Thursday, September 29, 2005

The storm is almost over

I write this with the risk factors for obstetric conditions muddled in my head into some sort of incomprehensible list. If anyone ever asks you for a complication of any obstetric condition say intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR), you have a high chance of being correct.

The tension of waiting outside the exam hall like cattle awaiting their fate, last minute panic as some smarty pants tells you some random fact apparently everybody knows. The written exam for MBBS O& G finals was today. It was o.k (vague medic term meaning the you don't know how you did). Afterwards we exchanged tales of disappointment and sceptism regarding our performance. Statuatory medic behaviour, I believe it is a primitive reflex that evolves with each generation. There is solidarity in uncertainty and it feels like the torture of exams will never end.

Alas tomorrow, following the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), a brief glimpse of freedom and relief before the next set of attachments begin on Monday.

Friday, September 23, 2005

Withdrawal symptoms

Our flat's broadband internet has been down for 4 days. During this time I realised how much I take the internet for granted. Checking emails, writing blogs, doing anything apart from revision. The curse of eBay-I joined a year and a half ago and sold quite a few items and never bid on anything until recently. It's very addictive I end up disappointed when someone outbids me in the last 3 seconds. I've advanced in my bidding technique, it was so obvious I should have thought of it earlier. I just enter the maximum amount I want to bid for an item and watch the amateurs scrambling to outbid each other. This only works if you have shares in an oil company otherwise because the max bid is so low, the bidding gets out of control before you've noticed you're out of the game. The cheek of some people, not everyone wants to buy their 30 year old jeans which are in 'good condition' or carrier bags from Burberry (or do they?). eBay can also be very dangerous with stories of buyers getting defrauded by sellers offering fake designer goods. Sometimes I think if someone is that desperate for the Chloe motorcycle bag they should just buy it from Chloe as its not worth the risk however the lure of bargain prices is very tempting.

As you can gather I'm in the midst of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (or Geneology as someone once said) revision. Six days to go till the exams Its all going very well apart from the fear that everyone knows more than you. Medicine is so competitive with everyone blurting out random facts they read in 'some textbook'. I just have to console myself with the realisation that I have made it this far so I do have some grasp of revision techniques and I will get through this.

After the exams, various attempts will be made to avoid mass medic gatherings. Why you ask? As our year is so big, there are people you know by appearance only. Attempts are made to have interesting and meaningful conversations without making it obvious 1. You don't know their name (or knew it and can't remember it) 2. You don't actually know when or where you met them. Then there are the awkward silences as you rack your brain for any topics of coversation that may enable you to bond. If that fails a quick exit can be made, 'I see Chris... over there, it was nice seeing you again'. Some people don't like medics because they think we are arrogant and don't integrate with non-medics. I can understand why people believe that, judging by the behaviour of a minority of my peers. However most medics I know are friendly and do have non-medic friends.

Everytime I go to dinner in mixed company people always say 'My second cousin on my mother's side/aunty/brother is a medic'. Apparently there's a network of all the medics in the world and I have Dr. Xavier-esque powers so I know all of them, can read their minds using cerbro and we all join together to save the world. I actually like the idea of this in theory anyway. Another popular question is , 'You're going to be doctor?'. The classic one is people int he hospital calling me nurse when I have the dreaded white coat on plus my name badge. Its bad enough that you have to wear the starched items in 3rd year making you the object of ridicule and amusement for the hospital staff. Strangers in bars, public places describe this headache/backache they have been getting wanting a diagnosis. Hypochondriacs become your best friend hoping you can cure their ailments. I realise not everyone gets into medicine but many people have the impression your whole life revolves around the library chained to the desk. We have lives sometimes..

I am not qualified to deliver babies unsupervised so all the people putting their names down on my waiting list, I am extremely flattered but you'll have to wait a while longer.

Friday, September 16, 2005

Events in the city

There are so many fun events happening in London. Leela James plays the Jazz Cafe in Camden on 12 and 13 October and the theatre adaptation of the classic book The Lion and the Jewel (Wole Soyinka) is on at the Barbican from 28 September till 8 October. Jamie Cullum's new album 'Catching tales' is released on 26 September and I hope it's as good or better than the first. If you are yet to see him live I would recommend it, he's so talented and very good at improvising musically. Columbia recording artist, Vivian Green who I saw at Jazz Cafe, releases her self titled follow up 'Vivian' on the same day. She looks absolutely stunning in her new video 'gotta go, gotta leave (tired) and the plot is quite funny.

One of my favourite sites for planning events in London is view london . It is billed as the Londoner's guide to London and has hilarious yet accurate reviews of venues mostly from disgruntled customers. The National Portrait Gallery is one of my favourite spaces in London because they change the collection often and always have interesting displays. You can learn so much about someone form their portrait. I never miss the BP Portrait Award showing till 25 September.

For the clubbers out there you can find weekly events by clicking on the link.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Career choices, gadgets and music

Today I helped with the 3rd year OSCE resits. It took me back my 3rd year days with the nauseau and sheer dread at the prospect of 20 stations back to back. I felt nervous and this time I wasn't even taking the exam. It got me thinking about how naive I was entering medical school. We all quoted the cheesy line ' I want to help people and make a difference' in reply to the obvious question, 'why do you want to be Doctor?'. You don't think about the 6 long years and work load that comes with medical training and the worst thing is after we're registered with the General Medical Council (GMC), our post-graduate training begins. What were my other career options? I've always been interested in Law and medical ethics, maths, fashion and art. Maybe I could have done law but it can be quite competitive and some intellectual snobbery still exists (unlike medicine). Fashion designer? I don't think I'm wacky enough, sometimes I watch the Royal College of Arts students and admire their dress sense even though I probably wouldn't have the confidence to pull of some of the outfits. Also the fashion world can be very fickle, it's takes hard work as well as celebrity endorsement (thanks to the growing obsession with celebrity and self congratulatory award ceremonies) to get established. However once you've made it its unlikely you'll be down on sales that season or the next. The reality is I don't think I could do anyhting else career wise that would stimulate me intellectually and allow social interaction with members of the public.

Speaking of fashion, I detest the gypsy/boho trend. Thank you Sienna Miller for creating a monster. Walking down Oxford street at any one time, at least 50 fashionistas can be spotted all trying to make the trend their own. Gone are the days where people wear what they like or what enhances their attributes, it is more important to copy celebrities and be a clone of everyone else.

I love gadgets. There are so many mp3 players on the market- ipod (even the smallest tribe in the world probably has a cool kid with one), iriver H300 series (excellent sound quality and questionable aesthetics even with H10), sony HD5 (insistence on using atrac format, below standard software and poor ergonomics). People always ask why don't you just get a mini/micro/ whatever the cute one is. It's like buying a camera and keeping the rubbish memory card that comes 'free' with it when you can buy a 1GB XD card. Fine for some but music is my addiction. I get bored so easily and it would be a hassle transferring new songs on a 4 or 5 gb mp3 player every so often. The Playstation Portable (PSP) is the newest and most desirable gaming device however I eagerly await the relase of the PS3 in Spring 2006.

Albums I've been listening to this week:

1.Jodeci- Diary of a Mad Band. I know early 90's but the harmonies still sound fresh plus it brings back memories.

2.Bobby Valentino- Disturnin da peace presents... Excellent production and ok lyrics.

3.Green Day- American Idiot. Mainly 'wake me up when september ends and are we waiting?..'

4.Jack Johnson- Brushfire Fairytales, On& On and In between Dreams

5.Lyfe Jennings- 268 192. Soulful voice charting the modern trials and tribulations of a young man after he left prison, trying to cope in the urban jungle. Speaks a lot of truth, and uncomfortable listening for some.

6. Kelly Clarkson- Breakaway. I was sceptical and she silenced me and all her critics.

7. Madeleine Peyroux- Careless Love. Beautiful jazz.

8. Rob Thomas- Something to Be. Ex- Matchbox 20 lead singer and winner of countless songwriting acolades, does soul, country and pop very well. You could call him the rock/country Justin Timberlake or not for the less simple minded.

9. Rihanna- Music of the Sun. Reggaeton is it? Her voice has more range than I expected. Beats the Teairra Mari album hands down.

10. Kanye West- Late Registration. Some say arrogance is a virtue (probably his publicist) and others (me) think the first album was better. Winner of the hip hop album with the most interludes. This is like the Usher 'Confessions' situation all over again, millions of people love it and despite listening to the album many times thinking I must be missing something, I don't think its very good. Was I the only one thinking Michael Jackson? The production is great and I have to congratulate Kanye for making some good tracks on his own and resisiting the need to have too many guest artists on the second album.


John Legend if you're reading this, we the fans want another studio album. The white label stuff and Get lifted aren't enough. More, more! Wouldn't it be nice if destiny's child split up after a better album (Destiny fulfilled). I think once artists have reached a certain level, they rest on their laurels because they know most people will buy the album anyway or bow to record company pressure. It's a shame but I think the girls are great.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Future Jobs

I am currently doing a 9-week Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) attachment at one of the London Hospitals. We have two weeks will O&G finals and the panic is starting to set in. I have really enjoyed O&G, it's so different from the general medical specialties in that most of the pregnant patients are healthy women. The doctors involve us in the consultation and give us more responsibilty. It was a bit awkward at the start because we had to ask the patients intimate questions regarding their sexual health but it became easier with time.

I attended a talk on applying for pre-registration house (PRHO or foundation) jobs. The result, I feel confused and disheartened. My general view is that the medical schools and government decided to increase the med school intake without thinking of the consequences e.g there are now more jobs than applicants. We will be 'ranked' using criteria we are not currently aware of (and may never be) using personal statements and the Consultants have no say in who recieves their house post. I understand the need to make medical job applications fair and transparent. However we have moved to the other end of the spectrum where the job allocations are made based on an electronic scoring system without actually meeting the candidates in question. I think most people would agree that being good at exams doesn't make you a brilliant doctor. It may help but it's not a pre-requisite.

Many of us look back to 3rd year when we chose our BScs with hindsight and agree it would have been beneficial to do a BSc where we felt confident of securing a high 2.1 or 1st. The days spent mowing Consultants lawns/ walking their dogs are long gone. This news comes as I contemplated joing the rugby/ hockey/rowing team and or wearing mini skirts on ward rounds. Damn political correctness.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the Jadefox show. I am a 22-year-old female medical student living in London. The main purpose of this blog is so you can read about the daily events of my life and share my thoughts and experiences.