I'm getting an introduction to what I'll be doing this August, and I can't say that I'm enjoying myself very much at the moment. Starting work doesn't seem as fun as it was half a year ago. I sometimes wish I was back in 1st year, with no worries, no stress, and no responsibilities. For now, work seems boring. Boring and stressful. Yeah, I know. Weird combination. Probably the only form of excitement I get will be during consultant ward rounds, assuming they will ask me difficult, hard to answer questions about what I should have done (or shouldn't have done), and whether or not I've found a patient for next week's education meeting case presentation.
It's 0200 at the moment, my mobile broadband download limit is running out, and I should have finished reading those 'safe prescribing' notes that have been lying on the table since 0030. I'm tired, and I'm so looking forward to my 2-and-a-half weeks back in M'sia after the graduation ceremony in July. Yeah, 2-and-a-half-weeks. Sigh.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Conversation
Registrar: It's such a hassle buying a house these days.
Me: Oh, I wouldn't know. Is the house in Rochdale?
Registrar: God, no! You're new here aren't you?
Me: >.<
Me: Oh, I wouldn't know. Is the house in Rochdale?
Registrar: God, no! You're new here aren't you?
Me: >.<
Friday, May 30, 2008
DotA conversations
I've been playing a lot of DotA the past week. Since the portfolio submission anyway. And we got Raf to start playing too.
Raf: Hey, what's "-ms"
Me: That shows you your movement speed.
Raf: Shows in what? Miles per hour?
Us: *ROLF*
Raf: WHYLAR I KEEP DYING???!!!
Raf: How much is 'eaglehorn'? 3000 pounds ar?
Us: What???
Raf: I got 5 kills 'kay...
Us: Yeah, yeah... K-S K-S...
Raf: What is K-S?!
Us: Aiyah, K-S is K-S lar...
Raf: *googles "KS"* Killing spree ar?
Us: Wtf??? ROFL!
Raf: Hey, where's the secret garden again?
Us: What?!
Raf: The place in the forest where you buy 'perseverance'
Us: Ah...
Raf: MAH-CI-BAI enchantress killed me again!!!
It's great that the exams are over. It seriously is. Back to DotAing!
Raf: Hey, what's "-ms"
Me: That shows you your movement speed.
Raf: Shows in what? Miles per hour?
Us: *ROLF*
Raf: WHYLAR I KEEP DYING???!!!
Raf: How much is 'eaglehorn'? 3000 pounds ar?
Us: What???
Raf: I got 5 kills 'kay...
Us: Yeah, yeah... K-S K-S...
Raf: What is K-S?!
Us: Aiyah, K-S is K-S lar...
Raf: *googles "KS"* Killing spree ar?
Us: Wtf??? ROFL!
Raf: Hey, where's the secret garden again?
Us: What?!
Raf: The place in the forest where you buy 'perseverance'
Us: Ah...
Raf: MAH-CI-BAI enchantress killed me again!!!
It's great that the exams are over. It seriously is. Back to DotAing!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Onco Ward
*edited*
*edited again*
So far...
Venflons put in: >38
Bloods taken: >70
Chest drains: 2
Ascitic drains: 1
Discharge scripts: 19
Rectal exams: 5
Clerk-ins: 14
Gloves used: >250
Distended abdomens palpated: 9
Drug rep lunches: 5
Friendly junior doctors: 6
Friendly registrars: 4
Friendly consultants: 2
Helpful pharmacists: 1
Annoying Professors: 1
Screwed-up unfair assessments: 1
*edited again*
So far...
Venflons put in: >38
Bloods taken: >70
Chest drains: 2
Ascitic drains: 1
Discharge scripts: 19
Rectal exams: 5
Clerk-ins: 14
Gloves used: >250
Distended abdomens palpated: 9
Drug rep lunches: 5
Friendly junior doctors: 6
Friendly registrars: 4
Friendly consultants: 2
Helpful pharmacists: 1
Annoying Professors: 1
Screwed-up unfair assessments: 1
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Incompetent?
There are times when I lie awake in bed at night wondering if I'm going to be a competent doctor when I graduate. I was supposed to have acquired 'self-study' and 'lifelong learning' skills in IMU, and here in Dundee, I have been thought to reflect on what I've learnt.
A couple of months ago, several of us, all 5th year students, were discussing the 5th year UniofDd curriculum. We arrived at the conclusion that current 5th year curriculum can in fact be shortened from approximately 30 weeks (including holidays), to a mere 12 weeks. And that's being generous.
Current 5th year curriculum:
2 theme special study modules (ssm), 4 weeks each, total of 8 weeks
2 clinical ssms, 4 weeks each, total of 8 weeks
2 house officer shadowing blocks, 4 weeks each, total of 8 weeks
1 rural GP block, total of 4 weeks.
Grand total of 28 weeks.
My curriculum:
1 GP block. 4 weeks.
2 shadowing blocks. 8 weeks.
Grand total: 12 weeks.
As you may have noticed, I have completely eliminated all special study modules. All the ssms I've attended, barring the current one, have been interesting, but ultimately, that's all they are, interesting. My current ssm is just crap.
The current uniod curriculum emphasizes reflection. Therefore, I propose that 4 weeks which would otherwise have been wasted on ssms be used for reflection. Preferably somewhere warm and sunny. Maybe even tropical. Somewhere where we can reflect on all our deficiencies and incompetencies and somehow be inspired to rectify these defects. And the remaining 12 weeks of 5th year would then be spent doing something useful.
Or, why not have us graduate right after the above grand total of 12 weeks. The rest of the year could then be spent doing clinical attachments, gaining actual work experience, learning more about medicine and surgery than we're actually expected to know, adding to our knowledge, to the ultimate effect that we'll be slightly more competent doctors.
The current UniofDd policy of producing doctors competent enough to work as house officers is just wrong. A consultant I was speaking to claims that during his 5 years of medical school, he was performing appendectomies and actively assisting in major surgery. He used to play an active role in the management of patients in the hospital, not just stand and stare like us. Where have those days gone? To be able to scrub in just to stand closer to the operating table here in the UniofDd has become a privilege, and is no longer part of the curriculum. In fact, 'scrubbing and gowning' is just another box to be signed in our books (more on these books later, not today).
In 5th year, we have to write glorified essays known as case discussion on a variety of topics, and we are provided with guidelines to help up write these essays. One such guideline, when discussing appropriate references for our essays, states, "The USA is not always right", referring to the quality of journal articles and other resources.
It is my opinion that they aren't always wrong. And, and, the UK is not always right either. The UniofDd medical curriculum would benefit if the brilliant, smart, and wonderful individuals in the medical education department would observe how things are done in other countries and incorporate the better elements of their medical programmes into the UniofDd curriculum. And then they should get rid of 90% of all this reflection bullshit. As it is, I am thoroughly disgusted by the quality of education I'm receiving, and the sooner I'm out and far away, the better.
A couple of months ago, several of us, all 5th year students, were discussing the 5th year UniofDd curriculum. We arrived at the conclusion that current 5th year curriculum can in fact be shortened from approximately 30 weeks (including holidays), to a mere 12 weeks. And that's being generous.
Current 5th year curriculum:
2 theme special study modules (ssm), 4 weeks each, total of 8 weeks
2 clinical ssms, 4 weeks each, total of 8 weeks
2 house officer shadowing blocks, 4 weeks each, total of 8 weeks
1 rural GP block, total of 4 weeks.
Grand total of 28 weeks.
My curriculum:
1 GP block. 4 weeks.
2 shadowing blocks. 8 weeks.
Grand total: 12 weeks.
As you may have noticed, I have completely eliminated all special study modules. All the ssms I've attended, barring the current one, have been interesting, but ultimately, that's all they are, interesting. My current ssm is just crap.
The current uniod curriculum emphasizes reflection. Therefore, I propose that 4 weeks which would otherwise have been wasted on ssms be used for reflection. Preferably somewhere warm and sunny. Maybe even tropical. Somewhere where we can reflect on all our deficiencies and incompetencies and somehow be inspired to rectify these defects. And the remaining 12 weeks of 5th year would then be spent doing something useful.
Or, why not have us graduate right after the above grand total of 12 weeks. The rest of the year could then be spent doing clinical attachments, gaining actual work experience, learning more about medicine and surgery than we're actually expected to know, adding to our knowledge, to the ultimate effect that we'll be slightly more competent doctors.
The current UniofDd policy of producing doctors competent enough to work as house officers is just wrong. A consultant I was speaking to claims that during his 5 years of medical school, he was performing appendectomies and actively assisting in major surgery. He used to play an active role in the management of patients in the hospital, not just stand and stare like us. Where have those days gone? To be able to scrub in just to stand closer to the operating table here in the UniofDd has become a privilege, and is no longer part of the curriculum. In fact, 'scrubbing and gowning' is just another box to be signed in our books (more on these books later, not today).
In 5th year, we have to write glorified essays known as case discussion on a variety of topics, and we are provided with guidelines to help up write these essays. One such guideline, when discussing appropriate references for our essays, states, "The USA is not always right", referring to the quality of journal articles and other resources.
It is my opinion that they aren't always wrong. And, and, the UK is not always right either. The UniofDd medical curriculum would benefit if the brilliant, smart, and wonderful individuals in the medical education department would observe how things are done in other countries and incorporate the better elements of their medical programmes into the UniofDd curriculum. And then they should get rid of 90% of all this reflection bullshit. As it is, I am thoroughly disgusted by the quality of education I'm receiving, and the sooner I'm out and far away, the better.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Improving my clinical skills
Dear Prof Ingkran,
Your special study module, 'Make Your Clinical Skills Better', is, in my honest opinion, the most useless special study module (ssm) a 5th year medical student at the University of Dundee can choose.
This is supposed to be a CLINICAL ssm, not a theme ssm, and therefore, I see no reason as to why I have to present to you a reflective essay on the 12 Dundee medical school outcomes upon which you are going to base my assessment.
Oh wait, hang on. The reason I have to write this essay is because there is really no other way you can assess my clinical skills, is that right? If my clinical skills are crap and there's no one to give me ADVICE or TEACH me new techniques or maybe just OBSERVE me examining patients on the ward and then give me FEEDBACK on how I can actually improve my clinical skills, what's the point of this silly SSM.
If you are going to base my assessment on an essay, I might as well stay at home REFLECTING on the most worthless 5 days I've ever had in medical school and work on the essay instead of showing my face at 0900 till 1700 on the wards. To be honest, I'd rather spend the next 3 weeks watching the grass in the backyard grow instead of wasting my time with this silly ssm.
Yup, the key word is REFLECTING. It's a compulsory word in the vocabulary of any Dundee medical student. In fact, REFLECTING is more important than LEARNING or KNOWLEDGE. I think it's pure rubbish. The only thing that I've ever learnt from reflecting is that I shouldn't waste so much time doing it and instead spend the time writing fictional essays on how reflecting has helped me because these are really important and my grades depend on them.
5th year medical students in Dundee are supposed to spend their final year REFLECTING on their core competencies. What core competencies? Half the 5th years don't even know how to palpate an abdomen properly. Reflecting on core INcompetencies is good, isn't it? If more time was spent instilling the core competencies into medical students, instead of teaching us how to reflect on them, we wouldn't need to reflect on our core competencies to improve them, would we? Reflection is an aid to learning, not a SUBSTITUTE. Please get that into your head Prof Ingkran.
In addition, I would like to suggest that the medical education department carry out a survey amongst the final year students to poll their opinion on all this reflection bullshit. This survey should be completely anonymous and sent out online. But wait, our opinion doesn't matter, does it? That's because we're medical students and we don't really know the best way medical education should be done. You folk ought to know best. And after all, the decisions that really matter aren't made by people with REAL medical degrees.
Yours in good faith,
Casey.
Your special study module, 'Make Your Clinical Skills Better', is, in my honest opinion, the most useless special study module (ssm) a 5th year medical student at the University of Dundee can choose.
This is supposed to be a CLINICAL ssm, not a theme ssm, and therefore, I see no reason as to why I have to present to you a reflective essay on the 12 Dundee medical school outcomes upon which you are going to base my assessment.
Oh wait, hang on. The reason I have to write this essay is because there is really no other way you can assess my clinical skills, is that right? If my clinical skills are crap and there's no one to give me ADVICE or TEACH me new techniques or maybe just OBSERVE me examining patients on the ward and then give me FEEDBACK on how I can actually improve my clinical skills, what's the point of this silly SSM.
If you are going to base my assessment on an essay, I might as well stay at home REFLECTING on the most worthless 5 days I've ever had in medical school and work on the essay instead of showing my face at 0900 till 1700 on the wards. To be honest, I'd rather spend the next 3 weeks watching the grass in the backyard grow instead of wasting my time with this silly ssm.
Yup, the key word is REFLECTING. It's a compulsory word in the vocabulary of any Dundee medical student. In fact, REFLECTING is more important than LEARNING or KNOWLEDGE. I think it's pure rubbish. The only thing that I've ever learnt from reflecting is that I shouldn't waste so much time doing it and instead spend the time writing fictional essays on how reflecting has helped me because these are really important and my grades depend on them.
5th year medical students in Dundee are supposed to spend their final year REFLECTING on their core competencies. What core competencies? Half the 5th years don't even know how to palpate an abdomen properly. Reflecting on core INcompetencies is good, isn't it? If more time was spent instilling the core competencies into medical students, instead of teaching us how to reflect on them, we wouldn't need to reflect on our core competencies to improve them, would we? Reflection is an aid to learning, not a SUBSTITUTE. Please get that into your head Prof Ingkran.
In addition, I would like to suggest that the medical education department carry out a survey amongst the final year students to poll their opinion on all this reflection bullshit. This survey should be completely anonymous and sent out online. But wait, our opinion doesn't matter, does it? That's because we're medical students and we don't really know the best way medical education should be done. You folk ought to know best. And after all, the decisions that really matter aren't made by people with REAL medical degrees.
Yours in good faith,
Casey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
