fulfilled requirements for O&G

now three courses left – emergency, selective and PRINT term and I will have completed med school ! :) :) :) 2 weeks ago

I always get scared about financial things. Today my shitty housemate stood up and said he was moving out this Saturday. Waves of fear rolled through me. Rent is due tomorrow. He is supposed to stay until the end of April.

We have sorted out a short term solution with my brother, who is in need of a place to crash for a bit. Its just another reminder of how precarious my financial situation is and how much I need to graduate. For every hour of study I put in. I am working towards that goal. I want to be able to not fear I will go under if someone pulls something like that.

Cannot wait. Back to it. 1 month ago

Got my graduation ceremony date – 6th of December, only 262 sleeps away!

I also emailed one of the profs about my portfolio and having a meeting with him on Friday to discuss it. He seemed quite positive about it, so I don’t think an additional assignment will be needed to fill it out. That is a profound relief. 2 months ago

I came back 8 days ago, and the last week has been largely spent putting my life back together. I have literally spent the last week running about doing various chores. I briefly spoke to a friend of mine today and she mentioned that she had just been in Perth presenting at a conference – that is crazy – no way would I have been physically capable of doing something similar. Not with how much stuff that I have got to get through.

On the way home though. I started thinking about how I could get involved in that again. That was before I had a look at the study notes that I had just obtained from her. There is so much to do and its so difficult to figure out where to begin. There are so many vivas to cover, so many levels of proficiency to obtain. I am officially quite intimidated by the year ahead, I wonder, should I have started earlier?

I tell myself no, I am starting at a plenty good time. There are a lot of people who haven’t begun yet because they have to focus on biomed. Which sounds truly horrible and I have immense pity for those poor souls.

I think this is the beginnings of a plan

viva
osce
mcq
portfolio

Most people focus on the viva aspect of it. My clinical skills are poor, so I think I will have to focus on the clinical aspects more then other people will, but one thing at a time.

Someone also told me that you had to get through 10 viva cases a week. I don’t know what they based this off, but I think that’s a good target for me. I want to learn them well.

My next course – emergency, will be a good opportunity to focus on increasing my clinical skills. Getting them up to the level that they should be at. So I’ll definitely put that one aside for now.

I think that essentially I have to cover one course a month management viva wise to stay afloat. I’m going to push through Med and Surg for now and see how we go with that. I might message a few people to see whether they’d be interested in a study group again.

so freaky, so scary 2 months ago

Have just begun my course in O and G. Its a lot of fun. I feel my confidence is much greater then it was before. Still have a lot of work to do yet though.

Very excited to be able to concentrate on it again though. 2 months ago

When I get back to Australia in March, this goal will be my focus. Cannot wait. So excited, so soon. 4 months ago

I passed my biomed exam!! eek. Happiness. :)

So. I have just my final exams in the coming year and then I graduate! :) :) :) 5 months ago

and boy was it dry today. The first half in particular. Very repetitive and turned me off GP somewhat.

It is good to start and feel that this course is the beginning of the end. The final years today have just begun their major exams, and I know that will be me in a year. That is a scary but good feeling. 8 months ago

Just had my psych exam, I will know in the next 2 days whe her I have passed not.

I think I have, we will see though

If I have then it is full steam ahead for my gp placemt, last one for the year 8 months ago

I just have a psych osce on wednesday, and then I have finished all my duties for psych. One more course, and an exam before 5th year is officially over. That will be very nice.

I can see myself getting jealous over pretty much everyone around me and I don’t really like it. I feel that no one seems to study as much as I do… but that’s not true. I know it, there are plenty of other medical students who are exactly in the same boat as me. Furthermore the ones that have finished, well they got their degrees. I don’t want their degrees.

I guess I want to be rewarded you know? I see so many people moving on with their lives and I desperately want to do that too. Not only moving on, but having repeated things to celebrate and show off. Its not that I’m working that hard, its more that I don’t have very much to show for it. I am looking in on other people’s lives/successes or whatnot. Other people’s exploits, successes and what have you. I want to be happy, but I am just envious of what they have, or the ability they have to just “do things”.

You know I don’t think I ever realised how difficult this could be. This degree. This is probably a good thing because I’m not sure if I would have chosen it if I knew how much of it was sitting back and seeing so clearly what other degrees can give you.

I’m being bitter, and I don’t really mean it. I just keep being so whiny.

Part of it is that I am hanging around so many non medical students. It is very difficult not to compare. Particularly when you are taking part in the same activities. Its so stark, such a contrast that it takes your breath away.

More then that I am surrounding myself with people who don’t try hard with their degrees. This is having such an enormous impact on how I feel about studying. I simply… don’t want to do it. This is soo soo soo bad. I simply need to change if I am going to be able to graduate.

I need to remember that my degree is hard, I do need to work harder then others, and it is more painful then other degrees… but that’s okay. Its okay to suffer a little because that is what it takes to succeed.

This month I am going to joyfully study because I love my degree. I am not going to complain at all, but instead celebrate the wonder every day brings – as the end of 5th year draws near. 8 months ago

finished paeds today, now to enjoy a lovely week off :) My psych rotation is next. 10 months ago

First Day of paeds emergency. It started off a bit slow but then it picked up and I really saw how deficient I was in some areas. Particularly examination and putting the case together.

I noticed though my study has really been paying off. I confidently answered questions about raised ICP, seizures and general neuro stuff. I was pretty proud about that.

I am also glad that I have stayed on top of my negotiated capabilities. It seems like a lot of my peers haven’t, so that gives me a bit of a head start.

I really do want to be able to smash the biomed when I walk into it in November. I think I have been taking the right steps towards achieving that :) 12 months ago

I entered “a day in the life” competition a few months ago. Didn’t think much of it. Anyway a few weeks ago they rang me and told me I had won it and they sent me a new ipad. So that was pretty sweet.

Anyway tonight they have emailed me and asked them to become a part of their representative board – its a medical indemnity company which involves paid travel.

double for the win. I need to enter more competitions :p 12 months ago

Today I got a bit of a taste at the level of knowledge friends in my cohort have. It was a bit scary. It has definitely motivated me to take my studies more seriously. 13 months ago

1. Complete learning plan and submit
2. Find a patient for a case presentation, Friday – assess, get notes, present on Monday
3. Review all examinations, aim: mini cex – Monday
4. friday tutorials x 2
5. pharm tutorials x 2 14 months ago

I can’t believe how fast all of this is going.

I have almost finished my first rotation. I have to chase up all the paperwork this week, (hopefully all tomorrow), but otherwise I am good to go.

I still have a long way to go in regards to procedural skills. That’s definitely something I’ll focus on while I’m in Broken Hill. 14 months ago

It seems like there is so much to do…

I’m somewhat tired this week success is -

- quality of medicine assignment; draft due by sunday
- finish cardio book and return
- finish cancer essay: draft due by sunday
- write up a case for monday’s tutorial
- attend an anatomy path tute
- do bloods

other activities
- arterial blood gases
- IV blood sampling/venesection
- insertion of nasogastric tube
- case presentation
- wound dressing and care
- ophthalmoscopy
- auroscopy
- all path demonstrations
- final laboratory visit 15 months ago

Each day I have been setting myself goals/little victories for me to achieve. I rarely get them all done, but it means that every day I push myself a little further out of my comfort zone and achieve.

Tonight I am working on an essay about how cancer has changed in the last 40 years. Not sure how to make it interesting and accurate, but that’s the plan. 15 months ago

2/3 done, last 2 years to go :) It all begins on the 16th of January 16 months ago