Cop/Back Cop" game. Ignore it and be patient! They may ask very similar questions where you will have the same answer. Don't get frustrated and just answer the question with different wording. Sometimes it'll get annoying but some could be testing how you cope in stressful/annoying situations.

Random Tips:

1) Dress professional/well.
2) Be awake! (I must admit I did fall asleep in the waiting room though) - but be awake during the interview!
3) Don't fidget during the interview - it is distracting.
4) Know your personal statement - they will draw stuff out from it and ask you about it.
5) Smile!
6) Don't ask "dumb" questions at the end. I know some will argue that you will sound keen if you ask a question but seriously most of the answers can be found on the university's website/prospectus. If you really have any questions before the interview - call up the admissions office to ask or if an upper year is taking you around for a tour - perfect time to ask questions.

To be honest I didn't find interviews that hard as they are asking questions about YOU and only you know yourself the best. If you do your research and know the course and genuinely want to go the university you'll cover the factual questions. Just relax. The minute you tense up you get what I call "brain farts". Avoid it because you'll find yourself saying "um" and "uh" for the next what feels like hour. Plus it gets awkward too when the interviewers just stare at you waiting for an answer. Oh and don't rush your answers...make your answers concise and to the point, but at the same time show that you have reflected about it and try and draw positives to yourself.

Anyways I should get back to working. Hope this post helps. I know it is brief but I really don't know what else is there to cover about interviews. When you get an interview it is technically like you got your foot in the door, you just need to get the rest of your body through. They won't ask for an interview if they aren't interested in taking you. Quite simple.

Good luck!