This is it...the biggie.

Year 4 Summative Exam 2007

Eligible students: A100-4, A101-3

Written Papers: Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 June

LOCAS: Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 June

OSCEs: Friday 22 June to Friday 29 June

Results available (Spider): Monday 9 July 4.00 pm

Year 4 Summative Re-sit 2007

Eligible students: A100-4, A101-3

Written Papers: Wednesday 22 August

LOCAS: Tuesday 21 August

OSCEs: Monday 20 August (plus Tuesday 21 August if 50+ candidates)

Results available (Spider): Friday 24 August 4.00 pm

Federer vs Sampras

If I were back home around Nov this year, I'd want to watch this.

I'm going hiking!

Woohoo!

***

In a final bid to escape exam pressure 1 month before finals, a group of medical students decided to attempt the dangerous and death-defying ascent of one of the Western Lake District's most notorious heights: Blackcombe. At a terrifying 600 metres above sea-level, for many of us, this would test us physically as well as mentally.

Leaving a bright and early 830, we were joined by our GP and another, older GP who apparently did climbing just for fun despite being weighed down with rheumatoid arthritis (a joint disease). The first part went well, with a rocky path to the first hill.

The walk in the valley with a stream at the bottom was fairly easy, even for someone like me whose main exercise was the walk up 3 flights of stairs to Ward 6 daily.


Things took a turn for the worse as the climb became steeper. The group dwindled slowly, finally leaving this sad bunch of stragglers trailing behind.

With promises of a break 'after we reach the next ridge', only to be confronted by yet another hill, we trudged on. The views reminded us of how far we'd come, however.

And with a bit of hard work, we trudged onto the peak, where the others were there waiting. Besides the views, the sun was out and a breeze was blowing. Nice.

(From left: Dan, Adie, Ruth, Beth, Becky, Sharon, Rebecca, Steve and Rob behind. Matt in the jersey in front, Alex, Sarah and Natasha on the right)

(From left: Faz, Kofo, Chris, Hsupheen, Dr Richard and Dr Pogrell in front)

The view from the top..pity its a bit misty on the camera.

We'd made it. Now to the pub downhill for lunch and a pint.

Where we decided which dessert to have

And where others nursed their sunburns.

I wonder if I'm going to get any work done tonight... And I bet I'll have cramps first thing waking up tmrw morning.

Ever wondered what hell is like?

Living the dream

Dusty roads mean dusty shoes. When one can get them. Otherwise its just dusty feet. Which actually wouldn't matter so much, if every other part of your body is dusty. Hair not washed in weeks, mud-caked eyes you don't bother wiping away because they cake up in a matter of hours again. Nose half -blocked with snot from the cold at night, dried with the gusty winds that blow across the desert. The back of your throat dried up from the dust and parched from the lack of water. Muscles tired and fatigued from lack of nutrition and from having to walk to and fro from the water holes to the tents you call home.

To the average person, this would be torture. To you, it is a fact of life, just another day in the short life measured in half the span of normal adult years. What you wouldn't give for a cool drink, a cool bath lasting longer than a minute, a chance to wash behind your ears and clean, fresh and softly pressed clothes to wear. A meal that would leave you full instead of wishing for more.

A chance to get out of the circumstances surrounding your everyday life is unheard-of. If you were told 'there is more to life than this', you would probably laugh. For you, life is simply about survival.

Hundreds of miles away, a medical student contemplates the mountain of work before him, turns around and selects his Windows Media 11 playlist of choice on his laptop and sighs. "Why were exams ever created?"

GP Away Day

Our GP walking up the path

Sort of a surprise for us; after a morning at our GP, the whole practice went out for an afternoon to Clarence Hotel. An excuse for the students to present their long overdue audits, and a excuse to take the afternoon off.

A great lunch always lifts the mood for the rest of the day.

Outside House 2

Right now

...there are 4 girls who definitely NOT Spidey fans.

One of the things I'll definitely not forget about Barrow this year: Going to watch Spiderman 3 with 4 girls, none of whom are the least bit interested about the movie, apart from Sarah, who liked Tobey Maguire in Pleasantville.


Myself? I thought there were many unnecessary bits, including many cheesy dialogue scenes. Funny, definitely. Full of action, very much so. Epic? Not really. I recall walking out of Sunway still recalling scenes from Spiderman 2. Here I was moving around in my seat three quarters through (though Barrow's cineplex does have very little leg room).

To keep herself entertained, Rebecca kept up a running commentary throughout for our benefit:

'Why don't the two guys just kiss and get it over with?' - during a moment between Peter and Harry

'Why is it that Spiderman saves just one person, but destroys about 60 cars and wrecks half the town in the process, and people still cheer him on?'

'I'd like to kill Spiderman myself.'

'It was either I laugh or poke my eyes out. Since I didn't have a fork...'

After the film - 'I don't like Peter Parker. He spent half the movie crying...'


I wonder what watching 300 with girls would have been like.

Why don't they just kiss and get it over with?

Outside House

Hugh Laurie on the piano. Funny.

Confession is good for the soul

6 weeks to go. I don't generally whinge, but then again, its my blog and I can say what I want to (which is why I'm sure 90% of people blog in the first place!).

I'm stuck on a ward round facing questions by my cardiology consultant while others are busy whaling away at their books for the finals. Thats unfair. Thats also the good and the bad thing about getting busy medical rotations last thing in the year. Answering about 50% reliably and guessing my head off at the others, desperate to prove IMU didn't churn out failures.

Still having difficulties listening to the heart sounds with a stethoscope. Why can't people breathe less noisily? And why can't people on a busy ward make less noise so I can hear better?

Nearly gave someone a hematoma from venepuncture today. Still adjusting to the vacutainer system instead of the good old syringe and needle. Actually I'm just not getting enough practice. But its exams.....and its near the tail end of the year. My fault for not being proactive earlier I guess.

Talking to patients has gotten even harder. Knowing that I won't get 1 hour with each patient has made me more impatient with time. Not good for me, not good for the patients. Still when the guilt kicks in, I'm happy I still force myself to sit tight and listen.

Looking at Xrays has been getting easier since I've started going for the lunchtime radiology meetings. CTs and MRIs are still a headache though. I still have a book to read on the subject, but I think I'll hardly ever be able to get around to it.

Going through all the systems, trying to finish 2 weekly, the main problem, as with most medical students I know, is to recall what I've read the day before. That part of my brain hasn't developed very well it seems. I find it hard to recall, and this far into my education, when things start to pile up, and I'm supposed to know everything there is to know about medicine, its a bit troubling.

And as I type this, we've just finished a house party at our place, and my room smells of cigarette smoke. Cleaning up after everyone is no fun, either, though I suspect most people had an ok night. And we managed to surprise steve, which was the main point. Am looking forward to the bank holiday monday, which means a longer weekend to wind down and get work done.

Faz, Steve and 1/2 of Kofo