Just a "normal" weekend...

It's the second weekend after exams. I'm in my room. It's DRIVING ME CRAZY!! The weekend postmidterm exams we (a few fellow classmates and myself) went away - like 95% of the class did. It seemed necessary to leave the place where all the anxiety and learning took place. So this weekend I should be able to study, right? I mean, I had an entire weekend off and there are no exams this week... and studying is something we med students do constantly, right?

To make matters worse, I've had a cold this last week and spent most of Friday afternoon and yesterday (Saturday) sleeping. Bouts of studying and watching the Bones series interrupted the sleep. Now I'm feeling less sniffy and groggy, but I REALLY cannot stare at my Histology notes no more! What's worse is that I know that the next two weekends will be pretty busy with a Medsin conference and then a 5-day Easter break (the ONLY holiday we get this entire semester!) with family South of London. That translates into "you better work your butt off this weekend"! Yet, here I sit, blogging... "Eish" is the most appropriate word that comes to mind here.

"Normal" people use their weekends to catch up on essentials - sleep, movies, sun, friends, grocery shopping... I can think of a million examples of what one could do on a weekend. "Normal" people use this time to do something different to what they do during the week. That is, they DON'T work! Ok, I'll admit that that's not the case with everyone, but the majority, right? For example, my dad will spend most of Sunday reading the newspaper and napping. Oh, and how can I forget, fishing! My mom will make quick meals. Oh, and read the newspaper. My sister will watch movies and watch movies, and watch movies, and watch series... She might also visit the neighbour. While during the week they are one the farm, cooking and cleaning and driving my sister around, and at school. BIG difference!!! I want some form of normality - PLEASE!!!

Now that I've expressed my madness a bit, here's hoping that maybe I can return to those lovely Histology slides...

Doctors - a bunch of addicts!

During orientation we were required to attend a lecture on substance abuse. Apparently we are at a higher risk of developing an addiction. I guess it makes sense; I have already felt the immense pressure of performing academically. I think this pressure to fulfil obligations extends into the working world. I can imagine that the amount of pressure will not decrease I once I qualify, but the type of pressure may change slightly. You can't fail; you can't misdiagnose. To misdiagnose means to let the patient down, possibly break your oath, or even directly (or indirectly) be involved with the loss of a life. "Life" - something held in high esteem by both the individual and greater society. "Life", that one commodity that doctors try to preserve and possibly improve the quality of. Yes, the pressure is on...

I can see the addictions already. We have smokers, exercise "enthusiasts" and those that abuse food. There are other addictions too, I am sure, but these are ones that I am most commonly encounter. I too have an addiction - sweet foods. That's right, chocolate and biscuits are my drug of choice. I can't seem to get through one day without them and I most certainly can't study without them! I have also come across a nifty little aid called the "caffeine tablet". I have never been a coffee drinker and I don't think I will leave medical school as one either - despite the numerous comments that my aversion to coffee will be transformed by medical school!

I can only hope that I can modify other aspects of my lifestyle to counteract the effects of my food dependence. I consider this one of the mildest forms of dependence as it's side-effects are relatively manageable. However, I question whether this lifestyle could lead to diabetes later on in life, even with regular exercise. Eating vast amounts of foods high in sugars HAS TO negatively impact long-term insulin release...

Another observation I have made is that medical students are vast in their backgrounds, characters and preferences - just like the rest of the population. Was I expecting anything different? How could I?! The stereotype is not actually that prominent (I mean the one of medical students ONLY studying, dressing and behaving conservatively). Yes, MOST of us spend a great deal of time studying, but medical students have tattoos; wear incredibly short dresses/skirts, astonishingly high-heel shoes, or masses of make-up. I have to add that these individuals will not necessarily be flawed doctors. On the contrary, I believe that they could possibly be extraodinarily gifted physicians! Medical school teaches you so much more than human biology or disease processes...

Last comment: one observable trend seems to be that most medical students study hard and party hard!

This is med school!

I had my first taste of med school tests today... Can't say it was very appetising. It left rather a lingering, unsavoury taste in my mouth. Indeed, I can now say that medical schools' reputation of endless hours of studtying is justified! One will be amazed at the amount of pneumonics, data sheets and other various forms of "quick learning methods" arise in the few days to weeks before a test! I'm sure we all want doctors that have understood everything they learnt at medical school, but at the end of the day, the medical student only has time to do so much , to study and learn that much. We are only human, not super beings...

No time!

So it's been a while since my last post... Any guess as to the reasons why?? Well, I knew med school was a lot of work, but it's really more intense than I thought! I constantly get the feeling that I'm falling behind - which I am! "Weekends are supposed to be a time to catch up", I think, and then all I want to do on weekends is NOT study and catch up on sleep! This last week has been pretty exciting though! We've been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to view cadavers in order to optimise our understanding and 3-dimensional visualisation of the human anatomy. I've seen cadavers before in my undergrad physiology course, so it's not really new. Additionally, there's no wielding of the scalpel for med students this early in the game, so it's mainly just viewing what you've already learnt in theory.

I'm really enjoying these medical sciences. It's not just memorising information though. We're already being nudged to integrate the information in a broader sense, which is not as simple or natural for me as I expected. We're also already being lectured on medical ethics and professionalism... Electronic exposure was one of the last topics. In other words, I am to be careful what I type or post, as the greater public could access this information and make assumptions. This is quite a scary thought! I've already heard rumours that certain universities and hospitals look at facebook profiles before deciding whether to accept an application! So, I pose this question: "Do we as medical students, and future doctors not have the right to express ourselves for fear of the views of the public?". Hmm, it's a tough one. Where does one draw a line that distinguishes between what is acceptable, and what's not? Is this blog potentially scathing the medical profession? I hope not. I will try as much as possible to keep this blog "clean" as it were. Besides, I'm not particularly one for spreading bad conceptions about others. Nor am I one who would divulge such private affairs in public...

Time, time - running out of time... No time!!

Ok, one more comment before I move on to Histology. Sir Alan Craft presented a lecture on Thursday. This was the first out of the Global Scholars Lecture Series. Sir Alan Craft is a specialist in Paediatric Oncology and has had a profound influence not only in the UK, but also other developing countries such as India and Tanzania. He is fascinating to listen to! Such experience and knowledge! I have enquired about the possibilities of helping or observing medical work in South Africa. Hopefully I can make a difference - even as a lowly medical student!

The Beginning

This blog has been created to record personal experiences while training to be a medical student. That is, it is to be my virtual diary. I don't think the content will exclusively be medicine related, but I'm pretty sure it will play a big role!!

Just to explain my blog address a bit... I chose "medneophyte" for a reason. Many medical terms originate from Greek words, as does "neophyte". "Neo-" translates into "new", while "Phytos-" translates into "plant". In other words, neophyte means "newly planted". I find this all quite fitting, as I'm newly "planted" into the practice of medicine. I guess you could call me a seed of medicine!! Hopefully I will be able to flourish in my new environment...

So much for entry one... Time for Biochemistry...