Emotional

Not really a royalist, but not a Republican either. But today emotions got the better of me and as I revised APH and the causes of male infertility I did well up and nearly cried as I put down my pen to watch the wedding vows on TV.

Got I'm pathetic at times

Brick Wall

I took half of yesterday off to play tennis and catch up with old friends. I went down to the library this morning and did a few hours of work. Then I did nothing this afternoon, having decided to fit in a cheeky gym session.

Meant to work this evening but cant, have hit a complete mental wall. Going to procrastinate for the rest of the day, watch some tele and hope I can start again tommorow.

Bloody Hell

Bank Holiday

Next Monday is a bank holiday, which means a cancelled tutorial given by his current consultant. The FM being an enthusiastic chap asked politely if this tutorial would be rearranged? The answer was no and said consultant seemed a little annoyed at being asked this. Was the FM being rude, or was it a pefectly reasonable request?

Violins and Easter

You wake up in the morning and find yourself back to back in bed with an unconscious violinist. A famous unconscious violinist. He has been found to have a fatal kidney ailment, and the Society of Music Lovers has canvassed all the available medical records and found that you alone have the right blood type to help. They have therefore kidnapped you, and last night the violinist's circulatory system was plugged into yours, so that your kidneys can be used to extract poisons from his blood as well as your own. If he is unplugged from you now, he will die; but in nine months he will have recovered from his ailment, and can safely be unplugged from you.

On wednesday the Fuddled Medic had a tutorial on ethics, he had forgotten how much fun ethics could be.

Have a good easter, postings will restart next week.

Screening and Cake

The Fuddled Medic's Housemate has just shown me this video . . .

Anyway, much appreciated as was the delicious chocolate cake that she baked.

On to screening. Its completely different to most of medicine. Normally people go to see a doctor because they are ill and hopefully we make them better, useing the best available evidence to us.

Whereas with screening we take perfectly health people off the street, subject them to tests, scare the daylights out of them and then state that they may or may not be at increased risk of a disease. Wilson-Junger criteria is used to assess if screening is worthwhile. D

oes screening for Downs Syndrome meet this criteria? I am now not sure. Does a TOP count as treatment?

And are patients explained adequately what the screening involves? Apologies, its a bit old and from the mail but it highlights the point.

And after reading this article am a bit annoyed, is reduced fetal movement a classic sign of Down's syndrome? Bloody hell, pretty sure its a non-specific sign. Hope its not a T/F/A question in an exam.

Music

Can you revise effectively whilst listening to music? The FM has been involved in a debate with a friend over the ebst ways of revising. Can you learn whilst listening to Happy Potter on Audiobook. If you have a day off, so no clinics or ward rounds, how many hours of revision can you effectively do in a day? Six, eight, more? Exams are approaching and the Fuddled Medic is get edgy, has she done enough work throughout this term? Will she be dragged to see yet another hysterectomy four days before exams by her consultant? And does anyone know any good revision sites for Obs and Gynae and Paediatrics? Preferably one with lots of MCQs?

Crap

Today the FM was grilled by a consultant and not in a nice way. Any confidence that has been built up over her time studying medicine, feeling that she's good at this is, is starting to fade away. Bloody Hell

A week

A week is a long time in blogging as the old saying goes, so apologies for the lack of a post this week. All I can say is that not much is happening at the moment, but exams are looming (five weeks) and the FM has one eye looking tentatively as they approach on the Horizon. Today the FM is meeting up with some old friends who graduated last year. And then exscuses will be thrown out, from tommorow the FM will be spending alot more time in the library

Honesty

Yesterday the Fuddled Medic saw something that pissed him off. A colleague turned up for a tutorial/lecture signed in and then left after forty minutes despite another hour and a half to go. The FM does not mind if people miss lectures, its up to them how they learn and he can understand why some people thing they get more done spending an hour in the library then an hour falling asleep in a hot lecture room. But the above is dishonest. And its not the first time the above student has done this, indeed one group of medics didn't even realise she was in the group till about half way through the semester. Another colleague reckons this student should be reported to the faculty, indeed signing up for stuff when your not there is considered to be a serious event.