I am trying this on my SP today at 3

What's better than being a fighter pilot?

Boston

Boston was awesome :D  I don't have a lot of awesome stories to tell as it was pretty low-key, but it was exactly what I needed.  Sadly, I'm home now and already back at studying.  Tomorrow I'll be memorizing the brachial plexus, and finding said structure(s) on my cadaver.  Something tells me it will be a long day.

Joe Biden = Teh Winner

'Nuff said.  Someone should teach Palin how to answer a question.

Books?

Just thought I'd state that Rohen's is my new favorite book.  Who'd have thought I'd actually LIKE a textbook??

P=CMB

Check off another course.

Now onto HSF, complete with dissection, histo lab, etc.  So far, its way fun.  They went on and on about emotional responses and difficulties people might have working on cadavers... but I guess I'm just a cold hearted bastard or something.  I'm incredibly grateful to the donor, and absolutely fascinated by everything I've been doing... but I have not been struck by any sorrows or extreme nerves of any sort.  Mostly, I'm just eager to find everything, and learn as much as I can... and so far it has been incredibly fun!  I've been spending several extra hours a day in the lab working on cleaning structures and identifying new things.  This extra time is definitely the best opportunity to learn as Ellen from the anatomy staff is usually there, but this time without 50 other students asking questions.  It provides a chance to work at my own pace and learn a great deal more than would be necessary normally.  Most kids can recite the table on what each muscle is, where it is, what innervates it... but I've really enjoyed learning some clinical tidbits afterwards about different things we've been covering.

Will it help on a test?  Probably not.  Is it really fun to learn?  Absolutely!  That said, I need to get back to studying those tables to make sure I know them as well as my peers.

CMB = Done

Sweetness.  Exam went ok I think, so hopefully I'm in the clear.  Now on to HSF.

Mmmmmmm bacon.

2 more days...

Exams are killing me.  Why did I think this would be fun?!  I mean, I find the medically pertinent material fascinating, but I can't wait to move on to HSF.  Careful what I wish for, right?  But I think anatomy lab and such will be inifinitely more interesting than memorizing cellular signalling pathways.

On the plus side, someone complemented me by saying he always pictures my medical work as being about like this:

And... a few other things of genius I would like to add:

And finally, in light of our upcoming exam:

And a sample of my awesome note taking!

Updates and more updates

It has been some time since I updated this blog.  I figured I'd at least give an excuse, which comes in the form of "Blogger was blocked in China while I was living in Beijing".  That said, I have now returned to the US and am now attending medical school.  The lowly MA becomes the.... even more lowly Med Student.  But at least I have being an intern to look forward to.... wait a minute!  Can I just retire now?

As such, (no longer being an MA), the direction of this blog is going to change, and will more likely be covering such banal trivalties as how much I hate a lecture method practiced by teacher X, or how I can't believe intern Y managed to pass the MLE's.  One can hope I might find some more interesting things to post, but time will be the judge of that.

ED Stories, vol. 3

Last week I picked up a rather interesting phone call. Pt described himself as a male in his late 20's who was curious if we could treat him. What did he need to be seen for? After a little rhetoric with him saying "a problem", he finally conceded that he had taken several viagra tabs from his father, and used them all at once to impress his girlfriend. We sent him to the ER. God only knows how that gets treated....

What man has seen the viagra and cialis commericals and not been TERRIFIED by that brief little fine print/afterthought they mention in the side effects? "Seek immediate medical attention if you experience an erection lasting for 4 hours or more." When I hear something like that... lets just say I would do everything in my power to avoid such a situation. Overdosing on an ED medication is probably NOT the best way to avoid the side effects.