http://cura-se-asia.blogspot.com/
I’m currently on a medical mission in South East Asia along with five other medical students and one ER physician. Follow our journey there.
Filed under: Academia
May 14, 2009 • 3:03 pm 4
Rain on the Last Day of First Year
Despite the rain outside, everyone is in high spirit. The end of Neuroscience also means the end of first year. The word is that our class did very well on the Neuroscience Shelf Exam. I promise myself ice-cream if I can honor. So my fingers are crossed! XP
Several fun things happen this week. This shy classmate who never really spoke to me finally call my name. I’m telling you, I feel accomplished because he never really talk to me or anyone else before. I’ve also been getting random food everywhere because of all the dinner parties. Dr. Z’s dinner was especially delicious. Too bad I wasn’t able to ride on her horses. My friend’s mom’s cooking yesterday wasn’t bad either. We ended up staying up until 1am playing Apples to Apples.
Several days ago, I tried Latino/Salsa dancing. Boy, that was tough. My roommate and I were terrible at it. “Shake it!” they kept yelling at us. I’m trying! There’s nothing to shake! I’m sorry that I’m not well-endowed (T_T). Actually, I was preoccupied thinking about which muscle does what. You know you’re a full-fledged medical gunner when this happens. Hahaha.
Freedom is in the air, and with the end of first year, we have three months of vacation before coming back to start the second year (the toughest year). I will be packing for a medical mission in South East Asia. So I don’t know if I can blog often, but I will try and upload photos during my trip.
Everyone, have a good summer vacation.
April 27, 2009 • 12:57 am 3
Academically Exhausted
As the Neuro system course is running on full steam, the rest of the class is out of steam. I have been studying non-stop ever since Neuro. My studying schedule consist of four to five hours EVERY night and more than twelve hours EVERY weekend. I have not had a free day since Spring Break and I’m exhausted.
Last time, I did complain about not learning enough drugs during Pharmacology. Boy, I am getting what I bargained for because for the next two weeks prior to the Neuro Shelf, it will be nothing but DRUGS! I already had a lecture on Anti-epileptic drugs, and let’s say I want to choke somebody. Now, I know why those pharm students are a bunch of dark clouds, but it’s not like the med students are better off anyway.
My only motivation now is the upcoming awesome summer of review of what I learned this year. Yay.
Filed under: Academia
April 15, 2009 • 1:58 am 2
Like a Pro ~
I’m feeling extremely good today despite four mind-blowing Neuro lectures this morning. The reason? I did an awesome patient interview!
This was not an actual patient interview, so I can talk about it. He came in with depression basically. His wife died seven months ago and he was having difficulty with day-to-day activities. Boy, I handled it like an Attending with inquiries regarding his background, his family, his social life, and even suicide. I scanned him for depression with the usual depressive symptoms and he scored very high.
Psychologically, I walked him verbally through from the beginning of their first date, their marriage, their children, and eventually her sudden MI. Alcohol, tobacco, and substance abuse were also asked especially after her death. Ultimately, I got him to verbally express a lot of his guilt that eventually led to acceptance. It was an excellent interview. My colleagues and the proctor were impressed. I’ve redeemed myself from many failed interviews before!
You might think it’s strange for us to do psychological assessment as well, but it’s actually very common. Your physician did get this type of training. Whether he/she practice it or not is a completely different story. Medicine is not all about management of the body. The compassion in medicine is the management of the mind, and that makes us human.
On a side note, I did forget to ask him about childhood illnesses. Darn!
Filed under: Academia
April 7, 2009 • 4:37 am 0
1/3 Failing
The current situation is extremely bad. About 30 students are failing Neuroscience and another 30 are within 5% of failing. Fortunately, I am doing alright. We had our first Neuroscience exam this morning and it was banana compared to those quizzes we had before. My grade is going up, but I worry for the rest of my classmates.
Filed under: Academia
