Just found this music video on YouTube. It’s an a cappella group consisting of medical students at the University of Rochester School of Medicine.
Enjoy.
Consider the Cow
October 2, 2009 by 2 Comments
Pastor Nick, a friend of mine, tweeted this:
Anyone else realize that they need to “chew the cud” when it comes to meditating on Scripture? (link)
As I read that tweet I had a mental image of a cow chewing. And chewing. And chewing. All to properly digest its food.
It reminded me of something that King Solomon is credited with saying, “Go to the ant… Consider her ways and be wise” (Proverbs 6:6, NKJV).
I tweeted back that Nick should write a blog entry titled “Consider The Cow,” but as soon as I sent that I wanted to use it. Because while Nick tweeted about needing to “chew the cud” in the context of meditating on scripture, I think it is also the very thing we need to do as medical students.
With the sheer amounts of information thrown at us it is very easy to try and speed through the various reading assignments. But when trying to memorize, repetition is the key. Slowing down and taking time is paramount (although one cannot be too slow). Without doing so, the material is quickly forgotten — or at least the details eventually slip away.
And as they say, the devil is in the details. It will be the little things that trip us up on an exam. When considering a clinical case, one little detail can mean the difference between a diagnosis of schizophrenia and schizophreniform disorder.
So go to the cow. Consider her ways, and be wise! Take time to process the material and linger a few moments longer on the little details that help to differentiate (and here I am writing this for me more than anyone else).
Now if the details are that important, if they can lead to making man whole — or at least helping them get better — then would that mean that God is in the details?
I suppose that would be a topic best left to the philosophy and theology bloggers…
Me? I’ll just put up my brand new cow poster. And every time I see it I will remember to slow down and properly digest my “food.”
Studying Pharm — A Look At My Notes
September 24, 2009 by 18 Comments
“They” say that one way to aid memorization is to use drawings and diagrams (the crazier and more vivid, the better) because the brain more easily remembers spacial relationships that just straight lists. So as I have started this second year of medical school I am studying in a totally different way than I have in the past and using a lot of drawing/diagrams and writing out of my own notes.
Here is what my Pharmacology notes look like. It is the drug list for the autonomic drugs I need to know.
Sorry for the blurry video. I didn’t realize the video was out of focus until after I was done. The Flip Ultra doesn’t do very well this close to an object.
Hopefully I will be able to continue doing this throughout the year. I think it will really help me with the memorizing. If I can push through every day and avoid getting too far behind, I think the chances look good.
Again, sorry for the vid being blurry. If I do this again I’ll film from farther away or use my other camcorder.
MSNBC.com: Facebook misconduct: Med students cross line
September 22, 2009 by 8 Comments
Article: MSNBC.com: Facebook misconduct: Med students cross line
Sometime last year there was an article about students posting inappropriate things on Facebook and having to deal with administrative consequences from their school or lose out on a job because some potential employer decided to check up on the job candidates online.
Well in this latest story, medical students across the country are getting reamed for being inappropriate on Facebook. What kinds of things? Offenses included “posting unprofessional content online, including photos of drug paraphernalia and violations of patient privacy.” Even posting YouTube videos of practical jokes with a cadaver.
While I agree that medical students should conduct themselves appropriately with the dignity expected of someone in the profession and that some of the offenses should never have taken place (like being disrespectful with a cadaver or violating patient privacy), I will point to one section of the article:
Medical students are no different from other young adults, said Anastasia Goodstein, a San Francisco-based marketing expert who tracks youth trends on her Ypulse Web site. The generation that first embraced social networking still considers Facebook merely a way to connect with friends.
“Now they’re waking up to the reality of older people and people with authority over them, like deans, seeing their Facebook pages,” Goodstein said.
And I don’t mean to point that part out to make an excuse for the behavior, but just to offer an opinion (that isn’t necessarily mine) from the other side.
However, I do strongly believe that all patient-identifyng information should never be posted online. And that was a line young and old never have a right to cross.
Oh, and one part of the article kind of pointed out something else. One medical student was in trouble for friend-requesting a patient on Facebook. I understand the ethical dilemma. We discussed this in class — that physicians and patients need to keep the relationship professional. But as Facebook has become more and more commonly used as a means to communicate (in addition to staying in touch with friends), I think this is a gray area.
Why can’t doctors add patients as a facebook friend? Is it because the patient will be exposed to the physician’s less guarded, non-professional moment? Or what if the physician had a dedicated professional account? Anyways, not everyone who is a “friend” on Facebook is really a friend (i.e. people who add/approve anyone regardless of whether or not they know them personally).
And now, I must go dig through both this blog’s archive and my twitter account and selectively purge entries…. lol Kidding. Kind of.
Year 2, Week 2 — I Have My Goal
September 18, 2009 by 7 Comments
I apologize for my completely lazy title. I’m tired. And it fits.
It’s the end of the second week of the sophomore year here at LLU. Some of you who have read my blog in the past might be wondering why I am writing about the beginning of sophomore year. Well because I am in the sophomore class — again. If you’re curious, check out my post titled “Back to Blogging” where I wrote about coming back to LLU after skipping exams and telling my dean I wanted his signature on my withdrawal slip.
It’s definitely strange. There is a sense of deja vu. Maybe it’s more than just a sense. I am hearing the same lectures for a second time. And I hope I can make the most of it.
But it is alienating to come into the lecture hall and see a totally different class. Unfamiliar voices and faces. And everyone there knows that you are a new face that was not part of the class 3 months ago — that you don’t belong.
I suck it up though. Because this is what I have to go through to get to where I want to be. And I’m not saying that my new classmates are unfriendly. They very well might be. And I have met a couple here and there that have been really nice. But I am definitely not the outgoing type. So that doesn’t help.
As I begin the second year for a second time I have to ask, what about me is different? Because if nothing has changed, then the outcome is likely to be the same frustration and anger that I felt before — which is definitely not a good thing. The last time it led to a failed attempt at withdrawing.
Well in short, a lot has changed. I am not the same student. Sure, I still want to goof off and procrastinate. But I have put myself on a schedule to keep myself on task. My break times, study times, meal times, and sleep times are planned out and printed out. I make a more concerted effort to focus and absorb/understand as much as possible from lectures. I cut down my internet/TV time. But the most significant change is probably attitude. I hate studying. I’ve said that before and I will probably be saying it many more times (or write it, for that matter).
But I have decided that I want to be a doctor. Yes, dear reader (intentionally left in the singular), I WANT TO BE A DOCTOR. And this process of spending hours with the books is NOT just a means to an end. Every opportunity to learn in medical school is a chance to shape the kind of doctor I will one day become. I don’t want to be some run-of-the-mill MD that just barely gets through, perfectly able to handle 90% of the problems 90% of the population see a doctor for.
The thing is, this will probably require me to throw my entire being at chasing a class ranking in the top 20% for this sophomore year (I’m not including the freshman year because mine sucked. I passed. But I’m definitely not proud of it.) Not for the sake of bragging rights, competitive residencies, or being “smart,” but because effectively soaking up everything I can in order to be the best doctor I can be will probably put me in that envied company as a serendipitous byproduct.
It’s a high challenge — especially for a life-long procrastinator and self-proclaimed loather-of-studying like me. Because it almost sounds like that percentile is my goal. And shockingly, that is the case. That’s what I am aiming for. In writing. On the Internet. For all (or one) to see.
In the end, should I fail to reach my goal, I hope that it is because I could not pull it off — not because I did not try hard enough or was not disciplined enough. Only time will tell, though.But the bar has been set high because one doesn’t achieve lofty goals without first being willing to set the goal behind daunting obstacles.
Wish me luck 😉
If I were an actor…
September 18, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Every once in a while I read about how some actor or actress refuses to watch any film that he or she acts in. I used to think that was odd. I mean, why wouldn’t you want to see yourself?
That’s how I felt — at least until I had to watch myself on video. After I saw a standardized patient in an OSCE I had to sit with two other students who had a interviewed two different actresses playing the same role.
The clinical case was simple. A 21 year old Caucasian female who previously suffered from Bronchitis (1.5 weeks ago) has a complaint of vaginal itching. She just completed her course of antibiotics 1 day before coming into the office. Based on that patient ID, and the subsequent history I (and I believe my two colleagues) concluded that this woman had a yeast infection.
That was the easy part. Well, more or less…
The difficult part came after. We sat in a group of three with one of the physicians and watched clips of each other’s interview. We had to comment on what we liked about it and what could be done to improve the interview as a whole.
After this group session we split up and had to watch our own videos in it’s entirety before writing a self-evaluation as well as what we think we could do to get better and what we planned to do in order to actually get better at it.
Well I cringed. I didn’t like watching myself on video. It was awkward. My voice sounded… well it just didn’t sound quite right. I watched myself and thought, “hmmm… I guess I could lose a couple more pounds.” (Is that girly of me to think that? LOL)
At least, however, I did get some positive comments. I’m not horrible at interviewing as long as I don’t go blank midway through. The physician told me I did not look nervous and I actually looked like a doctor in there — or at least on camera.
And the standardized patient wrote the following: “Good job!” and that I made her feel very comfortable during as a patient.
But on the bright side I know I can look a stranger in the eye and with a straight face talk about her vaginal itching, sexual activity, and sexual orientation all while making her feel comfortable.
Captain Atopic : Degranulated
August 19, 2009 by 1 Comment
I just found a new medical student blog. It is titled Captain Atopic : Degranulated. The author, Captain Atopic, is a medical student in Australia. Really enjoyed the series of posts about arrogance among medical students. They are stories that exemplify this very annoying trait.
Here are links to the three posts on arrogance: Arrogance I, Arrogance II, and Arrogance III.
A link to Captain Atopic’s blog has also been added to my sidebar for easy access if you ever want to find it again.
Hope you all enjoy 🙂
