Saturday, June 21, 2014

[update] MD3 semester 1 over!

The GP rotation is over, and semester 1 this year is now over! For reasons inside and outside of medicine, this semester was more dramatic than I hoped it would be. But I have made it through, and it is now done.

The GP rotation was my favorite rotation this year so far. Right now, although GP is not my top preference as a future specialty, I think it is a viable option for me. Apart from the coughs and colds, most of the other things in GP land are varied and interesting. GPs are at the front line of cost-effective preventative medicine in Australia. It is also a better lifestyle choice compared to other specialties.

However, the main thing making GP a less attractive option is that it is not as well supported financially compared to other specialties. Furthermore, even now the federal government is trying to cut money to Medicare and charge the GPs a co-payment for "bulk-billing". Unfortunately, this will serve to make it an even less attractive option!


Meanwhile, I am happy with the results of the MCQ progress testing for this semester so far. I have not done as well as towards the end of last year, but I still have one more semester left. I am more concerned about how my OSCEs will go compared to written exams.

We should be getting our scholarly selective (research) supervisor details on Monday. I am hoping to get a cardiology project. Why? I believe that "if you are not interested in cardiology, you have no heart". Well, not exactly, but I do think that cardiology is interesting.

Well, now I have a week break, and then we will have the MD student conference. I'm looking forward to the food, and to the research presentations that this year's MD4s will be giving about their research.