Room Decorations

Thanks to school these are my new wall decorations:





Hoping that seeing them everyday will help things to stick.. By the end of this rotation I don't think I will have any space on my wall!!

In other news, I had another pathology jeopardy session on Breast Neoplasms. Wasn't that bad, I got myself some money ( fake psychological money that is, wished it was real...but the psychological comfort is enough for now!)


Now, haematology is in full swing!! Have to brush up on ALL my knowledge! I think tomorrow I will have to discuss sickle cell anaemia and no doubt other disorders will pop up!


So my plate is full!! Have lots to do but by God's grace I will come out on top of it all!

STUPID ASSIGNMENTS!!!

When I say stupid, I mean that literally. Not in terms of 'oh man I have work' but actuallyy a stupid assignment.

This kind of stupid lol 

                                                                                                       

So as you know I'm on a rotation that has pathology...and well we are supposed to write a journal entry every day for seven weeks, including weekend (300 words min) about our path learning and we must 'reflect' and be ever so insightful.


Say what?!?!?! The first couple times I did it it was okay but I am uber annoyed to have to do it now. If it was about my day in general, I would be fine 'cause I'd definitely have stuff to say...but limited to pathology every single say and being all reflective is becoming a task. I have other work like Microbiology (which is fairly extensive) to do..

But as I said yesterday, 'One day at a time'. but I was just annoyed this evening because I had nothing to say and I didn't have the brain power to make up some convoluted reflection about Pathology...and it definitely showed in the entry I submitted.

So not looking forward to tomorrow's entry...that's gonna be awful!!

So MUCH to Do..So LITTLE Time!!

Story of my life.......
This course that I'm doing now is composed of anatomical pathology, surgical pathology, chemical pathology, immunology, haematology and MIcrobiology (and there's nothing micro about that!!)Assignments from each specialty....due almost around the same timeess!! Could be very overwhelming!But I'm taking one day at a time..as we med students have to do!

x

DAY 3- Path!

Believe it or not, I have another quiz tomorrow… but that’s a story for another day. Today, I played my first game of Pathology jeopardy and it was terrible. In the evening  I had a quite wonderful tour of the histopathology lab.

Now about the jeopardy: it was good though terrible. By that I mean that all that I did not know, and I do mean all, I can now review and consolidate. In all honesty, I did choose the worst questions one could ever hope for and missed the ones to which I knew answers. Despite this I liked that it was formatted in such a way that I got immediate answers which greatly assisted the learning process, since the association could be made right away. Another thing I like about jeopardy is the vast amount of information that can be gathered by using this format. Of note, some terms were familiar and it clicked when the answer was given which concludes that I do have the information hiding out in the recesses of my brain, which is always a good feeling. However, I’m looking forward to the day when the information becomes readily available and at the tip of my tongue, still keeping in mind though that it is not realistic to expect to know every single thing…but it definitely doesn’t hurt to try!

DAY 2- PATH

‘Twas the second day of pathology and, yes, yet another quiz. I was better prepared in this instance having briefly read through the tested material and this time I was indeed concerned about doing well because I knew I had reviewed the material- granted only the morning of … but thank God for short- term memory.

This material looked at the technical procedures for autopsy and I was able to relate some of the things I read to autopsies I would have seen some months prior. These things included the practice of weighing the organs, reflection of skin and muscle from thorax etc. Other information I learned today delved a bit deeper into the background of autopsies. This somewhat new information shed pathology, mainly autopsies, in a different light for me, even if ever so slightly. Why I say this is due to the fact that I don’t much enjoy being down in the morgue- a matter of the mere reality of loss of life, as opposed to it necessarily being gross or otherwise intolerable. However, today I was able to appreciate more the importance of the procedure, and details required besides just a body, but also the importance regarding circumstance of death.

I was able to learn the weights of the organs as well as factors which classify autopsies based on suspicion of cause of death i.e. whether a Coroner’s or non- coroner’s case. I don’t have all other things saved in memory as yet but having the quiz inspires me to learn more so that next time around I would be better off and would have grown in my knowledge. It reminds me of what a fifth year told me, something with which I concurred- She said: “In the end it’s worth it”

As such, I look forward to the coming days/ weeks of this rotation to see how it will challenge me to be better. I believe it will teach me much about time management and allocation …and of course Pathology!

DAY 1 -Pathology.

Today was my first day of Pathology. My day started with a pre-test which was followed almost immediately by another quiz which, for obvious reasons, I was not prepared for… guess that’s why it’s dubbed a pop quiz. Besides this the day was mainly filled with introductions and small talk… no “real” work as yet.

The pre-test composed of material, for the most part, that I would have heard about previously at some point in my 3+ years as a medical student. However, having heard of did not equate to knowing as was clearly evidenced by my result. Knowing this, I was not pressured while taking the test to be spectacular in any way and I was not perturbed by my mark because I tried the best I could with the jumbled information in my brain that now needs to be resurrected. I am looking forward to this “resurrection” as the theory of pathology was something that I quite enjoyed.

The second test of the day was unexpected but, yet again, no real pressure there. What I’ll do now is go over it and make it a learning experience, as I’m sure was the main purpose for it in any case. It has already proved useful in just letting me know where to start my efforts, as this rotation can prove to be quite overwhelming.

My expectations for the course are (i) building on my base knowledge of pathology (ii) interacting with different aspects/ departments of the hospital and (iii) being familiarized with the lab practices and protocols.

Oh what a day!!!