Random Pictures From Med School: Pic #1

Right! Since I have nothing better to do, I'm starting a series of putting up random pictures clicked during College. These get me nostalgic & are a reminder of those fun times.

This first one was clicked in one of the Lecture Theatres after a lecture.

While me and KK are jus' lying down to rest our backs, notice that AJ, at the back, has actually gone off to sleep!!! :D :D

Yeah! It doesn't take much to put us down for a nap. All we need is a place to rest our heads.

Oh! and talking about sleeping, let me also put up this classic one, clicked after a Pharma lecture (you can see the KDTs!). We're definitely not posing in this one!

D, KK and me had very well dozed off.... Some of the pharma lectures were really really sedative!! ( I guesss they wanted to give a practical example of how a sedative-hypnotic drug works!!)

Pharma Lecture ke S/E

Of course then there's this third one that's my favourite, just because of its sheer natural-ness. I mean, we were all so tired, that we went off to REM sleep within 2 minutes!! It took a while to get us back up... :D :D Of course all this was Second year-the best time of College!!

Wake Me Up When...

Ah! Cold-Coffee!!

Everyone has that special hang-out at college. The place where you can sit and unwind, talk for hours or just plain go-and-meet up. For me that special place was AFJ.

It was not the serenity or calmness of the place that drew me to it (in fact, AFJ was the exact opposite of those things, being situated right on the side of a busy road!!). It was not even the seating space it provided (There were random chairs put about a footpath!). It was the heavenly cold-coffee.

AFJ... or 'All Fruit Juice' (for the uninitiated) had the absolutely the BEST cold-coffee that I've ever tasted! (It was way better than the cold-coffee at CCD, which was just 10 steps down from it!) And me, being a major cold-coffee addict, the place acted like a magnet. I would stop there on my way back from the hospital. I'd stop on my way to the library. Or sometimes, just come all the way from the hostel for a nice glass of coffee!!

Whenever we had time left after postings,it was a routine for us to collect there. SMSes were sent, phones rung: and the message was passed on, so that whenever whichever batch got free, they'd start coming over. And after an ice-cold drink and sharing the 'happenings' at the postings, we'd move for further classes. It was a well deserved break.

Then there were evenings, when there was the matter of a 'treat'.. for parents' anniversary, siblings' pass in exam, new bike, newborn cousin, winning a bet, getting a new goldfish, random meet up...and what not!!

Seasons were not a issue! The coffee was always ice-cold and refreshing. It was a retreat in summers and a time-out in exam-filled winters!

Then we all had our own specifications for the coffee. I'm sure bhaiya knew them by heart by our fourth visit there. ( Heck! at the volume we shouted, I bet even the pados-wala panwalla knew them too!). But then, the ritual was never complete without each one ahouting out his own type. It was always a chilled, kam meethi, ekdum strong coffee for me :)

Why am I getting all senti and writing a post about it?? Well coz, the shop got shut down about a year back. The bhaiya there moved to Jaipur, in search of greener pastures, to open another shop (not a juice shop this time--infact he's opened a toy showroom there). Well good for him. But I'm left here all sad & whining everytime I have craving for a cold-coffee (which is atleast twice a day!!). Though I found a minor substitute for it, but still

nothing has been able to replace that special chilled, kam mithi cold coffee at AFJ!!!

McNaughten's Rule Anyone??

I just happened to come across this interesting quote through the Cheeky Quote application on my side panel:

"It's good to know that if I behave strangely enough, society will take full responsibility for me."

-Ashleigh Brilliant

PS: I noticed that a lot of people land up on this post while googling up "McNaughten Rule".

One, I just found out that the spelling slightly different. Its McNaughton Rule (or M'Naughten Rule).

Two, here's the actual rule, "...it must be clearly proved that, at the time of committing the act, the party accused was labouring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or, if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong."

More info on the rule at Wikipedia.

Ciao.

I got a Prize....!!!

Yes! I got a Certificate!!!! From Shruti, who I can't thank enough for this special Prize!!

(& who I also want to kill for not giving this Certi on time!!).

Even though we'd been a pair of sulking kids after coming in Second that day (ermm...the day WAS unfair to us!!! Those who were present can testify for that!!).

Even though we kept kicking ourselves of not keeping track of one simple question- Name the only vertebrate reservoir for Polio.

[ The thing was that, it was a direct question to another team. All the other teams were supposed to write down the answer & pass them on. The

answers were to be considered only if the direct team did not answer correctly. Now I had read the question as *ahem* 'vertebrae' and decided to venture a guess as 'lumbar'..*wtf!!* & Avina didn't even bother discussing the answer, coz she thought that with such a simple question, the team to which the question was directed initially, was bound to answer!! Butttt, these guys obviously blurted the answer as 'monkey'!! Errmm.. I fumbled... what were these guys talking about.. I read the question again..and realised the blunder I'd made!! In all the hurry all that I could think after 'monkey' was...'apes'!!! *I actually wrote that answer and passed it on*. All this while Avina was looking- first at those guys for getting it wrong...and then at me for getting it wrong AGAIN!! She looked at me with disbelief when I blatantly passed on my answer.]

Even though we kept trying to go back into time to say that 'sickle cell' [For a picture of a sowllen hand & the question: The paient keeps coming back to the ED with swollen hands & fingers. What would you see on his PBF]... or 'John F Kennedy' on time [For a question that went something like this: A famous couple had a baby who died of RDS.... Name the couple. Now I had actually guessed the answer as JFK *deserve a pat on the back for that*, but ran out of time while writing it down on paper! * deserve a kick on the shin for this*].

Even though we realised later on that the quizmaster had NOT given us credit for two of the first three tie-breaker questions! Our answers were correct!! (We checked up on the internet later) [Heck! I think he'd not even read our or the other team's answers!!]

...Ermm.. these were some of the memories of the quiz I

meant to post about. I guess the Certi & Shruti's blog brought them back and made me finally do it. And it feels gooood to have it out!!!*

As for now... I'm really really happy with this Certificate!!!

I'd like to thank Shruti for the special prize!! (Biased as she was towards us :P )

:D :D

PS: I've just penned down the our mishaps of the quiz. There were a lot more highs too.

Like the first question of the day : The Father of Neonatology was not a neonatologist. He was not even a pediatrician. What was he? We were the only team to get a correct answer in that round. It was a calculated guess: Obstetrician. :).....

And there were others that I can't recall now.

:D

Ahem.. The same bit again! :D

Awwright...!! My last take on choices!!

The final draft is ready (for now atleast :P )

After my month long posting in Peds, I'm actually in love with the branch!!

I just love the little patients, their smiles, the way the parents dote over them, how they start recognising you after 2-3 days into the inpatient wards.. its all so sweet.

Then to see a kid get better by the day-- lose that wheeze in his breathing, start gaining weight again after a protracted diarrhoea, begin feeding properly, lose all that puffiness he got from nephrotic syndrome, get rid of the chest tube that had been inserted for more than 15 days. All these little bits, and the kids' reaction to them.. their parents' happiness over all of it--make my day.

Now, I've had such fun in Peds, that I can't picture my self with adults! Kids actually end up making work fun with them!

:)

To Peds or Not To Peds...

As a reply to my previous post, I got this list from Dr.Parang Mehta (who is an aluminus from MY college!! Woo)

Posting it here..

*According to this list, I am definitely NOT made for Peds!! Lol!!*

Five reasons to choose Pediatrics:

1. You like to cure patients. The child with severe pneumonia you admit in the ICU today will be sitting up and trying to pull his IV line out. On Day 2 he'll be running around the ward, destroying everything he can reach.
2. You like challenges. The challenge of diagnosing uncommunicative patients, the challenge of treating reluctant medicine-takers,the challenge of examining a patient in the cacophony created by a child crying and the parents trying to make him stop...
3. You like honest patients. When they say their tummy hurts, it's because their tummy hurts. It's not because of college exams, a tough boss at work, a difficult mother-in-law at home.
4. You like to see the gratitude in parents' eyes when their child gets well. Even if it is ephemeral.

5. You like kids.

Five reasons to not choose Pediatrics:

1. You like money. Pediatrics is the least lucrative of the specialties.
2. You like peaceful nights and undisturbed weekends.
3. You like respectful, cooperative patients.
4. You like patients that keep coming back to you. Forever.
5. You do not like kids.

:/

What next??!!??

Ah well... here I am again. And with nothing better to do than sit at home, watch TV & sleep (as though there could be anything better than this!), I decided to think over my specialization choices once again.

The list definitely needs to be refreshed.

One thing's for sure, it'll have to be a medical branch & not a surgical one.

-With my clumsy fingers, I'll manage to cut the appendix in a cholecystectomy operation.

-Then, I don't really like to care about the minor precise details. So what if I cut an artery or a nerve.

-All the blood & smell turns me off.

So for the branches:

Paediatrics: Yay for the IAP Paediatrics Quiz! I got my interest into this branch after I'd studied loads of syndromes for the quiz. & I even enjoyed it! Now that is not something that happens everyday!

I like to study about these congenital defects & all these Pediatric situations more than any other subject.

I like the small instruments thwy have for the neonates. & the li'l X-rays are nice too :)

Genetic diseases have always been in my area of interest even since the pre-med days.

Then these cute li'l kid patients tend to attract me to the field.

*Although my experiences with them in the past two exams have been slightly less than good. In the Pre-Univ prac, the kid, 3y/o male, was a happy little fellow while I got history from his mom. He had the chocolates I'd got him, played around with my steth, decided to bang around with the hammer. But the moment I touched him for examination, he decided that I was not a nice person anymore & started to cry! He wailed pretty much throughout the exam & did not allow me to examine anything more than two lung areas.

Pretty much a similar story followed in the Univ Pracs too! The kid, 2y/o male, was fine till the inspection part, but started crying the moment I touched him. Then there was no stopping him! He cried everytime I got near him or his Grandma. This one even had temper tantrums & rolled on the floor!!! Boy, I couldn't even do the anthropometry right!

So basically these two incidents have me doubting my ability of dealing with the young lot. I guess they're put off by my presence!! :( *

But still, peds is on the list. I'll finally decide on it after my intern posting in Peds.

Obs/Gyn: Since the last list, where O&G topped with a hu-uge margin, its gone down so deep, that it'll be tough to get it back on the charts.

This is all thanks to the fetal pelvis and maternal skull (..or whatever!!). I mean, it seems stupid to me to make this whole hue & cry over li'l centimetre or two. And with stubby fingers like mine (yeah! the endomorph..i knoww), it'll be hard reaching the sacral promontery in any damn pelvis! So then, all maternal pelvis-es (is that correct??) will be nice and adequate if the doctor is yours truly.

And my experiances with Obs says that however much I try learning, I'll never get my cms right. Even if I do, the I, ermm, am not that good at assessing measurements. (Those who really know me can testify for that.. :/)

Managing malpresentations & malpostions is not my cup 'f tea. Add to it, those manouvers & protocols, & hey, you lost me.

Most imprtantly, I am not made to manage emergencies. Hell, you might need a bed for me by the patient's side, if I'm asked to singularly control a haemorrhaging third trimester bleed!

Then there's this thing about Gynae. I mean after reading it all, I still think that the Gyanecs give OCPs & progesterone for any damn disease! The entire list is like 10 drugs & they keep shuffling b/w those for all pathologies. C'mon, I need more variety than that! (I know this is a stupid reason to write down, but hey, it was bothering me!)

Neurology: Ahem, its very quickly climbing up to the top of my list. The only hurdle is that I'll have to do a PG in Med to do Neuro... & that means studying Cardio!! Now those who aren't aware of my realtionship with everyone's-favourite-oh-so-good Cardio....Well... I HATE IT!!! Those tiny ECG scrawls, the similar murmurs, the lub-dub of the heart...& everyone's infatuation with cardiology, makes me dislike it even more.

Anyways, back to Neuro.

I like doing a neurological examination.

I like how precise everything is. I mean a UMN lesion...exaggerated jerks & extensor plantar. LMN....absent reflexes with flexor plantar. Add a UMN & LMN as in SACD, & u get extensor plantar with absent jerks. How calculated is that!! :) :D Its like organised clockwork.

Btw, even as I'm writing this, my interest in Neuro is increasing.

Then, those problem solving classes in Neuro were fun. I like that kind of a thing. U get facts, and u deduce an answer. No messing around with the type of sound, its pitch & quality!

I'll end halfway thru coz now I'm bored of typing.

Will write more if & when I decide to think further.

Freedom!!

Ah! So I finally finished Final Yr y'day.. & can assure you - I don't care how bad they were- I'm just glad that the exams are over!!

I've been giving exams on & off since last November!! First the medicine tutorials, then PUCs (which lasted for almost a month!!), then the whole set of Univs & finally the University decided that we did NOT deserve a break...so they lined up the practicals..!!!

Actually I've so gotten into this habit of giving an exam, enjoying for a day or two, & then getting back to the next subject; that its hard for me to believe that I don't have to study anymore!!

Anyhow.. all that's past now!!

Altho I want to give a blow by blow account of the Universities, I won't do it coz it brings back scary memories. Lets just say that, Surgery-1 was the biggest nightmare of my life *goosebumps*. If I pass that one, I'm sure I'll do well in the others.

Will just leave it at this now.

The other happy news is that I got broadband back. Must admit, it'll take time for me to adjust to this computer screen now. My eyes & hand have well become adept at typing on the miniscule mobile screen.
Still, now that I have a full Qwerty board & a speed net connection, I'll try put up lots of posts... :)

The latest from AMUL...

:)

Warning:

Dates in the calendar are closer than they appear!

*This is just to remind me to not while around, & get back to books!