MD2 Progress test 1

I just got results back from that first progress test which was part of a research project to see what type of feedback was beneficial. The test did not contribute to our overall mark, and the questions were of things we should know by the end of the year though, rather than at this stage of the year, so I was clueless on quite a few of them. Nevertheless though, I felt quite comfortable with some of those questions.

Apparently I got 38/80 overall; Ambulatory 44%, Medicine 50%, Surgery 50%. It is kind of a relief that it seems like I know quite a significant portion of what we are expected to know at the end of the year, but there is still quite a way to go. At my clinical school they decided to move several of the rotating term lectures into the foundation block though. I wonder what my score would have been if that didn't happen. Anyway, I should look at the more detailed feedback when I have time after revising more lectures from foundation block.


Right now at the clinical school, I am in the "medicine" rotation. There are a lot less lectures this week than in foundation block! I've also had some more practice with the table tennis, so my skill level has returned to near the level I was before; although I wish there was more space around the table tennis table at the clinical school. We can run into chairs and other obstacles trying to return shots!

University funding slashed in Labor's "Gonski reform"

On the weekend, Labor announced that they would fund the reforms to school funding by cutting money out of university funding. Here is an article from The Age about it: http://www.theage.com.au/national/university-sector-to-be-hit-in-gonski-reforms-20130413-2hry2.html

I think it is a very silly move. Universities in Australia already are underfunded as they are. They have been relying heavily on full fees from international students for funding for a while, and the reform a few years ago to disallow local students taking full fee undergraduate courses has compounded the impact. Now this hit just adds insult to injury to the university sector. It is counterproductive to cut funding from universities. This will result in a decline in the quality of both teaching and research done in our universities.

Now I don't approve of many of Tony Abbott's policies and views, but this policy by Labor is just silly. Many voters are indeed waiting with their baseball bats for the next election. If Kevin Rudd's government had "lost its way", then the current Labor government under Julia Gillard seems to have found itself stuck in the Southern Ocean in between the Nisshin Maru and a whale about to be harpooned. The Labor caucus had the opportunity last year to choose between Kevin Rudd (who most voters preferred) or Julia Gillard, but Julia Gillard won in a landslide; 71 to 31. Perhaps this is indicative of a more fundamental structure problem with the Labor Party with "faceless men" having too much power, but I don't know enough to comment.

While Prime Minister Gillard had made a few gains in the opinion polls, she has slipped back considerably and there appears very little prospect of gaining back ground before the next election. If nothing changes, it looks almost certain that we will be having an Abbott government after this year's election. And while I don't condone that campaign with Margaret Thatcher's death last week, I would be unsurprised if "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead" shoots up to the music charts in Australia if the current prime minister loses this election in a landslide.

White coats

"Excuse me, are you the doctor?"

It has been an ongoing joke in the hospital how we as medical students are confused as doctors by various staff and patients. Without knowing people by their face, there is no way to tell easily who is a doctor (and their level) and who is a medical student.

Some doctors lament that up until quite recently, the doctors and medical students at our hospital wore white coats. The length of the white coat also was different if you were a medical student or a doctor of varying seniority. Back then, you could easily tell who was who, and there would have been less confusion among staff and knowledgeable patients on the level of the medical student or doctor. However, now the only way to tell is by looking at the person's ID card, and if you're close enough to do that, you may as well just ask.

One of my tutors also commented that the white coat was also useful to have since it had many pockets to put items in. Now we have to carry everything in our hands, which is a lot less convenient. There have been a few studies in the literature demonstrating that patients still preferred white coats though.

On the other hand, the reason why white coats were phased out was because of infection control. They were worried that we would spread infections from patient to patient through the coats. Apparently the coats supplied by the hospital were not washed every day. It would probably have been possible to minimize spreading infections by washing the white coats every day, but perhaps it was too expensive for the hospital.

[update] back after semester 1 midsemester break (MD2)

Today I am back at the clinical school after the midsemester break. It was nice to be able to use the proper common room at our clinical school, and I got to try some table tennis. But I was quite shocked at how much my skills have deteriorated through lack of practice! Ah well... I have time to get it back up again.

I had a Basic Life Support assessment today (pass/fail) which I passed. I think most people would have passed though.