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.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
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...
Monday, September 24, 2012
[update] End of year exam timetable released. No swotvac week!
Today our end of exam timetables were released. The last MST will be held in 9 November, which was not unexpected. However, it seems like we will have our end of year exams for FBS on 22 and 23 November. They did not give us a swotvac/cram week to prepare for them! It's going to be tough to study for all the lectures for the whole year with less than a week between our last class and our end of year exam...
Friday, September 21, 2012
[update] Semester 2 midsemester break (MD1 2012). Unimelb interview week. GAMSAT UK today.
I've finished class for today. Now there is a one week break before the rest of first year medicine at Melbourne. I'll be using the break to catch up on rest, revising lectures and hopefully reading more of the pathology textbook.
Meanwhile, the interviews for 2013 entry for Melbourne medicine onshore applicants are also coming up next week. Good luck if you're a prospective Melbourne medical student with an interview!
The GAMSAT UK is also today. Good luck for anyone taking it!
Meanwhile, the interviews for 2013 entry for Melbourne medicine onshore applicants are also coming up next week. Good luck if you're a prospective Melbourne medical student with an interview!
The GAMSAT UK is also today. Good luck for anyone taking it!
Monday, September 17, 2012
[update] MD1 MST #3 marks released
Today we got our MST #3 marks back for MD1. This was surprising, because they often took longer to give our marks.
Overall I got 50 out of 60 (about 83%), which I'm reasonably fine with, although there were some areas of weakness (the class mean was 45.16 and median was 46)
Anatomy 8/10
That seems to be about average for my subsections. It's somewhat relieving given that I felt like I knew hardly anything well during the anatomy prac the day just before the test.
Neuroscience 11/15
Neuroscience seems like one of my weaker areas. I wonder what options would have been right.
Physiology 5/5
This time it seems like I got all the physiology ones right, unlike the other tests I did in the past. It seems like they gave everyone that one mark for the Growth Hormone question without any right option.
Pathology 4/6
Again, pathology is one of my weaker sections. Unfortunately, I haven't been reading my pathology book that much during the semester; just keeping up with the lecture notes. I read a bit on the weekend though. I'll try to read the book more often.
Biochemistry 7/7
So I still have my perfect record for biochemistry so far. There were some questions where I was a bit unsure but it seems like I chose the correct option.
Pharmacology 6/6
This was one where I was quite confident, because of my major. I did expect that we'd cover more about drugs affecting the nervous system given that I did a whole subject on it in biomed, but it seems like they probably left us to learn more during our clinical years.
Psychological Sciences 4/6
This seems to be another of my areas of weakness in comparison, although this sample size is not very big, so it's hard to tell.
Other 5/5
Now I'm a bit confused as to which questions were "other". I think there was one ethics question, but I don't recall the other four. Ah well... it seems like my "other" knowledge was good for this test.
Overall I got 50 out of 60 (about 83%), which I'm reasonably fine with, although there were some areas of weakness (the class mean was 45.16 and median was 46)
Anatomy 8/10
That seems to be about average for my subsections. It's somewhat relieving given that I felt like I knew hardly anything well during the anatomy prac the day just before the test.
Neuroscience 11/15
Neuroscience seems like one of my weaker areas. I wonder what options would have been right.
Physiology 5/5
This time it seems like I got all the physiology ones right, unlike the other tests I did in the past. It seems like they gave everyone that one mark for the Growth Hormone question without any right option.
Pathology 4/6
Again, pathology is one of my weaker sections. Unfortunately, I haven't been reading my pathology book that much during the semester; just keeping up with the lecture notes. I read a bit on the weekend though. I'll try to read the book more often.
Biochemistry 7/7
So I still have my perfect record for biochemistry so far. There were some questions where I was a bit unsure but it seems like I chose the correct option.
Pharmacology 6/6
This was one where I was quite confident, because of my major. I did expect that we'd cover more about drugs affecting the nervous system given that I did a whole subject on it in biomed, but it seems like they probably left us to learn more during our clinical years.
Psychological Sciences 4/6
This seems to be another of my areas of weakness in comparison, although this sample size is not very big, so it's hard to tell.
Other 5/5
Now I'm a bit confused as to which questions were "other". I think there was one ethics question, but I don't recall the other four. Ah well... it seems like my "other" knowledge was good for this test.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
2013 entry GEMSAS interviews start
Today is the start of the midsemester break for the University of Melbourne undergraduate students. Over the next few weeks, the universities in GEMSAS other than UQ will interview prospective local medical students.
For UniMelb, interviews will start on 24 September, in just over a week's time. That is the same time that I have my midsemester break for Medicine, which is one week less than for undergraduate students at UniMelb. Last year they used the CSL rooms on level 7 and in the basement. However, at the moment the basement is undergoing renovations, so I guess they'd need to have slightly different arrangement. They expected the basement renovations to finish earlier, but now they expect it to be unavailable for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, my table tennis bat is stranded in the locker there...
Good luck if you have an interview coming up!
For UniMelb, interviews will start on 24 September, in just over a week's time. That is the same time that I have my midsemester break for Medicine, which is one week less than for undergraduate students at UniMelb. Last year they used the CSL rooms on level 7 and in the basement. However, at the moment the basement is undergoing renovations, so I guess they'd need to have slightly different arrangement. They expected the basement renovations to finish earlier, but now they expect it to be unavailable for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, my table tennis bat is stranded in the locker there...
Good luck if you have an interview coming up!
Friday, September 7, 2012
[update] MD1 MST #3 done!
Today I completed the third midsemester test for MD1, for neuroscience, endocrine and metabolism blocks!
I found the test was OK, and it should be a comfortable pass. Maybe H1, but that depends on how many of those I wasn't sure of that I got right. However, there was one question I discussed with some others regarding Growth Hormone, and we were quite sure that there was no correct option given.
I felt better than after the MST #2; probably not as well as after MST #1. However, I guess we have to wait for the results. As usual, I'd still prefer the GAMSAT section 3...
Anyway. Tonight there is the Med Ball for Unimelb too, so I'll go and get ready for that.
I found the test was OK, and it should be a comfortable pass. Maybe H1, but that depends on how many of those I wasn't sure of that I got right. However, there was one question I discussed with some others regarding Growth Hormone, and we were quite sure that there was no correct option given.
I felt better than after the MST #2; probably not as well as after MST #1. However, I guess we have to wait for the results. As usual, I'd still prefer the GAMSAT section 3...
Anyway. Tonight there is the Med Ball for Unimelb too, so I'll go and get ready for that.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
USyd 2013 entry: some CSP medicine offers released
This evening, it seems like some CSP offers were released for USyd medicine for 2013 entry. However, no BMP offers seem to have been noted on the Paging Dr Forum as yet, and no unsuccessful letters have been sent to local applicants either.
Congratulations if you received a CSP offer. Good luck if you are still waiting.
Meanwhile, I've got an 8 am lecture tomorrow... and a test in just under 3 days. Still more lectures to revise...
Congratulations if you received a CSP offer. Good luck if you are still waiting.
Meanwhile, I've got an 8 am lecture tomorrow... and a test in just under 3 days. Still more lectures to revise...
Saturday, September 1, 2012
[update] MD1 MST #3 next week
Next week on Friday, we have our third midsemester test for the first year of MD. The topics covered will be neuroscience, metabolism and endocrine. Like the first test of the year, this one is also worth 5% of FBS.
They didn't give us much time to revise for this test. They are going to test most of the semester so far up to the day before the test. So it will be a challenge to get through all those past lectures and revise the lectures throughout the week before the test.
I did a subject called Drugs Affecting the Nervous System back in undergrad. I thought it would be more helpful for the neuroscience block, but we didn't get many lectures about drugs affecting the nervous system at all. I guess they are trying to integrate more things into clinical years when they were designing the course, in order to have a structure with just one preclinical year (also aided by having prerequisites), so we will probably learn more about them then.
They didn't give us much time to revise for this test. They are going to test most of the semester so far up to the day before the test. So it will be a challenge to get through all those past lectures and revise the lectures throughout the week before the test.
I did a subject called Drugs Affecting the Nervous System back in undergrad. I thought it would be more helpful for the neuroscience block, but we didn't get many lectures about drugs affecting the nervous system at all. I guess they are trying to integrate more things into clinical years when they were designing the course, in order to have a structure with just one preclinical year (also aided by having prerequisites), so we will probably learn more about them then.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
2013 entry GEMSAS interview offer simulations done! To be released soon...
GEMSAS has done its last simulation for interview offers and UQ medicine offers for locals for 2013 entry, and all the medical schools are happy with the results of it. They have started to release their interview offers now, although some schools will take a few days to arrange all the interviews. The University of Melbourne MDHS has indicated that they will send out the interview offers tomorrow morning.
Good luck for if you're waiting for an interview offer or UQ offer! Not long to go now... hang in there.
Good luck for if you're waiting for an interview offer or UQ offer! Not long to go now... hang in there.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
GEMSAS interview offers for 2013 entry delayed until 30 August 2012
The GEMSAS interview offers and UQ medicine place offers for 2013 for local students were initially planned to be released today. However, there has been a slight delay, and according to the GEMSAS website, they are now expected to be released tomorrow; 30 August 2012.
Good luck if you are waiting for an offer!
Good luck if you are waiting for an offer!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Approximately one week until GEMSAS interview offers + UQ medicine offers for locals
According to the key dates under the GEMSAS website, the GEMSAS interview offers this year will be released on 29 August 2012. That means that there is a week left if they release as predicted. Good luck if you are a local student waiting for an interview offer, or a place in UQ medicine.
[update] Glucose tolerance test
Today we had to fast in the morning, then we did a glucose tolerance test to see our blood glucose levels rise and fall after a meal. Some of us ate Mars bars, some took glucose, and some of us exercised after taking glucose.
We didn't have any randomization though, which I thought was not that good for the experimental design.
I also got to use the finger prick blood glucose measuring machines. I guess this makes us empathize with diabetics who have to do that all the time. It doesn't hurt that much once or twice, but I wouldn't want to do it all the time. It's hard to type when your fingertips have band aids on them too.
Anyway. I was a bit excited today because I got to be in a proper lab for the first time in a while. We didn't get to do any pipetting though.
We didn't have any randomization though, which I thought was not that good for the experimental design.
I also got to use the finger prick blood glucose measuring machines. I guess this makes us empathize with diabetics who have to do that all the time. It doesn't hurt that much once or twice, but I wouldn't want to do it all the time. It's hard to type when your fingertips have band aids on them too.
Anyway. I was a bit excited today because I got to be in a proper lab for the first time in a while. We didn't get to do any pipetting though.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
University of Melbourne Open Day: Sunday 19 August 2012
On the coming Sunday, 19 August, the University of Melbourne is having its open day. Anyone considering going to the University of Melbourne to study is greatly encouraged to attend to find out more about what it is like to study at UniMelb.
The Melbourne Medical School will be opening the Anatomy and Pathology Museum to the public for the day. There will also be demonstrations of surface anatomy body painting by students of the Medical School, and the opportunity to ask questions to current medical students and staff.
For more information, see the Open Day website.
The Melbourne Medical School will be opening the Anatomy and Pathology Museum to the public for the day. There will also be demonstrations of surface anatomy body painting by students of the Medical School, and the opportunity to ask questions to current medical students and staff.
For more information, see the Open Day website.
Melbourne University Student Appeal 2012
If you want more information or are interested in donating towards the fund, see the official website or the facebook page for the Student Appeal. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible as usual. Any contributions would be greatly appreciated by the students under financial stress receiving the aid.
Friday, August 3, 2012
USyd interview offers for 2013 entry released today
Today the interview offers for USyd for local students for medicine and dentistry 2013 entry were released. From the Paging Dr Forum, it seems like the GAMSAT cutoff for non-rural locals for medicine interviews was 67; the same as for 2012 entry.
Good luck for your interview if you got one!
Good luck for your interview if you got one!
Saturday, July 28, 2012
One year since USyd unsuccessful notification
I've noticed that tomorrow will be one year since I received the rejection notice from USyd. One year is quite a long time. (Meanwhile, it seems like USyd has changed the timetable of admissions for 2013 entry, so that locals don't actually have interview offers yet now)
I remember the disappointment when I did not receive the USyd medicine offer even though my GAMSAT score was very high, being worried that my interview ability might not be good enough for Melbourne, and being worried that UQ might not have a place for me after giving out offers in the first round.
Fortunately, after significant interview practice (aided by the questions being the same as the year beforehand), I was able to get a medicine CSP at Melbourne, and even if I couldn't, it seems like UQ would have had a position for me if I was passed onto them due to taking into account second round offers and people rejecting first round offers (for example for USyd offers).
During the past year, I have successfully finished Biomedicine, and now I'm doing medicine. I seem to be keeping up OK with the sciences in medicine at least for Semester 1 (although I'm a bit behind at the moment), but my clinical skills were quite borderline for Semester 1. So that is a hurdle that I need to overcome with practice.
That said, medicine is not what I'm most worried about right now... but I shall not elaborate further.
I remember the disappointment when I did not receive the USyd medicine offer even though my GAMSAT score was very high, being worried that my interview ability might not be good enough for Melbourne, and being worried that UQ might not have a place for me after giving out offers in the first round.
Fortunately, after significant interview practice (aided by the questions being the same as the year beforehand), I was able to get a medicine CSP at Melbourne, and even if I couldn't, it seems like UQ would have had a position for me if I was passed onto them due to taking into account second round offers and people rejecting first round offers (for example for USyd offers).
During the past year, I have successfully finished Biomedicine, and now I'm doing medicine. I seem to be keeping up OK with the sciences in medicine at least for Semester 1 (although I'm a bit behind at the moment), but my clinical skills were quite borderline for Semester 1. So that is a hurdle that I need to overcome with practice.
That said, medicine is not what I'm most worried about right now... but I shall not elaborate further.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Assumptions, Assumptions, Assumptions...
Recently, I was sitting down somewhere in a library and there was a lady speaking on her mobile phone. It seems like she was having difficulty speaking with the person on the other end in English, and so she was looking around for someone to help her to translate for her (into Mandarin Chinese) I guess to help her understand.
After looking around, the lady on the phone saw someone with an East Asian appearance, who was sitting next to me at the time. She then asked the person sitting next to me, in Chinese, what the person over the phone was saying; or words to that effect. However, the person sitting next to me in fact was not Chinese (in fact Korean), and did not understand what this lady on the phone was telling, so she had quite a blank expression. To be honest, I felt that it was quite an amusing situation, but I refrained from laughing.
After a few seconds, the lady on the phone realized the person sitting next to me probably didn't understand, and she saw someone else with an East Asian appearance, who could satisfactorily translate for her. She skipped me for some reason. Maybe because my skin is a bit darker than most Chinese, or maybe because I didn't respond initially when she was talking to the person next to me. I guess my Chinese language skills aren't that good anyway.
Anyway, anecdote aside, this prompted me to write the blog post about assumptions now. I think this type of situation demonstrates both the advantages and the disadvantages of assumptions.
It is true that assumptions are often not 100% accurate. Some say "don't assume", or "if you assume, you make an ass out of me and you". For instance, not all people with an East Asian appearance are Chinese. They may, for example, be Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai or other races. Furthermore, not all Chinese know how to speak Mandarin (or any Chinese dialect) well, and some of other races can speak Mandarin reasonably fluently (like our former Prime Minister and former Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd). Related to Medicine, it is said that you should not assume that the patient is heterosexual and that their partner would be of the opposite sex. It is clear that if you want to be accurate in your deductions, you can not just assume away.
On the other hand, assumptions may sometimes be a practical way of increasing the probabilities of getting something correct. Going back to the example of the lady on the phone, even though the first person she tried to get to translate for her could not do so, the next person could. Even though the "test" is not perfect, it is more likely that someone who has an East Asian appearance would be able to speak Mandarin than someone who doesn't. So in that way, in the lady's situation, it is more productive to ask people with that appearance rather than just asking any random person in the library whether they could translate for her.
When doing calculations for pharmacokinetics, physics or other sciences, assumptions are often made to try to simplify things down (trying not to simplify too much as to significantly change the final answer) in order to make the calculations more manageable and quick. Finally, it is useful in medicine in terms of screening. Screening tests are best targeted to groups who are at a high risk of having or susceptibility to a certain condition, in order to reduce costs and reduce false positives. In some sense, you are "assuming" that the patient in front of you is more likely to have a certain condition than the average population when ordering the screening test for them, for good reason, but simply based on the probabilities in the population.
So assumptions can be quite an important tool, but care must be taken not to misuse it. Assuming certain things can make things easier for yourself with variable certainty. However, if you need to be more sure, you still have to follow things up further.
After looking around, the lady on the phone saw someone with an East Asian appearance, who was sitting next to me at the time. She then asked the person sitting next to me, in Chinese, what the person over the phone was saying; or words to that effect. However, the person sitting next to me in fact was not Chinese (in fact Korean), and did not understand what this lady on the phone was telling, so she had quite a blank expression. To be honest, I felt that it was quite an amusing situation, but I refrained from laughing.
After a few seconds, the lady on the phone realized the person sitting next to me probably didn't understand, and she saw someone else with an East Asian appearance, who could satisfactorily translate for her. She skipped me for some reason. Maybe because my skin is a bit darker than most Chinese, or maybe because I didn't respond initially when she was talking to the person next to me. I guess my Chinese language skills aren't that good anyway.
Anyway, anecdote aside, this prompted me to write the blog post about assumptions now. I think this type of situation demonstrates both the advantages and the disadvantages of assumptions.
It is true that assumptions are often not 100% accurate. Some say "don't assume", or "if you assume, you make an ass out of me and you". For instance, not all people with an East Asian appearance are Chinese. They may, for example, be Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai or other races. Furthermore, not all Chinese know how to speak Mandarin (or any Chinese dialect) well, and some of other races can speak Mandarin reasonably fluently (like our former Prime Minister and former Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd). Related to Medicine, it is said that you should not assume that the patient is heterosexual and that their partner would be of the opposite sex. It is clear that if you want to be accurate in your deductions, you can not just assume away.
On the other hand, assumptions may sometimes be a practical way of increasing the probabilities of getting something correct. Going back to the example of the lady on the phone, even though the first person she tried to get to translate for her could not do so, the next person could. Even though the "test" is not perfect, it is more likely that someone who has an East Asian appearance would be able to speak Mandarin than someone who doesn't. So in that way, in the lady's situation, it is more productive to ask people with that appearance rather than just asking any random person in the library whether they could translate for her.
When doing calculations for pharmacokinetics, physics or other sciences, assumptions are often made to try to simplify things down (trying not to simplify too much as to significantly change the final answer) in order to make the calculations more manageable and quick. Finally, it is useful in medicine in terms of screening. Screening tests are best targeted to groups who are at a high risk of having or susceptibility to a certain condition, in order to reduce costs and reduce false positives. In some sense, you are "assuming" that the patient in front of you is more likely to have a certain condition than the average population when ordering the screening test for them, for good reason, but simply based on the probabilities in the population.
So assumptions can be quite an important tool, but care must be taken not to misuse it. Assuming certain things can make things easier for yourself with variable certainty. However, if you need to be more sure, you still have to follow things up further.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
[update] Midsemester 2 + population health assignment + CSL marks released
Today the marks for the second "midsemester test" (actually at the end of the semester) were released. I did better than I thought that I might, but I did do a bit worse than last time, at least in part due to the proportion of the test being pharmacology (my major) being less. However, it was still at H1 standard, so I'm reasonably happy with how it went. I do wish we knew what we got wrong though.
Anyway, for further breakdown:
MST 2 (non-prac section) total: 42 out of 50 (class mean 34.98, median 36)
Anatomy: 11/14
This is worse than last time when I got 10/10 for anatomy. I guess I didn't read the textbook as much for these two blocks.
Pathology/Histology: 8/10
That is not too bad I guess, although it could be improved. My Pathology score for the prac/image based section was not that great though!
Biochemistry: 5/5
I think the biochem questions were reasonably easy.
Microbiology/Immunology: 9/10
I guess I got that parasite question wrong. Apart from that, it seems like MIIM is one of my better topics.
Physiology: 6/8
I thought it would be higher. I wonder what I got wrong.
Pharmacology: 3/3
There really wasn't much pharmacology in that test!
Then for the prac section: 41 out of 50 (class mean 34.11, median 35)
Anatomy: 14/14
I wasn't that sure with a few of the picture questions, but I guess my knowledge was correct. I wish we could actually touch the specimens rather than look at pictures though haha.
MIIM: 13/15
Not too bad, but I wish I knew what I got wrong.
Physiology/Pharmacology: 3/4
I wish I knew what I got wrong here too.
Pathology/Histology: 11/17
Now this is where I lost most of my marks for the prac section! 6 marks out of the 9 I lost in the prac section. It was still an overall "pass" for this subsection though. I actually opened my copy of Robbins and read about 1.5 chapters in the holidays though, so perhaps I should continue doing that to rectify this.
CSL tutorial: 15 out of 20 (class average 16.54, median 17)
It seems like I'm a bit below the average for this (about 5-10%).
Collaborative Learning: 7/10
Knowledge and reasoning: 8/10
Population health assignment: 81/100 (average 79.25, median 80)
It seems like I got just a bit above the average here. Anyway, I'm happy that this is our only assignment this year for FBS, and that I have gotten my other "assignment" (for the student conference) out of the way now too.
Anyway, overall, it seems like my FBS is going OK but I should be practicing more for PCP. I had my first PCP session for the semester today, but I don't know when the remedial tutorials will be held yet.
Anyway, for further breakdown:
MST 2 (non-prac section) total: 42 out of 50 (class mean 34.98, median 36)
Anatomy: 11/14
This is worse than last time when I got 10/10 for anatomy. I guess I didn't read the textbook as much for these two blocks.
Pathology/Histology: 8/10
That is not too bad I guess, although it could be improved. My Pathology score for the prac/image based section was not that great though!
Biochemistry: 5/5
I think the biochem questions were reasonably easy.
Microbiology/Immunology: 9/10
I guess I got that parasite question wrong. Apart from that, it seems like MIIM is one of my better topics.
Physiology: 6/8
I thought it would be higher. I wonder what I got wrong.
Pharmacology: 3/3
There really wasn't much pharmacology in that test!
Then for the prac section: 41 out of 50 (class mean 34.11, median 35)
Anatomy: 14/14
I wasn't that sure with a few of the picture questions, but I guess my knowledge was correct. I wish we could actually touch the specimens rather than look at pictures though haha.
MIIM: 13/15
Not too bad, but I wish I knew what I got wrong.
Physiology/Pharmacology: 3/4
I wish I knew what I got wrong here too.
Pathology/Histology: 11/17
Now this is where I lost most of my marks for the prac section! 6 marks out of the 9 I lost in the prac section. It was still an overall "pass" for this subsection though. I actually opened my copy of Robbins and read about 1.5 chapters in the holidays though, so perhaps I should continue doing that to rectify this.
CSL tutorial: 15 out of 20 (class average 16.54, median 17)
It seems like I'm a bit below the average for this (about 5-10%).
Collaborative Learning: 7/10
Knowledge and reasoning: 8/10
Population health assignment: 81/100 (average 79.25, median 80)
It seems like I got just a bit above the average here. Anyway, I'm happy that this is our only assignment this year for FBS, and that I have gotten my other "assignment" (for the student conference) out of the way now too.
Anyway, overall, it seems like my FBS is going OK but I should be practicing more for PCP. I had my first PCP session for the semester today, but I don't know when the remedial tutorials will be held yet.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
[update] Conference essay has been submitted
I've now finished and uploaded my conference essay to the PRAZE submission for review. I know it's more than one month early, but I thought it would be good to get out of the way. Also, this one's just pass/fail too, so I didn't want to spend too much time on it. I managed to write 1998 words, so I think that should be fine for a 2000 word submission. They didn't seem to specify if 2000 was a maximum, an exact number required (unlikely), or whether it should be 2000 ± 5% or 10%.
Anyway. There's today and tomorrow before semester 2 starts for real for MD people at Melbourne. The first block back will be the neuroscience block. The most undergrads at Melbourne (eg biomed, science, arts) have two more weeks of holiday.
Anyway. There's today and tomorrow before semester 2 starts for real for MD people at Melbourne. The first block back will be the neuroscience block. The most undergrads at Melbourne (eg biomed, science, arts) have two more weeks of holiday.
Friday, July 6, 2012
UniMelb undergraduate results out by today (Semester 1, 2012)
Today is the day that Semester 1, 2012 results for UniMelb are supposed to be released by for undergraduate students. For anyone reading who is studying at university, I hope you have done well in your results in the semester which has just gone by.
For those applying to medicine in most unis, now that the semester 1 results are released, the next major event (other than semester 2 itself) is the interview offer date, and then the interview date. If applying to UQ as a first preference, then the next event will hopefully be an offer. It seems like for locals applying to GEMSAS, the interview offers or UQ place offers should be released on 29 August, and for USyd it will be 6 August.
For those applying to medicine in most unis, now that the semester 1 results are released, the next major event (other than semester 2 itself) is the interview offer date, and then the interview date. If applying to UQ as a first preference, then the next event will hopefully be an offer. It seems like for locals applying to GEMSAS, the interview offers or UQ place offers should be released on 29 August, and for USyd it will be 6 August.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
[update] Student Conference week over. Semester 2 proper next week.
Today was the last day of the four day MD student conference. Some parts of the conference were interesting, although some were less so. I liked the food for lunch though. However, it seems like I have gained 1-2 kg over the week.
I'll have to write up a 2000 word essay about ideas on the conference which I think will influence my actions in the future, due in just over a month.
The real semester starts next week.
I'll have to write up a 2000 word essay about ideas on the conference which I think will influence my actions in the future, due in just over a month.
The real semester starts next week.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
[update] MD1 Midyear OSCE results released.
This morning, the midyear OSCE results were released for first year.
For the Abdominal pain history station, I got 29/40 (72.5%). The pass mark was 26/40. For the cardiovascular clinical exam station, I got 27/40 (67.5%). The pass mark was 29/40, so I didn't pass that station. Ah well. It seems like I've been invited to get more practice.
Anyway. As I have been saying before, I haven't been practicing that much in this subject, because the main subject is the science subject this year. I wonder if these marks get entered directly into our end of year result, or are scaled first. If they aren't scaled first, then it would seem possible for people to "fail" all their stations but still "pass" overall (ie get at least 50%). The handbook doesn't seem to specify the requirement of passing each station at the end of year to pass overall. https://handbook.unimelb.edu.au/view/2012/MEDS90002
The midyear test result for FBS still isn't out yet though.
For the Abdominal pain history station, I got 29/40 (72.5%). The pass mark was 26/40. For the cardiovascular clinical exam station, I got 27/40 (67.5%). The pass mark was 29/40, so I didn't pass that station. Ah well. It seems like I've been invited to get more practice.
Anyway. As I have been saying before, I haven't been practicing that much in this subject, because the main subject is the science subject this year. I wonder if these marks get entered directly into our end of year result, or are scaled first. If they aren't scaled first, then it would seem possible for people to "fail" all their stations but still "pass" overall (ie get at least 50%). The handbook doesn't seem to specify the requirement of passing each station at the end of year to pass overall. https://handbook.unimelb.edu.au/view/2012/MEDS90002
The midyear test result for FBS still isn't out yet though.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
[update] Medical test results
For any UniMelb people, this doesn't have anything to do with our test two weeks ago. Sorry to disappoint.
Recently I went for a fasting blood test. I thought it was good to do, since I haven't checked my cholesterol and fasting glucose and all that before, and I thought it was good to see if I needed any diet or lifestyle modification.
Today I received my results. Cholesterol, glucose, liver function, kidney function and FBE tests were all normal. However, my Vitamin D was slightly below the reference interval. It's not too surprising since it's winter in Melbourne, but it seems like maybe I should have more sunlight exposure during winter or drink more milk.
Another thing I noticed was that the contact person for some of the tests that I had was someone who lectured and held a tute at UniMelb about liver function tests! That was a pleasant surprise. But after all, UniMelb does have a policy that all lecturers for Medicine are either clinicians or researchers.
Anyway, it's good to know that I don't need to make too many changes to my current diet.
Recently I went for a fasting blood test. I thought it was good to do, since I haven't checked my cholesterol and fasting glucose and all that before, and I thought it was good to see if I needed any diet or lifestyle modification.
Today I received my results. Cholesterol, glucose, liver function, kidney function and FBE tests were all normal. However, my Vitamin D was slightly below the reference interval. It's not too surprising since it's winter in Melbourne, but it seems like maybe I should have more sunlight exposure during winter or drink more milk.
Another thing I noticed was that the contact person for some of the tests that I had was someone who lectured and held a tute at UniMelb about liver function tests! That was a pleasant surprise. But after all, UniMelb does have a policy that all lecturers for Medicine are either clinicians or researchers.
Anyway, it's good to know that I don't need to make too many changes to my current diet.
Friday, June 22, 2012
[update] Half the midyear holiday is over already. End of exam period for UniMelb Undergrad.
Tomorrow marks the half-way point of my winter recess for Medicine. Unlike undergraduate courses at Melbourne, we only get two weeks of holidays between semesters. Ah well. If it was too long, maybe I'd get too bored. Last year it didn't feel that the holidays were long because of the time preparing for the USyd interviews, but before that I probably felt that the uni holidays were a bit long.
Today is the last day of the exam period for UniMelb. If you have recently sat an exam, I hope you have done well. For UniMelb, the undergraduate results for the semester are scheduled to be released by Friday 6 July in two weeks time, although many will come out before that date. Results generally come out on the Study Plan on the day before they are out on the Results Service page, and the results going onto the Study Plan coincides with the subject coming off the enrolled subject list on the portal homepage.
Today is the last day of the exam period for UniMelb. If you have recently sat an exam, I hope you have done well. For UniMelb, the undergraduate results for the semester are scheduled to be released by Friday 6 July in two weeks time, although many will come out before that date. Results generally come out on the Study Plan on the day before they are out on the Results Service page, and the results going onto the Study Plan coincides with the subject coming off the enrolled subject list on the portal homepage.
Friday, June 15, 2012
[update] MD1 midyear break! 방학이다!
It's now the midyear break for MD1! There will be two weeks for us to rest. I am not planning to do that much study, but I think I might still do a bit of reading of the pathology textbook since it's been an area of weakness.
After two weeks, there is a Student Conference that UniMelb MD students have to attend for 4 days. There are some compulsory aspects, but on each day there is a section to select between 3 different symposiums. I think I'll be enrolling in some of the more research type symposiums. I noticed one symposium on the Thursday about Mental Health though which involves learning Yoga, African Drumming and Creating Teddies though which I'm considering joining for the experience haha.
It seems like the conference is also a way for us to learn more of the social science/ethics/law/professional practice side of the course. I was surprised initially that the course didn't seem to have it throughout the year, but it seems like they're putting a lot of it into the conference week.
As I said before, the conference is assessed as pass/fail. According to the handbook, I'll have to do a 1000 word report on one of the keynote presentations. Hopefully it should be OK...
After two weeks, there is a Student Conference that UniMelb MD students have to attend for 4 days. There are some compulsory aspects, but on each day there is a section to select between 3 different symposiums. I think I'll be enrolling in some of the more research type symposiums. I noticed one symposium on the Thursday about Mental Health though which involves learning Yoga, African Drumming and Creating Teddies though which I'm considering joining for the experience haha.
It seems like the conference is also a way for us to learn more of the social science/ethics/law/professional practice side of the course. I was surprised initially that the course didn't seem to have it throughout the year, but it seems like they're putting a lot of it into the conference week.
As I said before, the conference is assessed as pass/fail. According to the handbook, I'll have to do a 1000 word report on one of the keynote presentations. Hopefully it should be OK...
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
[update] Midyear exam and OSCE done.
Yesterday and today, I completed my midyear OSCE and written exam. It was a struggle to prepare without having a swotvac/cram week. That said, the exams were not worth a large proportion of our final mark, so the timing isn't too unforgivable on the university's part.
For the OSCE yesterday, it was my first ever OSCE. I did a lot of things properly, but there were some things which I forgot to do. For instance, I forgot to wash my hands until almost the end of my clinical examination (oops) and didn't remember to make the actor lie down before palpating the carotids (to avoid the tensing up of the sternocleidomastoid muscle).
For history taking, I was reasonably comfortable talking to the actor about her abdominal pain, but forgot to ask about smoking and alcohol history, and I didn't list the symptoms of common bile duct obstruction apart from jaundice and pain properly (pale stools, dark urine, itch).
Ah well. As long as I don't make the same mistakes again, it's OK. After all, this was my first OSCE, and it wasn't worth too much.
With the written exam for FBS, it was quite difficult. I was reasonably confident with more than half of the questions, but there was a significant number of questions which I was unsure about or almost clueless about.
That said, others in the course that I have spoken to have also found the test to be difficult. Maybe the end of year exams won't be hard in comparison then, given that the class average for the subject was above 70% last year. I guess that way is good. I think it's better to have harder tests before the final so that we don't get false confidence before the final exams.
Anyway. That concludes all my exams this semester. There's two more days left for med this semester, which will include some revision lectures scheduled after the midyear exam. Such a strange thing to do.
For those reading still with exams to do, study well and I wish you all the best for them.
For the OSCE yesterday, it was my first ever OSCE. I did a lot of things properly, but there were some things which I forgot to do. For instance, I forgot to wash my hands until almost the end of my clinical examination (oops) and didn't remember to make the actor lie down before palpating the carotids (to avoid the tensing up of the sternocleidomastoid muscle).
For history taking, I was reasonably comfortable talking to the actor about her abdominal pain, but forgot to ask about smoking and alcohol history, and I didn't list the symptoms of common bile duct obstruction apart from jaundice and pain properly (pale stools, dark urine, itch).
Ah well. As long as I don't make the same mistakes again, it's OK. After all, this was my first OSCE, and it wasn't worth too much.
With the written exam for FBS, it was quite difficult. I was reasonably confident with more than half of the questions, but there was a significant number of questions which I was unsure about or almost clueless about.
That said, others in the course that I have spoken to have also found the test to be difficult. Maybe the end of year exams won't be hard in comparison then, given that the class average for the subject was above 70% last year. I guess that way is good. I think it's better to have harder tests before the final so that we don't get false confidence before the final exams.
Anyway. That concludes all my exams this semester. There's two more days left for med this semester, which will include some revision lectures scheduled after the midyear exam. Such a strange thing to do.
For those reading still with exams to do, study well and I wish you all the best for them.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
[update] Unimelb MD1 midyear exam and OSCE week + Unimelb undergrad second week of exams.
On the coming week on Tuesday and Wednesday, I have my OSCE and midyear exam. They are not worth a high proportion of their respective subjects of PCP1 and FBS, since they are year long subjects.
However, this will be the first time I will be assessed in an OSCE. This will be something new to me, unlike the many multiple choice tests which I have completed throughout my life. I'm wondering how well I'll do, and how hard they're going to mark for that. The main subject this year in terms of credit points is the FBS subject though, so I haven't been putting as much effort into PCP in comparison.
For FBS, there has been some level of bafflement among students because they put some revision lectures for the semester after the test instead of before it. Now that is a strange thing to do. Ah well. It's not something which can be changed this year, so we'll just have to deal with it.
The coming week is also the second week of exams for undergraduate students at UniMelb, and is part of the exam period of some other unis too. If you have an exam this week, I wish you well in your preparation and exam.
However, this will be the first time I will be assessed in an OSCE. This will be something new to me, unlike the many multiple choice tests which I have completed throughout my life. I'm wondering how well I'll do, and how hard they're going to mark for that. The main subject this year in terms of credit points is the FBS subject though, so I haven't been putting as much effort into PCP in comparison.
For FBS, there has been some level of bafflement among students because they put some revision lectures for the semester after the test instead of before it. Now that is a strange thing to do. Ah well. It's not something which can be changed this year, so we'll just have to deal with it.
The coming week is also the second week of exams for undergraduate students at UniMelb, and is part of the exam period of some other unis too. If you have an exam this week, I wish you well in your preparation and exam.
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