Tuesday, September 26, 2006

As the end gets closer...

As the end of the year inevitably gets closer and closer, I'm starting to feel a little suffocated by it all. We still have plenty of assessments that need to be done, as well as having to try and motivate myself one last time for the final exams. The problem is that I don't feel like studying when I still have assessments to do, and I don't feel like completing my assessments because they're boring.

So you can see my dilemma!

My main priority at the moment is finishing my Personal and Professional Development essay. The topic is:

Discuss the ethical issues involved in pre-test counselling
Eek. What a horrible topic!

It's all to do with the faculty and trying to create 'rounded' doctors. My main objective at the moment is to simply become a doctor! And that means passing my exams!

*sigh*

Back to my essay...
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Sunday, September 17, 2006

Flu / Man Utd

I have been as sick as a dog for the last couple of days. What initially started as a bit of a niggle at the back of my throat and a bit of a cough rapidly progressed into a full-blown flu. I had a fever, muscle aches, a headache and this severe tiredness that wouldn't seem to go away. I spent most of Friday asleep, when I was actually planning on going into the hospital to see the patients I was going to write up for my assessment. Fat lot of good trying to see sick patients when I was in no shape to get out of the house myself!

In any case, I seem to be recovering - hopefully in time to catch the biggest game of the season yet: Man Utd vs Arsenal! With Thierry Henry out for the Arsenal, it will be difficult to predict what the outcome of the game will be. If Man Utd try to play football against us, they will find that we are exceptionally dangerous on the counter. On the other hand, if they sit back, the game might end in a draw - a result which we would be more than happy with.

Aspects of the game which I think will be important are:
  1. Rooney/ Saha / Ronaldo vs Toure and Djourou: Whether the inexperienced Djourou will be able to keep a lid on Saha/ Rooney and Ronaldo is very important. If our defence holds firm, then it will give us every chance of snatching a goal at the other end.
  2. The injury to Henry/Who will play instead? With Robin van Persie possibly out as well, whether Wenger chooses to use Adebayor as a lone striker up front, or in partnership with Baptista or Walcott will also be key. The latter two players have not played many minutes for Arsenal and it will be interesting to see if they are up for the challenge of playing Man Utd away from home.
  3. Fabregas/Gilberto vs Scholes/Carrick: The midfield battle will be all important. Good service to the front players on either side will obviously have a huge bearing on the way the match will go. Gilberto will need to be on top of his game to close down the passing channels. Wenger has already talked up Carrick and his importance in picking out passes.

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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Surg Term: The Home Stretch

I started my final ever term as a medical student today. It's a bit scary and definitely very daunting thinking about the path that lies ahead of me. In a few short weeks, I will have finished my final exams and officially will become a doctor. Yes that's right - a DOCTOR!

In a way, it's a huge relief to finally end this 6 years of madness, something I went into blindly after a previous 12 years of primary and secondary school. Looking back, I definitely would have put more thought into taking a year off and travelling. Having been on an awesome trip to Europe just this year, I would highly recommend taking some time off to see the world to anybody who is studying a very long course.

So my last term is Surgery at St John of God Subi. Again, this is a new experience for me. I've never ever done an attachment at a private hospital before. In fact, the only time I had ever been inside a private hospital before was when my father was admitted, ironically to SJoGS as well. So my experience as far as this type of healthcare is concerned is fairly limited.

On first impressions, they certainly put a lot of effort into their furnishings. The provate consulting rooms are sumptuous. The whole place reminds me of a hotel or an upmarket shopping centre. In a way it's almost like I'm in an episode of House or something. Beautiful glass doors here, magnificent prices of art there. Totally surreal.

But I'm definitely looking forward to finishing the term, the year, and my degree.

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Sunday, September 03, 2006

Med Dinner

Last night was the 2006 West Australian Medical Students' Society Dinner. It was an awesome night, it was held at the Perth Convention Centre with close to 1000 people turning up to the event! Being in final year, it was tinged with a bit of sadness - it was my last Med Dinner ever. I had a great time, floating around, talking to people I hadn't seen in a while and meeting up with other non-med people I knew who were just there for the ride.

I've uploaded some pics to flickr, you can see them by clicking on the images on the right.

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