Last Friday was the end of my Surgery block in the MD degree. In some aspects, surgery is very interesting and technical. I have not ruled it out as a career, but so far I think some other specialties are more likely. I have some interest in anaesthetics, and I was exposed a bit to it during this surgery term.
As per the other terms beforehand, I needed to write another hurdle EP (ethical/empathic practice) reflective piece essay. These essays are widely detested throughout the medical school student cohort. As with the conference essays, I imagine that there would be a lot of superfluous word usage in many essays to make up word counts.
There will also be another formative test next week to see how we are going. It will be interesting to see how I go. This term I have been using the BMJ onExamination app a lot to revise and reading the pathology and clinical examination texts, but I haven't been keeping up with the lecture revision very well.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Friday, August 30, 2013
2014 entry: GEMSAS medicine interview offers and UQ offers released
The GEMSAS medicine interview offers and UQ medicine offers were mostly released yesterday and today, with the GEMSAS unsuccessful application notice also coming out two days ago. To all my students and readers of this blog, congratulations if you have received an interview or offer at UQ. Good luck for your interviews!
Also, commiserations to all of you who may not have received an interview or offer at UQ.
Also, commiserations to all of you who may not have received an interview or offer at UQ.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
[update] Finished review of MD1 conference reflective pieces
As part of the student conference assessment in the MD course at UniMelb, in second year, apart from writing our own reflective piece, we were required to also review and provide feedback on the reflective pieces of two students from MD1 (pass/fail). I managed to get both of the reviews done this morning, so that is the end of my assessment for the conference for this year.
For next year's student conference there will be four cohorts doing the MD program, so we should be able to see the MD4s present their research results during the conference. That might be interesting to see.
For next year's student conference there will be four cohorts doing the MD program, so we should be able to see the MD4s present their research results during the conference. That might be interesting to see.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Context is everything - in the economy and in medicine
During the past week, there was the usual bickering of politicians about interest rates policies, with the RBA dropping the overnight cash rate target from 2.75% to 2.5%. As expected, Labor seized the opportunity to announce that the interest rates are lower, which makes it better for working families with home loans; directly contradicting the former coalition government's advertising campaign that interest rates "will always be lower under the coalition". To counter this, the coalition opposition mentions that "context is everything", and the only reason why the interest rates are low is because the "economy is struggling", which is a bad thing.
Now, both these arguments have some element of truth behind them. That said, if the government was to support the economy further, perhaps the only way to do this would be to increase the budget deficit even further, which is not desirable. Now, even for budget debt and deficit is context very important. The coalition talk of debt and deficit as if it is the "be all and end all". However, while it is very true that debt should not be ever increasing, and there should not be continual deficits, it is also true that temporary deficits are justified to support the economy in bad times; to be made up with surpluses when the economy is strong. As such, the government was quite justified in spending in the stimulus package at the peak of the financial crisis in order to support jobs and growth, even though this resulted in a larger deficit for the budget.
One thing I have realized though is that "context is everything" also applies to medicine. I recall an interaction with my CSC (clinical skills coach) tutor, who was quizzing the group about the effects and side effects of certain medications. The interaction was as follows:
CSC: What does aspirin do?
(At this stage, my pharmacology major instincts kicked in)
Me: Aspirin is a non-selective, irreversible cyclooxygenase inhibitor. It inhibits both COX-1 and COX-2, by irreversible acetylation of the active site. This reduces the amount of prostaglandin production. In this case, for this patient, the wanted effect is a decrease in TXA2 to decrease platelet activation, and we want an irreversible inhibitor because platelets don't synthesize new COX and other tissues can...
CSC: What you said was all true, but if you can summarize this in three words, what would you say?
Me: Stops blood clotting?
CSC: Close. "Thins the blood"
Now I was actually quite surprised that we were allowed to use this terminology, because aspirin doesn't actually decrease the viscosity of blood; it just stops the platelets from aggregating. But it seems like it was OK in this circumstance.
Another interaction was with a cardiologist in cardiology outpatients.
Cardiologist: How would you tell the difference between someone with fluid retention due to kidney failure and heart failure?
Me: Heart failure might have displaced apex beat, additional heart sounds, valvular regurgitation, murmur...
(seems like he was after investigations, rather than examination findings)
Me: BNP level...
Cardiologist: The BNP level might give you some idea. But what else?
Me: Echo
Cardiologist: Yes. An echo!
In contrast, there was a question of some similarity but also considerable differences asked in a tutorial I had later in ICU.
Intensivist: How would you assess if his heart and circulation is working well?
(I had the cardiologist experience in my mind)
Me: An echo
Intensivist: Get out. You won't have an echo everywhere you go.
Now it seems like the answer to the same question depends on the context in which it is asked. In pharmacology class, the molecular mechanism is important, but in the clinic, the CSC tutor is after the end broader effect. And in cardiology, the echo is very useful in determining heart failure, but not practical for immediate measurement of cardiac function. So as it is the case in many other things, context is everything in medicine too.
Now, both these arguments have some element of truth behind them. That said, if the government was to support the economy further, perhaps the only way to do this would be to increase the budget deficit even further, which is not desirable. Now, even for budget debt and deficit is context very important. The coalition talk of debt and deficit as if it is the "be all and end all". However, while it is very true that debt should not be ever increasing, and there should not be continual deficits, it is also true that temporary deficits are justified to support the economy in bad times; to be made up with surpluses when the economy is strong. As such, the government was quite justified in spending in the stimulus package at the peak of the financial crisis in order to support jobs and growth, even though this resulted in a larger deficit for the budget.
One thing I have realized though is that "context is everything" also applies to medicine. I recall an interaction with my CSC (clinical skills coach) tutor, who was quizzing the group about the effects and side effects of certain medications. The interaction was as follows:
CSC: What does aspirin do?
(At this stage, my pharmacology major instincts kicked in)
Me: Aspirin is a non-selective, irreversible cyclooxygenase inhibitor. It inhibits both COX-1 and COX-2, by irreversible acetylation of the active site. This reduces the amount of prostaglandin production. In this case, for this patient, the wanted effect is a decrease in TXA2 to decrease platelet activation, and we want an irreversible inhibitor because platelets don't synthesize new COX and other tissues can...
CSC: What you said was all true, but if you can summarize this in three words, what would you say?
Me: Stops blood clotting?
CSC: Close. "Thins the blood"
Now I was actually quite surprised that we were allowed to use this terminology, because aspirin doesn't actually decrease the viscosity of blood; it just stops the platelets from aggregating. But it seems like it was OK in this circumstance.
Another interaction was with a cardiologist in cardiology outpatients.
Cardiologist: How would you tell the difference between someone with fluid retention due to kidney failure and heart failure?
Me: Heart failure might have displaced apex beat, additional heart sounds, valvular regurgitation, murmur...
(seems like he was after investigations, rather than examination findings)
Me: BNP level...
Cardiologist: The BNP level might give you some idea. But what else?
Me: Echo
Cardiologist: Yes. An echo!
In contrast, there was a question of some similarity but also considerable differences asked in a tutorial I had later in ICU.
Intensivist: How would you assess if his heart and circulation is working well?
(I had the cardiologist experience in my mind)
Me: An echo
Intensivist: Get out. You won't have an echo everywhere you go.
Now it seems like the answer to the same question depends on the context in which it is asked. In pharmacology class, the molecular mechanism is important, but in the clinic, the CSC tutor is after the end broader effect. And in cardiology, the echo is very useful in determining heart failure, but not practical for immediate measurement of cardiac function. So as it is the case in many other things, context is everything in medicine too.
Friday, August 2, 2013
2013 Student Appeal: Students with a cause
In 2011 and 2012, I was part of the University of Melbourne Student Appeal, part of the team raising money for students who were finding it hard to meet with living expenses. This year I will be unable to continue doing so since my clinical school is not right next to the university and we don't have very long breaks usually. However, the Student Appeal is a very good cause, so I recommend supporting it if you have some spare time or money.
If you want to become a volunteer or donate, see the official website or their Facebook page. Donations of $5 or more are matched by the university.
$2000 CPD cap deferred for 12 months
The government has decided to defer the $2000 CPD cap for at least 12 months pending further discussion as to the best way to continue to support education without allowing the perceived abuse of the system from using the money for holidays etc too. This is a good move from the Labor government, which is discussed on the Australian Doctor and Medical Observer sites. Now we should hope for a more common sense approach to this matter. Ideally we should see the new policy before the election because as it stands it is not out of the equation for Labor to return to this $2000 cap. But without too much rushing, so that it can be a good policy.
USyd 2014 entry local applicant interview offers out.
It seems like today the USyd 2014 entry local interview offers are out. It seems like the cutoff was 68 this year. If you have an interview, good luck with it.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Coalition backs "Scrap the Cap"
Today, the coalition opposition indicated support for the "Scrap the cap" campaign. They have yet to announce their full policy decision, but it seems unlikely that they would do nothing in their policies after they have put their words of support for this campaign. Now it would be good if Labor did the same and reversed their policy of the cap.
For more commentary, see the articles from Medical Observer, #Scrapthecap, or Australian Doctor.
For more commentary, see the articles from Medical Observer, #Scrapthecap, or Australian Doctor.
[update] Surgery rotation, theater time
As you may know from reading my blog, this term is my surgery rotation. While the basic skills of history taking, examination and investigations have much in common with the medicine term, surgery not surprisingly does have a different flavor to it.
I have recently been in theater to witness some of a surgery. It is quite an interesting experience to go into the operating theater and see the whole team of surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses working together to ensure the successful operation. This was a very long operation - double mastectomy and full reconstruction. This was going to go for 10 hours, and I only saw the first two hours before I had a tutorial to attend.
I have recently been in theater to witness some of a surgery. It is quite an interesting experience to go into the operating theater and see the whole team of surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses working together to ensure the successful operation. This was a very long operation - double mastectomy and full reconstruction. This was going to go for 10 hours, and I only saw the first two hours before I had a tutorial to attend.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
What is your favorite clinical sign?
What is your favorite clinical sign? I got asked this question by someone last week at my clinical school.
It was something I had not thought about very much in fact. However, the first thing I shall say is that as medical students and doctors, we should be wary of referring to patients as their clinical sign instead of as a person with their clinical sign when there is a possibility of them hearing. It is understandable that doctors and medical students want to take shortcuts with their language amongst themselves to convey information quickly, but some patients take offense to referring to them as "the murmur in 1.1" for instance rather than "the person with a murmur in 1.1" or "Mr A with a murmur in 1.1".
The other thing to take note of is that pathological signs while "cool" to medical students and doctors may not be "cool" to those patients experiencing the pathological processes associated with them.
Now that all that is said, what is my favorite clinical sign? There are quite a few which I have found interesting, and a few others which I have heard of but have not seen myself.
Of those which I have personally seen, the first one is aortic stenosis. I have mentioned this one before in my blog, since this I have examined a few patients with this. The change in the loudness of the murmur with full expiration and sitting upright is quite remarkable!
Another one is the prominent v waves on the JVP of tricuspid regurgitation. It is quite fascinating to see the jugular vein pulsating up and down very prominently on the right side of the neck.
Another one is clubbing. Clubbing has many causes; some respiratory, some cardiovascular and some other causes. Very marked clubbing can be quite a sight to see when compared to normal fingers.
The other one is an upgoing plantar response. Usually the plantar reflex is down in adults, but it goes up in upper motor neuron pathology such as MS or with strokes. It was quite spectacular to see the first time around.
The last one I have personally seen which I will mention (which I find interesting but not as much as the other ones) is the "shifting dullness" of ascites.
Of those which I have not personally seen, Pemberton's sign sounds quite spectacular to see. I have heard that a medical student was particularly amazed when eliciting this for the first time during an exam that they had to be prompted by the assessor to continue the examination.
The last one I will put on my list is the flashlight test for hydrocele.
So that's my take. What's your favorite clinical sign?
It was something I had not thought about very much in fact. However, the first thing I shall say is that as medical students and doctors, we should be wary of referring to patients as their clinical sign instead of as a person with their clinical sign when there is a possibility of them hearing. It is understandable that doctors and medical students want to take shortcuts with their language amongst themselves to convey information quickly, but some patients take offense to referring to them as "the murmur in 1.1" for instance rather than "the person with a murmur in 1.1" or "Mr A with a murmur in 1.1".
The other thing to take note of is that pathological signs while "cool" to medical students and doctors may not be "cool" to those patients experiencing the pathological processes associated with them.
Now that all that is said, what is my favorite clinical sign? There are quite a few which I have found interesting, and a few others which I have heard of but have not seen myself.
Of those which I have personally seen, the first one is aortic stenosis. I have mentioned this one before in my blog, since this I have examined a few patients with this. The change in the loudness of the murmur with full expiration and sitting upright is quite remarkable!
Another one is the prominent v waves on the JVP of tricuspid regurgitation. It is quite fascinating to see the jugular vein pulsating up and down very prominently on the right side of the neck.
Another one is clubbing. Clubbing has many causes; some respiratory, some cardiovascular and some other causes. Very marked clubbing can be quite a sight to see when compared to normal fingers.
The other one is an upgoing plantar response. Usually the plantar reflex is down in adults, but it goes up in upper motor neuron pathology such as MS or with strokes. It was quite spectacular to see the first time around.
The last one I have personally seen which I will mention (which I find interesting but not as much as the other ones) is the "shifting dullness" of ascites.
Of those which I have not personally seen, Pemberton's sign sounds quite spectacular to see. I have heard that a medical student was particularly amazed when eliciting this for the first time during an exam that they had to be prompted by the assessor to continue the examination.
The last one I will put on my list is the flashlight test for hydrocele.
So that's my take. What's your favorite clinical sign?
Friday, July 5, 2013
[update] 2013 Melbourne MD student conference
The MD student conference finished yesterday. This conference is something which is quite unique to the Melbourne medical school, and contains topics which aren't in the curriculum generally. For instance, it has among other things some social science topic symposiums and other things with some relevance to medicine but not clinical or basic sciences per se.
For the conference we had to also write an assignment of 1500 words and as MD2 people we have to review two MD1 assignments (both pass/fail). I decided to get my assignment over and done with yesterday and today.
Next week we will resume class in the hospital again. My next term is the Surgery term.
For the conference we had to also write an assignment of 1500 words and as MD2 people we have to review two MD1 assignments (both pass/fail). I decided to get my assignment over and done with yesterday and today.
Next week we will resume class in the hospital again. My next term is the Surgery term.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Kevin Rudd regains Labor leadership 57-45
Today has certainly been a very eventful day in Australian politics. It began with the declaration of two key independents, Oakeshott and Windsor, that they would not seek reelection.
This was followed up with a vote on the Labor leadership at 7 pm tonight. This time, there was a major swing towards Kevin Rudd, with many in the caucus seeing the writing on the wall. Bill Shorten's support, while not sufficient alone, helped Kevin Rudd over the line.
Now the election looks a lot tighter. This will be interesting. Now I hope that Labor under Kevin Rudd will scrap the plans for the $2000 self education cap and the Medicare cuts. It will be interesting to see what his policies will be and who will form the new cabinet.
This was followed up with a vote on the Labor leadership at 7 pm tonight. This time, there was a major swing towards Kevin Rudd, with many in the caucus seeing the writing on the wall. Bill Shorten's support, while not sufficient alone, helped Kevin Rudd over the line.
Now the election looks a lot tighter. This will be interesting. Now I hope that Labor under Kevin Rudd will scrap the plans for the $2000 self education cap and the Medicare cuts. It will be interesting to see what his policies will be and who will form the new cabinet.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Scrap the $2000 Cap on Medical Self-Education
As I mentioned before on this blog, the federal government wants to impose a $2000 cap on self-education. This will be a strong disincentive for doctors hoping to keep up to date with the latest developments in their area of practice.
The Scrap the Cap campaign has been launched as an online petition to raise public and political awareness of the adverse effects that this cap will have. There is a substantial list of supporters:
Founding supporters of the #ScrapTheCap campaign are:
The Scrap the Cap campaign has been launched as an online petition to raise public and political awareness of the adverse effects that this cap will have. There is a substantial list of supporters:
Founding supporters of the #ScrapTheCap campaign are:
- Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM)
- Australian General Practice Network (AGPN)
- Australian Medical Association (AMA)
- Australian Medicare Local Alliance (AMLA)
- General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA)
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
- Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA)
- Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM)
- Australian Doctor
- Australian General Practice Network (AGPN)
- Australian Medical Association (AMA)
- Australian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA)
- Australian Medicare Local Alliance (AMLA)
- General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA)
- General Practice Students Network (GPSN)
- National General Practice Supervisors’ Association (NGPSA)
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
- Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA)
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Labor needs a "fair shake of the sauce bottle" if it is to win the election
At this late stage, Labor are still performing very badly in the polls. To add insult to injury, it seems like Gillard's comment about "men in blue ties" has put male voters offside, resulting in 1/4 of Labor's male vote disappearing, without a significant increase in female voters. Not surprising either. It is hard to imagine how she would not forsee the consequences of saying that, but for some reason she said it.
It seems like a lot of the public think that the current government under Gillard has gone a "bridge too far" on many issues. They've even managed to get doctors offside by cuts to Medicare and a $2000 per year limit on Continuing Professional Development! It is almost certain that if nothing changes, Tony Abbott will be the next prime minister. There is talk of Kevin Rudd getting more support within the Labor caucus, but after last year's endorsement of Gillard by the caucus 71:31, it seems like Rudd does not want to challenge again without the public support of most ministers, while Gillard does not want to give up her position.
It will be interesting to see how things play out. If Labor is to win, they need a "fair shake of the sauce bottle".
It seems like a lot of the public think that the current government under Gillard has gone a "bridge too far" on many issues. They've even managed to get doctors offside by cuts to Medicare and a $2000 per year limit on Continuing Professional Development! It is almost certain that if nothing changes, Tony Abbott will be the next prime minister. There is talk of Kevin Rudd getting more support within the Labor caucus, but after last year's endorsement of Gillard by the caucus 71:31, it seems like Rudd does not want to challenge again without the public support of most ministers, while Gillard does not want to give up her position.
It will be interesting to see how things play out. If Labor is to win, they need a "fair shake of the sauce bottle".
Saturday, June 8, 2013
[update] End of medicine rotation
Yesterday was my last day of the medicine rotation. In second year MD, after the initial foundation term, we rotate between the terms of medicine, surgery, and ED/ambulatory/GP, with 1/3 of the cohort in each rotation at any time.
There were fewer lectures in this term, but at my clinical school there certainly was no lack of lectures. Compared to foundation term though, there was plenty more ward time and other patient contact time in outpatients and bedside tutorials. I do wish that we had more opportunity to follow ward rounds, but then again the lectures teach us things we should know, so there has to be a compromise between them. I think the balance has been quite reasonable so far.
I learned a lot in this term, and ECGs are becoming less and less mysterious. I'm also becoming more accustomed to hearing the murmur of aortic stenosis in different patients who have it. However, I still need to improve my history taking skills.
Next week is intersession week when we will have some more lectures and another progress test. Then there will be a break before the student conference. In MD2 at Melbourne, there is no big exam midyear. The subjects are year long, so the big exams (OSCE and written) are at the end of the year.
To all those in undergrad, good luck for your exams.
There were fewer lectures in this term, but at my clinical school there certainly was no lack of lectures. Compared to foundation term though, there was plenty more ward time and other patient contact time in outpatients and bedside tutorials. I do wish that we had more opportunity to follow ward rounds, but then again the lectures teach us things we should know, so there has to be a compromise between them. I think the balance has been quite reasonable so far.
I learned a lot in this term, and ECGs are becoming less and less mysterious. I'm also becoming more accustomed to hearing the murmur of aortic stenosis in different patients who have it. However, I still need to improve my history taking skills.
Next week is intersession week when we will have some more lectures and another progress test. Then there will be a break before the student conference. In MD2 at Melbourne, there is no big exam midyear. The subjects are year long, so the big exams (OSCE and written) are at the end of the year.
To all those in undergrad, good luck for your exams.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Unimelb undergrad semester 1 swotvac 2013
The past Friday was the last day of semester 1 for 2013 for UniMelb undergraduate students. Now it is the swotvac, and exams start in one week.
Good luck for your exams!
Good luck for your exams!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Temporary postponement of intake of GAMSAT and VCE students
Effective immediately, it is unlikely that I will take on any new students for the tuition of VCE or the GAMSAT until the end of the university year 2013 for my year of the MD program (University of Melbourne MD Year 2). According to the Melbourne Medical School website, this is until 22 November 2013. I have decided to focus more on my studies. I apologize for any inconvenience caused, especially if you were seeking to undertake the GAMSAT UK.
Friday, May 17, 2013
GAMSAT 2013 results released
Today the GAMSAT 2013 results were released. To my students and readers of this blog who sat the GAMSAT, I hope you went well. Now it will be time to decide preferences if your score combined with GPA and/or portfolio gives you a reasonable prospect of getting in somewhere.
If I tutored you for the GAMSAT this time, especially if we had several sessions, I would like to know how you went this time; and also compared to your last sitting if you did the GAMSAT previously as well.
If I tutored you for the GAMSAT this time, especially if we had several sessions, I would like to know how you went this time; and also compared to your last sitting if you did the GAMSAT previously as well.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
GAMSAT 2013 results in 1-2 weeks
Today is the last day of the first week of May. Going by historical release dates, I would expect the results to be released in one to two weeks.
Most of the wait is over now! To my students and other readers of the blog, good luck if you are waiting for results.
Most of the wait is over now! To my students and other readers of the blog, good luck if you are waiting for results.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
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!
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!
Monday, April 15, 2013
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.
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.
Friday, April 12, 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
[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.
I had a Basic Life Support assessment today (pass/fail) which I passed. I think most people would have passed though.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
[update] MD2 Semester 1 midsemester break
I am now on my midsemester break for semester 1 this year, due to Good Friday being a public holiday.
This will be a good time to rest, although there are a lot of lectures to revise. I still have to submit two more de-identified patient cases as part of a pass/fail hurdle we have to clear (total 24 in the year).
After the break, we'll move back into the "proper" clinical school which was undergoing renovations. I'm looking forward to playing some table tennis on the breaks.
The university still has not told us specifically when we are allocated to go on our rural placement though. Australian CSP students need to do at least 4 weeks of rural placement. We were supposed to do it in our third or fourth year, and they initially planned to inform us when at the start of the year, but we still haven't been told. Ah well, I guess it's still a while to go anyway. I hope I don't have to go during my scholarly selective though... that may be a bit problematic; especially with only 6 months to do some sort of research project.
For everyone who did the GAMSAT last Saturday, and especially my students, I hope you went well.
This will be a good time to rest, although there are a lot of lectures to revise. I still have to submit two more de-identified patient cases as part of a pass/fail hurdle we have to clear (total 24 in the year).
After the break, we'll move back into the "proper" clinical school which was undergoing renovations. I'm looking forward to playing some table tennis on the breaks.
The university still has not told us specifically when we are allocated to go on our rural placement though. Australian CSP students need to do at least 4 weeks of rural placement. We were supposed to do it in our third or fourth year, and they initially planned to inform us when at the start of the year, but we still haven't been told. Ah well, I guess it's still a while to go anyway. I hope I don't have to go during my scholarly selective though... that may be a bit problematic; especially with only 6 months to do some sort of research project.
For everyone who did the GAMSAT last Saturday, and especially my students, I hope you went well.
Friday, March 22, 2013
GAMSAT 2013 tomorrow
The Australian GAMSAT for 2013 is tomorrow. To everyone I have tutored and to the readers of my blog sitting for the GAMSAT, good luck for this GAMSAT!
Get enough sleep before tomorrow, remember to bring your lunch and water, and remember to think and use good exam strategy.
Get enough sleep before tomorrow, remember to bring your lunch and water, and remember to think and use good exam strategy.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
PrepGenie: GAMSAT Booster series introduced. 25% off other courses.
I was involved in reviewing questions for PrepGenie last year and this
year. PrepGenie has now introduced a GAMSAT Booster series consisting of
3 FLTs and 4 sectional tests along with 3 sets of free essay
evaluation. The price set for the package, 50 AUD, is unbelievably low.
PrepGenie also wants to give all readers of my blog 25% off on all other
courses.
To take advantage of this offer, use the discount coupon "BOBBYLI". To purchase multiple courses with the discount, purchase each item and check them out separately.
The GAMSAT Practice Test Papers available from PrepGenie can be found here: http://prepgenie.com/gamsat/gamsat-test-papers/
To take advantage of this offer, use the discount coupon "BOBBYLI". To purchase multiple courses with the discount, purchase each item and check them out separately.
The GAMSAT Practice Test Papers available from PrepGenie can be found here: http://prepgenie.com/gamsat/gamsat-test-papers/
Sunday, March 3, 2013
GAMSAT in 3 weeks
The GAMSAT is now just under three weeks away. If you are sitting it this year, I hope the preparation is going well. You may be interested in some of the tabs on the top if the page.
Meanwhile, I'm still getting used to the clinical school. It is cool how we get free tea, coffee and Milo supplied. Our clinical school is undergoing renovations at the moment though so we don't have table tennis or pool tables, but we should have them back soon.
Meanwhile, I'm still getting used to the clinical school. It is cool how we get free tea, coffee and Milo supplied. Our clinical school is undergoing renovations at the moment though so we don't have table tennis or pool tables, but we should have them back soon.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Transition from university to hospital
Over the past few weeks, I've had to adjust to the hospital environment. Unlike at university where people can let their guard down at times, at public places in the hospital we must be prudent in our manner so that patients and doctors do not have a bad impression of us.
We are required to dress neatly, and at my clinical school, males are required to wear ties. They also like to send us txt messages to make announcements to us. So I guess they've kept up with the 21st century, unlike some primary and high schools. That reminds me of a UTAS professor who advocated for this kind of contact with high school students a few years ago. He said (paraphrased) "imagine the effect of a txt saying 'the principal wants to see you now'". Anyway, that's an aside.
Maybe our clinical school is old fashioned in some ways, but we are advised to refer to patients, other students and staff by their surname when on the wards, unless a patient told us they preferred their first name. That reminds me of a study showing that generally speaking, those who preferred to be referred to by surname rather than first name were older.
There is also the aspect of confidentiality. I am not someone who likes to talk about other people's secrets. However, for the purpose of improving our interview skills, I do have to debrief with my buddy and/or other people present at the time when I was doing the interview. During this time, we must make sure that others who were not present are not around. Another issue of confidentiality is that pulling the curtains around a bed when interviewing patients really doesn't prevent sound going through, but aside from bringing people into other rooms (which generally isn't done), we really don't do anything to stop others in the room hearing.
And finally, sometimes when I want to go from A to B quickly, I sometimes like to go down steps quickly and jump the last few steps before turning around to the next set of steps. Of course, it's not as extreme as sliding down the rails. But I was instinctively running and jumping down stairs a few days ago one or two times before realizing that maybe it wasn't such a good thing to do in a hospital as a medical student wearing a tie and having a hospital ID card.
We are required to dress neatly, and at my clinical school, males are required to wear ties. They also like to send us txt messages to make announcements to us. So I guess they've kept up with the 21st century, unlike some primary and high schools. That reminds me of a UTAS professor who advocated for this kind of contact with high school students a few years ago. He said (paraphrased) "imagine the effect of a txt saying 'the principal wants to see you now'". Anyway, that's an aside.
Maybe our clinical school is old fashioned in some ways, but we are advised to refer to patients, other students and staff by their surname when on the wards, unless a patient told us they preferred their first name. That reminds me of a study showing that generally speaking, those who preferred to be referred to by surname rather than first name were older.
There is also the aspect of confidentiality. I am not someone who likes to talk about other people's secrets. However, for the purpose of improving our interview skills, I do have to debrief with my buddy and/or other people present at the time when I was doing the interview. During this time, we must make sure that others who were not present are not around. Another issue of confidentiality is that pulling the curtains around a bed when interviewing patients really doesn't prevent sound going through, but aside from bringing people into other rooms (which generally isn't done), we really don't do anything to stop others in the room hearing.
And finally, sometimes when I want to go from A to B quickly, I sometimes like to go down steps quickly and jump the last few steps before turning around to the next set of steps. Of course, it's not as extreme as sliding down the rails. But I was instinctively running and jumping down stairs a few days ago one or two times before realizing that maybe it wasn't such a good thing to do in a hospital as a medical student wearing a tie and having a hospital ID card.
Monday, February 18, 2013
[update] Grand Rounds
Today I sat in a Grand Round presentation for the first time. In the Grand Rounds, a few interesting cases are presented for doctors and medical students to listen about.
At my clinical school today, the topic was Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobulinuria; a rare disease. Cases were presented with a benefit with treatment of eculizumab, an inhibitor of C5; subsequent to which quality of life was improved and there was often no need for subsequent blood transfusions. Data from studies was also presented which showed a reduction in mortality with eculizumab treatment. However, the cost was not cheap; I think it was about $300000 per year for each patient. That raises a question about how much society is prepared to pay; there is a clear benefit to the patient, but money is limited.
The other thing I noticed at the Grand Round was all the pagers and mobile phones of doctors going off. Although I've been to the wards, I've only had two weeks at the clinical school so far so I haven't been attached to a team (that will come later). As such, although I've interviewed a few patients, I haven't really observed any consultants, HMOs or interns in action. All those pagers and mobile phones going off during the Grand Round just reinforces how busy they are!
At my clinical school today, the topic was Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobulinuria; a rare disease. Cases were presented with a benefit with treatment of eculizumab, an inhibitor of C5; subsequent to which quality of life was improved and there was often no need for subsequent blood transfusions. Data from studies was also presented which showed a reduction in mortality with eculizumab treatment. However, the cost was not cheap; I think it was about $300000 per year for each patient. That raises a question about how much society is prepared to pay; there is a clear benefit to the patient, but money is limited.
The other thing I noticed at the Grand Round was all the pagers and mobile phones of doctors going off. Although I've been to the wards, I've only had two weeks at the clinical school so far so I haven't been attached to a team (that will come later). As such, although I've interviewed a few patients, I haven't really observed any consultants, HMOs or interns in action. All those pagers and mobile phones going off during the Grand Round just reinforces how busy they are!
Saturday, February 9, 2013
[update] First clinical week completed.
Yesterday I finished my first week of clinical school. My clinical school decided to give us a relatively light first week. We only started at 8.30 on two days and only finished later than 3 pm once. We will definitely get longer hours in future weeks.
This week, our clinical groups were assigned to look at different parts of the hospital and report back. Our group looked at the kitchen. Our hospital is not small and also supplies food for other places, so the kitchen has an efficient production line process, where people at different parts of the process have different jobs; while still rotating the meals from day to day. Very impressive!
Another thing I have to do this year is get used to receiving online lectures, although the vast majority will still be in person; especially at the clinical school I go to. We didn't have any last year, and it took me a while to find them on the new IT system they have for medicine, but I've managed to find them now.
This week, our clinical groups were assigned to look at different parts of the hospital and report back. Our group looked at the kitchen. Our hospital is not small and also supplies food for other places, so the kitchen has an efficient production line process, where people at different parts of the process have different jobs; while still rotating the meals from day to day. Very impressive!
Another thing I have to do this year is get used to receiving online lectures, although the vast majority will still be in person; especially at the clinical school I go to. We didn't have any last year, and it took me a while to find them on the new IT system they have for medicine, but I've managed to find them now.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
[update] MD2 starts next week.
Tomorrow will be the last day of my Immediate level Intensive Summer Course in Chinese. As I said earlier in my blog, my Chinese is not as good as I would like it to be, so this summer I decided to enroll in a course to improve it. If it doesn't clash with the start of the year for medicine next year, I might join it again next year if they have it available.
Today we were able to purchase the subject guides for second year medicine in the bookshop for $36. Here's what the whole pack looks like:
Since I'll be starting medicine again next week, I won't be available as often for GAMSAT and VCE tutoring; definitely not available during morning and afternoon of weekdays. Since I won't be able to satisfy all prospective demand as the GAMSAT approaches, anyone new who initiates contact regarding tuition from now on will have slightly increased fees. That said, the fees are still a lot lower than other GAMSAT tutors I have seen. See the GAMSAT Science 100 + VCE tutor link on the top of the page for updated information regarding tutoring.
Today we were able to purchase the subject guides for second year medicine in the bookshop for $36. Here's what the whole pack looks like:
Since I'll be starting medicine again next week, I won't be available as often for GAMSAT and VCE tutoring; definitely not available during morning and afternoon of weekdays. Since I won't be able to satisfy all prospective demand as the GAMSAT approaches, anyone new who initiates contact regarding tuition from now on will have slightly increased fees. That said, the fees are still a lot lower than other GAMSAT tutors I have seen. See the GAMSAT Science 100 + VCE tutor link on the top of the page for updated information regarding tutoring.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Happy new year!
I think it's safe now to say that we have survived 2012. I hope that 2013 will be a good year for everyone.
This year I'll be spending most of my time in the hospital. It will be a different experience to sitting in lectures and classrooms for most of the day, but there will be some lectures still. I'll have to improve my clinical skills a lot this year if I want to get good grades.
Good luck if you are sitting the GAMSAT this year and trying to get into medical school. Right now I am available to tutor for the GAMSAT or VCE math methods, specialist, chemistry or physics at the University of Melbourne or Monash. See the GAMSAT Science 100 + VCE tutor tab at the top of the blog for more information. Right now, I can tutor most times apart from around 1.30 to 3.30 pm. However, when university starts for Medicine again on 4 February, I will be more restricted to tutoring after uni hours and on weekends.
In more unrelated news, Girls' Generation released a new song recently, but I don't like it as much as most of their previous songs. Nowadays I listen to other artists more, including IU. I linked a music video of one of IU's songs in one of my posts one or two months ago (아이유 - 너랑 나), although it was all in Korean, and with some "improper" word usage.
Also, it seems like the computers in the biomedical library at UniMelb have very annoyingly had their sound disabled, even when putting in headphones! Not only does it mean that we can't watch youtube videos properly, it also means that anyone who actually wants to study and re-listen to lectures through echo360 cannot do so. Silly idea I think. I can anticipate an influx of complaints once the standard semester starts if it's not changed!
This year I'll be spending most of my time in the hospital. It will be a different experience to sitting in lectures and classrooms for most of the day, but there will be some lectures still. I'll have to improve my clinical skills a lot this year if I want to get good grades.
Good luck if you are sitting the GAMSAT this year and trying to get into medical school. Right now I am available to tutor for the GAMSAT or VCE math methods, specialist, chemistry or physics at the University of Melbourne or Monash. See the GAMSAT Science 100 + VCE tutor tab at the top of the blog for more information. Right now, I can tutor most times apart from around 1.30 to 3.30 pm. However, when university starts for Medicine again on 4 February, I will be more restricted to tutoring after uni hours and on weekends.
In more unrelated news, Girls' Generation released a new song recently, but I don't like it as much as most of their previous songs. Nowadays I listen to other artists more, including IU. I linked a music video of one of IU's songs in one of my posts one or two months ago (아이유 - 너랑 나), although it was all in Korean, and with some "improper" word usage.
Also, it seems like the computers in the biomedical library at UniMelb have very annoyingly had their sound disabled, even when putting in headphones! Not only does it mean that we can't watch youtube videos properly, it also means that anyone who actually wants to study and re-listen to lectures through echo360 cannot do so. Silly idea I think. I can anticipate an influx of complaints once the standard semester starts if it's not changed!
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
PrepGenie: 50% off GAMSAT preview course. 25% off all other courses.
I was involved in reviewing GAMSAT practice questions with PrepGenie at the start of this year. PrepGenie wants to give all readers of my blog 50% off the GAMSAT preview course and 25% off all other courses.
To take advantage of this offer, use the discount coupon "BOBBYLI". To purchase multiple courses with the discount, purchase each item and check them out separately.
The GAMSAT Practice Test Papers available from PrepGenie can be found here: http://prepgenie.com/gamsat/gamsat-test-papers/
To take advantage of this offer, use the discount coupon "BOBBYLI". To purchase multiple courses with the discount, purchase each item and check them out separately.
The GAMSAT Practice Test Papers available from PrepGenie can be found here: http://prepgenie.com/gamsat/gamsat-test-papers/
Monday, December 24, 2012
General thoughts on MD1
MD1 has not been "easy", but I don't think many bioscience subjects in biomed were easy to learn either. Like those subjects, there is quite a lot that you just have to "know".
Compared to undergrad, I don't think it would be much more workload per week than say four "human bioscience" type subjects after first year level. Maybe undergrad was easier, but not by that much. I had a Biomedicine background, and majored in pharmacology, so I learned a significant proportion of content from the first few blocks (foundation, cardiovascular, respiratory) already in undergrad. However, the ways in which MD1 might be harder are:
As far as grades are concerned, my average for first year is about 77.5. I hope to be able to get the "degree with distinction" which requires a weighted average of 80 (weighting first year 30%, 2nd year 30%, 3rd year 30%, scholarly selective 10%). The deficit isn't that great so I should be able to make it up, but I'll have to improve my clinical skills.
Finally, if you really want to choose a major with the most overlap with medicine (although it's not something I'd advise), it seems like anatomy had the highest proportion of all single disciplines in the midsemester tests. Needless to say, maximizing the amount of bioscience subjects would generally increase the overlap compared to other types of subjects. As far as my major subjects are concerned, the "drug discovery" and "drugs in biomedical experiments" subjects didn't help much with first year, although the biomedical experiments subject may become helpful if I do my scholarly selective in basic science. "Drug treatment of disease" was quite helpful; a lot more so than "drugs affecting the nervous system" I thought.
Compared to undergrad, I don't think it would be much more workload per week than say four "human bioscience" type subjects after first year level. Maybe undergrad was easier, but not by that much. I had a Biomedicine background, and majored in pharmacology, so I learned a significant proportion of content from the first few blocks (foundation, cardiovascular, respiratory) already in undergrad. However, the ways in which MD1 might be harder are:
- In undergrad I didn't have a full load of biosciences. Most of my other subjects were a walk in the park compared to those second and third year bioscience subjects.
- In the MD there was only a week after the end of class to revise 36 weeks of material before our first exam, but in undergrad there was always at least 9 days, and we only learned a semester (12 weeks for undergrad) at a time. It therefore is almost impossible to cram in the MD if you did so in undergrad.
- If you didn't do many human bioscience subjects in undergrad, there would be more new content to learn. That said, I only filled in one elective or free subject (out of 2 electives and 2 free subjects for biomed) with a bioscience subject, so I certainly did not seek to maximize the bioscience content of my biomed degree unlike what some others may have done.
- In the MD you also have to do clinical skills, which are different to written exams. You will need practice partners if you want to practice them. In first year, there is not much time to practice within class.
- The short answer exam is a bit stupid. Maybe I should have spent more time practicing my writing speed instead of practicing USMLE style questions to remember concepts correctly. Also, my handwriting is not that good at the best of times, so it's especially a struggle to write fast. Typing is different though. That said, writing may be easier for "mechanisms" still if you don't need them to be neat.
- The CSLs require "self-directed learning" involving searching up the learning issues before the next class. I personally don't feel it's very efficient compared to someone actually teaching us, although I do see the merit in presenting symptoms and diseases in the context of clinical cases to facilitate memory. I didn't revise any of the CSLs before the exam though. You don't miss out on much if you revise the lecture notes and skip CSL revision (maybe one question here and there), but you will miss out on a lot of the exam if you revise CSLs and skip lecture revision.
As far as grades are concerned, my average for first year is about 77.5. I hope to be able to get the "degree with distinction" which requires a weighted average of 80 (weighting first year 30%, 2nd year 30%, 3rd year 30%, scholarly selective 10%). The deficit isn't that great so I should be able to make it up, but I'll have to improve my clinical skills.
Finally, if you really want to choose a major with the most overlap with medicine (although it's not something I'd advise), it seems like anatomy had the highest proportion of all single disciplines in the midsemester tests. Needless to say, maximizing the amount of bioscience subjects would generally increase the overlap compared to other types of subjects. As far as my major subjects are concerned, the "drug discovery" and "drugs in biomedical experiments" subjects didn't help much with first year, although the biomedical experiments subject may become helpful if I do my scholarly selective in basic science. "Drug treatment of disease" was quite helpful; a lot more so than "drugs affecting the nervous system" I thought.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
[update] OSCE marks released
Probably a week ago now, the OSCE results were released. I couldn't post here though since I was in China.
This time, I got two scores just about on the average (within 0.5 sd), one score about 1 sd below, and one score just on the pass mark at about 2 sd below the average (knee exam). Even though they said they'd only give feedback for failed stations, they gave me feedback for that station. I wish we could have feedback for all stations though.
Apparently for the content marks of that station I got 22/24, but my overall mark was 27/40. I guess that means my "non-content" marks were only 5/16... I am surprised they are worth so much, although it is said that most communication is non-verbal. I wonder if I lost most marks for "non-content" things on other stations too.
Anyway, it seems like I did better than the last OSCE (when one was >1 sd below and one station was below the pass mark; >2 sd below). I haven't done a statistical test though. I hope by the next OSCE time my skills can become at least at the average. There should be more opportunities to practice next year since we are in the hospitals.
This time, I got two scores just about on the average (within 0.5 sd), one score about 1 sd below, and one score just on the pass mark at about 2 sd below the average (knee exam). Even though they said they'd only give feedback for failed stations, they gave me feedback for that station. I wish we could have feedback for all stations though.
Apparently for the content marks of that station I got 22/24, but my overall mark was 27/40. I guess that means my "non-content" marks were only 5/16... I am surprised they are worth so much, although it is said that most communication is non-verbal. I wonder if I lost most marks for "non-content" things on other stations too.
Anyway, it seems like I did better than the last OSCE (when one was >1 sd below and one station was below the pass mark; >2 sd below). I haven't done a statistical test though. I hope by the next OSCE time my skills can become at least at the average. There should be more opportunities to practice next year since we are in the hospitals.
[update] Back from China
I have finally returned home now after being in China and Hong Kong for almost 3 weeks. The trip had highlights, although also lots of boring portions. When I was around 10 years old I used to really like traveling. However, now that I've been to several different places, there's less and less substantially different things to see each time. After a while, a lot of it just becomes "another rock, another lake, another building, another road"...
Anyway, this was the first time I went to China and Hong Kong. I won't go into all the details of the trip, but here's a few "take-away" points I got:
Anyway, this was the first time I went to China and Hong Kong. I won't go into all the details of the trip, but here's a few "take-away" points I got:
- The cities are quite developed now. That said, there's still a significant amount of squat-toilets there (in mainland China that is. I didn't notice any squat toilets in HK).
- I particularly like the count-down timers on the vehicle and pedestrian traffic lights in Chinese cities (esp Shanghai), which I also noticed in some places in Malaysia and Singapore when I was there. I haven't noticed any of them in Australia.
- The train system in Guangzhou and Shenzhen reminds me of Singapore's MRT. I'm quite sure they run better than the Melbourne trains, and in Shenzhen a single trip fare on a train or bus is only 2 RMB!
- Facebook and Blogger are blocked in China. I also notice that my blog view count has reached 0 for several days for probably the first time in the history of my blog since I made it (maybe because I told everyone I'd be away beforehand). Anyway, I'm back now. (*EDIT* Hmm now I think maybe my website was blog site was blocked because my google account got locked. They thought it was suspicious activity when I tried to log on in China and HK, but I didn't bother to unlock my account since I didn't have a mobile number there... Can anyone confirm any difficulties getting to my blog site within the past two weeks?)
- Even though the prices of electronic goods may be cheaper in store in Hong Kong (Mong Kok) than Australia, for the particular models of phone I was looking at the prices for, the shop prices in Hong Kong are still more than on the internet in the cheapest Australian websites (although that might be a bit more than on the internet in HK websites delivered to HK addresses).
- Hong Kong has an excellent Airport Express train service where you can check in luggage (in Kowloon) before boarding a train to the airport. Melbourne doesn't even have a train to the airport!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
[update] MD1 results released
Today MD1 results were finally released. If you are wondering, I got 80 (H1) in FBS and 61 (P) in PCP. I guess that means I'll be going onto next year.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
G is for GAMSAT
One of my friends has released a GAMSAT preparation guide for free download called G is for GAMSAT.
Here is his message from Facebook:
"Are you interested in post-graduate medicine, dentistry or optometry, and need to the sit the GAMSAT, but not sure how to prepare? Due to popular demand, I have written a small guidebook to hopefully answer all of your questions. Download my FREE PDF book 'G is for GAMSAT' for an overview of GAMSAT preparation, including hints for all sections and sample essays. Please feel free to share this on your wall and with your friends. Like this page to keep updated :)
Download PDF here: http://bit.ly/GisforGAMSAT
Thank you - Gayan K (Year 1 Melbourne MD Student)"
Source: link on facebook.
Here is his message from Facebook:
"Are you interested in post-graduate medicine, dentistry or optometry, and need to the sit the GAMSAT, but not sure how to prepare? Due to popular demand, I have written a small guidebook to hopefully answer all of your questions. Download my FREE PDF book 'G is for GAMSAT' for an overview of GAMSAT preparation, including hints for all sections and sample essays. Please feel free to share this on your wall and with your friends. Like this page to keep updated :)
Download PDF here: http://bit.ly/GisforGAMSAT
Thank you - Gayan K (Year 1 Melbourne MD Student)"
Source: link on facebook.
GPA... GAMSAT... Interview...: 2 years on.
Like I alluded to a few days ago, it's now two years since I started up the blog. And a lot has happened in the past year! I have started and completed the first year of my Medicine course. I have met new people in the course, while there have been many familiar faces staying on from Biomedicine like myself.
For some reason my blog pageviews graph is a bit weird. Where it says 2010 it should be 2011 and 2009 should be 2010. Nevertheless, I'm surprised with the upward trend on blog views. Back at the start of last year, I was getting just above 100 views per month. Now I usually get more than that in a day! I was right last year when I thought that blog views would drop off after November (GEMSAS offer month), but the upward trend meant that by April (3006) this year the pageviews were higher than November last year (2763), and has stayed above that level ever since.
I've also noticed a change in the referrals. Up until the beginning of this year, most of the referral traffic was coming from Paging Dr. Nowadays, most of it is coming from Google. So I guess I'm climbing up the search rankings in terms of GAMSAT or medicine the more I blog and the more people click on the link.
Anyway, it's been a good year learning all the stuff. Next year I will be at St Vincent's Hospital for my clinical school. I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog, and I hope you enjoy reading it into the future.
For some reason my blog pageviews graph is a bit weird. Where it says 2010 it should be 2011 and 2009 should be 2010. Nevertheless, I'm surprised with the upward trend on blog views. Back at the start of last year, I was getting just above 100 views per month. Now I usually get more than that in a day! I was right last year when I thought that blog views would drop off after November (GEMSAS offer month), but the upward trend meant that by April (3006) this year the pageviews were higher than November last year (2763), and has stayed above that level ever since.
I've also noticed a change in the referrals. Up until the beginning of this year, most of the referral traffic was coming from Paging Dr. Nowadays, most of it is coming from Google. So I guess I'm climbing up the search rankings in terms of GAMSAT or medicine the more I blog and the more people click on the link.
Anyway, it's been a good year learning all the stuff. Next year I will be at St Vincent's Hospital for my clinical school. I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog, and I hope you enjoy reading it into the future.
[update] OSCE complete! MD1 complete! (hopefully). Available for GAMSAT + VCE tuition now.
Today I completed my OSCE! I thought they went OK, although for one of the stations I had to stop to think a bit for some of the questions.
This time I remembered to wash my hands for both my clinical exams though, so that's good. And I didn't run out of time for the history stations either, unlike last time, and I think I answered the questions at the end of the history station better.
It's good having the previous experience behind me too, so I'm more used to the OSCE format now. Hopefully it can be as comfortable as written exams (which I'm quite used to now) in the future.
So all exams for MD1 are completed for me now. I don't think I'll need to sit any supplementary exams. So if that is the case (hopefully so I don't have to travel back from overseas), then I will be on a break from the MD until February next year.
Oh and just a reminder since my exams are all over now: I will be available to tutor for the GAMSAT or VCE for most days in the holidays now. Except for between 5-22 December when I'll be away from Melbourne.
This time I remembered to wash my hands for both my clinical exams though, so that's good. And I didn't run out of time for the history stations either, unlike last time, and I think I answered the questions at the end of the history station better.
It's good having the previous experience behind me too, so I'm more used to the OSCE format now. Hopefully it can be as comfortable as written exams (which I'm quite used to now) in the future.
So all exams for MD1 are completed for me now. I don't think I'll need to sit any supplementary exams. So if that is the case (hopefully so I don't have to travel back from overseas), then I will be on a break from the MD until February next year.
Oh and just a reminder since my exams are all over now: I will be available to tutor for the GAMSAT or VCE for most days in the holidays now. Except for between 5-22 December when I'll be away from Melbourne.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
[update] 2 years on. FBS exams done. OSCE next week. GAMSAT Tutoring available after Tuesday.
I've noticed it's now been two years since I made my first blog post on this blog. I have learned a lot in the past year. I'll make a longer reflective post after my OSCE on Tuesday.
Last week we had our FBS exams. The first one had no MCQ and was all short/long response. I had to write non-stop for the whole exam and had no time to recheck. That seemed to be a common and recurring theme among others I've talked to. I didn't really like it.
The second exam was all MCQ/EMQ (extended matching questions), and the questions were quite "clinical" in their nature. I liked this one a lot better, but I know I got a few wrong there too.
Anyway, my OSCE is on Tuesday. There will be two history stations and two examination stations, assessing anything they taught us in PCP1 this year. After that, I will be able to tutor for the GAMSAT on most days in the summer holiday, but I will be away from Melbourne on 5-22 December.
Last week we had our FBS exams. The first one had no MCQ and was all short/long response. I had to write non-stop for the whole exam and had no time to recheck. That seemed to be a common and recurring theme among others I've talked to. I didn't really like it.
The second exam was all MCQ/EMQ (extended matching questions), and the questions were quite "clinical" in their nature. I liked this one a lot better, but I know I got a few wrong there too.
Anyway, my OSCE is on Tuesday. There will be two history stations and two examination stations, assessing anything they taught us in PCP1 this year. After that, I will be able to tutor for the GAMSAT on most days in the summer holiday, but I will be away from Melbourne on 5-22 December.
Friday, November 16, 2012
[update] MD1 MST#4 results out. Written exams next week
I just got my MST#4 results, including the prac test for the semester.
Overall I got 39/47 for the theory portion (83%; class mean and median were 32.04 and 32). They took out some stats questions which weren't taught this semester but were taught last semester, which I wish they didn't have. Ah well.
I wish we could know the right answers, but ah well.
Anatomy 8/8
yay...
MIIM 8/10
I guess I probably got that developing country vaccine question wrong. Maybe also the returned traveller one too? Hmm... not sure
Pathology/histology 5/7
I don't remember the questions for this section that I thought I might have gotten wrong anymore.
Pharmacology: 3/5
Oops! I shouldn't have chosen Calcium supplementation as the primary treatment of osteoporosis. I'm not sure about the other one though...
Physiology 8/8
It seems like I got all the physiology right this semester (but not last semester).
Other 7/9
I don't remember which ones I got wrong here. I wish they still had the stats questions. Ah well.
I got 37/50 for the prac portion (74%; class mean and median not displayed at the moment).
Anatomy 8/9
I don't remember what I got wrong here...
Biochemistry 5/5
I was unsure about one of the answers (to do with someone's diet), but it seems like I got it right. Some of the other questions were almost giveaways. So it seems like I got all the biochem questions right in all midsems this year.
MIIM 10/12
I don't remember what happened here.
Neuroscience 3/7
Oops... I know I got the MRI T2 question wrong. I don't recall the others.
Pathology 6/11
Not that good either, although I guess I did technically "pass" all pathology subsections in all midsems. It seems to be many people's weakest subject...
Other prac 5/6
What does "other" mean? Ah whatever... I don't know.
Anyway, the exam is next week, so I will resume studying.
Overall I got 39/47 for the theory portion (83%; class mean and median were 32.04 and 32). They took out some stats questions which weren't taught this semester but were taught last semester, which I wish they didn't have. Ah well.
I wish we could know the right answers, but ah well.
Anatomy 8/8
yay...
MIIM 8/10
I guess I probably got that developing country vaccine question wrong. Maybe also the returned traveller one too? Hmm... not sure
Pathology/histology 5/7
I don't remember the questions for this section that I thought I might have gotten wrong anymore.
Pharmacology: 3/5
Oops! I shouldn't have chosen Calcium supplementation as the primary treatment of osteoporosis. I'm not sure about the other one though...
Physiology 8/8
It seems like I got all the physiology right this semester (but not last semester).
Other 7/9
I don't remember which ones I got wrong here. I wish they still had the stats questions. Ah well.
I got 37/50 for the prac portion (74%; class mean and median not displayed at the moment).
Anatomy 8/9
I don't remember what I got wrong here...
Biochemistry 5/5
I was unsure about one of the answers (to do with someone's diet), but it seems like I got it right. Some of the other questions were almost giveaways. So it seems like I got all the biochem questions right in all midsems this year.
MIIM 10/12
I don't remember what happened here.
Neuroscience 3/7
Oops... I know I got the MRI T2 question wrong. I don't recall the others.
Pathology 6/11
Not that good either, although I guess I did technically "pass" all pathology subsections in all midsems. It seems to be many people's weakest subject...
Other prac 5/6
What does "other" mean? Ah whatever... I don't know.
Anyway, the exam is next week, so I will resume studying.
Friday, November 9, 2012
[update] MD1 last midsem complete
Today I completed the last midsemester test for first year MD. This test consisted of half "lecture" questions and half "practical based" MCQ questions.
Like the other tests, I felt reasonably comfortable with the majority of the questions, but there were still quite a number which I was unsure of.
Anyway, the next big assessment will be the exams. The first end of year exam is in a bit less than two weeks time, assessing 36 weeks worth of content. The hectic preparation effort will probably begin tomorrow...
Good luck everyone who has exams still!
Like the other tests, I felt reasonably comfortable with the majority of the questions, but there were still quite a number which I was unsure of.
Anyway, the next big assessment will be the exams. The first end of year exam is in a bit less than two weeks time, assessing 36 weeks worth of content. The hectic preparation effort will probably begin tomorrow...
Good luck everyone who has exams still!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
2013 entry: GEMSAS simulations complete, med offers start to be released.
The GEMSAS simulations have completed today after 27 simulations. Some universities have already released offers or are releasing them now, including Wollongong, Monash, Notre Dame (Fremantle) and Melbourne. Some others are yet to release offers. The unsuccessful first round emails have been sent by GEMSAS, although there is probability of receiving later round offers as people decline offers.
All the best if you're still waiting for an offer. Commiserations if you received the letter from GEMSAS, although there is some chance of getting a later round offer.
All the best if you're still waiting for an offer. Commiserations if you received the letter from GEMSAS, although there is some chance of getting a later round offer.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
2013 entry: UniMelb DDS offers released. GEMSAS medicine offers soon...
It seems like the first round of University of Melbourne DDS offers were released today for local students. Congratulations to everyone who has received one!
Both CSP and FFP places were released. If you received no offer or received a FFP offer this round, there is some chance that you will get upgraded as people decline their dentistry offer for a place at dentistry at another university (eg Sydney Dentistry or UWA dentistry) or for a medicine offer.
The GEMSAS offers for medicine are scheduled for release tomorrow, and will come out after the GEMSAS simulations are complete. It seems like they're up to simulation 16 at the moment...
Both CSP and FFP places were released. If you received no offer or received a FFP offer this round, there is some chance that you will get upgraded as people decline their dentistry offer for a place at dentistry at another university (eg Sydney Dentistry or UWA dentistry) or for a medicine offer.
The GEMSAS offers for medicine are scheduled for release tomorrow, and will come out after the GEMSAS simulations are complete. It seems like they're up to simulation 16 at the moment...
Monday, October 22, 2012
2013 entry: First GEMSAS simulation. Last week for Unimelb Undergrad semester 2, 2012.
According to a tweet from the Twitter account of Mavis Duncanson (@MavisDuncanson), Head of Population and Public Health and Head of Student Matters at
School of Medicine, Sydney (University of Notre Dame Australia), the simulations of the GEMSAS have just begun.
I wonder how many simulations they'll go through this time for 2013 entry. For 2012 entry, there were 19 simulations. Hopefully with experience they'll take less time this time around.
Good luck if you're waiting for an offer!
This week is also the last week of class for UniMelb undergraduate students. Good luck everyone for the upcoming exams!
I wonder how many simulations they'll go through this time for 2013 entry. For 2012 entry, there were 19 simulations. Hopefully with experience they'll take less time this time around.
Good luck if you're waiting for an offer!
This week is also the last week of class for UniMelb undergraduate students. Good luck everyone for the upcoming exams!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
[update] High School visit
Today I visited my old high school. Before this, I visited a few times during first and second year Biomedicine. I don't think I've been there since then, and I don't know many students there anymore.
There were some teachers which have left since they taught me, but some were still there, and I talked to them today. Some of them had quite a few things to say, especially since our school merged with two other schools, and there was a lot of change happening after I left.
Most of the teachers I talked to asked what I was doing now. I'm not someone who hides that I'm doing medicine, and I told them that I finished Biomedicine last year and I'm doing Medicine now. I met some of my past science, math teachers and coordinators, including the physics teachers who helped teach me some of the physics I would later need for the GAMSAT.
A few teachers commented that they still talked about me, even though I haven't been studying at the school for almost four years now. It's somewhat nice to be recognized in some sense, but on the other hand, it is somewhat sad that for some subjects I did, there haven't been students getting 40+ study scores (out of 50; 40 is top 9%) for some of the past years, which caused me to stand out further in the minds of some teachers.
That contrasts with some other schools which have been able to almost consistently get quite a few almost each year. However, my high school was one with students from a lower SES on average, so it wouldn't be expected to do that well. That said, this is a problem with the education system in Australia. In some other countries, the achievement gap isn't as great between low and high socioeconomic status students. The government seems to be doing something about it though, and I can only hope that what they're doing works properly.
One of the teachers also mentioned that more people were leaving the school to go to selective schools. This isn't really a surprise, given that new selective schools have gone up in our side of Melbourne (Sir John Monash Science School and Nossal). However, I can't help to think that some of the reason that people leave is because the Accelerated Program people do not get to finish a year early anymore like I did, which I've discussed earlier this year in this blog.
I certainly would have considered leaving the school for a selective school more seriously given the current situation if I was in the accelerated program now, being unable to finish a year early. Talking to teachers, there also doesn't appear to be any indication of those accelerated people staying another year translating into much better students at Year 12 level, so I still don't agree with what they've done to the program there. Even if those accelerated students were measurably better (which doesn't seem to be the case), it doesn't seem right to me to keep them back another year if they could enter university anyway without staying another year in high school.
There were some teachers which have left since they taught me, but some were still there, and I talked to them today. Some of them had quite a few things to say, especially since our school merged with two other schools, and there was a lot of change happening after I left.
Most of the teachers I talked to asked what I was doing now. I'm not someone who hides that I'm doing medicine, and I told them that I finished Biomedicine last year and I'm doing Medicine now. I met some of my past science, math teachers and coordinators, including the physics teachers who helped teach me some of the physics I would later need for the GAMSAT.
A few teachers commented that they still talked about me, even though I haven't been studying at the school for almost four years now. It's somewhat nice to be recognized in some sense, but on the other hand, it is somewhat sad that for some subjects I did, there haven't been students getting 40+ study scores (out of 50; 40 is top 9%) for some of the past years, which caused me to stand out further in the minds of some teachers.
That contrasts with some other schools which have been able to almost consistently get quite a few almost each year. However, my high school was one with students from a lower SES on average, so it wouldn't be expected to do that well. That said, this is a problem with the education system in Australia. In some other countries, the achievement gap isn't as great between low and high socioeconomic status students. The government seems to be doing something about it though, and I can only hope that what they're doing works properly.
One of the teachers also mentioned that more people were leaving the school to go to selective schools. This isn't really a surprise, given that new selective schools have gone up in our side of Melbourne (Sir John Monash Science School and Nossal). However, I can't help to think that some of the reason that people leave is because the Accelerated Program people do not get to finish a year early anymore like I did, which I've discussed earlier this year in this blog.
I certainly would have considered leaving the school for a selective school more seriously given the current situation if I was in the accelerated program now, being unable to finish a year early. Talking to teachers, there also doesn't appear to be any indication of those accelerated people staying another year translating into much better students at Year 12 level, so I still don't agree with what they've done to the program there. Even if those accelerated students were measurably better (which doesn't seem to be the case), it doesn't seem right to me to keep them back another year if they could enter university anyway without staying another year in high school.
Monday, October 8, 2012
[update] GAMSAT and VCE tutoring
I've decided that I should offer my services in tutoring people for the GAMSAT and VCE Chemistry, Physics, Math Methods, and Specialist Mathematics. I've been tutoring on and off for various subjects at VCE, high school, and primary school level since 2009, and I currently do some voluntary tutoring every week.
As you would know from reading my blog, I received a GAMSAT overall score of 83 (100th percentile), including a Section III score of 100 (maximum):
As you would know from reading my blog, I received a GAMSAT overall score of 83 (100th percentile), including a Section III score of 100 (maximum):
GAMSAT 2011 Percentile Curve: http://gamsatau.acer.edu.au/results/normInfo.php?yr=2011
See the GAMSAT Science 100 + VCE tutor tab at the top of the page for more information. I have exams coming up next month so I may not be able to tutor much (especially closer to the exam date) until they finish (27 November). After that, I will be away from Melbourne from December 5-22, 2012. Apart from that, I should be available on the summer holidays.
Monday, October 1, 2012
[update] Back after midsem break (semester 2 MD1)
Today I'm back to uni after the one week midsemester break for semester 2. This will be the last block of studying for first year before the exams at the end of the year.
Like I said before, there won't be much time to study for the end of year exams, because there is less than a week from the last day of class to the first end of year exam. Right now I'm thinking that I should start to go through all the lecture notes from the start straight after our last MST, but even then there would not be much time to go through 36 teaching weeks of information...
Meanwhile, undergraduates at Melbourne have also returned from their midsem break and GEMSAS medicine offers are expected to be released at the end of this month...
Like I said before, there won't be much time to study for the end of year exams, because there is less than a week from the last day of class to the first end of year exam. Right now I'm thinking that I should start to go through all the lecture notes from the start straight after our last MST, but even then there would not be much time to go through 36 teaching weeks of information...
Meanwhile, undergraduates at Melbourne have also returned from their midsem break and GEMSAS medicine offers are expected to be released at the end of this month...
Friday, September 28, 2012
End of UniMelb medicine interviews, 2013 entry.
Today was the last day for UniMelb medicine and physiotherapy interviews for prospective local students for 2013 entry. Some other universities, such as ANU, have also finished interviewing locals for their medicine admission processes, while other universities will be finishing their interviewing processes soon.
Anyway, since UniMelb have finished their interviews, that means that MD1 students will be back to uni next week (which is the same as undergraduate students at the university). I have been reading some of my pathology textbook, although I also decided to refresh my mind about history taking and examinations. Although PCP1 is only worth 12.5 credit points compared to FBS 81.25 credit points, I still shouldn't neglect it...
Anyway, since UniMelb have finished their interviews, that means that MD1 students will be back to uni next week (which is the same as undergraduate students at the university). I have been reading some of my pathology textbook, although I also decided to refresh my mind about history taking and examinations. Although PCP1 is only worth 12.5 credit points compared to FBS 81.25 credit points, I still shouldn't neglect it...
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