Rant #1

It's the 2nd of February and my blog has been on stalemate for 2 months plus. Reasons? Miscellaneous... Including the fact that things got very hectic after the psychiatry module. Since that time I...

• Started and finished obs and gynae attachment
• Finished and handed in my obs and gynae logbook
• Celebrated Christmas and New Year's Eve/Day
• Went to one funeral of a dear friend
• Could have potentially gone to two others (including that of Prof. A. Cuschieri)
• Got my driver's licence :D
• Had a Family Medicine Exam in January (25th)
• Had my Foundation Programme job interview last Friday (wasn't that bad)
• Is close to finishing the surgery logbook as the list of tutorials piles on

In the meantime:

• Surgery revision lectures are practically over
• Obs and gynae revision lectures are also practically over
• All 5th years have the fear of God instilled into them for the upcoming finals in June

Yes, in 2 months we did all that and still... NO PSYCHIATRY EXAM RESULT.

This concerned many of us, so one member of the class took the initiative to send an email vis-à-vis when the psychiatry exam result will come out.

The reply?

"I cannot give you a straight answer when the result will be issued, but I can tell you that progress has been made and hopefully in the coming weeks, the results will be issued.

Warm Regards"

I give up!

I <3 the King!

Just thought of posting a summary on what this year's youth weekend was all about...



Now THAT is MY King! :)

The weekend was awesome! I honestly did not want it to end. And I just want to say a big thank you to anyone reading this post who made this youth weekend possible. Thank you. :)

RT: Practice Makes Perfect

Summer has been rather busy with so much work to get done before turning a new leaf and start my final year at Uni. For a first time in a long time, I was actually excited to get started this year. Though the pressure really is at its best as the finals draw closer with every passing day.

For people with a voracious appetite for knowledge, 5th year can indeed be exciting. But the worrying hearsays regarding the tribulations I'm going to have to endure have commenced already. In fact, at this rate, I'm just really hoping that by June they won't get the better of me (especially in front of Dr. Parveen Kumar as, apparently, it does you know favours; 'specially if you're female like me).

Most people say the practical component to the final exams is the core reason behind all this terror. Though, in all honesty, what's scaring me the most is what will happen later...

But let's not go there and not think so much long term. Exams are an overwhelming reality as is and they have to be tackled very judiciously due to the heavy practical/hands-on compnent to them. And as stated in this very striking poster that inspired me to write this...



Still, all practice and no theroy, like I discovered yesterday at casualty whilst trying to learn something, is like sailing an "uncharted sea". Putting it in modern English... you feel utterly lost and confused in your sea of patient complaints and medicine problems... You would be asked very intimidatingly... "Allura tabiba, how are you going to manage this lady?" But whilst summing up the affairs of your brain, you simply draw nothing but a blank...

If you ask me... I think that is what really is scary!

June 2009 and June 2010

Just a few thoughts of today...

1. June exams are over and passed Pathology.
2. Simon has reached his 300th mark on his blog. And I'm featured in his vlog... *embarrassing*.
3. Today it's Father's Day... It's suppose to be a nice family day today. Thing is, it is turning out to be anything but...
4. But that's not what my blog is going to be about. I just want to record a little something for myself... Though feel free to read through...

Last Friday was an ordinary day for most people. It was definitely an ordinary day for me, except for one thing... My best friend finished her 5th year medicine exams last Wednesday and Friday was the day she was going to discover whether she can be officially called Dr. Scerri. Problem was, results weren't due to come out before 2pm. I'm sure my friend's stomach was churning a lot more acid than usual... I know mine was.

So, I decided to keep myself occupied till the clock struck two. I then ran out of things to do until my sister came up with this big idea of going to Pavi supermarket to buy a BBQ at 1pm. Half an hour later, we were on a bus to Valletta to catch the 2pm bus at the terminus.

Then, whilst trying enjoy the bumpy ride on the 88, I get the phone call... The phone call I've been waiting to get since we become friends in 6th Form. Well... The news she brought was good... Very good indeed. After 2 gruesome years getting the right A level grades and 5 years getting beaten up at medical school... She is now a doctor, alongside a few other lucky ones. The blogger behind That Malignant Grin also surely has something to smile about. And I'm glad they do! I'm sure it was well earned.

Now... As we congratulate the ones that made it through medical school this year... We now wait in joyful hope for that person to be me... Hopefully next June... June 2010! But before that... Only God knows how much I've got to get cracking before I get there. *sigh*

Little Picture Composition

The above picture is actually quite inappropriate to put up here since this guy is just starting PATHology and I just finished mine... Hopefully for good.

Whilst many people believe (wholeheartedly) that I made it through, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. Because, you see, if success in my pathology exam, or any exam for that matter, were to depend on the amount of highlighter used on notes and books, I should pass with flying colours (pun intended). Sadly, medical school rarely works that way. And today was enough proof of that. (Yes, the rumours about getting a 20 mark question on a three sentence-long condition in the biggest medicine book are very, very true...)

Now, I have obstetrics and gynaecology on Friday and Paediatrics following Wednesday. And for those people who are still wondering what the hell the word obstetrics means, here's the definition in graphical format...

Sorry for the lame post, but I really wanted to blog even though I had nothing of substance to say... Too tired to type out a decent post.

PS: Murmur rocks! Well done Claire and all involved.

Murmur is OUT!

The MEP election campaign, with all the political drama and propaganda, has brought along with it much blog fodder. Sadly, now is one of the worst times to be on blogging mode. But, this entry is worth a mention... Nothing to do with the MEP elections... Far from it! And I promise to myself to keep it short...

MURMUR IS OUT!!!!

Cartoon has been drawn by Matthew Urpani and designed by Claire Vella who was editor of MMSA's magazine (Murmur) this year.

Can't wait to get a hold of my copy on Wednesday... *happiness* Even though I have a bitch exam coming up on that day! *sigh*

Twitterific

As you may or may not have noticed, I've decided to form part of the Twitter community after the following sequence of events:

• Twitter has been first brought to my attention thanks to Robert Galea's blog.
• Miley Cyrus has admitted to E! News that she is Twitter obsessed... Thanks to Demi Levato.
• Those two points above made me want to delve into what this "Twitter" thing is.
• Discovered that many a medical student is twittering - it's infectious I suppose... but also...
• Things are starting to get a bit lonely at home now that I stopped having lectures for more than a week. (with Prof. Paul Cuschieri managing to turn our last lecture into a class reunion after such a long time of not seeing certain faces...)

Having said this, exams start on Friday... Needless to say I'm lagging behind in studies. Hence, got to go. For Twitter updates, you can check the right margin (just under 'God's Twitter' entitled "Verse of the Day")