Jaded (1 Viewer)

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

what is the average drop-out rate in med? if you start with 100 in 1st year how many will graduate at the end?

in nursing the drop-out rate once you hit 2nd year is pretty massive - mostly people who were just trying to swap to physio or whatever, but i do know of quite a few people who did their 1st day of placement in 1st year (was at the end of 2nd semester) and then quit.
no idea what they were expecting of the job.

depends on the school.. some have little to none.. and others have quite a few.. but its still less than other courses..

fail rates are another ball game.. they arent that high either..

generally if ure in med
u will either go for med degree or jsut waste x yrs.. cos the units are useless for transferring.. .. i cant even get 1 yr off a BSc if i transferred in cos the course is integrated

 

[tkdwhiz1188]

I agree with the 'ITS NOT WHAT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE' bit.

I'm disappointed that we spend excessive amounts of time on sociology (ard 45-55% of classes r on sociology) at Monash. Yes, its good to know abt the problems people with disability face and the type of aid they get, but i'm not stoopid! I don't need 8-10 hrs of this! I think everything that is essential can b taught in 2 hrs, then we can get down to more science.

Other than this, I'm enjoying myself. There r soo many first-times in medicine (prolly more than other courses), which really excite me. Like the 1st time we got to put on surgical scrubs, the 1st time we got to speak to a lady whose grown-up daughter had Down's Syndrome...the 1st time we go visit a GP and pretend to be a doctor, the 1st time we go on a hospital visit.

Right now, nothing's gonna force me out of the course. I'll prolly kick myself for saying this when i do my 1st overnight call.

+:: $i[Q]u3 ::+, are the hrs really bad in III yr? Ur worrying me...

 

[stainmepink]

ok, after reading the posts, can someone explain to me the nasty politcal shit that goes on? who are these references, mentors contacts etc etc? im in yr 12 and still wondering. it sounds damn nasty.

 

[stainmepink]

make buddies with older students.. and avoid making a bad name for ureself..

do stuff that gets noticed in a positive way.. lik medsoc...

with older members.. be respectful to them.. just dun thread toes of certain seniors... cos its not liked.. (but if they are wrong.. and you arent sure..or know they are wrong.. then u can sort it out.. esp if its life threatening.. but if its nothin.. avoid inappropriate confrontation)

remember:
your consultant may have been in 6th yr.. when u started..
your registrar can easily be in 3rd or 4th yr when u are in med 1..
your resident may only be 1 or 2 yrs older than u.

u rarely forget ppls names.. cos ull see them or hear them.. ull see patients less frequently. .and u remember their names.. so imagine if ure a fellow grad.. they easily remember u..

I had it happen to me.. i was onbedside tutorials with an intern.. and he had been drinking with me 2 yrs earlier.. when i was on rural placements in 1st yr.. so it was nice.. rather than unpleasant

what is a consultant, registrar and resident? im totally clueless. please explain it to me what is medsoc?

 

[vodkacrumble]

intern - first year out of med
resident - next couple of years out
registrar - next level up
cosultant - specialist, top level

okay, maybe that's an exceptionally simple and maybe not entirely accurate explanation.

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

it was how i was goin to explain it lolz

medsoc= medical student society..

that depends the political things is more about winning ppl over and being charismatic and not always about brains...

i guess it helps in terms of goin up the medical food chain so to speak..
its a hierarchary now and realli its about experience and contacts...
like in terms of ppl like Bob.J, +:: $i[Q]u3 ::+, Lexi too

there is a level of respect for the more senior medder although u can question their knowledge/experiences with EBM..and even if they are wrong you just dun be a smartalec or degrading... its inappropriate.
its a bit of a club so to speak...with rules

its kinda hard to describe tho..

 

[+:: $i[Q]u3 ::+]

EBM = Evidence-based medicine, which is essentially what's being plugged by contemporary Western medical culture.

The hours are not so bad. Being at UNSW I can hardly complain anyway. But we (as in the third years) are all freaking out at the moment because there's an avalanche of things coming up, including end-of-phase exam (which tests everything we've learnt since first year) and the OSCEs (clinical exams).

As Pointdexter's already said, it's not so much politics.
It really is a bit of a club... And it helps if you know the right people, or do stuff with the right people...
But yeah. The respect element is also there. Hmm...
It's getting late...

 

[vodkacrumble]

what sort of skills are assessed in your OSCEs?

and is it necessarily harder for girls to get into the 'club'?

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

OSCE can be anything..I recall it's also called OSCA's at UTS nursing..and at Newcastle medicine..

at med yr 3 of 5-6 yrs, level its history taking or specific physical exam w/diff. diagnosis or a procedure and a viva at the end.. usually about 4-7mins..and u do about 5-10 stations.. each with different skills.

no the club is not soo much sexist anymore (altho sometimes there is female=OBGYN and males =ortho surgy)..

 

[Lexicographer]

Ok, about that "going to a GP and pretending to be a doctor" bit:

NEVER EVER PRETEND TO BE A DOCTOR.

EVAR!

You will be KICKED ARSE-TO-KERB out of medicine, and probably have court orders placed upon you. Impersonating a medical professional is hell bad, ethically and legally.

-------------------------------------

On the other hand, being a medical student and doing doctory stuff (interviews, exams etc) yeah that's spiff. Sort of. I find myself just wanting to cut em up.

 

[kimmeh]

That is such a Robin Williams ripoff.

go back to your hole before i use the modstick. MUSH

 

[inasero]

I'm disappointed that we spend excessive amounts of time on sociology (ard 45-55% of classes r on sociology) at Monash. Yes, its good to know abt the problems people with disability face and the type of aid they get, but i'm not stoopid! I don't need 8-10 hrs of this! I think everything that is essential can b taught in 2 hrs, then we can get down to more science.

you should consider yourself lucky...the sociology has been toned down and more theme 3 and 4 related materials incorporated

although yes that is a common reservation amongst students regarding the new course

 

[Antler]

Doesn't seem toned down haha, most of the time we have spent has been on sociology stuff and I still can't see how the knowledge will be assessed and what key points we have to remember or anything like that. The Case Study also look very scary.

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

I was thinking of where to post this.. as some have commented on its usefulness on MSO.
I think its useful for anyone in a health profession but more so medical students as there is a perception that they are goin to be the longest and broadest trained and most responsibility in a sense.

Perceptions that the community has about health professionals is perpetuated by the media and it is due to the changing values.

TV shows like House don't really reflect well on the majority of medical practitioners as noone is like that.. frankly noone has cases like his.. misdiagnoses is his major pitfall and in his case... if the disease wont kill them his investigations and treatments will.

that said the best thing to learn from House is how to not do things.
-Learn to take a history it will constitute 80% of the clinical reasoning process... everything else stops u from getting sued. if u take a good history regardless of ure inability to intepret it, you can always call another to ask advice or to check ure books.

Thoughts for new medical students:
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/327/7429/1430

Why are doctors so unhappy?
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/322/7294/1073

I now realise that I didnt know most of these things when i started and i only learnt them within the last yr and it does cause stress i see it in the freshers.

hopefully some of the older set read it too and will learn from others experiences rather than their own mistakes

 

[vodkacrumble]

House seemed bizarre. I've only watched it once, and in the episode they all pile into the mystery van and check out the pts house....wtf?!

i must admit a good Hx works wonders. there's nothing worse that frantically rummaging through notes trying to find a scrap of info that might help you and all you find is "no significant Hx". i had the same with a pt who was NBM but was constantly sneaking cups of water and telling me she normally drinks 4L a day - as soon as the husband turned up he told me she had diabetes insipidus but since she'd had it (untreated) for 10 years they didn't think it was important to mention it. great.

hey, do lecturers really tell you that thing about looking for "horses not zebras"?

thanks for the links they're a good read. i think everyone could benefit from the bit about aiming to be good enough, instead of failing to be the best.
and i really need to learn that it's okay to say "i don't know" - as long as i go and find out, of course!

 

[+Po1ntDeXt3r+]

in 1st yr clinical practice
i got the whole if u hear hoof beats its "horses not zebras" or in the case of the medical school its 3rd yrs gettin out of the lectures as fast as they can..

rofl at the pt w/ NBM.. was she up for surgy? or like investigations? cos with DI she'd prolly be lik a NBM pt by the morn just with a massive catheter or many trips to the toilet ..

i swear even after 3yrs of taking hx i still fuck up.... i spend 30 mins with them and i get a Dx and DDx.. so i goto check pt files and then i miss out portions of their hx cos they didnt tell me. . but its a very good skill to have

im glad u enjoyed it!
i think for medicine its realli important cos some ppl are sooooooo goal orientated that they forget that.. medicine has some of the brightest students in the course
and they are now in a special cohort (of freaks).. they arent dux and they just need to do well for their sake not for their egos.
same in most faculties i suspect but i dun have 1st hand experience