Reading about parathyroid glands "....fat individuals will have fat glands, and vice-versa."
Friday, October 28, 2011
No time
I think it's fair to say if you're working full-time and studying med, you have no free time.
I got called out for work until 3am this morning. I got up early at 11am to do a bit of urgent house work (dishes) before returning to work at 1pm. After an hour for shift change-over, lunch, doing some work-related admin, management dropping in etc I got so little actual study I'm starting to feel stressed. In 4 hours I read four pages from my textbook. Where on Earth did the time go?
It's now Friday night. I just got home from work and I've done the rest of my urgent house work which included vacuuming. I'm on-call again tonight so who knows what the night will bring.
So I have to end this post cause I need to get a few more pages done now before watching some Kaplan videos tonight.
One of the worst things is, I've just realised the readings I was supposed to do last week, and the references I have been given for both weeks are for a different edition textbook, that I figured I'd better read the whole endocrine chapter of Robbins Pathologic Basic of Disease but I'm making the mistake of back-pedalling. Feeling overwhelmed. I've gone against my won rule.
And I so need to wash my hair tonight.
I got called out for work until 3am this morning. I got up early at 11am to do a bit of urgent house work (dishes) before returning to work at 1pm. After an hour for shift change-over, lunch, doing some work-related admin, management dropping in etc I got so little actual study I'm starting to feel stressed. In 4 hours I read four pages from my textbook. Where on Earth did the time go?
It's now Friday night. I just got home from work and I've done the rest of my urgent house work which included vacuuming. I'm on-call again tonight so who knows what the night will bring.
So I have to end this post cause I need to get a few more pages done now before watching some Kaplan videos tonight.
One of the worst things is, I've just realised the readings I was supposed to do last week, and the references I have been given for both weeks are for a different edition textbook, that I figured I'd better read the whole endocrine chapter of Robbins Pathologic Basic of Disease but I'm making the mistake of back-pedalling. Feeling overwhelmed. I've gone against my won rule.
And I so need to wash my hair tonight.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
First endo quiz down
I did my first "weekly quiz" for endocrine just before - I think I fluked it.
I had obviously spend too much time focusing on the case study and things surrounding hypothyroidism that I didn't cover-off on some of the additional readings of other endocrine hormones. I figured we'd cover them as we went along in the module. Not so. Not so at all!
Well I got some very good advice from a fellow classmate and which readings to focus on for the exam. Ok. I think I might know what I'm doing now. I swear half of the difficulty of studying med is trying to figure out what you're supposed to do and when.
So, in a nutshell, it seems the case studies are all well-and-good but I need to make sure I'm doing the additional readings. For example, there was a questions about the hormones of the anterior pituitary gland. Well, silly me thought we'd cover that in more detail later in the module as there is a case on pituitary disease. Yah I'll have to remedy this and thankfully I've got away with an ok grade this time.
As I've had four days off work this week I was feeling pretty good about my progress, but that quiz has shaken me up a little.
No time to dwell.
Back to the books!
I had obviously spend too much time focusing on the case study and things surrounding hypothyroidism that I didn't cover-off on some of the additional readings of other endocrine hormones. I figured we'd cover them as we went along in the module. Not so. Not so at all!
Well I got some very good advice from a fellow classmate and which readings to focus on for the exam. Ok. I think I might know what I'm doing now. I swear half of the difficulty of studying med is trying to figure out what you're supposed to do and when.
So, in a nutshell, it seems the case studies are all well-and-good but I need to make sure I'm doing the additional readings. For example, there was a questions about the hormones of the anterior pituitary gland. Well, silly me thought we'd cover that in more detail later in the module as there is a case on pituitary disease. Yah I'll have to remedy this and thankfully I've got away with an ok grade this time.
As I've had four days off work this week I was feeling pretty good about my progress, but that quiz has shaken me up a little.
No time to dwell.
Back to the books!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Masters grades are in
I got my grades for that Masters subject I did and they are good. I'm so relieved. I wasn't sure how I'd go because I wasn't happy with my work, but then again I'm never happy with my essays. Whew - one less stress.
I also looked through my transcript and that subject I "failed", well I think I should have been given a "withdrawal - late" grade instead so I've emailed about that. They gave me "fail - insufficient" instead. Cause that grade is a real bummer.
I have one more "easy" subject of Masters, Ethics, so I'm now considering doing it - hahahaha. Now that I'm on the other side of the pain of juggling Masters and med school and basking in the glow of achievement. After that easy subject comes two research subjects and two research projects. Yuk.
Well back to studying med. I have this new routine where I reward myself for completing a reading by doing housework! I think I need a doctor.....
I also looked through my transcript and that subject I "failed", well I think I should have been given a "withdrawal - late" grade instead so I've emailed about that. They gave me "fail - insufficient" instead. Cause that grade is a real bummer.
I have one more "easy" subject of Masters, Ethics, so I'm now considering doing it - hahahaha. Now that I'm on the other side of the pain of juggling Masters and med school and basking in the glow of achievement. After that easy subject comes two research subjects and two research projects. Yuk.
Well back to studying med. I have this new routine where I reward myself for completing a reading by doing housework! I think I need a doctor.....
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
My dog
I got told once that talking your dog for a walk is like them getting to read the newspaper. I guess my dog just got a quick scan of the headlines today.
It seems to make people happy to see a giant dog in a small car as well. His head sits up higher than mine. Sometimes when I come out of the supermarket I see him sitting in the drivers seat behind the wheel, which looks really hilarious. It's well-worth the hairs he leaves all over my car seats.
Another one of the most amusing yet simple things in life, I think, is how much dogs love car rides and how much cats hate them!
Remote proctor
I got lazy and distracted yesterday arvo. I just couldn't do it. I needed to chill and rest my brain. At least I got in a few hours in my mentor session and about an hour at home on the new case study, but that was it.
This morning I'm happy to report I've got my mojo back and I'm nearly done with the case before lunchtime, which is great.
I've also installed my Remote Proctor, which is a weird camera thing and finger print scanner as now our end of term exams are done from home, rather than in the testing centre in the city. This is great for a lot of people who have to travel great distances to testing centres. I kind of liked having the day off and going into the city. I think I was less likely to be distracted by my pets, phones, whatever. I suppose I can turn my phones off but try telling my dog and cat to amuse themselves for 2 hours when I'm just sitting here in my study ignoring them! Believe me I've tried reasoning with them: "I'm doing it for us so we can have more plants to sniff, more toys to chew, and the expensive pet food". LOL
Back to finish this case study now....
This morning I'm happy to report I've got my mojo back and I'm nearly done with the case before lunchtime, which is great.
I've also installed my Remote Proctor, which is a weird camera thing and finger print scanner as now our end of term exams are done from home, rather than in the testing centre in the city. This is great for a lot of people who have to travel great distances to testing centres. I kind of liked having the day off and going into the city. I think I was less likely to be distracted by my pets, phones, whatever. I suppose I can turn my phones off but try telling my dog and cat to amuse themselves for 2 hours when I'm just sitting here in my study ignoring them! Believe me I've tried reasoning with them: "I'm doing it for us so we can have more plants to sniff, more toys to chew, and the expensive pet food". LOL
Back to finish this case study now....
Monday, October 24, 2011
MD vs MBBS
I just read an interesting article in the Medical Observer, and it's the not the first on this issue.
University of Melbourne began their graduate entry MD course this year, and the full-fee places cost over $219,852! The debate is whether this MD has been designed purely to circumvent the Federal restriction on Bachelor degree fees. Melbourne argues it is to reflect the postgraduate-level of the degree in-line with US med schools, versus undergraduate entry MBBS which has been the traditional stream for Commonwealth countries until recently. Masters degrees apparently don't have these restrictions. The MD is seemingly being marketed as a Masters.
You can read the full article via the link below.
What do I think? MBBS and MD as medical degrees have always been considered equivalent (not to be confused with the Commonwealth "Doctorate" much like a PhD). Whether you do a 5-6 year undergrad MBBS or a 4 year grad-entry MBBS, you still end up graduating at the same level. As will the new Melbourne MDs, and US MDs, and even me as an MD from OUM. We all start out as interns, PGY-1.
I personally recently decided to change to the MD stream at OUM because now MD students sit a separate assessment in basic sciences which is supposed to make sure they (we) are prepared for the USMLEs. I wanted to make sure I was also prepared for the USMLEs as I intend on sitting them. My friend doing the MBBS stream, for example, is not intending on sitting the USMLEs. Why? Because they cost over $2000 to sit, and the similar exam OUM provides is for free, and she is intending of working in Australia (or Samoa or NZ). She will sit the USMLEs if and when she decides to apply for residency in the US.
Also, if the University of Melbourne thinks "MD" is more appropriate and better than "MBBS", then they must be right? Right?
What does all this mean?
I don't have a clue, but I do have a sneaky suspicion Melbourne's trail-blazing may indeed create a sort of two-tiered graduate system (as was mentioned in the article). I hope not because I don't like tiers. There are tiers in ambulance and I don't think they provide better outcomes for the patient at all, but that is a whole other post. If the MD course wants to be a Masters, then be a Masters, or a dual MBBS/Masters. If it wants to have a semester of research, that's great, but that's what OUM is wanting to do too based on recommendations from PAASCU. And I'm sure there's other med courses which also have a strong research focus. (But how dare I compare the University of Melbourne to OUM, right?) Will "MD" be a more desirable set of letter to have after your name than MBBS in a few years...?
What does this all really mean to me? I'm not really sure and I don't think I really care. I just want to learn how to be a good doc, to graduate, and to find myself a job.
I just thought it was interesting, that's all.
Enjoy.
Fear MDs will lure students into specialties
University of Melbourne MD degree
University of Melbourne began their graduate entry MD course this year, and the full-fee places cost over $219,852! The debate is whether this MD has been designed purely to circumvent the Federal restriction on Bachelor degree fees. Melbourne argues it is to reflect the postgraduate-level of the degree in-line with US med schools, versus undergraduate entry MBBS which has been the traditional stream for Commonwealth countries until recently. Masters degrees apparently don't have these restrictions. The MD is seemingly being marketed as a Masters.
You can read the full article via the link below.
What do I think? MBBS and MD as medical degrees have always been considered equivalent (not to be confused with the Commonwealth "Doctorate" much like a PhD). Whether you do a 5-6 year undergrad MBBS or a 4 year grad-entry MBBS, you still end up graduating at the same level. As will the new Melbourne MDs, and US MDs, and even me as an MD from OUM. We all start out as interns, PGY-1.
I personally recently decided to change to the MD stream at OUM because now MD students sit a separate assessment in basic sciences which is supposed to make sure they (we) are prepared for the USMLEs. I wanted to make sure I was also prepared for the USMLEs as I intend on sitting them. My friend doing the MBBS stream, for example, is not intending on sitting the USMLEs. Why? Because they cost over $2000 to sit, and the similar exam OUM provides is for free, and she is intending of working in Australia (or Samoa or NZ). She will sit the USMLEs if and when she decides to apply for residency in the US.
Also, if the University of Melbourne thinks "MD" is more appropriate and better than "MBBS", then they must be right? Right?
What does all this mean?
I don't have a clue, but I do have a sneaky suspicion Melbourne's trail-blazing may indeed create a sort of two-tiered graduate system (as was mentioned in the article). I hope not because I don't like tiers. There are tiers in ambulance and I don't think they provide better outcomes for the patient at all, but that is a whole other post. If the MD course wants to be a Masters, then be a Masters, or a dual MBBS/Masters. If it wants to have a semester of research, that's great, but that's what OUM is wanting to do too based on recommendations from PAASCU. And I'm sure there's other med courses which also have a strong research focus. (But how dare I compare the University of Melbourne to OUM, right?) Will "MD" be a more desirable set of letter to have after your name than MBBS in a few years...?
What does this all really mean to me? I'm not really sure and I don't think I really care. I just want to learn how to be a good doc, to graduate, and to find myself a job.
I just thought it was interesting, that's all.
Enjoy.
Fear MDs will lure students into specialties
University of Melbourne MD degree
Mentoring
As part of my course, I have to see a mentor for two hours every week during my pre-clinical modules. Today was my first mentor meeting for this term.
I am so lucky to have the mentor that I do. She is a top emergency consultant and works at the local major regional hospital. So, basically, she is doing the job that I want one day. (Emergency medicine is still my first preference, with paediatrics and general practice as my other top preferences). She is very optimistic about my prospects of finding a job once I graduate, despite me being an IMG (International Medical Graduate) and the surging medical student tsunami in Australia. Geez I hope she is right.
So today we had a double session and we went through the first two cases - hypo- and hyper- thyroidism. It went well. It even went better over a pot of jasmine green tea and eggs florentine.
That was my morning. Now I'm home and my afternoon will be going through the second case study. I believe I can finish it today as I don't have work to interrupt me. I like to get the case study read and out of the way before moving on, although after each Learning Issue there is the associated readings, but I prefer to do those all at the end. I liked my method last week of reading the case study (and looking up any unfamiliar terms along the way), watching the associated Kaplan videos, and then doing the readings. The readings were easier to digest with a quick overview first from the case and the videos.
Yesterday, FYI, I had my first online lecture for the term. It went for three hours and covered the first case study. I was so glad I had done the pre-readings as you need to have done them before class to be able to answer the questions the lecturer asks. There are about 10 students in my class so we all get asked questions in turn. I felt pretty confident about most things, but once again I feel inferior to the nurse practitioners and osteopaths - they are already seeing primary presentation of hypothyroidism, for example, and ordering and interpreting tests.
My mentor told me every time I have a patient from now on, after I've finished all my paperwork and other duties for work, I should sit down and go through all the possible differential diagnoses for that patient, write them all down, and then write down how I would work that patient up as a doctor and what tests I should order. I will definitely do that from now on.
To be honest, I didn't realise until this week that thyroid problems could cause arrhythmias. I will look at that more closely now, although my mentor did say it's not exactly the most common cause (of bradycardia and AF).
Ok off to get cracking on this hyperthyroidism case study. My dog is already crying at my because I'm at the computer and ignoring him.
PS My iMac is going really well. I think it is one purchase I can definitely say has made my life better. Loving the iPad too.
I am so lucky to have the mentor that I do. She is a top emergency consultant and works at the local major regional hospital. So, basically, she is doing the job that I want one day. (Emergency medicine is still my first preference, with paediatrics and general practice as my other top preferences). She is very optimistic about my prospects of finding a job once I graduate, despite me being an IMG (International Medical Graduate) and the surging medical student tsunami in Australia. Geez I hope she is right.
So today we had a double session and we went through the first two cases - hypo- and hyper- thyroidism. It went well. It even went better over a pot of jasmine green tea and eggs florentine.
That was my morning. Now I'm home and my afternoon will be going through the second case study. I believe I can finish it today as I don't have work to interrupt me. I like to get the case study read and out of the way before moving on, although after each Learning Issue there is the associated readings, but I prefer to do those all at the end. I liked my method last week of reading the case study (and looking up any unfamiliar terms along the way), watching the associated Kaplan videos, and then doing the readings. The readings were easier to digest with a quick overview first from the case and the videos.
Yesterday, FYI, I had my first online lecture for the term. It went for three hours and covered the first case study. I was so glad I had done the pre-readings as you need to have done them before class to be able to answer the questions the lecturer asks. There are about 10 students in my class so we all get asked questions in turn. I felt pretty confident about most things, but once again I feel inferior to the nurse practitioners and osteopaths - they are already seeing primary presentation of hypothyroidism, for example, and ordering and interpreting tests.
My mentor told me every time I have a patient from now on, after I've finished all my paperwork and other duties for work, I should sit down and go through all the possible differential diagnoses for that patient, write them all down, and then write down how I would work that patient up as a doctor and what tests I should order. I will definitely do that from now on.
To be honest, I didn't realise until this week that thyroid problems could cause arrhythmias. I will look at that more closely now, although my mentor did say it's not exactly the most common cause (of bradycardia and AF).
Ok off to get cracking on this hyperthyroidism case study. My dog is already crying at my because I'm at the computer and ignoring him.
PS My iMac is going really well. I think it is one purchase I can definitely say has made my life better. Loving the iPad too.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Today's routine
Today I was so tired. By the end of my working week the sleep debt has accumulated so much I feel like I've done an all-nighter... I tried to fix it by going to bed at 6.30pm last night as soon as I got home from work - but I could only sleep for an hour before my body said "Hey, I'm normally woken by a loud beeping noise at this time so I'm just going to go ahead a wake-up now anyway".
I got up and watched Paramedics: Recruits from the night before which was 20 minutes with fast-forwarding the ads. I was happy to see this week they showed a patient that vomitted all over himself and the ambulance as that is what the job is really like. I have become good at pre-empting emesis with my four years on-road experience (plus 3 years ambulance training and 7 years army medic experience). I was watching the tv thinking "He's gonna spew! Get an em-bag!", but, no, they were insistently trying to put a Hudson's (oxygen) mask on him. They nearly wore it too.
All I wanted to do was watch tv last night. Instead I got to finish the physiology Kaplan videos for all of endocrine, which is excellent.
Today at work I watched the whole pathology section for endocrine as well. I have now completed the videos for endocrine in the first week of the term (except for pharm because its thyroid section is so small - I will watch it at the end of the term for revision of the other endocrine drugs)! Excellent! The videos took me about 1.5 hours today.
Retention of videos - probably about 75%, which isn't bad considering they are designed for revision. For me, I found them handy as an introduction to the topic. I think watching them again as revision would be better. The biochemistry I watched the other day is probably my weakest area (as usual) but I think I could do well there if I spent more time on it. I think being in the MD program now this is something I'll certainly have to look at.
We went out on jobs for most of the day, and I managed to scrape in the endocrine section of FA over about 20 minutes. I took my Guyton and Hall in the ambulance with me, but my partner finished his paperwork too quick and was done before I had refurbished the ambulance.
At work I'm always looking up anything I don't know, especially patients medications, and revising things like diagnosing left and right bundle-branch blocks, and when I return to the ED cubicle with my finished paperwork, often the doctor has ordered his initial tests and management and I can check what they are. At triage I'm on my phone Googling everything while I wait that 5 minutes.
Tonight I have to prepare for tomorrow's lecture. I have to make sure I've done those compulsory readings, which is a massive task. It will take me all night, and that's if I don't get any call-outs. It's also my baby-sitter's 18th tonight so I promised I'd drop in if I could.
That is where I'm up to.
In other news, my dog hates thunder and I felt so sorry for him today as we were stuck at the hospital and it was a big storm. He got into the rubbish bin yesterday, but it was my fault as I left chicken bones in there andI guess the smell was just too irresistible. He once did that when I first got him last year but he got the bin lid stuck on his head. Enough time has passed now and he has regained his courage towards the bin. I must remember to put such smelly-delights straight out into the big bin in the garage where he can't get to it.
I got up and watched Paramedics: Recruits from the night before which was 20 minutes with fast-forwarding the ads. I was happy to see this week they showed a patient that vomitted all over himself and the ambulance as that is what the job is really like. I have become good at pre-empting emesis with my four years on-road experience (plus 3 years ambulance training and 7 years army medic experience). I was watching the tv thinking "He's gonna spew! Get an em-bag!", but, no, they were insistently trying to put a Hudson's (oxygen) mask on him. They nearly wore it too.
All I wanted to do was watch tv last night. Instead I got to finish the physiology Kaplan videos for all of endocrine, which is excellent.
Today at work I watched the whole pathology section for endocrine as well. I have now completed the videos for endocrine in the first week of the term (except for pharm because its thyroid section is so small - I will watch it at the end of the term for revision of the other endocrine drugs)! Excellent! The videos took me about 1.5 hours today.
Retention of videos - probably about 75%, which isn't bad considering they are designed for revision. For me, I found them handy as an introduction to the topic. I think watching them again as revision would be better. The biochemistry I watched the other day is probably my weakest area (as usual) but I think I could do well there if I spent more time on it. I think being in the MD program now this is something I'll certainly have to look at.
We went out on jobs for most of the day, and I managed to scrape in the endocrine section of FA over about 20 minutes. I took my Guyton and Hall in the ambulance with me, but my partner finished his paperwork too quick and was done before I had refurbished the ambulance.
At work I'm always looking up anything I don't know, especially patients medications, and revising things like diagnosing left and right bundle-branch blocks, and when I return to the ED cubicle with my finished paperwork, often the doctor has ordered his initial tests and management and I can check what they are. At triage I'm on my phone Googling everything while I wait that 5 minutes.
Tonight I have to prepare for tomorrow's lecture. I have to make sure I've done those compulsory readings, which is a massive task. It will take me all night, and that's if I don't get any call-outs. It's also my baby-sitter's 18th tonight so I promised I'd drop in if I could.
That is where I'm up to.
In other news, my dog hates thunder and I felt so sorry for him today as we were stuck at the hospital and it was a big storm. He got into the rubbish bin yesterday, but it was my fault as I left chicken bones in there andI guess the smell was just too irresistible. He once did that when I first got him last year but he got the bin lid stuck on his head. Enough time has passed now and he has regained his courage towards the bin. I must remember to put such smelly-delights straight out into the big bin in the garage where he can't get to it.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Study pattern
For those who are interested in the day-to-day study pattern of an OUM med student, I will try to continue to give a daily description this term of what I'm doing.
So, yesterday....was almost too long ago to remember. We were quite busy at work and I was feeling really tired. I think I probably managed about 4 hours study (it's a 12-hour shift, but we had a break for the first 2 hours, so 10-hours at work yesterday on-duty) and I first revised the second half of my case study notes (from the day before) which took about half and hour.
Then I started back on one of the readings - Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine. I had done a few pages on Intro to Endocrine so I revised them, then finished the intro section and went to the section on Thyroid Axis, which is about 3 pages, and then I started on Hypothyroidism.
I managed to borrow the Guyton and Hall Physiology text from the hospital while I was up there with a patient.
That is all I got to do in four hours (!) because it was so interrupted. Maybe it was more like three hours.
When I got home I watched the last 15 minutes of Send in the Dogs which is about the Police Dog Squad in Australia. I had started watching it the other night (for about 15 minutes) when I decided to record it and study. I then recorded Paramedic: Recruits so I wonder if I'll get a chance to watch that any time this week.
I also had dinner. About an hour had lapsed since I got home and I started watching the Kaplan videos again. I think this will be my new nightly routine. I revised the notes from the night before, and got about 30 minutes into the video when my pages went off at about 8.30pm. I was out until 2am working.
Due to being out so late, and working basically from 9am to 2am, we got a break until 12pm today. So now my day is cut short.
Today I started studying back at work with the Guyton and Hall Physiology assigned reading. So, I thought it said to read pages 74-76, but it is in fact chapter 74-76! It's about 40 pages! Also I need to accomplish about another 15-20 pages of Kumar and Clark and a few pages of anatomy (but I'm not going to stress too much about anat). These are the three that are listed as this week's syllabus, but in the case study there's manyt other readings, such as embryology, histology, and pharmacology, which makes me think the syllabus are the most important. But obviously I'd like to achieve all of the required readings. There's even more recommended readings and links to websites, but I can't see it happeneding. Maybe if I have spare time after Sunday's lecture I'll scan the weblinks.
Normally, I highlight my textbooks and try to mentally retain the knowledge as I go. Obviously, I can't highlight the library book, so I started to make notes instead. I'm not sure which will be more effective for me. I'm starting to think note-taking, which goes against my normal way.
Probably a combination of reading, highlighting, note-taking, and watching the Kaplan videos is ideal.
Ok, there goes my 15 minute blog break. Back to it!
So, yesterday....was almost too long ago to remember. We were quite busy at work and I was feeling really tired. I think I probably managed about 4 hours study (it's a 12-hour shift, but we had a break for the first 2 hours, so 10-hours at work yesterday on-duty) and I first revised the second half of my case study notes (from the day before) which took about half and hour.
Then I started back on one of the readings - Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine. I had done a few pages on Intro to Endocrine so I revised them, then finished the intro section and went to the section on Thyroid Axis, which is about 3 pages, and then I started on Hypothyroidism.
I managed to borrow the Guyton and Hall Physiology text from the hospital while I was up there with a patient.
That is all I got to do in four hours (!) because it was so interrupted. Maybe it was more like three hours.
When I got home I watched the last 15 minutes of Send in the Dogs which is about the Police Dog Squad in Australia. I had started watching it the other night (for about 15 minutes) when I decided to record it and study. I then recorded Paramedic: Recruits so I wonder if I'll get a chance to watch that any time this week.
I also had dinner. About an hour had lapsed since I got home and I started watching the Kaplan videos again. I think this will be my new nightly routine. I revised the notes from the night before, and got about 30 minutes into the video when my pages went off at about 8.30pm. I was out until 2am working.
Due to being out so late, and working basically from 9am to 2am, we got a break until 12pm today. So now my day is cut short.
Today I started studying back at work with the Guyton and Hall Physiology assigned reading. So, I thought it said to read pages 74-76, but it is in fact chapter 74-76! It's about 40 pages! Also I need to accomplish about another 15-20 pages of Kumar and Clark and a few pages of anatomy (but I'm not going to stress too much about anat). These are the three that are listed as this week's syllabus, but in the case study there's manyt other readings, such as embryology, histology, and pharmacology, which makes me think the syllabus are the most important. But obviously I'd like to achieve all of the required readings. There's even more recommended readings and links to websites, but I can't see it happeneding. Maybe if I have spare time after Sunday's lecture I'll scan the weblinks.
Normally, I highlight my textbooks and try to mentally retain the knowledge as I go. Obviously, I can't highlight the library book, so I started to make notes instead. I'm not sure which will be more effective for me. I'm starting to think note-taking, which goes against my normal way.
Probably a combination of reading, highlighting, note-taking, and watching the Kaplan videos is ideal.
Ok, there goes my 15 minute blog break. Back to it!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Study-buddie
I got my confirmation email today that I am indeed in the endocrine class this term. Yay. And even better, my friend from first term in Samoa is in this class with me too. Double yay! It will be great to have a study partner this term. We have decided to have weekly Skype sessions before our lectures to compare notes and what we believe are the key points for the week.
I am making good progress through my first week's case study, although it's now the end of Wednesday and it took me two days to read the case study. I now have three days to read all the assigned readings from the core textbooks which is far-and-away much more than 50% more reading, if you get my drift.
I started my morning by doing housework before work, then revising yesterday's stuff before moving on, which was extremely effective for retention (I believe). I also Googled and Wikipediaed any words or terms I didn't know or fully understand as I came across them before moving on, which I think worked well. I underline the word and then label it with its definition.
I make notes in the margins of the case study and go back and edit and adjust anything as necessary. Being critical of the case notes and my own notes works well for me.
If things are listed within a paragraph, I relist them in a bullet-point list as my mind digests this form of list easier. Anatomical things I generally draw pictures, and especially for microscopic anatomy such as, for example in this case, the structure of a thyroid follicle.
This helps my brain remember information about T4 and T3 as I picture them in my mind when describing their actions and interactions with iodine and thyroxine binding globulin (for example).
I also did the end of case quiz (which is different to the new graded weekly quizzes) and was satisfied with my progress and retention thus far. I think they were perhaps a little easy, and I think I need to look at some USMLE-style questions from somewhere at some stage. I normally don't get my USMLEWorld Qbank 30-day subscription until the last 4 weeks of term, but this term I might start early, even though you can't choose just "hypothyroidism" questions for example. Hmm... I'll decide when I get paid next week if I can spare the $100.
I could probably do with two or three new textbooks too. The library at the hospital was shut today when we took our first patient there, so I'll try again during the week. I need this week just Guyton and Hall's Textbook of Medical Physiology. I have the others already which is great.
So that is all. Yes, I'm super-dooper motivated this term for some reason.
I hope it lasts.
I am making good progress through my first week's case study, although it's now the end of Wednesday and it took me two days to read the case study. I now have three days to read all the assigned readings from the core textbooks which is far-and-away much more than 50% more reading, if you get my drift.
I started my morning by doing housework before work, then revising yesterday's stuff before moving on, which was extremely effective for retention (I believe). I also Googled and Wikipediaed any words or terms I didn't know or fully understand as I came across them before moving on, which I think worked well. I underline the word and then label it with its definition.
I make notes in the margins of the case study and go back and edit and adjust anything as necessary. Being critical of the case notes and my own notes works well for me.
If things are listed within a paragraph, I relist them in a bullet-point list as my mind digests this form of list easier. Anatomical things I generally draw pictures, and especially for microscopic anatomy such as, for example in this case, the structure of a thyroid follicle.
Thyroid follicle
I also draw chemical, molecular structures. I have now chem background except my own self-study for the GAMSAT, but I still can visually appreciate the difference in structure between thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) (see below):
I also did the end of case quiz (which is different to the new graded weekly quizzes) and was satisfied with my progress and retention thus far. I think they were perhaps a little easy, and I think I need to look at some USMLE-style questions from somewhere at some stage. I normally don't get my USMLEWorld Qbank 30-day subscription until the last 4 weeks of term, but this term I might start early, even though you can't choose just "hypothyroidism" questions for example. Hmm... I'll decide when I get paid next week if I can spare the $100.
I could probably do with two or three new textbooks too. The library at the hospital was shut today when we took our first patient there, so I'll try again during the week. I need this week just Guyton and Hall's Textbook of Medical Physiology. I have the others already which is great.
So that is all. Yes, I'm super-dooper motivated this term for some reason.
I hope it lasts.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Endocrine
I'm back at med school finally and it looks like I'm doing the endocrine system this term (I haven't had a confirmation email yet but it's the only one I can access and in my profile it is listed as one of my courses).
Endocrine is not exactly an area of expertise for paramedics (compared to my previous modules of cardiovascular, respiratory, and musculoskeletal) except for perhaps diabetes. So this should be interesting. At least I know where the thyroid gland is.....
So this week's case is hypothyroidism.
It also looks like I have my lectures at a humane time, albeit on a Sunday at 8am, and the three one-hour lectures are back-to-back which is really great. I mean, it's difficult trying to sit still for three hours, but it's easier when trying to plan the other parts of my life around the lecture times and I'm less likely to forget them. Morning is also the best time because at work most of our jobs seems to come in in the afternoon and evening. Saturday nights can be a killer too, but I am happy with 8am after last term was 5am!
The weekly online quizzes are open for 22-hours on Thursdays, so that works out well for me too. They are fine because I can find 10 minutes in a 22-hour window on any day of the week (usually).
So, yeh, I'm happy to be back studying again. I'm a year and a half into the course now and I want to ramp up my performance a bit more. Well, actually my grades have been good so far, but I want them to be excellent.
------
Sunday was my sister's wedding. I am officially free of MoH duties now. It all went really well and it was a total credit to my sister who organised such a wonderful event. She hand-made a number of decorations such a pin-wheels and mini-noodle boxes for the lolly-bar which put such a lovely personal touch to the whole thing. It was simple and classy yet elegant. Bravo to her. My Mum knitted a wedding cake (just for show, not for eating!) that was super-cute and sat on the gift table.
The day before the wedding we picked up the flowers from the florist. The flowers were my contribution to the wedding, a gift from me, and OMG I can't believe how far a fairly decent amount of money wont go when buying wedding flowers. Yikes!
It was probably the best wedding or event I've ever been to!
And now all it right in the universe once again......
Endocrine is not exactly an area of expertise for paramedics (compared to my previous modules of cardiovascular, respiratory, and musculoskeletal) except for perhaps diabetes. So this should be interesting. At least I know where the thyroid gland is.....
So this week's case is hypothyroidism.
It also looks like I have my lectures at a humane time, albeit on a Sunday at 8am, and the three one-hour lectures are back-to-back which is really great. I mean, it's difficult trying to sit still for three hours, but it's easier when trying to plan the other parts of my life around the lecture times and I'm less likely to forget them. Morning is also the best time because at work most of our jobs seems to come in in the afternoon and evening. Saturday nights can be a killer too, but I am happy with 8am after last term was 5am!
The weekly online quizzes are open for 22-hours on Thursdays, so that works out well for me too. They are fine because I can find 10 minutes in a 22-hour window on any day of the week (usually).
So, yeh, I'm happy to be back studying again. I'm a year and a half into the course now and I want to ramp up my performance a bit more. Well, actually my grades have been good so far, but I want them to be excellent.
------
Sunday was my sister's wedding. I am officially free of MoH duties now. It all went really well and it was a total credit to my sister who organised such a wonderful event. She hand-made a number of decorations such a pin-wheels and mini-noodle boxes for the lolly-bar which put such a lovely personal touch to the whole thing. It was simple and classy yet elegant. Bravo to her. My Mum knitted a wedding cake (just for show, not for eating!) that was super-cute and sat on the gift table.
The day before the wedding we picked up the flowers from the florist. The flowers were my contribution to the wedding, a gift from me, and OMG I can't believe how far a fairly decent amount of money wont go when buying wedding flowers. Yikes!
It was probably the best wedding or event I've ever been to!
And now all it right in the universe once again......
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Back into the routine
I'm back into the "study at work" routine. I watched the first of 14 hour-long lectures on immunology by Albert Einstein School of Medicine on You Tube and started the immunol chapter of First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 (which I often call "FA"). I did so much study today that I rewarded myself with housework when I got home. lol
That is all.
I wish I could motivate myself to revise last term but I cannot.
I want to start preparing for the Step 1 but it's so hard when you're struggling to keep up with the term's curriculum.
That is all.
I wish I could motivate myself to revise last term but I cannot.
I want to start preparing for the Step 1 but it's so hard when you're struggling to keep up with the term's curriculum.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
No more Masters
Today I finally submitted my final assignment for this term in Masters of International Health. Woo-hoo. I hope I pass because it was pretty average work.
I've decided to take a leave of absence from my Masters and to concentrate on med school. Of course this all makes obvious sense to anyone sitting on the outside.
Well, again it happened today. As soon as I decide to take a break from masters, I see something about the health crisis in poor countries. Today I was checking out Dr Najeeb's video lectures on YouTube, and he had these "other" favorite videos so I watched one and it had the most horrible pictures of really skinny little children in Africa. It was quite alarming and moving. It was all photos I've seen before, and I have experience first-hand with this sort of thing, but it's so easy to forget "those" people way over "there".
I haven't decided to give up my goal which is to work for MSF, but I have decided I really need to put more focus, time, effort, etc into med if I'm going to get the USMLE scores and therefore hopefully residency that I want.
In other news - I'm settling back into work ok. I'm loving my new twin-Apple purchases of the iMac and iPad and they have indeed made my life better (it's not often a purchase can fulfill that promise).
And I start my new term of med school on Monday.
So I'm feeling particularly motivated right ow, which is probably due to the modest break I have had away from med, but I put in one of my Kaplan videos tonight, read a page of my Davidson's, flicked through my Murtagh's, scanned a bit Standford Mini Med School, and now I'm feeling a little lost and without direction. I suppose the best thing to do would be to revise or look at those "additional" modules from OUM once again but I wasn't expecting to have completed my masters assignment by tonight.
I did watch about five minutes of the Kardashians wedding special before I started having delusional thoughts of sticking chopsticks through my eye-balls. I'm just not that integrated back into the western world yet.
I've decided to take a leave of absence from my Masters and to concentrate on med school. Of course this all makes obvious sense to anyone sitting on the outside.
Well, again it happened today. As soon as I decide to take a break from masters, I see something about the health crisis in poor countries. Today I was checking out Dr Najeeb's video lectures on YouTube, and he had these "other" favorite videos so I watched one and it had the most horrible pictures of really skinny little children in Africa. It was quite alarming and moving. It was all photos I've seen before, and I have experience first-hand with this sort of thing, but it's so easy to forget "those" people way over "there".
I haven't decided to give up my goal which is to work for MSF, but I have decided I really need to put more focus, time, effort, etc into med if I'm going to get the USMLE scores and therefore hopefully residency that I want.
In other news - I'm settling back into work ok. I'm loving my new twin-Apple purchases of the iMac and iPad and they have indeed made my life better (it's not often a purchase can fulfill that promise).
And I start my new term of med school on Monday.
So I'm feeling particularly motivated right ow, which is probably due to the modest break I have had away from med, but I put in one of my Kaplan videos tonight, read a page of my Davidson's, flicked through my Murtagh's, scanned a bit Standford Mini Med School, and now I'm feeling a little lost and without direction. I suppose the best thing to do would be to revise or look at those "additional" modules from OUM once again but I wasn't expecting to have completed my masters assignment by tonight.
I did watch about five minutes of the Kardashians wedding special before I started having delusional thoughts of sticking chopsticks through my eye-balls. I'm just not that integrated back into the western world yet.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
The Wheel of Life and how I got into buddhist philosophy
I'm really stuck on this Wheel of Life. I find it absolutely fascinating and amazing that it almost so perfectly describes the human experience.
I keep thinking about it because I've already learnt so much from it and situations continually arise in which I can self-reflect and use the Wheel to help me kind of self-analyse what is going on.
Wikipedia actually (as usual) has a nice summary (search Wheel of Life and it will take you to "Bhavacakra which is the real name for it).
So someone asked me the other day how I got into buddhism. I'm not sure. I think I really started thinking about it in first year uni when we got taught about mind-body connectedness and we were given an example of a mouse entering a room full of people and how all the different people might react differently to the mouse. The mouse is the same mouse, but our perception creates our reality. From understanding this concept I was able to understand the Four Noble Truths (which I have blogged about in a previous post). But basically it's about finding happiness by dealing with your own inner perceptions, not the outside world.
Then, I had a question about karma. I kind of intuitively knew karma was real. I mean, whenever I've done something good to someone or been nice to them I've always felt better and then seemed to have people be nice to me too. Then I thought a lot about Newtons Third Law, which to summarise, that all actions have equal and opposite reactions. Therefore, if I'm putting positive actions and words out into the universe, I therefore must get positive actions and words back to me. But that's a little difficult to prove outside of physics. And some people have karma from past lives they have to deal with first. This is why you might feel you have to work a lot harder to begin with in life. All I know is the more I show kindness and generosity to people, the more I seem to get it back in return.
Then, I had a big question mark about reincarnation. Seriously? I used to be a cat? Or Joan of Arc? Then I read somewhere that reincarnation can occur in your current life. I explain it like this to my girlfriends: "You know how you seem to date the same guy over and over again?" That's reincarnation. You haven't learnt how to deal with your attachment to assholes, and that the nice guy is the one you should go for. This is the reincarnation of the lesson in life you need to learn before you can move on. It's obviously not just limited to dating. It's also in your career progression, dealing with personalities, dealing with money, etc etc.
And somehow, over time, I've come to accept that life reincarnation is possible. If I think back I think that started to happen as I started to practice meditation. And by "practice" I mean "put into practice" rather than "try hard to learn how to do it". Like enlightenment, meditation happens when you stop trying and start simply being. But that's another lesson. When I first started meditating I felt a connectedness to the universe. When all my thoughts, fears, and worries settled back down into the background, the "mad monkey" (which is what they call the constant and continual chatter in your mind) hushes for a second or two, you honestly can't help but feel connected to the universe. Like the soul feels strong again, and the soul feels connected without time or space barriers. This is how I really knew the soul existed.
Incidentally, I've been reading Stephen Hawkins The Universe in a Nutshell recently and he talks about time perhaps having no dimensions. Being infinite. Like space. But, again, I think that is for another conversation or this post will become it's own book.
Then, I asked on this recent trip, "What about the problem that 90% of all the humans that have ever lived are living now"? Where do all the souls come from? Well, I got explained by my Bhutanese guide that we might have been a tree or just a seed. We don't know. But we were and always have been part of this universe and we will be yet again reborn into samsara (this is the sanskrit word for the cycle of rebirth, which, is not ideal!)
So, samsara. Samsara is what is depicted in The Wheel of Life in a symbol form. Which I like, because I believe I am introverted and I therefore find pictures really helpful as my mind thinks in pictures. I was interested to read that historically they think Buddha himself drew the first Wheel to help explain ordinary people understand his teachings. I'm ordinary I guess. And further on in Wikipedia it says it was put on temple walls to help teach "more simple-minded farmers and cowherds"! Well, I wont be too insulted. I happen to like farmers.
Anyway, where was I ......? Here's what Wikipedia says:
So, in my own journey of understanding things, I get the "hub" of ignorance, attachment and aversions. In fact, I think its a lovely neat summary, rather than all the other twelve deadly sins and the like. Everything comes from ignorance, attachment, and aversion. And, in fact, attachment and aversion are due to ignorance and vice-versa.
Karma - ok I think we accept that now.
The six realms of samsara (or segments as I described in my last Wheel of Life post) are interesting. Very interesting indeed. Especially the jealous, lucky, and greedy realms. They call these realms the demon, god, and hungry ghost realms, but I think my translation is a bit more accurate for everyday English. So it's interesting that the lucky realm is the most "comfortable" life but it's not the way to enlightenment. The "human" realm is, which I thought previously (as I wrote in my last Wheel post) that is was the enlightened segment, but actually it's the human realm where one can work towards enlightenment. This is better than the :lucky" realm because people in "lucky" are so preoccupied with their comfortable life and defending themselves from the jealous realm, that they forget to practice the path to enlightenment. And according to The Buddhist Society, these people are in serious risk of being reborn not as a human, but as a lesser being such as an animal where it will take a very long time to work up enough karma to get back up.
So, yes, the realms are transient, day-to-day, minute-to-minute depending where in your life you currently are. And the Wheel, held in the mouth of death or "impermanence" is a mirror to remind us humans what it's all about, the bigger picture, and not to get distracted for too long.
I have thinking about this Wheel a lot. About my jealousy towards the privileged people that got to go to a top school, got into med school straight away, and haven't had to work as hard as I have to get to the same place. And then I have been thinking today a lot about the current Occupy Wall Street movement as there is an Occupy Melbourne movement gearing up. Are we in the jealous realm? We did, afterall, help plant those seeds in which those big Fat Cats now eat the fruit. And, are we also in the lucky realm in Australia, the top 0.5% of the wealthiest people on the planet? Have we forgotten? Are we preoccupied? Or are we the "hungry ghosts" that just want more and more? Is one flat-screen tv per household no longer satisfying?
Many questions. But the main thing is, when I feel jealousy or hatred towards the lucky people, I know where I'm coming from. I'm coming from jealousy realm. And that is born out of either ignorance, attachment or aversion.
And finally, the outer circle. The twelve links of dependant origination. The "human activities" I think I described it as, as that's what it kind of looks like. Well, I have just learnt today that they are actually:
Ok I think this concludes today's lesson. I'm teaching myself, rather than trying to preach so I hop ethis doesn't annoy anyone too much.
Just part of my "about stuff' in which this blog is supposed to be about. My life and stuff.
Now to cease avoiding this friggin essay.....
I keep thinking about it because I've already learnt so much from it and situations continually arise in which I can self-reflect and use the Wheel to help me kind of self-analyse what is going on.
Wikipedia actually (as usual) has a nice summary (search Wheel of Life and it will take you to "Bhavacakra which is the real name for it).
So someone asked me the other day how I got into buddhism. I'm not sure. I think I really started thinking about it in first year uni when we got taught about mind-body connectedness and we were given an example of a mouse entering a room full of people and how all the different people might react differently to the mouse. The mouse is the same mouse, but our perception creates our reality. From understanding this concept I was able to understand the Four Noble Truths (which I have blogged about in a previous post). But basically it's about finding happiness by dealing with your own inner perceptions, not the outside world.
Then, I had a question about karma. I kind of intuitively knew karma was real. I mean, whenever I've done something good to someone or been nice to them I've always felt better and then seemed to have people be nice to me too. Then I thought a lot about Newtons Third Law, which to summarise, that all actions have equal and opposite reactions. Therefore, if I'm putting positive actions and words out into the universe, I therefore must get positive actions and words back to me. But that's a little difficult to prove outside of physics. And some people have karma from past lives they have to deal with first. This is why you might feel you have to work a lot harder to begin with in life. All I know is the more I show kindness and generosity to people, the more I seem to get it back in return.
Then, I had a big question mark about reincarnation. Seriously? I used to be a cat? Or Joan of Arc? Then I read somewhere that reincarnation can occur in your current life. I explain it like this to my girlfriends: "You know how you seem to date the same guy over and over again?" That's reincarnation. You haven't learnt how to deal with your attachment to assholes, and that the nice guy is the one you should go for. This is the reincarnation of the lesson in life you need to learn before you can move on. It's obviously not just limited to dating. It's also in your career progression, dealing with personalities, dealing with money, etc etc.
And somehow, over time, I've come to accept that life reincarnation is possible. If I think back I think that started to happen as I started to practice meditation. And by "practice" I mean "put into practice" rather than "try hard to learn how to do it". Like enlightenment, meditation happens when you stop trying and start simply being. But that's another lesson. When I first started meditating I felt a connectedness to the universe. When all my thoughts, fears, and worries settled back down into the background, the "mad monkey" (which is what they call the constant and continual chatter in your mind) hushes for a second or two, you honestly can't help but feel connected to the universe. Like the soul feels strong again, and the soul feels connected without time or space barriers. This is how I really knew the soul existed.
Incidentally, I've been reading Stephen Hawkins The Universe in a Nutshell recently and he talks about time perhaps having no dimensions. Being infinite. Like space. But, again, I think that is for another conversation or this post will become it's own book.
Then, I asked on this recent trip, "What about the problem that 90% of all the humans that have ever lived are living now"? Where do all the souls come from? Well, I got explained by my Bhutanese guide that we might have been a tree or just a seed. We don't know. But we were and always have been part of this universe and we will be yet again reborn into samsara (this is the sanskrit word for the cycle of rebirth, which, is not ideal!)
So, samsara. Samsara is what is depicted in The Wheel of Life in a symbol form. Which I like, because I believe I am introverted and I therefore find pictures really helpful as my mind thinks in pictures. I was interested to read that historically they think Buddha himself drew the first Wheel to help explain ordinary people understand his teachings. I'm ordinary I guess. And further on in Wikipedia it says it was put on temple walls to help teach "more simple-minded farmers and cowherds"! Well, I wont be too insulted. I happen to like farmers.
Anyway, where was I ......? Here's what Wikipedia says:
The meanings of the main parts of the diagram are:
- The images in the hub of the wheel represents the three poisons of ignorance, attachment and aversion.
- The second layer represents karma.
- The third layer represents the six realms of samsara.
- The fourth layer represents the twelve links of dependent origination.
- The fierce figure holding the wheel represents impermanence.
- The moon above the wheel (top left in the image at right) represents liberation from samsara or cyclic existence.
- The Buddha pointing to the moon (top right in the image at right) indicates that liberation is possible.
So, in my own journey of understanding things, I get the "hub" of ignorance, attachment and aversions. In fact, I think its a lovely neat summary, rather than all the other twelve deadly sins and the like. Everything comes from ignorance, attachment, and aversion. And, in fact, attachment and aversion are due to ignorance and vice-versa.
Karma - ok I think we accept that now.
The six realms of samsara (or segments as I described in my last Wheel of Life post) are interesting. Very interesting indeed. Especially the jealous, lucky, and greedy realms. They call these realms the demon, god, and hungry ghost realms, but I think my translation is a bit more accurate for everyday English. So it's interesting that the lucky realm is the most "comfortable" life but it's not the way to enlightenment. The "human" realm is, which I thought previously (as I wrote in my last Wheel post) that is was the enlightened segment, but actually it's the human realm where one can work towards enlightenment. This is better than the :lucky" realm because people in "lucky" are so preoccupied with their comfortable life and defending themselves from the jealous realm, that they forget to practice the path to enlightenment. And according to The Buddhist Society, these people are in serious risk of being reborn not as a human, but as a lesser being such as an animal where it will take a very long time to work up enough karma to get back up.
So, yes, the realms are transient, day-to-day, minute-to-minute depending where in your life you currently are. And the Wheel, held in the mouth of death or "impermanence" is a mirror to remind us humans what it's all about, the bigger picture, and not to get distracted for too long.
I have thinking about this Wheel a lot. About my jealousy towards the privileged people that got to go to a top school, got into med school straight away, and haven't had to work as hard as I have to get to the same place. And then I have been thinking today a lot about the current Occupy Wall Street movement as there is an Occupy Melbourne movement gearing up. Are we in the jealous realm? We did, afterall, help plant those seeds in which those big Fat Cats now eat the fruit. And, are we also in the lucky realm in Australia, the top 0.5% of the wealthiest people on the planet? Have we forgotten? Are we preoccupied? Or are we the "hungry ghosts" that just want more and more? Is one flat-screen tv per household no longer satisfying?
Many questions. But the main thing is, when I feel jealousy or hatred towards the lucky people, I know where I'm coming from. I'm coming from jealousy realm. And that is born out of either ignorance, attachment or aversion.
And finally, the outer circle. The twelve links of dependant origination. The "human activities" I think I described it as, as that's what it kind of looks like. Well, I have just learnt today that they are actually:
- Lack of knowledge
- Construction volitional activity (I think this is work or crafting stuff)
- Consciousness
- Name and form (I think this means physical being)
- Contact (ie with other humans)
- The six senses (the mind gets its own sense)
- Pain
- Thirst
- Grasping
- Coming to be (this is the coupe having sex, ie conception)
- Being born
- Old age and death
These twelve sections are part of what makes the wheel go round, but I have to study this outer layer a bit more in depth before I can fully understand its pertinence. I believe that the six realms are internal causes of suffering, but the outer twelve are external causes. This is why I thought they were simple activities of daily living. Mmmm so much more to learn.
Ok I think this concludes today's lesson. I'm teaching myself, rather than trying to preach so I hop ethis doesn't annoy anyone too much.
Just part of my "about stuff' in which this blog is supposed to be about. My life and stuff.
Now to cease avoiding this friggin essay.....
Mac time
Well, I did it. I finally bought myself an iMac.
I've had my Lenovo mini-laptop for about two and a half years now, so I think I got my $500s worth.
I was looking and umming and ahhhing over an iMac before my trip, looking at refurbished models, secondhand ones, the student discount, the finance options, etc etc. In the end I was trying to write this friggin annoying assignment yesterday and thought "I've had it". Coincidentally it was the same day Steve Jobs had also had it. RIP Jobs.
So I generally pride myself on not getting too swept up in the hype. I've managed to resist an iPhone all this time, and an iPad. I finally succumbed to an iPod a while ago when my cheapie MP3 just wasn't making the grade.
I have also found my recent computer habits are quite confined to the desk therefore a desktop makes sense, that and also I spend a LOT of time at my desk at home thanks to that little medical degree and masters degree I'm trying to work my way through.
My smart phone is doing very well for internet browsing the odd thing here and there. The ebooks I have on it serves me well for a bit of study squeezed in where I can at work or the traffic lights. Perhaps the only gap I could find is those times I want to sit on the couch and do a bit of uni work, or at work when the work computer is occupied..... And then they invented the iPad.
The iPad was initially only interesting to me because it is yet another in a long line of technologies which seem to have been developed straight from Star Trek's vision of the future And they called it a "pad" which is what the Star Trek one is called ("PADD"). So that's cool.
But now with my whole going back to the desk top thing I though there was room in my life for an iPad, so, well I was already in the Apple store anyway, so that's how my credit card got a nice workout today.
And what about my Kindle? I still think it;s superior for reading comfort and probably suits us older people who don't like reading from backlit screens. But I haven't really used it. I have friends that use their's all the time. Hmmm. Not sure what I will do with it now I have the iPad. I can't imagine carrying both around. Stay tuned for more on this.
So that's about it. I have the weekend to do these assignments and I really can't wait to get back into med school.
I've had my Lenovo mini-laptop for about two and a half years now, so I think I got my $500s worth.
I was looking and umming and ahhhing over an iMac before my trip, looking at refurbished models, secondhand ones, the student discount, the finance options, etc etc. In the end I was trying to write this friggin annoying assignment yesterday and thought "I've had it". Coincidentally it was the same day Steve Jobs had also had it. RIP Jobs.
So I generally pride myself on not getting too swept up in the hype. I've managed to resist an iPhone all this time, and an iPad. I finally succumbed to an iPod a while ago when my cheapie MP3 just wasn't making the grade.
I have also found my recent computer habits are quite confined to the desk therefore a desktop makes sense, that and also I spend a LOT of time at my desk at home thanks to that little medical degree and masters degree I'm trying to work my way through.
My smart phone is doing very well for internet browsing the odd thing here and there. The ebooks I have on it serves me well for a bit of study squeezed in where I can at work or the traffic lights. Perhaps the only gap I could find is those times I want to sit on the couch and do a bit of uni work, or at work when the work computer is occupied..... And then they invented the iPad.
The iPad was initially only interesting to me because it is yet another in a long line of technologies which seem to have been developed straight from Star Trek's vision of the future And they called it a "pad" which is what the Star Trek one is called ("PADD"). So that's cool.
But now with my whole going back to the desk top thing I though there was room in my life for an iPad, so, well I was already in the Apple store anyway, so that's how my credit card got a nice workout today.
And what about my Kindle? I still think it;s superior for reading comfort and probably suits us older people who don't like reading from backlit screens. But I haven't really used it. I have friends that use their's all the time. Hmmm. Not sure what I will do with it now I have the iPad. I can't imagine carrying both around. Stay tuned for more on this.
So that's about it. I have the weekend to do these assignments and I really can't wait to get back into med school.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Back home
I'm back home now. I arrived late Sunday night and was pretty much a zombie for two days, which seems to make sense as I hadn't slept for two days thanks to my flight schedule. I go back to work Sunday night. Have have two assignments due on Monday for my Masters which I haven't even looked at yet. OMG.
My house-sitters left my house in very good order so I don't have to stress about housework at all, which is so wonderful. But I have a lot of mail to go through, bills etcetera, but that's fine. There's nothing scary in there.
I start my new term at med school in two weeks and I'm anxiously looking forward to it. I just want to progress through this degree already. I'm a bit nervous about the MD program I've switched too as I am already expecting it to be more difficult for me as my basic sciences are my weak point. I have also heard from other students that the new exam system is not user-friendly and there has been a lot of complaint that it adds more stress and is not a fair system. Great.
So I am still to transcribe the posts I wrote in Tibet and was not allowed to upload due to the censorship by the Chinese government. I also have some cool pictures of my trip, but that too will have to wait until I do these assignments.
Looks like I'm back.
My house-sitters left my house in very good order so I don't have to stress about housework at all, which is so wonderful. But I have a lot of mail to go through, bills etcetera, but that's fine. There's nothing scary in there.
I start my new term at med school in two weeks and I'm anxiously looking forward to it. I just want to progress through this degree already. I'm a bit nervous about the MD program I've switched too as I am already expecting it to be more difficult for me as my basic sciences are my weak point. I have also heard from other students that the new exam system is not user-friendly and there has been a lot of complaint that it adds more stress and is not a fair system. Great.
So I am still to transcribe the posts I wrote in Tibet and was not allowed to upload due to the censorship by the Chinese government. I also have some cool pictures of my trip, but that too will have to wait until I do these assignments.
Looks like I'm back.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Last day
I can't believe this is my last day on this holiday. I fly out tonight and should reach home by tomorrow night.
I can't believe what I've done in only 4 weeks. Its crazy! It feels much longer than 4 weeks, more like 4 months!
This morning I used the hotel spa facilities and had a nice go in the steam room. Yesterday I had a lovely pedicure. I ALMOST feel human again.
Yesterday I went to buy some thangkas. I got the Wheel of Life for myself. It matches the Buddhas Life one I already have. Two of my friends had a requests; Medicine Buddha, and one where a monkey and elephant slowly change white (representing the path to enlightenment). Now I have three pictures to get framed when I get back (the other is a panoramic photograph on canvas of Potala Palace taken in 1916).
Today I have to fun task of packing! I searched online to find out my airline allows 20kg of check-in luggage total, and there is no "piece" system, ie I can check-in two bags for no additional charge as long as the total weight is less than 20kg. Sweet. I have an extra bag now but they are both small(ish).
I love it here but I also can't wait to get home.
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