Saturday, June 02, 2012

end of the classes, let the battle resume~

A brief on 5th year. 


First semester subjects: Oncology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Neurology, Rehab, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Tropical Medicine 1
Second semester subjects: Internal Medicine, Tropical Medicine 2


Regarding the winter semester, if there are any subject you wish to postpone the exam, please let it be anything other than Neurology because the next dates for Neurology will only be available in June (when you have to battle for Internal Medicine exam)


In comparison, it is relatively easy to get dates for Oncology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. 


Neurosurgery: Lecture notes are enough, and I went through Dr Plas' book. (In Czech, but you could get a gist of what it's about :) and good illustrative photos too! I was so belated to find it in the bookshelf of Akademie Ved!) Credits can be obtained by doing the credit test (which can be done on the day of exam) and passing that, you'll get to draw 2 questions, of which one will be on tumors of the brain. 


Oncology: ICT Oncology published by Churchill/Livingstone. Although this was the first subject of my winter semester, ironically, I attempted this exam the last :P There's a very high chance to successfully arrange an exam date with the Professor in charge if you've missed the published date on SIS. 


Psychiatry: "Use the University book", said many. :P In all honesty, I distrust the language structure of the book, I felt it was an unnecessary challenge to my intellect. So I settled with lecture notes, Kak Yana's notes, and Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties - OHCS. I LOVE that book! The writing was very engaging. I feel that the right way to learn psychiatry is to read its stories, cause if you don't open your head to imagination, it's hard to differentiate what's going on. :D


Neurology: I have to say the presentations were very informative. Print them out, it won't be a waste of ink! :) And the lessons, practical! Pray you get a very dedicated doctor who would not only tell you what to do, but explain the reasoning behind it :) InsyaAllah, you'll be quite confident with Physical Examination after 4 weeks of practice ;) Credits require you to perform the Neurological Examination and then to answer some basic questions on General Neurology (best to ask the doctors in charge on the topics you would be tested on!) 
This was perhaps the most challenging exam from winter :) 


I shall write more on 5th year subjects another time~ Gotta head back to nerding. ^^

Monday, May 28, 2012

out of my library!

If Madam Pomfrey works here, I may be sanctioned to a gruesome penalty.
For in the consideration of my future as a doctor, I have, with the help of a good knife, disattach the contents of my Internal Med book from its spine.

What we all need after exam is a good body message or some kind of electrotherapy. These fasciculation of muscles are at the moment, rather irritating.

Brain and buttock power. Studying essentials. Deffo.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

kokoro-SAN

(Do you get the pun? Kekeke)


Oh SAN of my heart, 
I love you for your good conduct,
Yeah, you can keep it coming,
Keep it going,
Cause I don't wanna fall,
Into asystole.


(Incomplete lyrics, again, but in case you wanna hum to this, the music is of the reggae genre :D)
On this lovely gloomy day, I hereby announce that Cardiology block is done with!!! 


:) (: 


Among the many things I learnt: importance of the Czech language, or rather, communication - in a way, it's more or less how it'll worked in Malaysia aite? Cause some words are just untranslatable or, in cases where you don't have a second language, some words just don't exist in your dictionary. 
I'm predicting lotsa new words when I'll start with the clerking, what with our negara kesayangan having this stretch of diversity, makanya, tanpa keraguan lagi, Rojak (the language) is the way to live. :P 
Thank God for Convent friends (swear words are important so that you recognise people are angry) and TVB dramas and my stand up comedian partner in crime. Haha!
Lets add more vocabs to the collection this Summer! Owh yeah!


And cikgu dekat Angio Care Unit was so kind to remind us to think and not just memorise. *I never thought I'll be given this piece of advice. Tapi serious, thankful for the realisation, to simply memorise would ruin the whole fun of education, if you get what I mean.* 


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What happened last summer was, I got a lil' grumpy and highly irritable after a long day in the hospital. (Prolly cause that time I had to prepare sahur as well, cause Mama wasn't home. Thanks for reading the signs and took us Sushi King-ing for buka oh father~)
So Abah told me to find a solution for this problem - cause it isn't nice to be so caught up in negative emotions~ *Gosh*
I find that with enough energy supply, the threshold to succumb to my emotional instability increases. 
That's a theory that I need to re-confirm with the coming Ramadhan clerkship.
Instant glucose access -> Hello Kerbau Merah (Red Bull)
Also, inevitably, there are times when I feel drained, so, I must find a quiet little place to calm down and write. Writing helps me sort things out you see, cause my EQ is so bad, I can't reason things in my head. Haha. 


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Winter break.
And summer's to come. :)


Happy pills :D 

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

tying up loose ends

You need to realise a mistake before being able to correct yourself.


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Some things can be so demotivating. More so when you lack ATP. 
However, it's never too late to learn!!!


Time to walk back, and take the other road that was taken previously, but at some point was left due to lack of discipline and competence. 
This traveling is going to feel like a very long journey for the green has left the grass. 
Or rather, I'm missing the countryside. 
*talking metaphors*


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And the studying months appear.
*sage mode*

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

he wants proof

My dad doesn't believe that I cook.
In that his way of measuring our (my siblings and I) ability to cook is by the many photos we put up on Facebook. 

He always question the truth behind my buying meat from Halal store (my uncles and aunts always asked about the availability of Halal stores in Prague, and Abah always happened to be around) for he rarely sees me cook. 


So I told him to read my blog (but I'm guessing it's not his cup of tea). 


The thing is, by the time I remembered about photo taking, the food is already safe in the acidic environment of my stomach. 


So hello to another food post, which could serve as good evidence in future trial regarding the Master Chef (gosh gosh gosh~) in me. 


*Disclaimer: I am not a cook. I eat to survive.*


I wanted to eat fish pie, but I had to settle for this sebab takde fish fillet TT. No regrets though. Nyam nyam~


 Green onion, grated celery, shiitake
 Mushroom soup (or any soup), mashed potato, sauted ground beef with onion and above ingredients
Stack from bottom up: sauted beef etc, mushroom soup, mashed potato, top with cheese (I used Alpene cause it has that elastic mozarella property :P)
 Bake for about 30 minutes (till cheese brown) and wallah~ Hello Beef Pie! :D :D :D


Thursday, April 12, 2012

smartarians


The most fatabulous free photo editing web I know (www.picnik.com) is closing down, so this is a final project before saying goodbye. 
I call this piece, Under the Sun. 
Let this be a motivation to study dengan penuh jiwa dan perasaan untuk menjadi doktor yang terbaik dengan redha dan rahmatNya~ ^^


"Never regard study as a duty, but as the enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later work belongs." -the guy next to me-


Best friend, faster finish your exam, then come down and study with me~ TT


Because sometimes, two is better than one.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

just do it

*Nike sign floats in mind*


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To have faith and do good deeds.


I seem to have been procrastinating on the latter. 
Always thinking there will be another day but never actually dwell on the fact that, the knowledge of my death, is not mine. 


I repeatedly throw myself into a slump. :(
Yet You send reminders in the form of friends and family. :')

Betullah orang cakap, masa lapang yang tidak diisi dengan perkara berfaedah membunuh pemuda.
Kyaa~


A past can kill your future. 
I think I've experienced enough to know that. 


So, to make today a past you won't regret tomorrow and in future, please, please buck up on your deed.


And don't jump into something too big. 
Do simple things really, moderately, consistently. 
Otherwise you'll be burnt out. :O


Most importantly, jangan berkira-kira melakukan sesuatu untuk Allah, kalaulah Allah berkira dengan kita, pastinya kita adalah orang-orang yang rugi~ :O OMG~


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As for med school.
Last week we got to properly examine a patient (finally! though I still feel disappointed in the teaching system overall)


The very simple abdominal examination:
Start with less invasive procedure to more invasive ones.


So, 


1. Inspection
If there's a mass/lesion, describe. 5S - site, size, shape, surface, skin overlying.
Got distension at the flanks? (Ascites?)


2. Auscultation : 
Bowel sounds: randomly place your stethoscope on the abdomen. If you can't hear any sound, then flick patient's abdomen. 
Scratching: Place stethoscope near the inferior border of sternum. And start 'scratching' the patient with one finger, from the right ASIS towards the liver. When you've reached the liver border, the sound will sound more rough. 
Perform auscultation of the heart while you're at it! *I heard holosystolic murmur* lub whoosh~


3. Percussion
Through out the abdomen: it should have a resonant quality, not dull. 
To recognise liver border: when finding liver border, make use of the intercostal spaces so that your finger won't slip and also because you can confidently describe the region. :P


4. Palpation and deep palpation
Ask patient if they are experiencing pain. Palpate that region last. 
Since you're an amateur, perform with one hand, cause your lack of experience may burden your brain and you'll only end up more confused when the palpation is done. 


5. DRE
Tak buat but I keep thinking of Naruto's Thousand Years of Pain. *insert Scream by Munch*


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Owh, and happy April you all~

a few drafts over the year, and then later

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