Favourite show: people walking to work/school
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Polymorphs
So, the word I woke up with in my head this morning (at 4.30am) was "polymorphs", which is short for polymorphonuclear leukocyte which is a type of white blood cell and are elevated in inflammation or infection. I think. I'm still learning this and it might be why it was laying down memory in my sleep (before the process was rudely woken by my phone alarm and 5am lecture).
This morning I just enrolled in a Masters of International Health subject - STIs and HIV an International Perspective. Despite my repeating pattern of biting off more than I can chew and then nearly choking, I can't let go of the MIH for some reason. Hoping seeing as it's only one unit and it's not statistics that I should be ok.
Anyway, I'm getting a little bit sick of my 2-minute noodle diet and I have been thinking about what I want to do in Nepal (I have a week there with no plans before going to Tibet and Bhutan) and maybe a mini-Annapurnas trek would be good. That is in two months. I also have a high school reunion and my work annual ball in the same week in about 5 weeks time, so I hope to use that as motivation, although the majority of my brain is saying "just wear black!"
This morning I just enrolled in a Masters of International Health subject - STIs and HIV an International Perspective. Despite my repeating pattern of biting off more than I can chew and then nearly choking, I can't let go of the MIH for some reason. Hoping seeing as it's only one unit and it's not statistics that I should be ok.
Anyway, I'm getting a little bit sick of my 2-minute noodle diet and I have been thinking about what I want to do in Nepal (I have a week there with no plans before going to Tibet and Bhutan) and maybe a mini-Annapurnas trek would be good. That is in two months. I also have a high school reunion and my work annual ball in the same week in about 5 weeks time, so I hope to use that as motivation, although the majority of my brain is saying "just wear black!"
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Nice day
It's so nice to wake up fairly naturally (my dog sort of woke me up, but I wasn't in a deep sleep). My usual routine is to let him out and open the blinds on the east side of the house and let the morning sunshine in. This morning I looked out and I could see all these silver-beaded threads on all my plants. I only have two potted bamboo and four planted fruit trees in the backyard so far (I concentrated all of my time last spring in the front). And the sun was being reflected in full-force off two of my 8 pavers (for the patio extension in progress) straight into my eyes. It was amazing.
Above is a photo of one of the bamboo trees and the spiders webs that caught my eye. All of my (six) trees had been covered in spiders webs over-night then the morning dew glistening was quite a surprise.
Spoiler alert - Project Runway was, to my nice surprise, on last night Yay! I recorded the Amazing Race and watched PR. And... I'm so glad Gretchen Jones won. I loved the three finalists, but I think the best designer won. I also think she was so unfairly targeted and bullied in that show for being nothing more than a tall poppy with an opinion. Yeh, I so got sucked into that show. But I had a nice night last night relaxing a bit.
Today, I have a lecture at 1pm, so I'll study from now until then. I go back on-call tonight, so I'll try and get a bit organised after the lecture as my wardrobe has imploded. I'm pretty happy at the rest of the house maintainence and feel pretty organised and stress-free. I'm proud of myself for my financial budgeting skills this fortnight, I think doing well on the mini-exam yesterday was a huge relief. And getting my readings done last week, I can focus on a fresh case study guilt-free. I'm also proud of myself for sitting down and drawing out the brachial plexus this morning so I think I almost have it down pat. There isn't a whole lot of time for rote learning in my schedule, but there are a few things that just take pure memory, in the way that I used to love playing that card game "Memory" when I was a kid.
Anyway.
Loving life.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Project Runway
I took a mini-break before my mini-quiz (so, SO happy I did way better than last week - whew!) so I watched an old recored episode of ER, you know, to relax my brain and get me all motivated to work in a Chicao County ER one day (or not). I thought I'd seen them all by now, but I don't think I'd seen this one. It was season 14, episode 15 where Neela is complaining to the cable-guy that she's single, and a doctor, and she needs Project Runway! hahaha.
Well, final episode of Project Runway is on for me tomorrow night (season 8). I can't wait. Then the following week Project Runway Australia kicks off (season 3). I'm just new to Project Runway so I haven't seen any others. But after each episde I want to get my dress-making manequin out (I think they call them "forms" or something) and whip up a creation.
Downton Abbey was last night, and Amazing Race Australia tonight.
Yes, it sounds sad to be so excited about TV but it is very exciting when you only get to watch about 3 hours of it a week! You make it count!
PS I read in an article in the Huffington Post that 25% of American girls would rather win America's Next Top Model than a Nobel Prize, and I thought: "only 25%!?" Less work, more pay, more fun, clothes fit better......
Ups and downs
I just came home from a great session with my mentor. My mind is working clearly and I'm starting to really get the hang of working my way through a differential diagnosis including history,physcial examination and which labs and imaging to order, and the all important management plan.
Then I came home to do my end of week mini-quiz I've been dreading all week only to find it closed 7 hours earlier than last week and I have missed it! That's 5% of my total module grade gone! Faaaar-out. So I just emailed the curriculum coordinator to ask if I can get access to it asap. Let's see how tight they're going to be about the rules. I then I emailed off about my grievances from last week's quiz (I think I answers questions right and got marked wrong). It's a nightmare trying to prove yourself. And then mix that in with self-doubt and stress and my mood has gne from high to anxious/low within about an hour. Awesome.
But I can't let it affect me - I must now get in some quality study time as I go back to work tomorrow (yes, that's right, today is my only day off yet again).
If I was to be all Yoga about it I would say at least my insane need to be right is a good thing in medicine. If I didn't care about having the correct answers or not it might not be a good thing for my patients!
Then I came home to do my end of week mini-quiz I've been dreading all week only to find it closed 7 hours earlier than last week and I have missed it! That's 5% of my total module grade gone! Faaaar-out. So I just emailed the curriculum coordinator to ask if I can get access to it asap. Let's see how tight they're going to be about the rules. I then I emailed off about my grievances from last week's quiz (I think I answers questions right and got marked wrong). It's a nightmare trying to prove yourself. And then mix that in with self-doubt and stress and my mood has gne from high to anxious/low within about an hour. Awesome.
But I can't let it affect me - I must now get in some quality study time as I go back to work tomorrow (yes, that's right, today is my only day off yet again).
If I was to be all Yoga about it I would say at least my insane need to be right is a good thing in medicine. If I didn't care about having the correct answers or not it might not be a good thing for my patients!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
PT couse and internal chatter
Well I finally submitted section 1 of the first assignment for my personal trainer course. I'm not sure how long it took - probably longer than it feels - but I'm happy that the ball is rolling along in the right direction albeit slowly. Not bad me thinks for the hours I'm working and, oh yeh, that medical degree I'm doing too.
So in my med degree the modules are fairly independent from one-another, that is, there is no sort of pre-requisite in the pre-clinical module from one module to another (except the first one in biochemistry) and the learning is sort of more horizontal than vertical. This is all fine, except I'm in my second year and I feel as clueless as I did last year. I'm just starting to realise it's because I'm not necessarily building on past terms, one on top of the other, it's more of a building side-by-side, and accumulation of breadth at constant incredibly scary depth. I've been doing practice USMLE World question and I'm, like, "I don't know anything!" but it's really I don't know anything about the musculoskeletal system (yet).
Well with section one of the PT course submitted at least I can relax and I wont feel bad if I completely leave the next section until this med term is over - in 4 weeks! Eek!
Don't tell anyone, but we didn't do a single job today at work (I was on over-time, "the perfect crime" as my work colleague put it)! Not one! And after a great amount of sleep-bank deposits yesterday I studied from 7am to 6.30pm tonight! I'm so proud of myself. Then I just did about 30 mins on that PT assignment to get it submitted. Feeling like I accomplished something today.
Well, only two months until I go on my trip now. I changed shifts today with someone who went to Nepal two years ago so I got chatting to him and a good lead on a good tour guide in Kathmandu (for the first week where I still have nothing planned and plan to keep it unplanned until I get there as the rest of my itinerary is already mapped out). Then I got on eBay and had an interesting discussion with myself on whether North Face clothing was worth the money and whether I would be a victim of marketing/consumerism/capitalism if I bought a North Face down jacket. The internal jury is still out on that one. Standby....
Practicing Buddhism seems to have increased how much I notice my internal chatter, so don't be alarmed if you're not used to listening to the internal chatter. The say the difference between a mad person and a sane one is mad people talk out-loud. I'm also still deciding whether talking to my pets is crazy or not. At least I'm not talking to the wall...
So in my med degree the modules are fairly independent from one-another, that is, there is no sort of pre-requisite in the pre-clinical module from one module to another (except the first one in biochemistry) and the learning is sort of more horizontal than vertical. This is all fine, except I'm in my second year and I feel as clueless as I did last year. I'm just starting to realise it's because I'm not necessarily building on past terms, one on top of the other, it's more of a building side-by-side, and accumulation of breadth at constant incredibly scary depth. I've been doing practice USMLE World question and I'm, like, "I don't know anything!" but it's really I don't know anything about the musculoskeletal system (yet).
Well with section one of the PT course submitted at least I can relax and I wont feel bad if I completely leave the next section until this med term is over - in 4 weeks! Eek!
Don't tell anyone, but we didn't do a single job today at work (I was on over-time, "the perfect crime" as my work colleague put it)! Not one! And after a great amount of sleep-bank deposits yesterday I studied from 7am to 6.30pm tonight! I'm so proud of myself. Then I just did about 30 mins on that PT assignment to get it submitted. Feeling like I accomplished something today.
Well, only two months until I go on my trip now. I changed shifts today with someone who went to Nepal two years ago so I got chatting to him and a good lead on a good tour guide in Kathmandu (for the first week where I still have nothing planned and plan to keep it unplanned until I get there as the rest of my itinerary is already mapped out). Then I got on eBay and had an interesting discussion with myself on whether North Face clothing was worth the money and whether I would be a victim of marketing/consumerism/capitalism if I bought a North Face down jacket. The internal jury is still out on that one. Standby....
Practicing Buddhism seems to have increased how much I notice my internal chatter, so don't be alarmed if you're not used to listening to the internal chatter. The say the difference between a mad person and a sane one is mad people talk out-loud. I'm also still deciding whether talking to my pets is crazy or not. At least I'm not talking to the wall...
To do
Study to do this weekend (while at work):
Wish me luck.
- Anatomy - muscles of shoulder and upper limb, cervical plexus, brachial plexus revision
- Physiology - CNS, PNS, local control of motor neurons, and the motor system
- Patho - osteoarthritis revision, cervical spondylosis, whiplash injury
- Other - cranial nerves, genetic control of type and shape of bone, rotator cuff muscles, dermatomes/myotomes, Babinski's reflex, patella tenodon reflex.
Wish me luck.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Rest
I have a rest day today. I slept about 14 hours and I feel good. Almost great. My cervical lymphadenopathy has gone and I can open my eyelids more than 2mm apart. I also don't look 80 years old today like the last two weeks.
I had a phone call with one of my tutors, which is a new addition to the course - one that I actually like. She asked me some quick questions which covered last week's learning issues. It was great to do an aural/oral session to complement all the reading we do on our own. I didn't do too bad, but there's room for improvement as always.
Now I'm going to get some groceries and watch some tv, do some housework and laundry, prepare for working this weekend, and maybe tonight I might do some light reading tonight if there's time left in the day.
I like today.
I had a phone call with one of my tutors, which is a new addition to the course - one that I actually like. She asked me some quick questions which covered last week's learning issues. It was great to do an aural/oral session to complement all the reading we do on our own. I didn't do too bad, but there's room for improvement as always.
Now I'm going to get some groceries and watch some tv, do some housework and laundry, prepare for working this weekend, and maybe tonight I might do some light reading tonight if there's time left in the day.
I like today.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Radiology
My lecturer gave me this link to an awesome free online radiology tutorial! Yay! I've been looking for the right radiol book, and now I have this :)
http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/courses/rad/
http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/courses/rad/
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Stuff up
The other thing Iwant to rant on about is our case studies start on Monday Samoa time, and our first lecture is on Monday Samoa time and we're expected to have done some reading before the first lecture. The discussion forum thread isn't even open until then.
And..... the new weekly graded super-ridiculously random and hard quizzes are on the previous week's topic. So discombobulated. It might not sound like much, but the little things become problems when you're try to juggle a lot of human downloading (reading and learning) with incredible time constraints.
Ugh.
So, I've re-written my week's to-do list for this case, and have to tackle two learning issues a day, every day, for the whole week. I should have factored in my friends coming to visit me from out-of-town on Thurs (not predicting much study) and I wont even bother mentioning my other social plans I had for the weekend as they have just disintegrated. This is all on top of work, and the extra readings I need to do on imagining (so I can interpret xrays etc it better) and physical examinations (Tally and O'Connor - we're about to get intimate).
Well, if my luck is going to change I need to start with changing my attitude, Tony Robbins-style...
"I LOVE my life!"
Dear Universe,
Thank you for allowing me to pursue my career dreams. Thank you for providing me with a save home and loving family. Thank you for giving me a great job that is not only rewarding and interesting, but provides a good income. Thank you for the Winter sunshine today coming through my window and warming my legs, and the light rain forming a rainbow outside. Thank you for wonderful friends and work colleagues that support me and my career pursuits. Thank you for providing me with learning opportunities to gain the wisdom of appreciating that the truely valuable things in life are not the material things. Thank you for providing and allowing me to provide myself shelter, food, and water, warmth, and a soft bed.
Thank you for the stars, the birds, the flowers, the kittens and puppies, and for providing an eternal source of wonder and curiosity of the beauty of nature.
Yours sincerely,
CJ.
Monday, June 20, 2011
My life
Anyway, it's 7.39pm, I'm on-call, and I've done about 10% of what I allocated myself for today. Must go now and read about the anatomy of the upper limb. *yawn* Must convince myself it is interesting - <Insert a scene of my imagining working for MSF and being in a tent in Darfur and someone presenting with an upper limb trauma and needing to diagnose it....> Ok, slightly more motivated.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Words
A funny thing I noticed when I started this medical degree, is that I'd wake up and a medical word or term would come straight into my mind. I'll try and log the ones I remember. This term, on different days, I have woken up with;
I find it amusing.
Here is a picture I took outside the art gallery a few week ago;
![]()
- Postive rheumatoid factor
- Subchondral sclerosis
I find it amusing.
Here is a picture I took outside the art gallery a few week ago;
Epic fail
So I just did my weekly mini-quiz and totally stuffed the whole thing up. I'm so unimpressed with myself. Feeling really down now. But there is nothing I can do now, I just have to keep moving forward. The only thing that is reassuring is that I was doing bad in the other modules in the beginning but pulled it all together by the end.
My next case study is "Fractured humerous". It's the 4th out of 7 for the term. Our learning issues surrounding this case are;
Oh well. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.
I think I'll try and finish a section of the PT assignment and sent it off to feel like I've achieved something.
My next case study is "Fractured humerous". It's the 4th out of 7 for the term. Our learning issues surrounding this case are;
- Anatomy of the upper limb (skeletal, muscular, vascular, innervation) - here comes the brachial plexus
- Mechanisms of pain (physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology)
- Pathophysiology of hand weakness
- Consequences of vitamin D deficiency
- Pathology of fractures
- Clinical features and management of fractures.
Oh well. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.
I think I'll try and finish a section of the PT assignment and sent it off to feel like I've achieved something.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
The Hangover
My social life was reinstated last night. It was a big one. At 9am on the train home this morning, still in our party gear, coats and bags drenched in alcohol, and one iPhone lighter, my friend said "Have you seen The Hangover?" Our adventures could certainly be drawn as parallels to that movie. At one point I nearly lost my shoes because I decided they were hindering my dancing skills. Needless to say, I spent all of today in bed. My dog and cat loved it.
I just splurged $5.95 for a Box Office movie and watched 127 Hours. I heard people had fainted watching the scenes where he self-amputates his arm. I can see why.
Now I am a bit fuzzy in the head but have a bad habit for studying. I just want to gently read a few pages on antibacterial agents in my Kaplan notes seeing as this week is Osteomyelitis. I just also looked at my class discussion forum, and will just flick through this week's case again and make a list of what I want to achieve tomorrow, albeit I will be lucky to find an hour. Monday morning might be a final look over.
In TAM news, we took some self-portraits last night at the club, and this afternoon I saw them on Facebook and I was quite impressed at how well my body has maintained the tone the TAM workouts gave me, despite me not working out very often atm. It is inspiring me to keep working out, even if it's irregular and my diet is up and down. Also, Triple J had Itch-E and Scratch-E on Friday and it took me back to the mid-90's electro/rave music I used to love dancing too. I NEED their music for my dance cardio workouts. Very excited.
I just splurged $5.95 for a Box Office movie and watched 127 Hours. I heard people had fainted watching the scenes where he self-amputates his arm. I can see why.
Now I am a bit fuzzy in the head but have a bad habit for studying. I just want to gently read a few pages on antibacterial agents in my Kaplan notes seeing as this week is Osteomyelitis. I just also looked at my class discussion forum, and will just flick through this week's case again and make a list of what I want to achieve tomorrow, albeit I will be lucky to find an hour. Monday morning might be a final look over.
In TAM news, we took some self-portraits last night at the club, and this afternoon I saw them on Facebook and I was quite impressed at how well my body has maintained the tone the TAM workouts gave me, despite me not working out very often atm. It is inspiring me to keep working out, even if it's irregular and my diet is up and down. Also, Triple J had Itch-E and Scratch-E on Friday and it took me back to the mid-90's electro/rave music I used to love dancing too. I NEED their music for my dance cardio workouts. Very excited.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Exam prep material
This is a response to a comment from my last post. Blogger is being silly and wont let me comment on my own blog.
Hi Bee,
Doctors In Training is one of a number of companies that do prep courses for the USMLEs (US Medical Licensing Exams). I use USMLE prep material as there are so many resources out there as all US med students have to sit these exams. They should all help me prepare for my med school exams, and the Australian Medical Council exam too. They tend to be more revision and emphasising highly-examinable topics. I use them as a guide as I go through my course to make sure I'm covering everything I should be.
I would recommend First Aid for the USMLE at about $40-60 each. Step 1 is basic concepts, Step 2 is applying them to clinical situations, and Step 3 is preparing for unsupervised patient treatment. These books are reasonably priced and my med school and Doctors In Training recommend the FA series. Actually, FA for the USMLE Step 1 is on our required textbook list, I read it before I go into an exam, and I don't go anywhere without it (it currently smells like coconut milk, but that's another story.) I recommend the latest version of these as they changed the format and is now even better.
Kaplan does good prep courses that are recommended by many students, but they are pricey! I got my notes second-hand from eBay. I don't believe you need the latest version of these. They go into more depth than FA, but if it's revision then FA is prob enough. I'm doing some first-hand learning from my Kaplan notes. I would say it's half-way between FA and reading the textbooks. They also do videos, but again too expensive for me but I hear they are really good.
Have you checked out http://www.almostadoctor.com/? It might be just what you're looking for. It's free and UK based, and I love their notes and I print them out to read more in-depth. They have an OSCE section as well, but that's ahead of me atm.
I use DIT atm for their single pharm lectures because they're only $12 each and I need that visual/audio supplement for my pharm as my course is so heavily self-directed learning. I would say it is too basic for you. I will do the full DIT Step 1 course ($770) but not until next year before starting clinical placements as my med school has a Step 1-like hurdle exam, and I'm also considering doing the USMLE (so I can apply for US residency programs if I want, ie paeds). Actually, $770 is one of the cheaper ones. Check out their website as they have a recommended study plan and also recommend other sources too,but for you, being at the end of your course, look more at Step 2 and 3 prep.
Then finally there's USMLE World that is supposed to have the best practice exams (sorry Kaplan). I get a 30-day subscription before each exam and do 10-20 questions per day until I've done all of them for the topic at least once, and read the correct and incorrect explanations. They are presented in the way USMLE questions are presented, which is the way my med school presents them too. (ie MCQs, clinical vignette followed by five possible answers, two of which are easy to discount, two distractors, and two maybes, requiring application and manipulation of basic sciences into a clinical scenario). That is $100 for 30-days. There used to be a free, wiki version, but it shut down. Maybe someone paid them to!?
I'll need to do the Australian Medical Council exam once I graduate before I can apply for internship in Australia. It's a slightly different format, but obviously the medicine is the same. They say if you do your clincial rotations in Australia it is most helpful, so that is what I'll be doing plus all the USMLE prep. The AMC have two publications - AMC MCQs and Anthology of Medical Conditions. I would only recommend them for people wanting to sit the AMC exam to get used to the format as they're not particularly user friendly.
Hope that helps?
CJ
Hi Bee,
Doctors In Training is one of a number of companies that do prep courses for the USMLEs (US Medical Licensing Exams). I use USMLE prep material as there are so many resources out there as all US med students have to sit these exams. They should all help me prepare for my med school exams, and the Australian Medical Council exam too. They tend to be more revision and emphasising highly-examinable topics. I use them as a guide as I go through my course to make sure I'm covering everything I should be.
I would recommend First Aid for the USMLE at about $40-60 each. Step 1 is basic concepts, Step 2 is applying them to clinical situations, and Step 3 is preparing for unsupervised patient treatment. These books are reasonably priced and my med school and Doctors In Training recommend the FA series. Actually, FA for the USMLE Step 1 is on our required textbook list, I read it before I go into an exam, and I don't go anywhere without it (it currently smells like coconut milk, but that's another story.) I recommend the latest version of these as they changed the format and is now even better.
Kaplan does good prep courses that are recommended by many students, but they are pricey! I got my notes second-hand from eBay. I don't believe you need the latest version of these. They go into more depth than FA, but if it's revision then FA is prob enough. I'm doing some first-hand learning from my Kaplan notes. I would say it's half-way between FA and reading the textbooks. They also do videos, but again too expensive for me but I hear they are really good.
Have you checked out http://www.almostadoctor.com/? It might be just what you're looking for. It's free and UK based, and I love their notes and I print them out to read more in-depth. They have an OSCE section as well, but that's ahead of me atm.
I use DIT atm for their single pharm lectures because they're only $12 each and I need that visual/audio supplement for my pharm as my course is so heavily self-directed learning. I would say it is too basic for you. I will do the full DIT Step 1 course ($770) but not until next year before starting clinical placements as my med school has a Step 1-like hurdle exam, and I'm also considering doing the USMLE (so I can apply for US residency programs if I want, ie paeds). Actually, $770 is one of the cheaper ones. Check out their website as they have a recommended study plan and also recommend other sources too,but for you, being at the end of your course, look more at Step 2 and 3 prep.
Then finally there's USMLE World that is supposed to have the best practice exams (sorry Kaplan). I get a 30-day subscription before each exam and do 10-20 questions per day until I've done all of them for the topic at least once, and read the correct and incorrect explanations. They are presented in the way USMLE questions are presented, which is the way my med school presents them too. (ie MCQs, clinical vignette followed by five possible answers, two of which are easy to discount, two distractors, and two maybes, requiring application and manipulation of basic sciences into a clinical scenario). That is $100 for 30-days. There used to be a free, wiki version, but it shut down. Maybe someone paid them to!?
I'll need to do the Australian Medical Council exam once I graduate before I can apply for internship in Australia. It's a slightly different format, but obviously the medicine is the same. They say if you do your clincial rotations in Australia it is most helpful, so that is what I'll be doing plus all the USMLE prep. The AMC have two publications - AMC MCQs and Anthology of Medical Conditions. I would only recommend them for people wanting to sit the AMC exam to get used to the format as they're not particularly user friendly.
Hope that helps?
CJ
Thursday, June 16, 2011
5am lectures
The 5am lectures on Thursday mornings are very difficult for me and my terrible habit of needing to sleep occasionally. At least they are not interrupted by inconsiderate patients having emergencies.
Well, I have seemed to have lost a good portion of today so I must stop blogging and start learning about calcium homeostasis, microbes involved in osteomyelitis, and other such areas of this week's learning objectives which I seem to be deficient in.
Oh, before I go, a quick mention that today we were talking about imaging and MRIs and I asked "What if you don't have access to MRI?" and I found myself thinking about working in Samoa. If not Samoa, then Cambodia, or Rwanda, or somewhere exotic and remote where you need to improvise and rely on your clinical judgement. I'm so excited, I seem to have gotten an extra boost of motivation lately thinking that I might actually one day do this big dream I have for working for Medecines Sans Frontiers (or similar organisation). You know that nice feeling that rarely happens when a dream starts to morph into a future possibility? I'm there right now.
Well, I have seemed to have lost a good portion of today so I must stop blogging and start learning about calcium homeostasis, microbes involved in osteomyelitis, and other such areas of this week's learning objectives which I seem to be deficient in.
Oh, before I go, a quick mention that today we were talking about imaging and MRIs and I asked "What if you don't have access to MRI?" and I found myself thinking about working in Samoa. If not Samoa, then Cambodia, or Rwanda, or somewhere exotic and remote where you need to improvise and rely on your clinical judgement. I'm so excited, I seem to have gotten an extra boost of motivation lately thinking that I might actually one day do this big dream I have for working for Medecines Sans Frontiers (or similar organisation). You know that nice feeling that rarely happens when a dream starts to morph into a future possibility? I'm there right now.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Winter
It's one of those nice sunny winters day. I took the opportunity to clean up the patio a bit and the windows. I also moved the dog kennel and tried to convince my pooch that its a great place to sleep.
The lawns I hope to do over the weekend. I dont have a mower with a motor in it...yet. But I will very soon! So far I've had friends and neighbours do it for me, and often by surprise! People can be surprisingly generous.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Dazed and confused
Up until about 20 minutes ago I thought I was working on-call tonight. I'm just so used to 24-hours in this uniform, I feel kinda funny about having tonight off. I'll have to drive my own private car home. It feels weird. I don't think I've had a day off in 8 days now, and then I only had the one day off, Monday, or did I do Monday night? Uhh.... well I'll just keep turning up until it's annual leave then.
I'm back tomorrow morning at 7am, so I wont have to worry about what to do with myself tomorrow.
I think it's hilarious and I feel kinda special that Kaplan posted a comment on yesterday's post. There is so much money in USMLE prep it's not even funny. I am so glad for it all, though. It really does help a lot.
So, I missed today's lecture because right at 5 mins til it started my pager beeped and I got stuck out of my patch and had to take the patient to a small rural hospital I'e never been to before. They were quite good there but it took a little while to get back.
Well that's all. More study tonight. I'm dogged by that biochem section I missed, but I know I must move on to the next case study or risk falling behind, which is was worse.
I'm back tomorrow morning at 7am, so I wont have to worry about what to do with myself tomorrow.
I think it's hilarious and I feel kinda special that Kaplan posted a comment on yesterday's post. There is so much money in USMLE prep it's not even funny. I am so glad for it all, though. It really does help a lot.
So, I missed today's lecture because right at 5 mins til it started my pager beeped and I got stuck out of my patch and had to take the patient to a small rural hospital I'e never been to before. They were quite good there but it took a little while to get back.
Well that's all. More study tonight. I'm dogged by that biochem section I missed, but I know I must move on to the next case study or risk falling behind, which is was worse.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Everybody - panic!
I'm at Code Orange on my panic scale. It's my last designated day for this case study and I have two massive learning issues to cover and it's not going to happen. My head is dizzy from not sleeping enough/properly and I'm at damage control status.
The learning issues are the physiology of muscle fibre contraction and the biochemistry of energy production. The basic concepts I already understand thanks to my paramedic background (physiol) and the biochem term I did in Samoa, and I've just looked at ATP for the PT course. I just really need to revise and go more in-depth. That would be fine if I had 3 days. I have more like 3 hours and I'm tired. My eyes don't even work properly.
First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 will be my saviour again, and I think I'll get my USMLE World QBank subscription a wekk early next week. Maybe I might even think "Stuff it. I'll cram those two points before the exam". Biochem is a lot of rote learning anyway.
No, I really don't want to be the kind of doctor that crams for exams and data-dumps afterwards, but I need to keep the bigger picture in-focus. I have learnt almost all thre is to know about osteoarthritis and the relevant medications this week. I feel confidently that I could differentially diagnose most presentaitons of joint pain. This is good. I can look more in-depth as I move forward. My primary goal is to pass.
This is my rationale.
Oh well, here I go.
The learning issues are the physiology of muscle fibre contraction and the biochemistry of energy production. The basic concepts I already understand thanks to my paramedic background (physiol) and the biochem term I did in Samoa, and I've just looked at ATP for the PT course. I just really need to revise and go more in-depth. That would be fine if I had 3 days. I have more like 3 hours and I'm tired. My eyes don't even work properly.
First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 will be my saviour again, and I think I'll get my USMLE World QBank subscription a wekk early next week. Maybe I might even think "Stuff it. I'll cram those two points before the exam". Biochem is a lot of rote learning anyway.
No, I really don't want to be the kind of doctor that crams for exams and data-dumps afterwards, but I need to keep the bigger picture in-focus. I have learnt almost all thre is to know about osteoarthritis and the relevant medications this week. I feel confidently that I could differentially diagnose most presentaitons of joint pain. This is good. I can look more in-depth as I move forward. My primary goal is to pass.
This is my rationale.
Oh well, here I go.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Freezing
I wish I didn't watch that movie 2012, or that other one with Denis Quaid in it were New York City freezes over.
Up until about 6 months ago, people were drought-proofing their gardens. The frozen ground you can see in the background is tan-bark because growing a lawn was so difficult and keeping moisture in the ground so vital. About two Summer's ago was when it was 48oC here. Now it's down to -2oC overnight. We had droughts then floods in the same area within a year of each other. You couldn't buy a raintank anywhere a few months ago, now it's sandbags which are in great demand. This is not normal.
Anyway, apart from worrying about human-beings extinguishing themselves, I have spent most of today looking at the books (Harrison's is definitely my new fav) and my Guidelines, all to do with that paed job last night. Ugh. But I know if it wasn't a child, I wouldn't be quite as motivated/stressed. Don't mean to be ageist. So, yep, I'm going through another "I want to be an emergency paediatrician when I grow up" phase. And a tropic health specialist, and a primary care physician as well of course.
Another one of my patients died yesterday. It was so sad. There is only 2-degrees of separation between us, and when I took him to the hospital the last time, he knew it was his last trip. He was too young. It's tragic. It's hard to keep your professional distance in a small town.
So, yeh, don't I just sound so cheery today! LOL
Anyway, I'm absolutely loving work and study atm. I prefer to study than watch tv, so I think there's definitely something wrong with me sometimes! At least my fav shows are recorded for later, which are currently;
- Amazing Race Australia
- Downton Abbey
- Project Runway
- Project Runway Australia (starting soon)
Scary
So I had a very scary sick paediatric patient last night. I wish I had more freedom to talk about my patients without worrying about medical-in-confidence issues. Nevertheless, the medical issue was not really the point.
There was a lengthy delay in getting to the patient due to many factors - all very frustrating and out of my control. Then the patient didn't quite fit into our Guidelines, and was a pretty complex case and I required a consult, but where we were the comms was poor causing more delay.
Then my patient started to deteriorate and I asked for the Intensive Care ambulance to RV with us, but they were unavailable. So it was lights and sirens all the way into the regional hospital which was about 40-minutes+ drive.
At the hospital they didn't seem as prepared for us as I thought they should have been. Maybe the notification didn't get communicated well. Another problem with the Chinese-whispers system we have. And they were expecting 3 traumas from an MVA and there are only 2 resus bays. We finally got triaged and put in a monitored bay, which was fine, with a nurse to stay with the patient at all times.
I don't know what happened in the next 20 minutes as I was writing my case sheet, but the patient ended up going into resus with the parents extremely anxious and distressed about the level of care they were receiving. I went in to watch/assist/comfort and from my perspective I thought it went ok, but that didn't help me sleep well last night and I still feel like crap this morning.
A summary of my "personal reflection" on the case, and what I'm beating myself up about this morning (then the actual rationalisation);
It was after 1am when I got home and I still had to read up about the medical condition, and itcs complex presentation, in my text and online with my eyes falling. And guess what, I'm probably going to spend all of today doing that same thing.
There was a lengthy delay in getting to the patient due to many factors - all very frustrating and out of my control. Then the patient didn't quite fit into our Guidelines, and was a pretty complex case and I required a consult, but where we were the comms was poor causing more delay.
Then my patient started to deteriorate and I asked for the Intensive Care ambulance to RV with us, but they were unavailable. So it was lights and sirens all the way into the regional hospital which was about 40-minutes+ drive.
At the hospital they didn't seem as prepared for us as I thought they should have been. Maybe the notification didn't get communicated well. Another problem with the Chinese-whispers system we have. And they were expecting 3 traumas from an MVA and there are only 2 resus bays. We finally got triaged and put in a monitored bay, which was fine, with a nurse to stay with the patient at all times.
I don't know what happened in the next 20 minutes as I was writing my case sheet, but the patient ended up going into resus with the parents extremely anxious and distressed about the level of care they were receiving. I went in to watch/assist/comfort and from my perspective I thought it went ok, but that didn't help me sleep well last night and I still feel like crap this morning.
A summary of my "personal reflection" on the case, and what I'm beating myself up about this morning (then the actual rationalisation);
- Maybe I should have been more insistent from the outset to clarify more information about the location (I did ask for clarification multiple times)
- Maybe I should have asked for a consult instantly (but I needed that 5 minutes to properly assess the patient before I could know what I was asking for in the consult)
- Maybe I should have asked in my consult to do an invasive procedure that I wanted the intensive care paramedics to do (this most likely would not have been approved, nor would I have been comfortable doing it as I've never done it on a paediatric before, let alone one so small, and at that stage it was not immediately required)
- Maybe we should have gone to the children's hospital (but it was an extra hour's drive away and in my opinion the patient was too unstable)
- Maybe I should have keep my drawn-up meds and stayed in the bay with the nurse until a doctor saw them (this is totally unusual, and the patient was categorised very highly)
- Maybe I should know more about rare genetic diseases and their presentations and about more things that are not covered in our guidelines (there is only so much a paramedic is expected to know and I am learning more everyday, but I can't know everything instantly. And anyway, paramedics are really only required to treat the symptoms as they present)
It was after 1am when I got home and I still had to read up about the medical condition, and itcs complex presentation, in my text and online with my eyes falling. And guess what, I'm probably going to spend all of today doing that same thing.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Dalai Lama in Australia
http://www.ustream.tv/dalailamaliveaustralia
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is currently in Australia. This time, I'm working and I can't get to go and see him, but I just got sent an email saying they will be having free, live streaming of his talks! The times start tomorrow - follow the link!
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is currently in Australia. This time, I'm working and I can't get to go and see him, but I just got sent an email saying they will be having free, live streaming of his talks! The times start tomorrow - follow the link!
Harrison's and the curse
I'm back at work now on my normal rostered shifts.
I spent my whole day yesterday grocery shopping, cooking a roast, making stock from chicken bones, baking protein muffins, and making a beef and brown pasta dish... And after all of that I think I've only got enough food for about 3 days! I did a good workout though, so I'm happy about that. It's much easier on a day off, but I'll try and find some time today again.
Right now, I'm obsessed with Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. I got a cheap old edition a while ago because I heard it was a great reference text to have. You can get the 14th edition (~1995) for about $1! Slowly, slowly I've been replacing my old editions with newer ones and donating the old ones to work's library - I've pretty much double-it now.
For him that Stealeth a Book from this Library,
Let it change into a Serpent in his hand & rend him.
Let him be struck with Palsy, & all his Members blasted.
Let him languish in Pain crying aloud for Mercy,
Let there be no Surcease to his Agony till he sink to Dissolution.
Let Bookworms gnaw his Entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not,
When at last he goeth to his final Punishment,
Let the flames of hell consume him for ever & aye.
I think it works better than the electronic devices! I'm scared!
Ok, so I'm going to read the chapter on joint pain in Harrison's now as I am still not motivated to look at bone anatomy.
I spent my whole day yesterday grocery shopping, cooking a roast, making stock from chicken bones, baking protein muffins, and making a beef and brown pasta dish... And after all of that I think I've only got enough food for about 3 days! I did a good workout though, so I'm happy about that. It's much easier on a day off, but I'll try and find some time today again.
Right now, I'm obsessed with Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. I got a cheap old edition a while ago because I heard it was a great reference text to have. You can get the 14th edition (~1995) for about $1! Slowly, slowly I've been replacing my old editions with newer ones and donating the old ones to work's library - I've pretty much double-it now.
The books I donate I put a Medieval "curse" on the front of them that I first saw at the hospital library in Warragul - a little country town, where I did my emergency department and anesthetics clinical placements for ambulance. The curse goes:
Let it change into a Serpent in his hand & rend him.
Let him be struck with Palsy, & all his Members blasted.
Let him languish in Pain crying aloud for Mercy,
Let there be no Surcease to his Agony till he sink to Dissolution.
Let Bookworms gnaw his Entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not,
When at last he goeth to his final Punishment,
Let the flames of hell consume him for ever & aye.
I think it works better than the electronic devices! I'm scared!
Ok, so I'm going to read the chapter on joint pain in Harrison's now as I am still not motivated to look at bone anatomy.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Things I'm learning
This week's case study is osteoarthritis, and there are some new medical terms I am coming across;
When there's not much going on in the case study, I guess you hang on to whatever you get!
I'm still too bored to read all about bone anatomy, so I'm currently looking at the musculoskeletal section of First Aid for the USMLE Step 1. I wont get my 30-day subscription to USMLE World Q-bank until Week 5 or it will run out before the end-of-term exam.
Even my presentation this term on Paget's disease is not overly exciting. Sheesh.
I know somewhere in this module the infamous brachial plexus is going to turn up, so I might as well start looking at that too.
I'm pretty happy with my current understanding of NSAIDs/paracetamol and the DMARDs. I suppose I could look at bisphosphonates and perhaps a little more biochem in the areas of gout and inflammation. Yuk.
I also have a gaping hole in my knowledge of genetics, but my genetics book looks so scary. My lecturer (Dr Laura Gunder) has authored a textbook Essentials of Medical Genetics for Healthcare Professionals and I'd love to get that one.
I might check the hospital library for it this week. All other textbook purchases will have to wait a few more weeks at least. I also really, really want Murtagh's General Practice as I love the way his companion handbook is set out. That one I know they have in the hospital library, but I want my own to draw in!
And reading Metamorphosis-time.blogspot.com by Bethany, I am so jealous of her results! Dang. My friend at work is also looking awesome. We started trying to get in shape together a few months ago and she kept going and I fell off! I need to get back on the wagon. My excuse is she is one of those people that only needs about 6 hours sleep a night. But excuses don't get me anywhere! So I just made a fortnightly(!) grocery list for tomorrow, this time trying to keep to bill down as well as being extremely healthy, so I went through my cupboards and have found plenty of ingredients I don't need to buy like brown rice, brown pasta, tea bags (not my fancy organic oolong, but oh well), and chicken stock power (not my fancy organic, non-MSG stock, but oh well!). I tend to do better if I commit 100%, so let's try again! At least I can still see most of the great definition from TAM (like I have mentioned before, I'm a 50/50 mesomorph-endomorph).
Anyway, just realised the time and I have to go get ready for my 14-hour night shift :(
- osteophytes
- subchondral sclerosis
- subchondral cysts
- Herberden's nodes
- Bouchard's nodes
When there's not much going on in the case study, I guess you hang on to whatever you get!
I'm still too bored to read all about bone anatomy, so I'm currently looking at the musculoskeletal section of First Aid for the USMLE Step 1. I wont get my 30-day subscription to USMLE World Q-bank until Week 5 or it will run out before the end-of-term exam.
Even my presentation this term on Paget's disease is not overly exciting. Sheesh.
I know somewhere in this module the infamous brachial plexus is going to turn up, so I might as well start looking at that too.
I'm pretty happy with my current understanding of NSAIDs/paracetamol and the DMARDs. I suppose I could look at bisphosphonates and perhaps a little more biochem in the areas of gout and inflammation. Yuk.
I also have a gaping hole in my knowledge of genetics, but my genetics book looks so scary. My lecturer (Dr Laura Gunder) has authored a textbook Essentials of Medical Genetics for Healthcare Professionals and I'd love to get that one.
I might check the hospital library for it this week. All other textbook purchases will have to wait a few more weeks at least. I also really, really want Murtagh's General Practice as I love the way his companion handbook is set out. That one I know they have in the hospital library, but I want my own to draw in!And reading Metamorphosis-time.blogspot.com by Bethany, I am so jealous of her results! Dang. My friend at work is also looking awesome. We started trying to get in shape together a few months ago and she kept going and I fell off! I need to get back on the wagon. My excuse is she is one of those people that only needs about 6 hours sleep a night. But excuses don't get me anywhere! So I just made a fortnightly(!) grocery list for tomorrow, this time trying to keep to bill down as well as being extremely healthy, so I went through my cupboards and have found plenty of ingredients I don't need to buy like brown rice, brown pasta, tea bags (not my fancy organic oolong, but oh well), and chicken stock power (not my fancy organic, non-MSG stock, but oh well!). I tend to do better if I commit 100%, so let's try again! At least I can still see most of the great definition from TAM (like I have mentioned before, I'm a 50/50 mesomorph-endomorph).
Anyway, just realised the time and I have to go get ready for my 14-hour night shift :(
Internet woes
My internet has been down again for the past two days and I missed another online lecture. Great.
It just came back up now and I just did my first one of these new graded weekly quizzes. I'm glad I didn't spend too long going through the learning objectives because they were not based on that. They seemed to be what I would consider the more difficult types of questions from the end of module exam. For example, one question asked what the regulating step in rheumatoid arthritis was - the answer was TNF-alpha (well, actually it said "TNF-?". I guess the alpha sign didn't work). Now going through my Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine textbook, I can see the first two pages in RA covered almost all the questions, except one on pharmacological management, which thanks to the Doctors in Training lecture, I was able to answer that one easily. Hmmm... I think I'll make sure to read the Davidson's book more thoroughly.
So, I think I've done about a quarter of that PT assignment now. Last night I answered some questions on digestion, muscle origin and insertion, ATP, and described movements such as pronation and supranation. It probably took me about half an hour. So in total I suppose I've done a quarter in an hour. By now I should have read the first chapter in the two main textbooks they gave me. I have scanned them, but I'd like to read them again a bit more thoroughly. Maybe when I'm on a break from my med term.
It just came back up now and I just did my first one of these new graded weekly quizzes. I'm glad I didn't spend too long going through the learning objectives because they were not based on that. They seemed to be what I would consider the more difficult types of questions from the end of module exam. For example, one question asked what the regulating step in rheumatoid arthritis was - the answer was TNF-alpha (well, actually it said "TNF-?". I guess the alpha sign didn't work). Now going through my Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine textbook, I can see the first two pages in RA covered almost all the questions, except one on pharmacological management, which thanks to the Doctors in Training lecture, I was able to answer that one easily. Hmmm... I think I'll make sure to read the Davidson's book more thoroughly.
So, I think I've done about a quarter of that PT assignment now. Last night I answered some questions on digestion, muscle origin and insertion, ATP, and described movements such as pronation and supranation. It probably took me about half an hour. So in total I suppose I've done a quarter in an hour. By now I should have read the first chapter in the two main textbooks they gave me. I have scanned them, but I'd like to read them again a bit more thoroughly. Maybe when I'm on a break from my med term.
Monday, June 6, 2011
1996
Still organising my study and found a book of stamps from 1996! It was for the cenenary of AFL and I bought a booklet of my team The Cats.
Refreshed
I had a gigantic sleep-in the morning and I've woken with a bounce in my step. I think this might be how normal people wake up feeling.
One of the best things I've gotten from the TAM is buying a blender. The photo is my current favourite which is a small green apple and a handful of frozen berries plus cinnamon, all blended into the best morning smoothie.
Yesterday I finished up about 2.30pm and went on my "break" but went back into work at 6pm to handover to the next person. I then did a quick bit of revision at home on rheumatoid arthritis using http://www.almostadoctor.com/ notes. I also had a quick look into white blood cells as I was getting confused between plasma cells and B- and T-cells. I'm not going to get too bogged down in it because there is a whole haematology/immunology module in my near future.
I watched Downton Abbey, which I'm currently obsessed with, and the new character this week of Mrs Crawley only served to fuel my obsession as she is a kick-ass nurse and there was a pretty good hospital scene. Love it.
I am reluctantly doing an overtime shift tonight. I just keep thinking about school fees, my Tibet trip coming up, and my sister's wedding. I'd prefer a bit of extra cash for those, plus I'm well rested now thanks to having today off. At double-time, with work just three blocks from my house, it's very hard to say no. I'd only be studying anyway, and I'll probably study during the shift and get paid for it.
I'll certainly do study at home from now until then, and a workout inbetween. I'm currently doing the TAM Meta and then jumping around like a fool with my iPod on until I at least get a good sweat. I aim for 20mins straight after the Meta muscle workout which gets my heart-rate up anyway. Sometimes when I jump around I imagine I'm taking an aerobics class! It makes me think about which tunes I'd like in my playlist. Current favs (for bouncing around like a fool):
- Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO
- Whip My Hair - Willow
- Higher - Taio Cruz and Kylie Minogue
- Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
- I Like It - Enrique Iglesias
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Work
So work has kept me ridiculously busy all week, and today is no exception. It's 1.30pm and I'm still on a call-back which is what happens if they haven't given you 8 hours rest in a row. I hope to make it back to branch soon.
Last night I did the first 6 pages of my 35 page PT assignment which is supposed to take 20-40 hours in total to complete. I think the start is easier.
I finish tonight so I get uninterrupted study tonight and tomorrow. Yay!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Work - agh!
So work has been trying to kill me again. The last 3 days have virtually been stolen from me due to just working and sleeping. This all goes back to that stupid 5am lecture Thursday morning when I only had 2 hours sleep then no time to make up for it until today. So just been an unproductive zombie. Well, actually I was pretty tired before that morning.
I jut got up and have 3 hours before I go back to work. I need to decide whether to workout, do dishes or study. I think I'll do the first two and then study tonight before bed That's the plan.
Ooh - and I wouldn't mind doing the first section of my PT assignment. I'll have to do a quick section a day or it will never get done.
I jut got up and have 3 hours before I go back to work. I need to decide whether to workout, do dishes or study. I think I'll do the first two and then study tonight before bed That's the plan.
Ooh - and I wouldn't mind doing the first section of my PT assignment. I'll have to do a quick section a day or it will never get done.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Dustoff
My patient today got a ride in a chopper.
(The military slang for air medical evacuation is "dust-off")
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Internet woes
This morning I just had the equivalent of my car not starting and missing my uni lecture - I couldn't log-in to my online lecture/tute! I still don't know why, but it's not just the OUM sites. I can see all my google accounts just fine including this blog. Oh, I hope it doesn't have anything to do with shaping. That I cannot know until the Netspace office opens at 9am....
So, I got up at 4am for nothing. I couldn't sleep last night, I was still awake at 1.30am reading my med notes (better than just lying there), then again at 2am and 3.30am. I've started doing that thing again when I can't sleep the night before a tute. I think it's a combination of knowing how early I have to get up, and being nervous about public speaking coupled with the fear of not knowing an answer to the pimping question and looking either lazy (unprepared) or studpid. I completely blame my shift work, and particularly being on-call all the time, for stuffing up my body clock as I used to be the best sleeper. Now it seems my stupid adrenal glands are hyperstimulated.
I've tried for over and hour and a half to log-in. I even put on my uniform and went all the way into work to see if I could get on there but the Firewall prevented me. I can't even get access to my OUM email to email my lecturer and tell her what happened. I hope her email account receives my Gmail.
Ugh.
So now it's 06:19am. I go back on duty at 7am so not all is lost. I have to drive about 150km to an OH+S meeting today as I'm the HSR (health and safety representative) for my ambulance station. I'm sure it will be riveting as always. I hope I can convince someone else to be the HSR as I've done it for over a year now. It's one of those jobs - someone has to do it.
What to do now? I guess I'll read Lippincotts chapter on DMARDs and watch the end of the corresponding video lecture by Doctors In Training before it expires....
So, I got up at 4am for nothing. I couldn't sleep last night, I was still awake at 1.30am reading my med notes (better than just lying there), then again at 2am and 3.30am. I've started doing that thing again when I can't sleep the night before a tute. I think it's a combination of knowing how early I have to get up, and being nervous about public speaking coupled with the fear of not knowing an answer to the pimping question and looking either lazy (unprepared) or studpid. I completely blame my shift work, and particularly being on-call all the time, for stuffing up my body clock as I used to be the best sleeper. Now it seems my stupid adrenal glands are hyperstimulated.
I've tried for over and hour and a half to log-in. I even put on my uniform and went all the way into work to see if I could get on there but the Firewall prevented me. I can't even get access to my OUM email to email my lecturer and tell her what happened. I hope her email account receives my Gmail.
Ugh.
So now it's 06:19am. I go back on duty at 7am so not all is lost. I have to drive about 150km to an OH+S meeting today as I'm the HSR (health and safety representative) for my ambulance station. I'm sure it will be riveting as always. I hope I can convince someone else to be the HSR as I've done it for over a year now. It's one of those jobs - someone has to do it.
What to do now? I guess I'll read Lippincotts chapter on DMARDs and watch the end of the corresponding video lecture by Doctors In Training before it expires....
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Busy
It's started again - I'm flat-out with work and study. It feels much busier at work now that I've goone back to study. It has been a busy day but I've been studying on all my downtime so it feels even more draining.
It's 9pm and I just got home from work and ate Indian takeaway for dinner. I am in fear of letting my fitness totally get out of control. I am really glad I'm doing the PT course to centre my goals and bump up the important of fitness in my life. I type this now while drinking a glass of coke...
I bought another Doctors in Training Solid Pharmacology lecture today. I find them excellent, but mostly because they are convenient to by at just $12 each, they reference my Lippincott's text, and they perfectly supplement my course which is really self-directed reading heavy with a bit of audio/PowerPoint covering the case studies. It's good to have pure pharm video lectures that go over key points. I bought the anti-inflammatory ones - there's two: one mainly on NSAIDs and paracetamol, and the other on DMARDs which I wanted to watch before tomorrow but I'm running out of hours in the day now. Sheesh.
Ok, just realised tomorrow is Thursday and I'm starting to panic about these new end-of-week mini-exams they introduced this term. Crap.
It's 9pm and I just got home from work and ate Indian takeaway for dinner. I am in fear of letting my fitness totally get out of control. I am really glad I'm doing the PT course to centre my goals and bump up the important of fitness in my life. I type this now while drinking a glass of coke...
I bought another Doctors in Training Solid Pharmacology lecture today. I find them excellent, but mostly because they are convenient to by at just $12 each, they reference my Lippincott's text, and they perfectly supplement my course which is really self-directed reading heavy with a bit of audio/PowerPoint covering the case studies. It's good to have pure pharm video lectures that go over key points. I bought the anti-inflammatory ones - there's two: one mainly on NSAIDs and paracetamol, and the other on DMARDs which I wanted to watch before tomorrow but I'm running out of hours in the day now. Sheesh.
Ok, just realised tomorrow is Thursday and I'm starting to panic about these new end-of-week mini-exams they introduced this term. Crap.
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