Apparently the temperature today was in the region of 36 or 37 degrees Celsius…
My sister and I were joking that if we were in Germany, we would probably have Schulfrei.
I can understand why.
My. Brain. Is. Fried.
I looked at the date of my last post and realised that if I waited another four days, then I would have been absent from this blog for a month exactly.
Which would be a pity.
So here I am. Yup, li’l ole me and my jumbled thoughts! (Don’t say you haven’t been warned.)
1. On Friday I will no longer be a second year medical student. I also won’t really be a third year yet. When I was a Brownie we used to call the transition stage “being a Tweenie.” That is, in this case, ‘tween not being a 3rd year and being a 3rd year. Holidays begin on Friday. I’m going to get a (holiday) job.
2. The last two weeks felt like the holidays had already started. Two weeks organised by the department of family medicine. It was pretty chilled.
3. Unfortunately, this last week of second year is not organised by said department of family medicine. We’ll be doing Pharmacology. Even worse, for some weird reason, this week’s marks count for a block in fifth year. No one knows why… We are all simply miserably conscious of the fact that this week will come back to bite us in the ass at some point in the distant future.
4. My brain hasn’t picked up on the fact that it should have switched on again by this point. It’s still in hibernation.
5. I went sailing today. There wasn’t much wind, but it was lovely and relaxing. My little sister did all the hard work – steering and trying to figure out where the wind was – while I lazily dangled my feet in the water or took a snooze. And she was fine with that arrangement… (At least, I think she was!)
6. I made a quilt in the two weeks of family medicine chilledness. When I can find some batteries that work, I will take pictures and show you the magnificence. It makes me happy every time I look at the quilt. *Insert satisfied grin here*
7. I have made a couple more Skill Builder Sampler blocks. Ditto above regarding photos. I’m looking forward to sewing a cute little house. Maybe after the pharmacology madness. Sigh.
8. The Nanowrimo website resets tomorrow!!! *Insert super-excited face here!*
Have you ever been frustrated by a lecturer who simply reads his/her lecture notes instead of actually… you know… lecturing?
Well, sometimes it’s worse when they don’t read the notes off!
Lecturer:
Finally, the take home message!
Will you remember these three things?
Be wise
Condomise
Circumcise
and Moralise!
Genius…
Lecturer: I’m not going to tell you the spelling because I want you to go and read up about it. Yersinia Y. E. R. S. I. N. I. A
(All that without even a pause to take a breath.)
I’m studying the slide show of example test questions right now.
The first 5 slides are all about malaria!
And there is another slide devoted to malaria thrown in half way through the slide show. Just to make sure we don’t miss the message.
Sooo…
I guess malaria is important then?
I have actually been doing something since I last linked up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.
Most of what I have been doing has involved this:
Don’t you just love the look of this rabid dog?
I have been doing some of this:
And also a little bit of this!
Finally I’ve made another Skill Builder Sampler block. And I’m even halfway through a third one! (At this rate I might just manage to finish the quilt along before I graduate from med school…)
Of course, it’s not my Work in Progress, but I have to share this photo with you!
SUMMER IS HERE!!!
I love how suddenly the seasons change here in South Africa. One day it was still cold and wintery and the next day summer was here! Amazing!
I could start this post off with an oh-so-cliche apology for having neglected this blog for almost two weeks. (Gasp!)
But I’m not going to.
You know why?
Because I’d much rather start it off with a lovely big thank you to all my readers! (That would be you…)
Thank you!
Here’s why:
Look at that lovely graph! I may not have blogged in close on two weeks, but still you’re here. You’re still interested enough to pop by and see if I’m still alive and still blogging.
Thank you.
You know, it would be nice if I were always here, always blogging about something new and always happy and positive.
Sometimes life doesn’t work like that.
You might have noticed that I haven’t been writing very much about Block 4. See, I don’t want to complain. I like to keep a positive outlook.
Sometimes that’s easier said than done.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not having second thoughts. I love what I’m studying! Medicine is endlessly fascinating and there is always something new to learn.
But that doesn’t mean that I have to love every fascet if this incredibly diverse field.
Frankly, apart from anatomy, second year has been a slog. It hasn’t been easy.
No-one said it would be.
If life was going to be easy, why would God command us to run with endurance? (Heb 12:1) If there was no temptation to be discouraged, he would not have needed to remind us to rejoice! (Phil 3:1)
Some days I feel like the psalmist – weary with moaning, flooded with tears. (Psa 6:6) It’s so easy to become overwhelmed. There is so much work, I struggle to study, I am exhausted, I find it difficult to interact with people, I don’t have time for this or for that…
Some days I forget that He has already done the work, and that all I need to do is stand. (Eph 6:14)
God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but… he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Cor 10:13
“An enveloped virus is a virus with an envelope.” QUOTE UNQUOTE.
‘Nuff said.
Snapshots from Day 1 of Microbiology:
We have a BLOCK BOOK! As opposed to the teensy weensy block book we had previously!
There is one little typo in said BLOCK BOOK, though…
Coping is strictly forbidden, then?
It’s okay though, because we only need to get 60% to promote the block. Our lecturer comfortably assured us that seeing as we’re only second year right now, we’re allowed to kill four out of ten!
This doesn’t mean that it’s all right to leave in the middle of class, though! Class time is for concentrating! Our lecturer did however express his concern over the seeming problem that these class leavers must have with bladder control… He suggested implementing a pregnancy test to remedy the problem! :-0
Speaking of which… Some of our lecturers are less bright than others! Lecturer: ‘Listeria monocytogenes can only cause abortion in pregnant women.’ Major breakthrough, huh?
He did not seem to have a problem with eating in class, although we were reminded to wash our hands as infection control is very important! (How do you know when someone is a microbiologist…?)
Finally, our new hoodies arrived just in time for the next cold front! Brrr! Snow in Joburg? How often does that happen???
Part 2 of this block is looking pretty good so far…
You may remember that I wasn’t so enthusiastic about the first part of the block. Immunology is definitely not my passion!
Well, I’m not about to go out on a limb here by saying that Microbiology is my passion – because it isn’t! (You might have noticed earlier this year what my passion is…)
However, I think I will be able to survive Micro. Heck, at this rate I might actually enjoy it!
Do you know what makes the difference?
The lecturers are actually enthusiastic about this block. They make sure that they listen and respond to student feedback. They do the admin. They put in effort to make their lectures interesting.
We’ve had one day of Microbiology and already it’s the polar opposite of part one of this block.
…
I’m not sure how I should feel about this.
I mean, sure, it’s nice that the microbiology department is enthusiastic and on the ball. I love it that they want to inspire us to enjoy micro!
But, you know, I can’t go through med school allowing the attitude of the lecturers to determine my own attitude…
Hey, what if I (hypothetically) enjoy micro so much that I decide to specialise in it. And then one day I end up working with other microbiologists somewhere who actually are not so enthusiastic about micro. What do I do then?
I want to like the subject for its own sake.
I want to enjoy microbiology because it is enjoyable.
I want to like immunology because it is such an amazing demonstration of God’s perfect plan in creation.
I want to enjoy pathology because it is actually fascinating logical progression. This leads to that which leads to the next thing.
I don’t want to allow an uninspiring lecturer or a badly administrated block to kill my own curiosity and capacity for learning.
Some things are easier said then done…
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