Merry Christmas

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (Jn. 3:16)

God - The greatest lover

So loved - The greatest degree

The world - The greatest number

That He gave - The greatest act

His only begotten Son - The greatest gift

That whosoever - The greatest invitation

Believeth - The greatest simplicity

In Him - The greatest person

Should not perish - The greatest deliverance

But - The greatest difference

Have - The greatest certainty

Everlasting life - The greatest possession

Author unknown

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, with the true love, joy and peace that only Jesus can give.

On Yesterday...

The first three hurdles of the 4th year steeplechase were over yesterday! Hopefully, I didn't drop any of the hurdles along the way. It's not so much the forensics and public health that are worrying me. But, over the past few months, my predecessors have been giving me the impression that passing orthopaedics is pretty much like defeating the impossible...

And yesterday I discovered why! It was a Bitch exam if I may say! As tradition I suppose (with tradition being 1/3 of a class doomed to fail). I just hope I won't be part of that statistic. Come to think of it, I don't really want ANYONE to be part of that statistic.

Otherwise, the rest of the day was OK. Had a Media meeting to discuss Xmas issue of Sphygmo and Murmur magazine, chatted with friends, went out and did not get back home till 2am this morning. And there are more blog worthy events coming up NEXT weekend (nope, sorry not this weekend), with one of such events being MMSA Health Fest at Valletta. I'll divulge details regarding that later on.

Sphygmo is Out!

For all medical students of the past, present and (perhaps) future...

The first-ever online edition of Sphygmo is out!

I suggest visiting http://issuu.com/sphygmommsa/docs/sphygmo to read and download!

Now, back to my books!

This Little Paradise of Mine

Exam fever is keeping me away from blogging, as I've said time and time again for the past x amount of blog posts. However, here is a little essay written by my 17 year-old sister during her English lessons entitled This Little Paradise of Mine. Funnily enough, she ended up writing about my little paradise. So... here you go ladies and germs...

This Little Paradise of Mine

I have you know that my life is one big roller coaster full of ups and downs, twist and turns and each minute seems to go by at the speed of light! I am a fourth year medical student, of 21. Exams never seem to far away, my 'To Do List!" seems endless, and being a member of the MMSA I do not have much free time.

However, just like anyone else, I need to rest. Sometimes I feel that I have to just get away from it all....(without getting out of the house and using up half a day in which I can easily cover two "Head and Neck" chapters. I do not go out much, and I am not what one might call a 'party animal', so I am more creative than others when it comes to my social life and this is my little paradise.

Mind you, its not much. It is only a stuffy corner, full of dusty papers on the desk which are covering the keyboard. I shall not call it my paradise because it is my computer desk, but rather it is a shuttle that takes me there.

I find my sense of well-being and tranquility in my writing.

I write about absolutely anything that comes to mind, as soon as I close my eyes, and travel in the middle of nowhere amongst the ocean of figments of my imagination. While people are down the block having a laugh over a bottle of gin, I am on the foot if the Great Wall of China, or I am a keen traveller exploring the most tropical safari. I might even be a lizard trying to find my way out of a maze in some one's backyard.

Writing helps me to think about myself, it helps me reflect on my life, which is very important as at this stage of my life, I always need to ensure that being a doctor, in the casualty ward, is what I want to do. Not that I always doubted it, au contraire, amongst my sisters I was always the surer one. I wanted to practise this profession since I was eight and I was always so passionate about it.

However, I am obviously not the same eight year old, and since one tends to get used to ideas grained into their minds, it does not occur to them that there are other options out there! And one tends to do things passively and the fire inside will slowly fade away.

My writing keeps the flame burning, reminds me who I really am and oozes me with self- confidence and with a fresh point of view with which I see my life, and the life of others... as a precious gift which one should treat fairly.

(OK... you can clap now... or even better comment.)

Orthopaedics, Forensics and Public Health

Seeing the rate at which I'm blogging, posts seem to be dwindling down to one post a month. I doubt this scenario will change much for the time being. As I was privileged to observe from my predecessors, 4th year is the year where you constantly have to keep on your toes. It's not proving to be too bad so far. And for when it does, I do have a safety valve mechanism that will help preserve my sanity when exam pressure exceeds the preset limits. I'm helping out the Media Team within MMSA to having a smash hit newsletter Sphygmo. I'm the editor this year; which explains where some of my writing efforts are going.


The rest is all being seeped out into writing decent Epidemiology and Public Health notes so that I'll be able to write decent essays when the exam comes on the 26th of next month. Apart from that, there's also Orthopaedics and Forensic Medicine to study.


Orthopaedics is going OK, although that also still needs to be tested (hopefully only once on the 28th of November). It's quite interesting so far. I just wish it was just a little tiny bit easier...

Then there's also Forensic Medicine. It is nice though, mind you, not as exciting as CSI Miami, Criminal Minds or all those other shows aired on TV. Despite this, people who decide to do pathology and become experts in this field really do have a challenge ahead of them. Lectures always give me this impression that, just like in all branches of science, there are no absolutes to anything and that sometimes, it is not always possible to expect 100% certainty from your forensic findings.

To scientific minds, this may sound obvious. Unfortunately, in court, doctors are not questioned by people with such (brinlliantly logic and reasonable) minds. Instead, they're questioned by lawyers who never seem to get to grips with the fact that science is well known for it's grey areas and that no stupid questions need to be asked to prove that point during court trails in order to try decrease the court expert's credibility.

And for those people who are thinking that I should cut lawyers some slack, I'll just let the facts speak for themselves. Here are these questions, taken from actual transcripts, and see for yourselves whether lawyers can be very stupid:


Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?
Q: Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in the accident?
Q: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
Q: Did he kill you?
Q: How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?
Q: You were there until the time you left, is that true?


Not convinced? Take this exchange...

Q: Doctor, is it possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for pulse or breathing?
A: No.
Q: Then how can you be so sure, Doctor?
A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Q: But could the patient have still been alive nonetheless?
A: It is possible that he could have been alive and practising law somewhere!


Or this one (a personal favourite if I may add)

Q: So the date of conception [of the baby] was August 8th?
A: Yes
Q: And what were you doing at that time?


Personally, I rest my case!

Back from London and Off to 4th Year

Sorry for the lack of posts, but this blogger has been in London last week. Just got back Sunday early morning, only to start my 4th year this Monday.


London was nice; a good end to a very busy summer. There is a little part of me that would have liked a bit more 'recovery time' because the winter months are proving to be very hectic, with the work already starting to pile up at alarming rates. In fact, with so much on my plate at the moment, I'm just going to leave you with Bernard Levin's Quoting Shakespeare - all for the sake of not leaving you readers hanging. I first encountered this whilst at the Globe Theatre on the Southbank of London (on the opposite side of the River Thames to St Pauls Cathederal). Hope you'll enjoy this as much as I did, for it might be a while till you'll hear from me again.

If you cannot understand my argument and declare, "It's Greek to me", you are quoting Shakespeare. If you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare. If you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish is farther to the thought, if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare. If you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied - a tower of strength - hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows - made virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play - slept not one wink - stood on ceremony - danced attendance on your lord and master - laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift - cold comfort, or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days, or lived in a fool's paradise, why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone Conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare. If you think it is high time, and that that is the long and the short of it, if you believe that the game is up, and that truth will out, even if involves your own flesh and blood, if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play, if you have teeth set on edge at one fell swoop - without rhyme or reason, then to give the devil his due if the truth were known for surely you have a tongue in your head, you are quoting Shakespeare. Even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing, if you wish I was dead as a doornail, if you think I am an eyesore - a laughing stock - the devil incarnate - a stony-hearted villain - bloody-minded, or a blinking idiot, then by jove - O lord- Tut, tut! - For goodness sake - what the dickens! - but me no buts - it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare...

Back from Wien...

Managed to come back in one piece from Austria... the land of everything Mozart and everything Strauss. My colleague and I came back home Saturday evening.

It was an eventful trip overall; one that's a little bit difficult to describe. See, more than it being a long holiday or a “crash course in infectious diseases”, this student exchange programme managed to serve as an interesting eye opener to a lot of things. The most you readers might be able to appreciate is the fact that a lot of sightseeing was done in our free time. Vienna is as beautiful as people say it is. And hearsay that Austria is a beautiful country is all so very, very true.

We visited Vienna to the point were we exhausted our monthly travel pass (the Monatskarte) and got nauseated at the sight of Mozart and his chocolates (more often referred to by their more coarse-sounding title "Mozart balls"). We also ventured a bit outside Vienna. And once upon a Tuesday, we even crossed Austrian borders by bus and went to Budapest (in Hungary).

I did attempt to update you all throughout these 4 weeks, especially when we had our rainy days (five in all - not bad. At least not as bad as England). But the free Internet access at the hospital (AKH) never allowed me to do that. And the little Internet time I had on my hands was spent with family and a couple of friends. Nevertheless... I DID check my blog a couple of times but never found comments attached to my previous post. On seeing that I just figured... my readers can wait. They’re most probably very busy enjoying summer! So, I never felt pressured to blog.

But now that I'm back home, with my summer job at McDonald's leaving me with very little to blog about, snippets of my lovely time in Wien might eventually emerge on this blog... sometimes through pictures and sometimes through wordy stories... It all depends on how encouraging I find your comments threaded to this post!

Off to Wien!

This blogger is (finally) off on holiday for 4 weeks. Computer access will be available but there's no guarantee I'll be posting much. I'll be too busy enjoying my time abroad. In the meantime, I'll take comfort in the fact that most of you would also be busy enjoying your holidays i.e. you won't have time to keep yourselves informed...

...

...

...

Ok fine... I'll try updating! :)

On a Wing and a Prayer...

MD 2nd year: The foul, despicable period of limbo between 1st year, where everything is bright and shiny, and 3rd year, which is basically epic win.

Claire Vella

MD 3rd year: That state of euphoric bliss that leaves you wondering why medicine isn't for the faint hearted... As you forget that there was such a thing as second year that preceeded it and forth year and fifth year that follows it.

MC

When compared to second year, third year was indeed an oasis in the midst of the previous dessert barren of any fun! (Well, at least in my case). And, somehow, even third year came to an end on the 16th of June with pathology II. Now, I simply await results with much anticipation as I think about me getting into 4th and 5th year – two scholastic years where medical school feels a little bit more like a film set for a potential movie entitled The Ossuary. (OK, so perhaps I’m exaggerating a bit). Nevertheless, it’s a doomsday I somehow want to welcome with open arms in a couple of months time. Anything is better than re-sitting or, even worse, repeating third year! You know, as they say… It’s nothing insurmountable; just very gruesome.

In the meantime, I'll just try to enjoy summer and feel happy for Italy for making it to the Euro 2008 quarterlies. They literally hung on with a wing and a prayer. But it was a perseverance that was very fun to watch on the 17th.

At least, it was a game that kept me away from The Times for a moment, whilst a good percentage of its faithful readers were disputing how I am potentially a major financial drain on the government with little resourcefulness worth investing in because it ends up going to the UK. Yes! People are at it again... Discussing how the government should shape my future as though I (and other health care workers) are state property! And just in case you’re thinking that these are my denatured neurons speaking just click on the following… UPDATED: Exodus of doctors worse than government saying – MAM. It was conveniently written on the 17th of June. I would have loved to comment but The Times tend to take a while to upload a comment. Eventually, I might be tempted to give some of these chicken heads a piece of my mind. Summer leaves me with very little else to do. Meanwhile, I'll just use this blog as a draft. Those who are not interested, the post ends here. Enjoy your holidays. For those who wish to carry on, take a deep breath before you continue reading:

1. As much as I would like to put all University courses and jobs/careers on the same level of difficultness, commitment and responsibility, these three years at University have proven otherwise throughout. Medical School is not a walk in the park, even for the most intelligent of students. It’s a course that really tests your nerve and stamina. And no matter how much you study, a grade above average is not even close to being guaranteed. I’m not saying that things are plain sailing for all the other students at University. But, starking differences are clearly present no matter what other people like to think!
2. However, we students still keep struggling through, at times on a wing and a prayer, with the hopes of becoming good doctors that can provide an excellent service to anyone who require it.
3. The life of a doctor is uniquely wrapped with a lot of responsibility, stress and constant pressure even when working within the 48 hour EU directive, let alone when we go overboard by double the amount of hours. One careless mistake, that can easily result when deprived of sleep, cannot be so easily erased with a putty rubber or a “Delete” button on a keyboard. Sure, medics who become doctors for all the right reasons will derive a lot of satisfaction from their work. But it is a satisfaction that comes at a very dear price that very few are willing to pay, and for good reason.
4. The country should really appreciate that, as much as it’s expensive to educate a citizen to become a doctor, health care services are even more expensive than that! One bypass operation carried out in a private hospital costs just as much as educating one medical student for an entire year. Mater Dei costs millions of Euros a week to be run the way it is currently run. And yet, the NHS is, very surprisingly, still a “free commodity” that very few Maltese people appreciate. Well, just for your info… The only reason why this is still possible is because 'low grade' doctors get paid peanuts. (Or should I say cashews in the light of the now not-so-new MAM-Gov agreement?)
5. Also... The stipend I get every month is, by no means, not enough for me to maintain an “expensive life style” and running around doing my own business in a flashy car. Go tell Jonathan Camilleri that my major mode of transport is even more primitive than that of the cavemen! I get from one place to another on foot usually, and the stipend I get is hardly enough to get me a new pair of decent slippers and a couple of bus fares from time to time! And if people think that we are not good value for taxpayer’s money, what about the Science B.Sc and the Computer students who get a lot more stipend and a lot more money on their Smart Card than we do? And tell me what these people will contribute to the country 'for free' after they graduate? Are the services provided at Smart City going to be dished out free of charge like Mater Dei Hospital?
6. Another thing to all taxpayers! My mum and dad both work and both pay taxes as though they are still single with no children of their own! Most probably, if my parents paid a lot less tax, they might be able to afford sustaining me through my University years without the governments helping hand.
7. Anyways, such comments are typical of a Maltese nation were all they're interested in is "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme".

I think that’s enough ranting on my behalf. Feel free to comment. Kudos to Anne Marie for the forward! In case you're reading this... thanks loads Anne! :)

4 down and 2 to go

With more that half of my exams complete today, I thought of treating myself to a well earned break after studying so much surgery and medicine (and perhaps a bit of that obligatory pharmacology). Very little helps me unwind better than this space.

Not that I abstained myself from breaking entirely. Staying cooped up at home is tiring, and most of those tired moments were spent looking at other people's blogs and observing how every author treats their blog differently: Some treat is as an online diary... Others use their blog to give their opinion on just about anything and everything... Some people share thoughts and ideas they deam inpirational, whilst getting the occasional few who turn their blogs into advice columns. And then you get those people (in actual fact the vast majority), who treat their blogs with utmost neglect. Anyhow, all this got me thinking on what to do with this blog of mine.

When bored of visiting all the links on everyone's blogroll, the narcist within me has read a couple of my old posts to try and get in touch with the real reasons why I took my writing online. After a bit of soul searching, I later realised that this blog is nothing but a reflection of an ever growing desire to be a good source of entertainment to other people. Making people laugh on MSN is what got me into this 'blogging community' in the first place (although Daphne Caruana Galizia doesn't really believe in such a thing as a blogging community). Now, whether I actually have 'stand up comedian potential' or not, that I do not know. All I know is that there are a selective number of people that do find me amusing, and being credited for my sense of humour is something that I find very rewarding. It might sound lame, but it's the truth. So... Moral of the story? Come to think of it, there isn't any take home message in this post!

Well, after that random thought, here's an update...

Murmur 2008 is out! Claire Vella and all the editorial team deserve a big well done for all the work they put into this 15th issue. But now, I'm already starting to think on what I can possibly write for Murmur #16... Perhaps I should keep myself on journalist mode, with my eyes peeled for any interesting bit of something to writ about. Or I can just keep working on the funny side of me and come up with something a bit more humorous. In the meantime...

Announcement!

Pass the word round please... especially those who don't have exams.

Everybody Needs Good Neighbours

No, there will be no sour grapes in this blog post. Sure, the Eurovision surprises this year were very disappointing (in my humble opinion, victory should have been Ukraine's) and countries just couldn't avoid voting for their neighbours (Denmark anyone?). Yet, the greatest disappointment of all was this - no Terry Wogan on BBC Prime. :'( I miss the way he cracks me up every year, even though the (crappy) Eurovision voting strategy is getting the better of his cynical sense of humour. (Anyway, anything is better than Eileen Montesin!)

Seriously, I needed Terry Wogan! Studying gets depressing after a while and I was looking forward to some decent fun. Surgery is my first exam this year, starting 30th May, hence explaining the picture of Justine's Hoops 'under the knife'. (Cool photo Justine. It's very you.) All will be over on the 16th of June.

And whilst the question on everyone's lips is whether we should boycott the Eurovision due to lack of neighbours, my question is this: Will I need a "good neighbour" to pass my exams this year? Well... I don't believe in stooping down so low and compromising my integrity in that way, for the sake of an extra mark or two (that aren't even guaranteed).

But the summer heat and the exam stress are getting to my head; my neurons are being abused and they're not thinking straight. Hopefully, I will manage to pass yet another year without the need "good neighbours". Or rather... Hopefully, everyone will manage to pass without needing "good neighbours" or "UoM Bathroom Notes in Medicine & Surgery".

Anyway, may I conclude that this space will be very uneventful for the time being. Perhaps, after exams, I'll get to post more often and tell you a little bit about my mini-adventures in Vienna. Got accepted on student exchange and I'll be away for 4 weeks: 5th July - 2nd August. Till then, there's a lot more studying that I have to get back to.

Something from my Inbox...

My Inbox is usually graced with a lot of Spam and rubbish. But here's an email I got that deserves to be posted on my little slice of Internet. It's not the type of post Sandro Vella would feature on The Maltese Blogosphere; but I sincerely believe there is truth in the article below...

SATAN'S MEETING: (Read even if you're busy or you're just not bothered)

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said:

"We can't keep Christians from going to church."

"We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth."

"We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their saviour."

"Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken."

"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ."

"This is what I want you to do," said the devil. "Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.

"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered.

"Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow."

"Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive. To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."

"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogues, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes."

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night. Give them headaches too! If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere. That will fragment their families quickly!"

"Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas. Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted. Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead."

"Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences."

"Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."

"It will work! It will work!"

It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there, having little time for their God or their families. Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.

I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in all this? This blog post might make 'BUSY' sound to mean: Being Under Satan's Yoke. But now it doesn't have to be that way...

PS: For all those with exams... Wishing you the Best of Luck.

(I know some of you with Os and As are actually close to finishing. Hope your studies pay off!)

It's that time of year...

I am currently in the above state of being, hence the lack of posts. It's that time of year I suppose, where exams:

• Leave you with nothing to blog and no time to blog: The stuff I can blog about is extremely limited since my life stopped to a halt whilst missing out on various birthday celebrations and other activities: paintball, birthday meals... Anyway, I won't continue whining lest I instill an unmovable depression in my readers (and Happy or Sad, a Mood Can Prove Contagious). But colleagues of mine do get bored of their medicine at some point in time, allowing themselves to get distracted and spend a bit more time on Maltastar.com and Di-ve.com for any news concerning our future as doctors. But again, it's depressing stuff and the few it concerns have heard it all before from the fifth years who are happily leaving this country.


• Make the hay fever season worse: All throughout May, my mother has been complaining that I need to see a doctor because I'm all the time sneezing and consuming too much toilet paper. When bored of renal, I was happily browsing when I bumped into this: "Changes in immune regulation in response to examination stress in atopic and healthy individuals" Höglund, C. Olgart, Axén, J., Kemi, C., Jernelöv, S., Grunewald, J., Müller-Suur, C., Smith, Y., Grönneberg, R., Eklund, A., Stierna, P. & Lekander, M Clinical & Experimental Allergy 36 (8), 982-992. Apparently, my excess hay fever symptoms can be happily attributed to the 30th May - 16th June period.


• Make you gain the pounds: It's amazing the things science is ready to prove to the rest of the world. Physiological reasons have been discovered behind a friend of mine once saying "my sister told me third year is hard but it's in fifth year when you REALLY gain the pounds!" The reasons why are nicely summed up in this lovely graph below:

Glossary of Terms (for those not privileged to have Dr. G. Buhagiar teaching them Biochemistry):

Leptin: The hormone that's meant to suppress appetite. Hence, having too little of it ends you up spending more time with the fridge; and woe betide the fridge if you find it empty.

NPY: has the opposite effect of leptin i.e. it's the glue that keeps you bound to the fridge.

Cortisol & ACTH: They're stress hormones that make you want to get into unnecessary arguments with Adriana Crocker (the Medical School Administrator), leading the poor individual indulging in chocolate to fight away the guilt. And the pounds keep on piling.

Oh and PS; another thing that's not helping the situation: my uncle had to go to the A&E last Wednesday with crushing chest pain. It didn't come as a shocker to me since he had all the pre-requisites to get him to Mater Dei. But family remains family and it was something else to worry about. He's now been discharged but is in need of by-pass surgery.

And the leptin keeps itself supressed whilst the NYP continues to surge. At this rate, the next thing to pity after exams are the bathroom scales.

On Syntax Errors

For the past month, I've been trying to juggle with assignments and studying, hence my scarce posts. In the meantime, Paul is successfully keeping the world updated with everything that may or may not really matter. (Thanks Paul.)

Well... Deadlines are fast approaching and essays are almost done. They were the cause of much stress and grumbling by many a third year that spilled into a Family Medicine tutorial with Dr. Philip Sciortino. His reply was one: That assignments are a necessary evil because our educators want to make us think and be proficient at expressing ourselves in writing.

Well, students argue that we have more than enough "waste-of-time" writing to cover for that (Behavioural Science anyone?). But, as a student who is trying harder to look at the silver lining in every cloud (even when not present) ... Maybe the University wants to avoid us making these stupid medical bloopers on patients' files when we finally (and painfully) become doctors:

• The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.
• The baby was delivered, the cord clamped and cut, and handed to the paediatrician, who breathed and cried immediately.
• She has no rigors or chills but her husband says she was very hot in bed last night.
• She can't get pregnant with her husband, so I will work her up.
• Whilst in Casualty she was examined, X-rated and sent home.
• Both breasts are equal and reactive to light and accommodation.
• She is numb from her toes down.
• On the second day the knee was better and on the third day it had completely disappeared.
• The patient has been depressed ever since she began seeing me in 1983.
• I will be happy to go into her GI system, she seems ready and anxious.
• Patient was released to outpatient department without dressing.
• Discharge status: Alive but without permission.
• The patient has no past history of suicides.
• The patient expired on the floor uneventfully.
• The patient's past medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40 pound weight gain in the past three days.
• She slipped on the ice and apparently her legs went in separate directions in early December.
• He had a left-toe amputation one month ago. He also had a left-knee amputation last year.
• Many years ago the patient had frostbite of the right shoe.
• The bugs that grew out of her urine were cultured in the Casualty and are not available. I WILL FIND THEM!!! (Hmmm... I have the perfect person who can help you... as a microbiologist he wouldn't be able to "resist the temptation of taking a swab and looking for microorganisms")

And finally…

The patient left the hospital feeling much better except for her original complaints.

Courtesy of: The Doctor's Lounge

My suggestion to avoiding such silly mistakes? Assignments are not the answer. The answer is doctors shouldn't be working a 120 hour week... (Paul feel free to continue).

Writer's Strike!

“Medicine is my lawful wife and literature my mistress; when I get tired of one, I spend the night with the other” Anton Chekhov

After a book, a Murmur article, MMSA T-shirt slogan and a Feb/March issue of Youth Ink, it's back to spending more quality time with my "lawful wife".

The thing is, getting out of this adulterous relationship with writing is going to prove a little bit difficult for two reasons:

• Behavioural Science: I've this year's Behavioural Science Weekend coming up this week, which can only mean spending what would be left of Saturday and Sunday writing my process notes; describing how the sessions with our psychologist have geared us towards becoming 'finer' doctors with one one more dab of sunshine happiness. Next Thursday, it's off to the Alexandria at PV. The boredom ends Saturday afternoon.
• Family Medicine Assignment: This assignment is the next best thing to constipation. It has this remarkable capacity to induce writer's block even in the most talented of individulas, with hard, dry, difficult and infrequent production of sentences. Hope I'll manage to find a good laxative by 30th April!

Hence, although my assigments are very medicine related, I can't really spend time with the real love of my life... And all because of a load of bollocks.

Ending The Search Beginning the Quest

The moment I’ve been waiting for months on end happened yesterday, at 13:15…

“Marquita, its Evan. There’s a big chance that the printing press will deliver the book printed, ready to be dished out, today.”

It was simply exuberating news that made me rush to the nearest phone booth to break the good news to Tutzi…

“Tu, there’s a big possibility that the first boxes with the book will be delivered right at your door step at around 17hrs…”

Until I met Nazju (one of Evan’s employees) with the books at 16:50pm, there was a whole ecosystem of butterflies in my stomach. I was excited, but also very sick with worry. I was afraid of any possible misprints that would make me want to rewind back a few weeks. I was afraid the cover would turn out to be all pixilated and crappy…

Still, what was done was done. I muttered a prayer to God, thanking Him for everything and asked Him to bless our work. In the meantime, I wondered whether the white Fiat Uno right in front of Mireva book shop was Nazju’s car. At the sight of loads and loads of white boxes in the boot of the car, my heart went into tachycardia. Yep! It was definitely Nazju’s car! And the books were in there!

I opened one of the boxes on our way to Tutzi’s house. The result was amazing. Eventually, I got to discover a few booboos here and there. But, the joy of finally seeing the book ready after 18 months of sweat, tears and teeth-clenching effort totally outweighed any possible negative feeling precipitated by inevitable human errors.

But what is this book that I'm talking about?

For those who didn’t read my previous posts…

It was September 2006 when I went to Y4J’s Youth Team weekend in Gozo to plan the work and activities of the year ahead. It was on the 9th of September that Tutzi coined this great idea of dishing out information about Jesus in the form of printed matter whist outreaching in schools. It’s a date I recall well because I remember having to miss my friend Joelle’s graduation party because of this weekend. Anyhow, my mind instantly went on publishing a booklet like the one I was given at the MV Doulos once. And so, Tutzi honoured me with the responsibility of seeing that the project gets done.

Technically, all she wanted was a simple, easy to produce pamphlet. But I’m famous for my gross misunderstandings. So, instead of making a pamphlet, I wrote a book entitled: Ending the Search Beginning the Quest (Mit-Tfittxija għall-Għarfien). I wrote the text in English which we planned to translate into Maltese, in order to make one bilingual publication that could reach a wider readership. And I made all the arrangements with the owners of Mireva bookshop, who were great people to work with from the first till the very last day.

When Tutzi realised this, she was having second thoughts about this big project, whilst remaining flabbergasted at how I managed to blow things out of proportion. But I showed her that I was willing to put my heart and soul into this; that I had people helping me and that God was by my side. On Chris’s wedding (25th November 2006), we discussed all these issues and Tutzi gave me the official go ahead.

From that point on, there was no turning back. Tempting as it was at times to just give up on the whole thing, we just persisted on till we got to a very gratifying end result yesterday.

All glory to God for helping us all complete this book.

And thanks to all those people who helped out in some way or another.

Re: Naxxar Accident

There has been a lot going on recently. Elections alone gave me plenty of opportunities to keep the blog up and running. But, in all honesty, I've been too busy trying to get my first book printed. Now that the politicians got their 1s and 2s, Veritas Printing Press found a much awaited printing slot for my humble work of art (it's still currently a major source of headache but we're approaching the end slowly).

So, I'm not really going to talk about elections. After all, time waits for no one and news is always plentiful. I wish it weren't the case as what made the headlines yesterday was a real tragedy. I'm not going to dissect the incident and give my opinion on the matter. All I know is that innocent people have been negatively affected by this: Two people missing, feared dead; other bystanders injured and three houses reduced to rubble. Families who once had a roof over their head, a place to call home, suddenly lost it all.

To some people, this news happened a lot more closer to home. A friend of mine (an MCAST student, also from Naxxar), happens to know one of the victims of this accident. Mr. Edward Bugeja (602860 M) is an MCAST employee in great need of any helping hand available. A solidarity letter has been sent to me which, I believe, deserves a place in my little slice of Internet. Here's a the letter I got. For all those who can help, I encourage you to really make a difference to this person and his whole family.

Re: Naxxar Accident (Bugeja Family)


Following the violent accident in Naxxar on Wednesday 12th March 2008, MCAST was shocked to learn that one of the families affected by the disaster was that of Family Bugeja. Mr. Edward Bugeja (602860 M), who is an MCAST employee, has, as a result of the accident, lost his house and all the family’s belongings.

Should any one like to make a monitory contribution, please deposit funds at any BOV branch in account number: 40017049454, Bugeja Family (Naxxar Accident Fund).

We are confident that through your generosity and support we will be able to show our solidarity with a colleague at this very difficult moment.

Sincerely,

Stephen Vella
Deputy Director
Institute of Art and Design
Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology

ID: 322667(m)

How Could I Have Forgotten?!

I just realised now that my blog turned one year old on 28th February i.e. 4 days ago. So...

Happy Belated Birthday Oh Bloggie of Mine!!

I must admit...shame on me to have neglected this blog in this way. But, without sounding too presumptuous, I guess it happens when you would have 'bigger fish to fry'. Lately I've been really busy with things. Ten days before the Y4J Lenten sermons, I had to sort out what computer freaks would call "an interrupt". I was working on editing my first booklet Ending the Search Beginning the Quest, which took the best of seven days to do. The producers and I really went out of our way to try get it printed by Wednesday 27th of last month; all so that Y4J would get down to distributing it (for free) at one of their most hallmark activities. We managed to have everything ready on Monday 25th, specifically at 11:40 AM. Thing is, we didn’t manage to get it printed on time, reason being…

No big heads? No big bucks? Then, no big priority!

That is, because of work related to the elections, our work had to be shunned to the side for a while (even though we were promised otherwise). I guess printing presses also have their own bigger catch of fish to fry :( Oh well, a bit more waiting won’t hurt anyone I suppose. Should be ready by approx. 14th March.

In the meantime, here's a little teaser which I'm currently using as a desktop wallpaper. It was designed by Romina Tolu, who deserves a very special thank you for giving her 200% in effort to get things done on time (even if it meant spending less time with her twin sister who came back home from Italy for just two days. In case you're reading this Mina, thanks loads and I'm very, very sorry things turned out the way they did). More on how the book came to be in future posts...

Missing Blogger...

This will most probably be the shortest post ever. I'm too busy to write at lenght for now. In the meantime, look out for the following...

WHERE? ST. JULIAN'S PARISH

WHEN? 25th FEB till 1st MARCH

TALKS by FR. RAY TOLEDO

For more info check out the new and improved Y4J website.

http://www.y4jmalta.org

Pass the Vodka

Talking about Morena's success two weeks after the MSFE 2008 is pretty pointless. So I won't go into petty discussions over something that the whole nation was never really hyped about in the first place. However, other successes have happend recently that need recognition and deserve the above title:

• I did pass my theory driving test. Now all I have to do is try sit for the practical, pass the test and get my license.
• Youth Ink January issue is out, and there are quite a humble amount of subscribers.
• The website team has experienced a lot more fuitfulness right now and this is how it is spelt...

www.maranathamalta.com

• And there was the community Lenten Weekend. Absolutely fabulous. Also, last but not least...
• I'm officially on my way to publishing my first booklet (which I was meant to finish last year). It's all part of this big project "In the House" hitting St. Julian's Parish very very soon.

In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out a way how I can study all my medicine (and surgery, and pathology, and pharmacology), get my hands on a few patients to practise my clinical skills and juggle with a never ending list of tutorials.

Simple: I'll just have to cut corners...and my blog will just have to suffer...

And for dessert...Muffin on a Snell

2008 is proving to be very eventful so far, despite the blog draught recently. But, I rarely come home with a writing mood. Plus, when I do, I write for Youth Ink, now that I've committed myself to issue this monthly for a whole year. I made people pay a €6 subscription for this, hence the priority.

But, there are other less "nerdish" things going on. I've no mid yearly exams this year (thank God!); just a few tests at the end of February and a theory driving test coming up this Wednesday. Unfortunately, it's the least I can say for this poor second year (and so many other forth years). He's doing good though, using the Neuroanatomy Snell I used to possess last year as a platform for muffin photo shoots. Exhibit A:

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to spending the weekend of Carnival with friends. It's a Lenten weekend, but there will be some degree of dressing up for the Saturday party. The theme? 60s night! A very similar disco party was organised quite a few years ago by the Bungee youths, back when Tutzi was still in community. I wasn't even part of community at the time. I just watched most of the action on tape the Christmas of 2006. It looked fun! Hopefully, this party would be translated into funness too (at least by Simon). I sense it plucking a few "nostalgia strings" for some people; others will just have to work a bit harder at finding a costume.

Last but not least...I'm off to Austria for a month this summer on SCOPE exchange. And my friends Christine and Malcom are coming with me (hopefully)! Not sure if I should stay there for three weeks or four though. Christine and Malcom have decided on a three week stay, something that I'm a bit reluctant to do. I guess I'll just consult other friends of mine after exams.

And for all of you reading this, if you have exams, I wish you the best of luck!