The best of "William Wordsworth" dedicated to students (including me) undertaking gruesome exams tomorrow till end of June.
Test Prayer for Suffering Students
Now I lay me down to study,
I pray the Lord I won't go nutty.
If I should fail to learn this junk,
I pray the Lord I will not flunk.
But if I do, don't pity me at all;
Just lay my bones down in study hall.
Tell my teachers I did my best.
Then pile the books upon my chest.
Now I lay me down to rest,
And pray I'll pass tomorrow's test.
If I should die before I wake,
That's one less test I'll have to take.
AMEN!
Esmily Wishneusky
What? You actually thought I was going to post real poetry? Good luck to all those who are doing their exams. And for those who finished (or don't have to take exams anymore), just enjoy your summer without beign pains in the bottom. ;)
Sunday 27 May 2007
Friday 18 May 2007
Abdo Frenzy! Starring spleen and abdominal pain...
Why abdo frenzy? Well, it so happens that in this post, the abdomen (i.e. the tummy region) is going to feature quite a bit, with special attention being given to:
1) The spleen
2) Abdominal pain
Actually, only these two points (too many) are going to be the highlight of today's post.
The spleen
The spleen is one organ found in the abdomen we don't often talk about; most probably because it rarely gives anyone any trouble. It could also be that it doesn't do anything interesting in the adult except for destroying blood cells when they retire after 120 days. However, the spleen was once thought to be the seat of "black humour" ("to vent one's spleen) and sadness, caused by an excess of "black bile" (melancholy) that gives the organ its characteristic disgusting colour. It's within the latter context that the spleen is going to enjoy its few seconds of fame. It's not a vital organ in the adult but I still have mine in place, and it needs to be "vented out" a little bit after a very interesting case of abdominal pain that hit very close to home.
Abdominal pain
The causes of abdominal pain range widely; so much so that when a patient presents with abdominal pain, an incompetent pre-clinical (and sometimes even clinical) medical student is bound to leave something out when listing out the possibilities that could ultimately lead to a correct differential diagnosis.
I was studying at medical school library when I receive a message from my mother at 3:15pm. "We're taking Erika to the ER". :S Naturally, I was worried sick and when I met them at the Emergency department moments later, I see my sister get out of the car, holding her tummy like her intestines were about to fall out, with her face all cringed. She was obviously in agony. However, as my brainwashed self suspected an appendicitis (i.e. an inflamed appendix), my gut feeling smelt one of the biggest farces that I could ever write on this blog (at least before I get to ward rounds in third year).
After a bit of running around to get to the right department, blood tests were carried out, (mid-stream) urine samples collected, X-Rays taken...obviously with long hours of waiting in between. In the meantime, I tried studying for as long as I could without getting too distracted by the unfortunate circumstances. Library closed at 7pm but Erika was still in ER. By the time I arrived home, the medical staff finally found out what the problem was. My family came back with my sister totally relieved from pain just 15 minutes after I arrived home and ate everything I could find in the kitchen. Naturally, I asked what the problem was.
To spare any unnecessary embarrassment for the patient, I will not directly state the answer to this clinical case. Instead I'll just end by saying...God bless laxatives ;)
1) The spleen
2) Abdominal pain
Actually, only these two points (too many) are going to be the highlight of today's post.
The spleen
The spleen is one organ found in the abdomen we don't often talk about; most probably because it rarely gives anyone any trouble. It could also be that it doesn't do anything interesting in the adult except for destroying blood cells when they retire after 120 days. However, the spleen was once thought to be the seat of "black humour" ("to vent one's spleen) and sadness, caused by an excess of "black bile" (melancholy) that gives the organ its characteristic disgusting colour. It's within the latter context that the spleen is going to enjoy its few seconds of fame. It's not a vital organ in the adult but I still have mine in place, and it needs to be "vented out" a little bit after a very interesting case of abdominal pain that hit very close to home.
Abdominal pain
The causes of abdominal pain range widely; so much so that when a patient presents with abdominal pain, an incompetent pre-clinical (and sometimes even clinical) medical student is bound to leave something out when listing out the possibilities that could ultimately lead to a correct differential diagnosis.
I was studying at medical school library when I receive a message from my mother at 3:15pm. "We're taking Erika to the ER". :S Naturally, I was worried sick and when I met them at the Emergency department moments later, I see my sister get out of the car, holding her tummy like her intestines were about to fall out, with her face all cringed. She was obviously in agony. However, as my brainwashed self suspected an appendicitis (i.e. an inflamed appendix), my gut feeling smelt one of the biggest farces that I could ever write on this blog (at least before I get to ward rounds in third year).
After a bit of running around to get to the right department, blood tests were carried out, (mid-stream) urine samples collected, X-Rays taken...obviously with long hours of waiting in between. In the meantime, I tried studying for as long as I could without getting too distracted by the unfortunate circumstances. Library closed at 7pm but Erika was still in ER. By the time I arrived home, the medical staff finally found out what the problem was. My family came back with my sister totally relieved from pain just 15 minutes after I arrived home and ate everything I could find in the kitchen. Naturally, I asked what the problem was.
To spare any unnecessary embarrassment for the patient, I will not directly state the answer to this clinical case. Instead I'll just end by saying...God bless laxatives ;)
Saturday 12 May 2007
Got myself a job!
Just a quick post to let the world know...99.9% I got myself a job this summer - selling burgers in one of the most famous fast food franchise in the world. ;) Summer 2007 is going to see my third return to McDonald's Baysteet. Now, I'm just waiting for the management to get back to me and give me my uniform. In the meantime, it's back to studies to avoid having a "too busy summer" with resits.
Friday 11 May 2007
2 weeks till doomsday
Long time no blog...reason being that I have only a pitiful, remote number of fans to feel obliged to. Also, as you can imagine, I have particularly nothing interesting to write about; unless you want to know how my studies are going and what I would have actually learnt during the day.
Spending lots of time at Medical school library trying to get some work done. Yet, the only things I seem to learn at the end of the day are:
- Our memory stores are not sufficient to carry all the expected information
- Most of what we're meant to know is utterly useless
- As much as we're adviced to focus our energies on what is important, it is not what is important that comes out in exams.
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