TSR Med Students' Society Part IV

What's demotivating you?

The modules are boring. I really can't be bothered going over biochem

That sort of demotivation - yeah, at the moment I feel like that about three times a week, though tbh it's renal physiology which is killing me currently, I can just about handle biochem. At any rate, here are some things which help me get through it, hopefully they'll be of some help to you:

1) Talk about it with your mates - I guarantee you quite a lot of people will be feeling similarly pissed off and stressed out, and there's nothing like a good rant. It's very cathartic. This is a long and demanding course and you're going to have a lot of moments like this - don't keep it all to yourself.

2) If you're feeling really overwhelmed at this exact moment, take the rest of the night off and do something totally different. Go to a mate's flat, watch a couple of films, whatever. Just don't do any work. A single night off won't affect your performance/grades and it'll recharge your batteries.

3) Get drunk - self explanatory, although admittedly, not that fun to do on a Sunday night.

4) Keep your eye on the prize. Just keep telling yourself that once you pass the pre-clinical exams, you'll never have to give a **** about the ins and outs of the fluid mosaic model or the intricacies of the replication fork ever again (hopefully).

5) Finally, accept that despite doing all of the above, you'll still have days which feel totally boring and samey and that it's okay to be pissed off about that.

6) Listen to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8ApvdxdRt8

This is a serious question lol... Is it possible to find a job where medicine and music mix? Like a doctor for a band on tour, or a doctor during concerts? Or is that more of a volunteering/non-permanent job?

This would be my absolute dream job, would love to work at Download or something. Pretty sure my career inclinations towards anaesthetics won't help though!

I'm so unmotivated, I keep shopping, somebody help me?

Thanks! That would definitely be the best case scenario, but it does seem as though it's a rare opportunity. I'm only in year 3 so I have no idea what speciality I'd like to go into but a job like what you described would actually keep me going through this degree... -_-

Hi! I'm a 1st year GKT medic! Does anyone have any tips for how to revise or make notes specifically for phase 1?

This isn't supposed to come across aggressively (I'm just curious) but I'm struggling to find a nice way of putting it in text without a tone of voice. Why did you originally want to do medicine and has anything changed?

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What do you do in your CBL sessions?

Here, we do PBL for years 1 and 2, CBL for year 3 and CIL (case-illustrated learning) in year 4.

As far as I can tell the only real difference between PBL and CBL is the types of questions we end up asking after the case: they're less sciency and more about pragmatic clinical stuff. The difference between CBL and CIL is, to all intents and purposes, nil. CBL is essentially PBL for clinical years.

Welcome to the forum! How are you enjoying med school so far?

IMO, just make your own flash cards! If you've got an Android device - Anki is a great, free flashcard program. Can sync it up with your computer and can be web-based, too. Hence you can access it from literally wherever. Flash card sets (like Netter's) are incredibly expensive. If you've got money dripping out of your pockets, then there's no harm in buying them, but if you're on a student budget then they're definitely not worth the cash, IMO.

Sorry, did you say you've already bought essential clinical anatomy and student Gray's?

There's a big difference, apparently. One of our med ed faculty is massive about all these sorts of learning and the differences between them and their efficacy. There's a difference in the aim and methodology of both, but I don't really know what it is. He does comment, though, that the line between them is often blurred because schools implement them in all sorts of different ways, so what they call the teaching, and how it actually plays out can be two different things.

I find them useful - especially during long commutes on buses to+fro work and whatnot. Not appropriate at all for detailed learning, but good to make sure you know where things are. They come in separate sections - i.e. thorax, neck etc. - so a lot more portable than carrying an entire atlas! And they usually have some explanation of things, like insertions/attachments, so slightly more useful than an atlas imo.

Really depends how you are taught. Do you still get large lectures where they effectively tell you what's going on, or are you just told, for example, that the stomach has this and this, and you are left to figure out what the pathology would be?

Kumar and Clark actually is really **** and the lack of organisation is making my definitely-a-touch-of-OCD brain hurt.

Title of 'degenerative neuronal diseases', subheading motor neurone disease. OK, fine. But I want to read about dementias. Hmm, no heading pops out, so I scan more. There, a subtitle of 'dementia' under MND? But it's in big font, so maybe it's another title just in a different style. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. I want to read about DLB. This is found under the subheading of Alzheimer Disease, under the subheading aetiology of Alzheimer disease. How is DLB related at all to the aetiology of Alzheimer disease? Apparently all causes of dementia (vascular, frontotemporal, etc.) are part of the pathophys of AD. This makes my brain hurt.

I'm a first year, what physiology textbook would people recommend? I've heard a lot of people talking about Vanders?

Thanks

Heey~! Thanks and I'm enjoying it so far I'm really enjoying the variety of things we're learning and doing (e.g. never thought I'd say this (as I'm kinda squeamish) but I really enjoy dissection!)

Thanks for the advice! Yeah, I don't think I'll buy the flashcards. I've bought both the essential clinical anatomy and Gray's anatomy for students books, so I thought I'd try and learn the anatomy from there. =P We've got tonnes of the McMinn's atlases in the libraries so I'll just keep renewing I think, for now anyway. xD
Oh the flashcard program sounds great, I'll check it out thanks!

I'm a first year, what physiology textbook would people recommend? I've heard a lot of people talking about Vanders?

Thanks

I'm a first year, what physiology textbook would people recommend? I've heard a lot of people talking about Vanders?

Thanks

I'm a first year, what physiology textbook would people recommend? I've heard a lot of people talking about Vanders?

Thanks