A day in the life of Marley

Marley likes to exercise, despite being less than skin and bone

Marley was kind enough to lend me his upper arm , so I can learn muscle atatchments

Marley having a midnight snack after a hard days work

Ethics-What happens when you and a patient speak the same language

I am back.Medschool sucks, I just have too much work to do, and I can never get ontop of it.

So..as you may know its medschool interview time, and medschools love making you discuss ethics during interviews. (I know my medschool like using scenarios to test ethical knowledge). So...I decided to post one up for discussion.

The first situation is...
"As a medical student you are shadowing a doctor who only speaks English.A mother and daughter have come for a consultation,but the mother does not speak English, so the daughter is acting as the translator. You are able to speak the same language as the mother and daughter(lets say french)

The doctor has told the daughter to tell her mother, that "the treatment is no longer working, and that there is nothing more the doctors can do,but there are drugs that can make her more comfortable"

Because you speak the same language you know the daughter told her mother  "the doctor said that everything is going well, but the doctor wants to try stronger medicines, that will make you get ill, but then you will get better"

What would you do next? Why would you do this?

Noor from Nonie32's blog responded with...

Even as a pre medical school (still doing my A Levels), I see that the most essential characteristics a doctor must obtain is integrity. And when, in this situation, where I am a medical student foreshadowing my doctor, we see a loss of integrity between the information conveyed by the doctor and the information given to the patient by her daughter. As a medical student (in the situation), I should report the condition to my doctor privately, explaining to him that I understand the language spoken by the mother and her daughter very well, and that the daughter misinterpreted the message to her mother explaining to her that she will do fine -which is the opposite of what the doctor said- and that the meds given to her will make her feel ill nonetheless. There is a disturbance within the doctor-patient bond with misinterpreted data. The doctor may then take actions with the patient’s daughter explaining to her the situation and asks her reasons and whether or not they are appropriate reasons with good motives. Even though I think that the patient was given false hope I, as a medical student, should take no actions without the knowledge of the doctor as I am a student and not yet an official doctor.


I would probably react in a similar way.
I think the main difficulty I would have is figuring out how to tell the doctor what happened. As a medical student this situation would make me feel very uncomfortable, and I would want to stop the daughter telling her mother more lies as soon as possible.

I also think it might look really suspicious, if I asked the doctor to step out of the room for a moment.As a doctor you can only try to get things 100% perfect, and in this situation the patients feeling uncomfortable is a small compromise.

So....Please visit Noor's blog its really interesting.

And comment below if you would do anything differently, or if there is anything we missed.

Reasons Medical School is Like surfing

1. It looks like something cool.
Grays anatomy, endless you tube videos, and web forums, make being a doctor seem so much fun/like wise its almost normal if watching surfers makes you want to surf

2.Once you first try it its harder than you thought
Learning to balance on a surface board is soo difficult(I speak from experience). I was speaking to some first year students, and they where surprised by the amount of work they have to do. Neither are as easy as you thought they would be.

3.Once it gets better, its fantastic
Once you can balance surfing its fun. I wouldn't go as far to describe medical school as fun, but it is rewarding, and each assignment is taking you one step closer to your dream of being a doctor.

4.You will get knocked down ocassionaly
Even the best surfers get knocked down by waves. Like wise even the most organised people will get caught out, and get buried in a mountain of work. This is why I have not been around much, I have 1 essay, 2 presentations, ontop of my usual stuff( homework/making notes learning anatomy)

5.You cant stay down.
When surfing you need to get back to your board, or atleast swim to shore(but surf boards are expensive to replace). Likewise when the world is throwing assignments at you, you have to settle down and do it!

Its a boy!

Marley arrived!! and I have been busy building him. Marley seems to be male, as the pelvis is male shaped.


Marley in his box:it was a struggle to get this into my room from the lift, considering it was only 14 kgs, its disgraceful, and I need to go to the gym more often.



My first glimpse: Upon opening the box this is what I saw, I don't know what I was expecting to see, but my initial reaction was "where is the head? does this thing have a skull"



Yay: My inner geek was pretty excited at this point, to see my skeleton, then there was the relief of seeing I would not have to put all the bones together.


Marley's legs are the same size as mine but he is taller than me by 10cm,
Conclusion: I might have long legs, which is a good thing if you are a woman like me.



Having connected the legs I let him chill on my bed whilst I admired my handy work. Sorry I was in the middle of changing my bed linen, when he arrived.



Med made, skeleton assembled, Result =1 happy medical student

I bought a skeleton!!

Yes guys...after all this time I bought a skeleton!

He is set to arrive on Wednesday,I am soo excited. Actually excited is a big understatement, I am bubbling with expectation.

In fact on Friday, I was in BHS with some friends, and I saw a lovely plum felt hat, and I thought it would look perfect on a skeleton in my room.(this was before I even ordered my skeleton).

I am thinking of calling him/her Marley.





I shall call him Marley, and he shall be mine,and he shall be my Marley 

Shrinking food

I have either had a growth spurt or my rice cakes have shrunk! I was filling out my workbook when suddenly I became peckish, I wanted something savoury but easy to prepare.I went to my cupboard and got some rice cakes... but it was not as I expected.

I can't remember them ever being this thin.Its lost its right to be called a rice cake!! it should be called a rice cookie!!

My granny bought me these rice cakes, they are the lighter option.Rice cakes in them selves are pretty low cal, so i dont see why anyone would need or want low cal rice cakes.Although this could be the reason why they are half the thickness.

I had 2 with hummus, and I still was hungry, so I have a pizza in the oven, for later.

I am beginning to wonder if I have gotten really fat without noticing....I mean why is my granny  buying me LOW CAL RICE CAKES....and why am I having a greasy fat laden pizza after rice cakes?

What do you guys think?

Actions have consequences

In general I am usually responsible lupie, but yesterday was not one of those days.

I had a exam,classes, then I had to head to London. I left home(university dorm) at 8.40am, was out ALL day , and got home to my mum's home at 10pm.

This morning I got to go to the Royal College of Surgeons, it was really nice.If you ever come down to London and feel geeky, you can check out the Hunterian Museum.

I was supposed to meet a friend, but he cancelled, and I was mentally rejoicing I can imagine the neurones in my limbic system dancing like the plant.

I love my friends,but by noon, I felt like I had done 7 rounds in a boxing ring. I could have cancelled, but I always feel guilty about cancelling for health reasons. I am young, I am supposed to be healthy, and I would rather not let people down.

But now I am so exhausted, and all my joints ache, and I dont think I will be walking anywhere. So I am watching TV, making the most of it,since I do not have TV at university.

I knew this would, happen and I did it anyway. The way I see it is I enjoyed being busy and doing lots of stuff, and it was worth the resulting aches and pains. I can't complain about being achey, because it is self inflicted.

The small print: Dont worry I know neurones don't dance.

Back to Learning

So....I did actually get some food.Eating rael food makes such a good difference to my mood and energy levels.

I feel like a real student now.Well that sentence is ridiculous, but I am now settled in, studying, going to lectures and doing all the other student stuff.

Its also freshers week, so I have been able to collect alot of freebies.Mainly pens and chocolate, I have to say that standards of freebies have dropped since I was a fresher. I did get some free syringe pens though



In other news I have been feeling really tired, (going to bed as soon as I get home from lectures). I hope that I am just tired and not getting ill, or about to have a lupus flare up. I can not fit illness into my schedule!

Next week is medic freshers week(freshers week for medics). As I am on the committee for several societies I need to harass the freshers to make them sign up.

I think joining the societies I am a member of is worthwhile(I mean why else would I be on the committee???) Dear Freshers....sign up to what you are intrested in, most people sign up to things they never end up doing.But watch you budget and dont pay silly amounts to join societies you wont benefit from.

I am back at University and I need food

I finally have stuff to tell you about.

Its the first week of the year,classes started on Monday,and its been BUSY!!

First lecture of the term was genetics. Genetics is not that bad, but it was a horrific start to the year. I was expecting a quick welcome back, it being the first day and all, or even a lecture outlining the course structure...but noooo, it was straight into genetics and science-y stuff.

Its great to be back, but its been just like any other week of medical school, which brings some problems.I do not want to whinge, but the first one is food.

I arrived on Saturday, spent most of it with my mum, who left on Sunday. I did not have time to go food shopping.I thought the first week would be easy with lectures scattered around or at least 1 half day, but this didnt happen.

All the big supermarkets are in town, and atleast a 20min walk from where I live. So that is about 40min travel time, and maybe 20min if I race around the shop gathering stuff.

If I am in class from 9am-5pm, at the end of the day I will be tired and want to get home. On top of that we have reading and homework....so the idea of 60min of my life being spent on shopping did not appeal to me.As a result I have been living of stuff from the corner shop(convenience store for those from across the pond)

Corner shops do not sell groceries!!! They have lots of random things, but nothing you can throw together to make a meal. Most students get poor and live on beans and toast, I am time poor, so here are some of the things I ended up eating.

Breakfast= yogurt on most days (they dont have cereal I like)
Lunch=chips &paninis  from campus( Med students are back a bit earlier, so not even the uni can be bothered to make real food)

Dinner....

Monday=tortilla and cheese
Tuesday=I forgot what I ate
Wednesday= garden peas, veggie sausages(my corner shop sells quorn sausages and frozen peas, but noo ready meals????)
Thursday=baguette
Today=Instant noodles

Tomorrow I am free, and off to buy some food. I need to get really basic stuff such as, rice, flour, eggs, oil, canned tomatoes,etc. Then I need to buy stuff that can be turned into meals.

Its going to take long, and be heavy to carry home, but then I can cook and eat.

My blog is 1 year old

This year seems to have flown by really quickly. Thanks to all the readers who stoped by during the year, and thank you to all those that chose to subscribe.

If you have any ideas about how I can improve this blog please post it in the comment, although this is my personal blog I want you guys my readers to like it too.

Getting excited about my place

Its less than a month until I get to move into my new flat.

I shall be living alone and I can't wait, it will be so cool for the following reasons

1.No more dealing with other peoples untidiness
2.Being able to make a mess with out worrying about annoying others
3. Hopefuly better grades, due to less distractions
4.being able to get out bed to get snacks with out having to make myself presentable first.

Bring on September!!

My bags(for placement)

I don't want this to turn into a fashion blog, but for those starting medical school, you might want to know what I carry around the ward.I am not paid to advertise anything,

The bag.

I have 3 bags, that I rotate around. All of them a medium sized with long straps and they go around my shoulder. Every medical student needs a bag to carry all the random things you will find yourself carrying.

Bag 1-The serious bag
First impressions are really important, so on the first day, I use a plain bag, that does not show much of my personality.This is the smallest of my bags, because its impossible to know if you will have a place to store your bag.Always be prepared to carry your stuff around until you know more.

I got this bag from claires, I know I should be shopping in more grown up places, but I am truly random.


Bag 2-The shoe lace bag
This is my everyday bag, that occasionally gets used for placement, when I have alot of things to carry.Or if I have lab work after placement and I need to carry a change of clothes or shoes.I love this bag its so quirky yet versatile.

I got this bag from my corner shop, my corner shop is totally awesome, it has lots of treasures if you look hard enough.

Bag 3-Awesome blue bag

I love blue, so its no surprise that I try to wear blue as much as possible.When I am wearing blue, i tend to use my blue handbag because I can.





Coming up next:
-What do I carry on placement
-Piercings on the ward

No updates

It is summer, not much has been happening in my life so sorry about the lack of updates.

I have a job

I have been sewing a few dresses, I hope to post some pictures soon.

About the dresses....

A really good friend of mine said....."I equally dislike both fabrics, one will make you look like a cartoon character and the other like a   Christmas present". I was aghast, cause this is one of the few people in life that don't bat an eyelid at my fashion choices.


I am not the most conventional dresser, and I do have some unusual fashion choices.I dont see the point of being a clone of somebody else.

Knitted Dolls

It is the holidays, I don't have to study so I have been knitting and sewing.

I made a little doll for my flatmate who is graduating and moving onto grown up life.As usual I apologise for using such a bad camera,

My friends favourite colours are red and purple, so I knitted a red dress, and sewed a denim and purple dress.

I love knitting dolls, so here is a picture of a few I made last time I was interested in knitting dolls.

I passed this year

I passed, I am so content.

After all that has happened its actually a miracle that I passed.

Do I deserve to be a medical student?

Hello

Recently I got a few comments questioning if I should be a medical student, so I thought I would show you my UCAS statistics.

I am clearly not the best applicant,but my interviewers saw something in me and they gave me a chance.

My educational history is unconventional.

Being good at Maths, I completed my GCSE at 9, A-level at 13 and Further Maths at 15. I got A* in all my maths exams.

I missed alot of school during my GCSEs so my grades are comparatively bad
10-A*
2-B
1-E
1-U

AS year was a complete washout I got BCDEE. For obvious reasons I couldn't apply to any uni's with these AS results,so I ended up taking a gap year. Remember not matter how much you mess up, its never over and you can ALWAYS turn it around.

I worked my socks off and turned it around to A* A* A* A* A* (with maths I actually have 6A* at A-level)

So now we are at the part where I have left 6th form and its now time to go through UCAS, the head of my 6th form refused to support my application because "people like me shouldn't do medicine"  The worst bit about this experience was the fact that my mum agreed with him and didn't do anything to support me.He had his reasons,I strongly disagreed with him.

So, I decided to get a tutor to teach me biology, she wrote my reference.I had 2 biology lessons per week at the cost of £40 per hour. On top of rent and other living expenses this was very expensive, especially as my mother was against the idea of me studying medicine.I needed to have two jobs just to get to afford this.

Work experience and Extra Circulars

• 4 years volunteering at a refugee centre(I don't have any doctors in my family, so I could not ask to shadow anyone, but I met a doctor through voluntary work)
• 2 weeks in a hospital (during this time I absorbed as much as I could, some one was kind enough to take me under their wing and mentor me)
• Member of youth parliament
• Member of my local children's hospital (Lots of hospital stays meant, one day I was asked if I wanted to me a member, and I used to attend meetings and vote on stuff/vote for people)
• Girl guides leader
• St Johns Ambulance from the age of 10
• Set up a medical equipment recycling scheme (Lots of expired things like sutures, wont be used by the NHS, but other developing countries accept these and a grateful for them)

UKCAT: 3290Average:822.5

There are so many more academic people than me, and so many more hard-working. But I worked as hard as I could tried my best, and eventually got a place in medical school.I know its tough trying to get into medical school, but guys lets all remember doctors of tomorrow are supposed to be team players, we are supposed to build each other up, and encourage each other.

My GCSE's and AS grades show that grades are not the most important factor. But try your best to get perfect grades, it saves time at interviews.

Summer!

Exams are over!

Summer is here and I don't know what I am going to do with all this time.

I guess I spent so much time studying that I forgot how to do the thing called life

Med students are human too

Medicine is a demanding course,but doctors and medical students are still only human.

All medical schools have support systems in place,if your a medical student find out what they are and make sure you use them if you need them.

Myth:medical students are supper human

At medical school you will be expected to do of things .(scrubs i am not superman). In my case I got discharged from A&E and got told to be back on the ward.
I am still a baby medical student,so I don't have that much experience,and I am still figuring out how things work. I don't think this should have happened,everyone else would have been told to go home and get some sleep.I would have told a patient to at least take the morning off.

I did not follow my own advice for several reasons:I was told by someone in authority to return. If clinicians teach on your course it is entirely possible you will get into a situation where a former teacher ends up treating you. I felt like I couldn't disobey this lecturer/doctor.

On the first day of medical school the dean said resilience is required, and we would have to toughen up.When we qualify ,taking time off will let the team down, put every one under more pressure,and lead to patient deaths.

I survived the day so its understandable if some people think its wimpy to take the day off. I agree that doctors should be hard-working and try to be in work even if they don't feel that awesome.

But ill doctors can kill patients too by not being 100% focused.

When should medical students\doctors stay home? I don't know,there are no rules,its all a matter of judgement.

I am a student,at this point I just watch stuff,so the chances of harming a patient are very low.I am thankful I was not around any patients,but if I was supposed to be on the ward ,I dont know what I would do.

What happens if you do feel ill.

Seek medical advice if necessary.Your well-being is the most important thing,you can not be a doctor if you are dead.

Your a patient,their a doctor,and doctor-patient confidentiality still applies.(unless you do something that could put yourself or others at risk)Your medical school wont automatically be notified, so please don't be afraid to seek help.

Even if you end up being treated by people you know, they will be professional and the same doctor patient confidentiality rules apply.

Tell your tutor or someone else you trust.
No one wants you to fail,so they will try to help.
I have not told my tutor because, I saw her on Wednesday for the end of year review. She asked how I was and I told her I was not sleeping,I was feeling anxious all because when I am awake I feel dizzy. She said its normal to feel like this,and i should just take some paracetamol.
I don't want to bother her especially as she may be busy with her own life.

I am not sure who else,I can talk to,or even if I should.I don't even know what happened.

Guest Posts

I meant to say this earlier,so sorry its a bit late.

I did a guest post at "The life and loves of Ninegrand student"

Its a totally awesome blog,that you guys should all check out

I did a short post about snacks for university, If you want to read it you can click here

The morning after

Click here if you want to read part 1.

I was really out of it on Wednesday,so I will start at the bit I remember. The doctor who discharged me,taught me last year.He said I could go home ,but he recommended I get home quickly so I can have a shower and a snack before placement.


Walk of shame moment
Traditional the walk of shame is coming home in the same clothes you wore the night before,which I managed to do.This was at 6 am so the shuttle was not running,and I didn't have money so I had to walk home in the rain.It only took 40min but I got soaked and I got a blister.I let myself into my flat and thankfully all my flatmates where sleeping.I like my flatmates but I was not ready to face them until I figured out what they knew.

The shower
I had a shower and discovered some evidence.

• 2 ECG dots-this suggests I had a ECG for some reason or other,
• 1 cotton wool and sticky tape thing points to the idea that I had a blood test.
• 1 pink cannula in my wrist.This was rather disturbing,had I escaped hospital or did I get discharged with a cannula in plain sight??

I pulled the cannula out gently and nothing to bad happened,(no blood came gushing out) it was just weirdly slippery and uncomfortable.

Warm water is so comforting,I immediately felt more like myself after the my shower.

Back to hospital
I considered calling in sick,but realised

A-I don't particularly want to get a sick note from my GP

B-being absent will give people more time to gossip about what they think happened.

C- according to my schedule I would be in a MDT team meeting,so no patient contact at all.

I couldn't find my ID badge so I couldn't get the shuttle.So I had this bizarre idea that I could jog into placement.

Retrieving my ID badge
I had to go back to A&E to see if they had my ID badge since its always in my pockets somewhere.Thankfully it was 8 am by now and the shift had changed.I decided the best thing to do is to play it cool...so I went to the desk and said,hi I am a medical student and I was wondering if I left my badge here.The nurse looked around found it and thankfully gave it to me without asking any questions.She complained about the night staff being so lazy and disorganised because they put it in the patients lost and found stuff. I felt so guilty.

MDT meeting
These are so boring but I was grateful to be away from patients.As a medical student I did not have to say anything so I could let my mind drift.Well until my name was briefly mentioned.(mini heart attack moment)I had no idea I was under the care of the haematology team.It was  brief 'x presented in A&E we are awaiting more details'.

I am attached to the stomach cancer people,but they have MDTs on days we are not at placement,so my colleagues and I got sent to watch the haematologists do their stuff.

I think it passed over the other med students heads,thankfully I never use my first name at uni,so they might have failed to make the connection.

One of the doctors did notice,and asked me to wait behind.They said they where pleased to see me looking so well,and getting on with my life since I was last admitted.But they also insisted I go home and rest if I was up all night.

Home again.
2pm. I got the shuttle back this time and just slept till about 10. I woke up apologised to half my contact list for sending texts I don't remember. I also deleted all my messages,so I have no idea what I said to anyone.I also looked through the photos and did a quick blog post.

The picture above was sent to me by my friend.I also managed to send my phone back to factory settings,deleting texts

Ambulances and Paramedics

Yesterday I got to ride in an ambulance,unfortunately I don't remember much about it.

The picked me up for my uni dorm, as my flatmates have told me.I also got a call from the residence office telling me this.

I mixed up my medicines and ended up unconscious (according to the nurses).

So I think paramedics are pretty amazing because
1. Most importantly...I am still alive
2. They some how figured out name age and profession (I would love to know how they figured out i was a medical student, I don't normally tell anyone I study medicine)
3.I some how ended up in hospital with my phone and house keys.(Thank you sooo much, it was very thoughtful who ever did it)

To all the paramedics out there,thank you for doing the job you do,saving lives is the most important bit,but its all the little things that count too.

Now I have a few questions, and some will probably never be answered.

1.Was I unconscious through out?
2.Why is my phone full of pictures of oxygen tanks and black boots attached to green trousers.(I hope I was not acting silly.)
3. Why on earth have I got ECG sticky pads stuck to me, who done it,when did it happen,and why?
4.What if I was being ridiculous, and the paramedics remember me, since I walk past one ambulance station each day on the way to uni, and i walk through A&E to get to the ward I have placement on.
5.Who called an ambulance?
6.Should I still shadow the paramedics as part of my course, of should I stay well away and shadow the police.

Still around, drowning in revision

I am still studying.

Before I was casually studying,dipping into revision here and there, and doing a bit each night.

Now my life only consists of lectures sleep and revision.It is not as bad as it sounds,since turning it into a habit it has become oddly satisfying.

The amount of stuff I have to know is scary. I really wish I was studying a course with modules, instead I have a long 4 hour exam ,on everything I have learnt since being at medschool.

This is what my typical revision day looks like.

6am- wake up
6am-7am-Get ready for the day(pray,read bible,breakfast,shower,dress)
7am-8.40am-Revise
8.40am-9.00am-walk to uni
9.00am-5.00pm-Lectures/placement( I try to do my homework during the breaks between lectures)
4.00pm-5.00pm-Walk home from uni/I go to the gym for if I finish lectures before 5pm
5.00pm-7.00pm-Sleep,I have been getting home from class exhausted(In capable of using a microwave exhausted)
7.00pm-8.00pm-Lunch(I know its technically dinner time,but this is when I get around to having lunch
8.00pm-12.00pm-Study
12.00pm-1.00am- Snack, then get distracted by youtube/tidy up my room
1.00am-2.00am-Silly hour* exhaustion takes over, so I try to stay awake by talking through my notes with different accents.
2.00am-crawl into bed, only to dream about transport channels, or renal disease risk factors.

That is a typical exam period day for my medic friends.I am exhausted, tired and likely to burst into tears for no reason at all.

But....

I would rather be stressed whilst studying medicine, than doing anything else.

My next post will be about why I wanted to study medicine,I think I need to remind myself why I am torturing myself.

May Bank Holiday sewing

I should be revising like every other student. Instead I decided to sew some stuff.Then torture my lovely blog readers with horrible pictures.

My normal phone camera is broken,so I had to use my tablet to take pictures.Its front camera is awesome,but the back camera is terrible.

Me sewing a dress

The back of the finished dress

The front

A smocked dress

I even started a smocked dress for a child I know.All the gathering and embroidery made my head ache, so the red and white dress is not finished.

Mitigating Circumstances

My tutor thinks I should fill out a mitigating circumstances form. My initial thoughts are as follows:

1.I might have had a bad term,but lupus is part of my life.
I am training ti be a doctor,I will always have lupus.When I begin to work as a doctor can I use my condition as an excuse for underperformance? Probably not,so why should I use it now

2.Did I really miss that much stuff?
Exams have not yet happened,how could she think I am at risk of failing? Eeeek!!! am I destined to fail??

3.It would be nice to have a back up plan.
If I fail,at least I wont automatically be kicked out of medical school.I have worked really hard to get this far so I should do everything in my power to protect my place at medical school.I didn't ask to be ill,so I sorta deserve a break.

I can choose if I want to apply for mitigating circumstances,however at the end of the day it is up to the university to decide if I should get them.

I appreciate having the choice,even if it brings problems of its own.I do not really know what to do at the moment,so if you have any thoughts please post them in the comments section.

The Fear

Its exam time and I am terrified.

My medical school has one end of year exam that determines weather or not we will graduate with honours. I have been studying my little socks off. Despite trying my best  still  feel woefully unprepared.

I think I have some perfectionistic tendencies,so just passing is not enough.I want a high grade. The problem is in medicine,every one is smart, so the high grades go to the ultra hard workers,or the super smart mutants.

I am neither of these, then there is the small minor detail that I missed a fair chunck of last term.


Thankfully there is a sensible part to my brain that says



This is what I find useful
1. Get out of your house/dorm.
Go to a library. The distraction of home comforts won’t be there and it will get you into a working mindset.  Also it’s nice to go home to relax, and have a change of scene,before doing more work.I get really bored and unmotivated if I stay in one place for too long

2. Study with a buddy
A problem shared is a problem halved.One of the best ways to understand things is to discuss them with a friend.I personally only like to study with 2-3 people,but you may like larger groups. Nominate someone to direct the conversation so as not to go off topic,  you will find it is a great way of sharing information and filling gaps in your knowledge.

3. Think of the future/the past.
Imagine yourself in your dream job. The next phase of your life is going to be so much fun, you just need to get these exams done and dusted.If the future seems so far away,just think of how far you have come,if you got this far,surely you can go a bit further.

4.Study Hard
Use your study leave for the biggest ‘cramathon’ of your life. Don’t give up so close to the end. Keep re-reading notes and practising exam questions. Some of it will stick in your brain eventually. You’ll also feel more confident going into the exams than if you hadn't looked at anything the two weeks before.

Thanks for reading to the end of this post,here is a video to drive the point home

You know your a medical student when..

1.Your grandmother thinks you are addicted to porn because watch anatomy videos in darkness,with the curtains drawn, and rush to turn them off when someone enters the room

2.Holidays no longer exist,

3.Sling shots in toy stores remind you of antibodies

4.Your mother asks you where something is and you respond with....distal to the fridge,and superior to the table

5.Dreaming you are a red blood cell traveling from, the heart to you little finger, is normal

6.You struggle to smalltalk with your friends of friends but have no trouble asking a total stranger about their bowel habits.

7.Staying in bed till 7.30am is a luxury

8.You have been drawing sections on your abdomen,and you actualy get ill and have to see a real doctor,who finds at least 4 mistakes

9.During exam time, washing up is a low priority,so cereal is eaten in a mug 

10.The post man comes to the door and you automatically say "Hello, would you mind confirming,your name date of birth and the first line of your address"

Medicine is consuming my life,but I am enjoying it

Coming to terms with my own mortality

This post is about my faith...if are not a very religious person, feel free to skip this.

The drugs I was taking to manage the side my lupus completely destroyed my platelets. Platelets are essential for forming blood clots, I was bruising easily, I damaged a few blood vessels in my eye and felt poorly.Doctors said that I could die,and it was a good time to call my family.

These are my thoughts from around that time.I wrote them down to make sense ,but its never been the right time to share it.I was reminded of this post when my platelet count fell again,my counts are low,but being managed.


I spent hours studying for an anatomy spot test,I watched all the videos,spent extra time in the dissection room,wrote notes and done it again.I teach Sunday school,volunteer with homeless people and refugees,and I have a part time job saving money to enable me to work on mercy ships once I qualify.What is the point? I have lived my entire life striving to do what is right, trying to learn, trying to be more Christ like. And for what! 

 Now it will all be wasted, my skills will never be used. I have so much left to give and it kills me that I can't deliver. I have never been content just being, I want to be doing. But maybe that is the lesson that God has been trying to teach me my whole life. 

I need to be a Human Being not a Human Doing. Maybe, the only lesson He has been trying to teach me is that He loves me and wants to be and rest in Him. I am dispensable. God's will and His plan will prevail regardless because His power is made perfect in our weakness. Being human means I am not content with being weak, it bothers me that I cant sit up for long amounts of time,or see properly.I am not enjoying this ,but I will try to accept it.

Why can''t I be a part of the vision to come; I feel so robbed, so let down, so cheated. I don't know what is happening and  it hurts intensely. But then, it all comes back to towing that line of tension of trust and submission, despite the outcome. Faith and hope comes from knowing that God has saved us for eternity; not from death in this life. If there is one thing that would bring joy to my heart, it would be to know that this simple truth has been engraved on your heart also. There is only one God; in all situations, turn towards Him.


Its Easter holidays,my platelet counts are low again,but this time I am not as bothered,I seem to be filled with serenity.Getting better would be great,but if my condition deteriorates then my views are the same as they where before.

Fainting

I rarely faint, but since I was unwell I had my first few medical school related faints.Before this year I have never fainted in medical school!

I am one of the least squeamish people around, The more blood there is more interested I become. Being squeamish is not a reason not to study medicine. It might make anatomy and surgery more challenging but it is nothing that can't be overcome.

The first time I fainted was in anatomy.I would not recommend fainting in front of 90+ class mates. When I recovered, I was initially disorientated, but mainly embarrassed. No one mentioned anything after the fact. so my year group is:
a) very professional
b)embarrassed on behalf of me

The second time I fainted was when I stood up to leave the lecture theatre, I managed to get as far as down the stairs, and as soon as I reached the front, i fainted in full view of everyone. My lecturer was so nice, she bought me hot chocolate and sat with me for half an hour. It took me half an hour to convince her I was well enough to be left alone.

When I fainted after the lecture, none of my friends came to check on me.I know I go on about trying to appear strong, but its polite to check on your friend if they faint. I cried(I was ill and feeling overs sensitive) because this was the final straw.

So, now I have said all that , i suppose I should tell you how to avoid fainting.

1. Add sugar.
Its so important to keep your blood glucose levels up. All ways have breakfast, or you will only have yourself to blame if you faint whilst a nurse is inserting a cannula. Eat a small snack before going to gross anatomy. If the thought of anatomy makes your appetite vanish, at least force your self to eat a few jelly beans.

2.Stay well hydrated
Dehydration lowers blood volume slightly. Reduced blood volume leads to a decrease in blood pressure. Low blood pressure makes you more likely to faint. So please stay well hydrated.

3.Don't let blood pool in your legs
Standing still can make you faint, (ever seen soldiers fainting on parade).If you have to stand still for a long time ,tense calves, thighs and buttocks (in that order). This will get  blood flowing around and it can help a bit. 

If none of that has worked..


4.Leave,escape the situation
If something is upsetting you, turn around or close you eyes,sometimes ecaping the situation is all you need to do.
If possible leave the area, get some fresh air, or try to sit down.No one has time to babysit the medical student so if your in theatre or in dissection, move away from the tables ans sharp edges.

                                                                                                                                                                 

Try not to faint, but if you do its not the end of the world

How to get the most out of Primary Care Placements

I spent 10 weeks in a small GP practise. Primary Care is not something I would like to go into, but in medical school you sometimes have to do things that do not interest you.

1. Do a bit of research before hand.
Find out the demographics of the catchment area. All patients are individuals, but I fell I benefited greatly by finding out the following
-Age distribution-The place I was located was a popular retirement area,and there for most of the patients I saw where over 65.
-What culture is most prevalent- Different cultures have different attitudes to health care,and you may need to be aware of this if
-Location-being late for appointments is never cool. My placement was in the middle of nowhere with only hourly buses. Even the patients had difficulty getting to their practise, so they would only come to the surgery if very ill, and returning to collect prescriptions was a no-no

2.Plan how to achieve the learning outcomes
At my medical school we have books that need to be signed off. If the doctor you are shadowing is not used to having medical students you may need to tell them this.Some doctors like signing things off as they are completed, whilst others prefer to sign things off on the last day Unless its stated in your book, always ask.As a student you must take responsibility for your learning.

3.Try to make what ever you are doing relevant to your studies.
As you progress with your course the ability to link things together will be invaluable.Taking endless blood pressures day in and day out can get boring and tedious. To make it slightly more bearable, I decided to teach myself about the drugs used to treat blood pressure.This tied in with my pharmacology module.
Last year on the wards, I took an interest in patient nutrition as it tied in with my module on human nutrition.

4.Ask all the time
Most people want to help you learn. If you want to know more about something just ask a staff member when they don't seem to busy.
Sometimes doctors forget how little students know, so they give incomplete instructions.If you do not understand what to do it is better to ask a question,than to make a mistake

5. Try to reflect regularly during your placement.
I know reflection is a word that medical students are not fond of. I used to think reflection is a waste of time, but I now find it very valuable.For the foreseeable future reflective writing will be part of life, so you may as well get used to it.
What you write does not have to be detailed, its more important that you do something.  If you notice something that could have been better, or you witness someone doing something really well, try to write 150 words or more about it.

January Term

I don't usually like snails, but I find the shells very interesting.

What I find interesting about it is the intricate spiral pattern.

I don't like  hate going round in circles. lately is seems like I've already faced a particular trial and now I'm back here again. I suppose some people have looked at the snail and immediately thought of its less than pleasant slime, i saw something different today.

With every rotation the shell shines and glimmers a little different each time.
With every rotation the shell shines and glimmers a little different each time.  Perhaps the same can be said for the events of this life - even though I have been here before there will be something new, something beautiful, to see amongst the disgusting slime.


My lupus for most of the part is silent, but when I do have a flare its near impossible to ignore. My lovely doctors  treated me with some rather strong drugs and as a result I suffered from severe Thrombocytopenia*. I did not pay attention to the details because I was too tired and achey.  but from a patients point of view it went something like

Doctor:Your body is attacking you and your organs could fail, you need to take these drugs
Doctor: Things are improving go home and take it easy
Doctor: You have no platelets, and your white blood cells are low, it could be a medicine side effect or you have cancer
Doctor: I hereby sentence you to 18 months of monitoring and lumbar punctures.

As scary as it was being in hospital gave me time to reflect. I guess what I realised was that each trial or difficulty I have faced has built up my faith so that I can look back and know that if God has got me through A B and C, which have increased in intensity, in the past then He will get me through X Y and Z in the future.  But, it does make me wonder if this could be building up to a bigger test of faith!  (eeek!)

I was in hospital for  13 days and spent the rest of the time at home feeling miserable and exhausted. Studying medicine does have its advantages though, I was able to escape the ward and attend lectures because it was close enough.

Now, before you think I am an ultra committed medschool gunner/geek, STOP!! Hospital wards are boring, and staying there for any length of time would drive even the calmest person up the wall. Pride also played a part, I do everything in my power to avoid people noticing I am ill. Showing vulnerability  but skipping too many classes in my medical school is not the best idea. 

*Thrombocytopenia=low platelet count. Having to few platelets affects your blood's ability to clot

This past term has been very difficult, hence why I have not bloged at all. I am sorry I am on vacation now, so I will use this time to catch up with my blog posts.