I am pretty sure that I do not want to be a surgeon, standing for three/four hours nearly killed me. However it was pretty fun at time, but I know its not for me. I can understand why people like it though. One consultant said to me that surgery appealed to him as everyone is equally important, especially as everyone wears the same.
Being an anaesthetist could be fun though. It was quite bizarre to be asked for suggestions for "Level of command (7)."
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Friday, 16 July 2010
Today not having broadband makes people feel deprived," said Steve Robertson
Should this be the case? Even if we dont have broadband at home don't we all have acess to broadband at public libraries? Is it really the governments job to use its money (I mean "taxpayers" money) to prod and poke private companies into trying to get broadband into every home?
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
15%
Looking at statistics in a different way can often alter our perceptions of things. A significant portion of people have a mental image of old people generally being down and depressed as a result of being old. It is thought at 5-15% of the elderly population do indeed suffer from depression.
However this means that 85-95% of older people are not suffering from depression and therefore it is normal for them to be perfectly happy and mentally well.
After making this poin the lecturer then moved on to consider the differences between depression in younger people compared to an older person. Perhaps I shall see this in practice but apparently in older people the symptoms tend to be more biological (altered sleep and appetite for instance).
Also discussed pseudodementia, where someone is diagnosed with dementia but actually are suffering from a psychiatric illness. Is there any information out there I wonder on how many people have been diagnosed with dementia when they are actually suffering from a condition that could be treated relatively better then dementia with the possibility of a recovery?
However this means that 85-95% of older people are not suffering from depression and therefore it is normal for them to be perfectly happy and mentally well.
After making this poin the lecturer then moved on to consider the differences between depression in younger people compared to an older person. Perhaps I shall see this in practice but apparently in older people the symptoms tend to be more biological (altered sleep and appetite for instance).
Also discussed pseudodementia, where someone is diagnosed with dementia but actually are suffering from a psychiatric illness. Is there any information out there I wonder on how many people have been diagnosed with dementia when they are actually suffering from a condition that could be treated relatively better then dementia with the possibility of a recovery?
Saturday, 10 July 2010
Neurology and Cowards
Headaches are common, therefore the Fuddled Medic is required to know a little bit about them. Indeed a mock exam paper asked the FM to state which type of headache best fits this description. . . .
"A woman describes to her GP a band like pain across her forehead that slowly develops during the working day and is relieved by weekends."
More interesting are migraines, untill the FM started Medical school she was unaware that most migraines dont have an aura and generally aren't caused by cheese, red wine, chocolate etc. This is important to the FM as family members suffer from migraines and as a result have probably given up cheese, chocolate etc for no real reason.
The word Coward is in this post as a result of seeing this article.
"A woman describes to her GP a band like pain across her forehead that slowly develops during the working day and is relieved by weekends."
More interesting are migraines, untill the FM started Medical school she was unaware that most migraines dont have an aura and generally aren't caused by cheese, red wine, chocolate etc. This is important to the FM as family members suffer from migraines and as a result have probably given up cheese, chocolate etc for no real reason.
The word Coward is in this post as a result of seeing this article.
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Today, I learnt something
I learnt something today, that you don't appreciate what you have untill its gone. To be honest I could not help but learn this as I sat through the latest Shrek film and had this particular message rammed down my throat. A terrible, terrible film that was punctuated by bits of sheer brilliance every ten minutes or so.
In other news I passed some exams and can now proceed to the next part of medical training
In other news I passed some exams and can now proceed to the next part of medical training
Sunday, 4 July 2010
Another sensible suggestion?
Yes, Michael Gove is right that it would be best to return to the more tradition A-level system where students take their exams at the end of upper sixth, as opposed to throughout the two year a-level course.
This is a good thing, lower sixth should be a time to relax and develop your interests in the subject and not focusing on exams. For A-level chemistry I sat six different papers, to revise for this I did every past paper available for each paper. As there were approximately 10 past papers per difference module I did about 60 past papers per subject. As a result when I took the real things there weren’t that many questions that I had not seen in one form or the other.
Is this a good thing? Is this what A-levels are for, to prepare you to jump through hoops? Suppose you could argue that life is generally becoming more and more a game to get through. Got an OSCE coming up? No problem just polish up on your act and memorise statements such as “to complete my examination I would look at the observation chart, check the sputum pot and see a CXR.”
Don’t bother about learning stuff properly; just remember to rehearse various answers.
This is a good thing, lower sixth should be a time to relax and develop your interests in the subject and not focusing on exams. For A-level chemistry I sat six different papers, to revise for this I did every past paper available for each paper. As there were approximately 10 past papers per difference module I did about 60 past papers per subject. As a result when I took the real things there weren’t that many questions that I had not seen in one form or the other.
Is this a good thing? Is this what A-levels are for, to prepare you to jump through hoops? Suppose you could argue that life is generally becoming more and more a game to get through. Got an OSCE coming up? No problem just polish up on your act and memorise statements such as “to complete my examination I would look at the observation chart, check the sputum pot and see a CXR.”
Don’t bother about learning stuff properly; just remember to rehearse various answers.
Saturday, 3 July 2010
Another Joke
"An Alcoholic is someone who drinks as much as his GP." The deaths of cirrhosis amongst doctors is higher than that of the general population. Scary, in practical terms there is a good chance that I or someone who I'm friends with at medical school will get addicted to alcohol.
I can totally understand the articles point of doctors being unwilling to seek help when they need it. Alcoholics are stigmatised by the medical profession, so knowing this and seeing it first hand, why on earth would you own up to it?
I can totally understand the articles point of doctors being unwilling to seek help when they need it. Alcoholics are stigmatised by the medical profession, so knowing this and seeing it first hand, why on earth would you own up to it?
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