Day031. Hard work.
With Dr. Mantaring’s orientation, I think OB’s going to be one hell of a ride. No tardiness. No absences. Full effort.
It will change my life for the next two months. The last two months of first year med proper.
Or so I think.
I need to get better grades this semester. The twos in the TCG are an eyesore. Morbid, actually.
They’re like swans having their parade. 2222222.
I believe it’s time to turn those swans into ones. But I know it entails hard work.
The ROBdubROBdub:
The hardest part of the human body. Enamel’s primary mineral is hydroxyl apatite, which is a crystalline calcium phosphate. The large amount of minerals in enamel accounts not only for its strength but also for its brittleness. Tooth enamel ranks 5 on Mohs hardness scale and a Young’s modulus of 83 GPa. Dentin, less mineralized and less brittle, 3–4 in hardness, compensates for enamel and is necessary as a support. On radiographs, the differences in the mineralization of different portions of the tooth and surrounding periodontium can be noted; enamel appears more radiopaque (or lighter) than either dentin and pulp since it is denser than both, both of which appear more radiolucent (or darker).
Day030. My Idea Of A Perfect Detox.
The Detox weekend officially ends today, and I must say how amazing it has been. From food trip, to a nontoxic shift and today, killing time by hanging out inside a coffee shop while reading a non-academic book.
I can say that I’m already pumped up for the next few weeks, though people tell me that HD modules are not as toxic as the OS. I only have two more months before the first year med proper ends; might as well make the most out of it.
The ROBdubROBdub:
Coffee and Suicide. OAKLAND, California (UPI) — Coffee may be good for life. A major study has found fewer suicides among coffee drinkers than those who abstained from the hot black brew.
The study of nearly 130,000 Northern California residents and the records of 4,500 who have died looked at the effects of coffee and tea on mortality.
Cardiologist Arthur Klatsky said of the surprising results, “This is not a fluke finding because our study was very large, involved a multiracial population, men, women, and examined closely numerous factors related to mortality such as alcohol consumption and smoking.”
The unique survey also found no link between coffee consumption and death risk. And it confirmed a “weak” connection of coffee or tea to heart attack risk — but not to other cardiovascular conditions such as stroke.
The study was conducted by the health maintenance organization Kaiser Permanente and was reported Wednesday in the Annals of Epidemiology.
Day029. Pain.
We had our last shift for research this weekend . Hopefully.
Our shift was benign. The ER was full of drama, as usual. Like this kid who was screaming in pain as his mother calmed him down by touching and blowing his wound from an IV line.
I had my (hopefully) last shift with Nino and Niko. True, with the eight-hour long shift, you’d be close to your research-mates. Just to kill time while waiting for a patient, we even played with a random Catsup sachet from McDo, tossing it like playing heads and tails. Yes, we were that bored already. Haha.
I’m happy that our research is about to get done already. I learned a lot in the ER, as my older posts suggest. They say that the road to becoming a doctor isn’t easy. And my ER experience proves it. But what can I do, there’s no easy way to glory, right?
The ROBdubROBdub:
Why do we blow or give a light massage to our wounds just to relieve the pain? According to the Neuro Trans, the light touch can relieve pain through the A-beta fibers. A-beta fibers of touch receptors give off collateral fibers that synapse with an interneuron, which is INHIBITORY to the pain fiber in the spinal cord. The pathway is activated by a rub, a blow, a massage, a transcutaneous electrical stimulation or acupuncture.
Day028. Sincerity
I, Pen, Dana and Ces went to Ongpin today for some food trip. We had our fitness Friday in the morning, and then went to Quiapo, where the three joined me for a trip Hidalgo. We then proceeded to Ongpin to look for a restaurant a friend recommended.
I’m amazed how photogenic the whole place is. Our way to the resto, I saw this Chinese couple who were about to ride a Kalesa. How fun it is to see the Chinese and Filipino cultures combine—- like the old area of Ongpin found in the center of Manila.
All the time, we were looking for a restaurant named Serendipity. A pedicab driver told us it was Serenity. We saw a drugstore named Destiny. We thought that we had already found the place when we saw another shop ending with –ity but it was Trinity. After a long travel, just in front of Trinity, we saw the place—SINCERITY.
The chicken was nice, the company nicer. I love spontaneous outings and game friends. We planned to walk around pretending to be tourists. I wore my khaki shorts and pink polo, but Ces wore BOOTS to Quiapo and Ongpin. Winner.
It’s very nice to start this detox weekend with such activity.
The ROBdubROBdub:
Traditional Chinese Medicine. TCM is based a different medical model than modern western medicine: while it recognizes the same organs and structures as modern medicine does, it conceives of them in terms of functional interconnected systems, and organizes them with respect to metaphysical principles that have no correlates in scientific medicine and would generally be rejected by modern medical science. In TCM, ill-health is usually construed as an imbalance between organ systems based on Daoist conceptions of yin and yang and other belief systems such as Wu Xing’s Five Elements or the six excesses (六淫, liù yín, often translated as Six Exogenous Pathogenic Factors).
Day027. Neuro:WWIII
We had the exam in the morning. And a ward work in the afternoon. Oh Life.
I’m just glad neuro’s already over. I know we’re going to have the same subject next year, but Im glad that I’m going to say good bye to it for a while. Learning how the brain works exhausts one’s brain, I assure you. 16 Transes, 6 Readings. 1 Exam.
The ward work turned out to be fun, not to mention, non toxic. Our mentor was able to show us examination videos which were really informative. We checked upon a patient who has GBS—the kind of sickness where one’s Schwann cells are attacked by some form of bacteria, leaving the neurons unmyelinated. And guess what? Our patient was even pregnant. She was cooperative, nonetheless. We were able to get a good history and physical examination.
The ROBdubROBdub:
Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), a disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system. It is usually triggered by an acute infectious process. The syndrome was named after the French physicians Guillain, Barré and Strohl, who were the first to describe it in 1916. It is sometimes called Landry’s paralysis, after the French physician who first described a variant of it in 1859. It is included in the wider group of peripheral neuropathies. There are several types of GBS, but unless otherwise stated, GBS refers to the most common form, AIDP. GBS is rare and has an incidence of 1 or 2 people per 100,000. It is frequently severe and usually exhibits as an ascending paralysis noted by weakness in the legs that spreads to the upper limbs and the face along with complete loss of deep tendon reflexes. With prompt treatment by plasmapheresis or intravenous immunoglobulins and supportive care, the majority of patients will regain full functional capacity. However, death may occur if severe pulmonary complications and autonomic nervous system problems are present.Guillain-Barré is one of the leading causes of (acute) non-trauma-induced paralysis in the world.
Day026. Where’s My G&A Notes?
We had a free day today. But tomorrow’s our last exam for Neuro. So, I think you already know what happened.
I’m loving Black and White photography. And it just amazes me how my Samsung Digicam can take B&W photo right away; I can see the monochromatic photo immediately in the LCD before I even push the shutter. I don’t know if all digicams can do this but it really surprised me—especially because my digicam is really cheap compared to my old ones.
Ok. Sorry. Back to work. *transes*
The ROBdubROBdub:
Black and White. Rods are a little narrower than cones but have the same structural basis. The pigment is on the outer side, lying on the pigment epithelium. This end contains many stacked disks. Rods have a high area for visual pigment and thus substantial efficiency of light absorption. Because they have only one type of light-sensitive pigment, rather than the three types that human cone cells have, rods have little, if any, role in color vision.
Day025. Stop and Stare.
We had our last lecture for neuro this year— the last topic to be included in our upcoming exam. For the record, this exam has the longest coverage. Aside from the 16 transes, we have 6 Self-Instruction Manuals to read. All were covered in about two weeks.
It’s a good thing that we don’t have any class tomorrow. I can still double time.
By the way, why the picture? Just sharing my view in the BSLR East when I get tired of listening during long lectures.
Whenever I feel overloaded with information, I look up. Stop. Then Stare. Then go back to writing down notes. Then go back continuing my life.
As I write end this entry, I only have 33 hours left.The ROBdubROBdub:
While extension of the head is mentioned above, in today’s fact, we’ll have the flexion of the head/neck in an important meningeal test—the Brudzinki maneuver. A positive Brudzinski’s sign occurs when flexion of the neck causes involuntary flexion of the knee and hip. Flexion of the neck places tension on the entire cord and roots; flexion of the legs reduces stretch on the nerve roots. The Bruzinki’s maneuver have a good specificity for meningitis.
Day022.Routine.
It always comes to a point when time is measured not in days but in the number of hours before the exam.
Today, I arrived at the BSLR-E early. Actually, I was the first to enter the room; quite unexpected since I woke up kinda late. The whole day was exhausting as we tackle four additional lectures for Thursday’s exam. I managed not to sleep the whole day, which means my week is off to a good start.
But I should admit that I’m still pressured for Thursday’s exam. I have tons of transes to master, and a lot of tracts to memorize. Having other problems which arise especially when I’m stressed adds to the burden. Sigh. Maybe, like what I said to my classmate last week, I should just let this exam pass.
Class. Eat. Study. Eat. Study. Facebook. Study. Facebook.
Everything becomes a routine before an exam.
As I end this entry, I only have 57 hours left.
The ROBdubROBdub:
The Hippocampus is the part of the brain used for memory, spatial navigation and control of attention. The fornix at its anterior end divides into two pillars: the septal nuclei, which plays a part in reward and reinforcement, and the nucleus accumbens, which is responsible for pleasure, laugher, addiction and the placebo effect. It’s also the first portion of the brain to be damaged in Alzheimer’s disease.
just feeling minimalist and monochromatic.
talking about artsy fartsy.
tomorrow, i continue my fight.
tons of transes, here i come.
double time.
About me
CARDIAC OUTPUT = HEART RATE x STROKE VOLUMEPRODUCTIVITY = CREATIVITY x GUTS
