2nd Week of Med

SUBJECTS OF THE WEEK: Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Community Medicine


From now on, I'm just remembering the week based on the subjects for the week. Why? Because everything else seems like a blur, and the only way I can remember events is when I associate them with the mind-boggling, overwhelming, and at times, depressing lectures--just like the ones we had this week.


First off, June 13 was the first day of classes for the rest of the courses in HSI (PT, OT, Nursing, Rad Tech) and we all met up at the Animo Center for the Opening Ceremonies. The place was awesomely decorated, taking on a carnival theme, balloons were everywhere!

They hired stiltsmen (dunno if this is a correct term for the entertainer, hahahaha) and a mascot too!

Cavite's symphony band came in through the middle aisle playing Michael Jackson's Thriller with the entertainers dancing to the beat, and then the finalists for the Talentadong Pinoy show (pretty much like America's X Factor or something) performed for an hour. 

People were cheering loudly, and just high as hell (hahahaha) and the performances moved on to the different dance groups of each college. 

By lunchtime, they ended the opening ceremonies and we were free to go...study. :)) 

The day before, it was Labor day i think, I didn't go home, I just decided to stay at the dorm to make up for the lack of knowledge in Biochemistry. Spent the whole half of the morning studying basic/highschool chemistry using my brother's book. Yup, if you have your old highschool chemistry book, I recommend  you use it. It really does help you a lot especially with the bonds (ionic, covalent), the hydrocarbons, structures of the functional groups, etc. The second half of the day, I spent on review for Organic Chemistry. Our Doctor-lecturer advised us to backtrack on orgchem so Biochem can come a little bit easier for us. 

So for the next 6 hours, in between mini breaks on FB, I studied orgchem. I did this at HSI's student center, located at the old med building. Its a small room furnished with study tables, benches, a small sink (for those who study there overnight), and airconditioned. Its open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is open only for Med students. This was a lifesaver for me since the dorm is full of temptations (food, bed, tv), and it was stuffy and hot, so going to the Student Center was pure heaven. Not to mention that you can charge your laptop and cellphones there and wifi! woot! woot! The connection there is pretty fast, so the only con in studying there is the unlimited access to the internet.

http://www.dlshsi.edu.ph/Gallery/MED/images/IMG_3379_jpg.jpg

For the internet connection, you have to have your devices configured by the school's IT staff located at the ground floor of the Angelo King Building. You are only limited to 2 devices, so I had my smartphone and laptop configured. 

Anywho, I spent the next few hours in the student center and got to meet upper classmen, and honestly, I was thinking--these guys are invincible. They passed the first year. HAHAHAHAHA

They were absolutely friendly, and gave me tips on how to study for certain exams. For example, in Biochemistry, the questions are pretty straightforward so all you need to do is remember structures and functions. In Physiology, it helps to read it AT LEAST two times so you can understand the processes. 

But the usual advice is: STUDY STUDY STUDY. No matter what subject it may be, you MUST MUST MUST STUDY. and READ a lot. In Med, you can;t just stick to one book and expect everything to be there. For the doctors, they usually use 2-3 references for their presentations/lectures. And, if you can (and you should), read all the books. 

So Biochemistry down, we have, drum roll please... ANATOMY.

This subject really depresses me. Results for the first two quizzes came out, and surprise surprise. I failed both of them by a measly one point (7/10). Its frustrating when you studied your ass of the week before, and boom, you still fail. But, as the professors and upperclassmen advised, try to accumulate as many extra points as you can to make up for the failures. They're pretty generous with it, but the failures are overwhelmingly strong in this subject.

We had our laboratory period in the Old Med building, and looked at the cells found in different parts of the body.

We looked at cells from the spinal cord, blood smear, compact bone, and liver. Each student had their own microscope and set of slides.

The last time I used the microscope was in highschool, and using one again, and more extensively, was pretty fun. 

Physiology was the same, and the topics were already merging with the ones in Histology and Biochemistry. Well, of course, they're supposed to be interrelated, but you'd never expect it to just blend in perfectly unlike the way of teaching in highschool and college where each subject is boxed seperately with little to no connection bridging them together. 

This week was tiring, but still gotta push. This is just the second week. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH/

Panic Sets In

School tomorrow. 

I woke up today with an oncoming panic attack. I swear by the holy nose hair of Badjula that I just stood up from bed in a panic frenzy remembering that I'll be going back to the dorm and start a brand new week of med school.

Why was I panicking?

Because its a habit. Joke. Lol.

Some subjects were worrying me a whole lot--namely, Biochemistry, Physiology, and Anatomy.

Physiology- I can understand it, its pretty good, but the pacing is really, really fast. I'm having a little bit of a difficulty with the ions and whatnot floating in and out but, the sheer volume of stuff to study.

Next up, Anatomy. This is stressing me up a little bit because of the before lecture and after lecture quizzes that they have. Say goodbye to the 1/4 sheet pad papers that you leech off of your classmate because the professors in Med do it by bubble sheet.

Its 10 items, no erasures, they flash the questions on screen for 20-30 seconds per item. 

What's so stressful about this???

Out of the 10 items, you can only have two wrong answers to pass. Yup. 8/10 is passing. 7/10, your quiz is crap and you learned nothing.

In my time (nope, I'm not that old, I just like to talk like an old timer), 6/10 was the passing, and with the really nice, easily persuaded teachers, you can pass with only 5 items.

It would have been ok if I didn't  spend 3 hours on that one particular topic, but, what can I say, I think I may have gotten a 7/10. I'm still adjusting, trying to study a little bit faster, and a little more efficient. Holy Badjula knows I'm trying.

The professors/ doctors are really nice but absolutely strict, and I guess for good reason too. 

CHED dictates that if a student fails 40% of their load, they are automatically kicked of the roll. Meaning... you will be kicked out of the Doctor of Medicine program and will never be accepted into the DLSHSI Med Program. Ever. 

Guess what? Anatomy makes up 39.5% of the academic load in first year.

39.5%

So all you need is just one more subject (minor or major), anything to fill up that .5% that remains, and BOOM. You are taken out.

Every doctor-lecturer emphasized that. Every single one. 

Harsh, but its the truth. They said that around 6-10 students were not able to be promoted to the 2nd year because of failure in this one.

Good news is, if you failed JUST Anatomy, meaning you didn't fill up the whole 40%, you can still take up Anatomy next year. Yey!

Finally, Biochemistry. 

The doctor-lecturer was awesome, really nice. The topic? not so nice.

We were reviewing the basic (ahem ahem) concepts in Organic Chemistry. The doctor was assuming that all of us took this up in college and was going through the subjects like food goes through you during diarrhea.

My reaction to the first four slides was...

During the lecture, the doctor would ask, " Is everyone ok? Can everybody follow?"

And then some bibbo classmates would shout out in sing-song unison-- Yeeeeeeeeessssssssss Siiiiirrrrr. 

For those classmates, I would like to punch you in the face. Not. I just felt frustrated then. :)) It was extremely difficult to follow, and I would have appreciated it if the students who did get it would just quiet down a little and let the old timers like me struggle with a resounding " No Sirrrrrrr."

So now, I'm planning to study Organic Chem from scratch, while at the same time, struggle with learning Biochem and a bunch of ultra-toxic subjects. 

Fun. Fun. Fun. 

At the end of the Biochem lecture, students flooded the lecturer. One guy remarked,

"Sir, nawala po ako sa first few slides palang, wala na po ako naintindihan." 

~ Translation: Sir, you lost me at hello.

And the build up all these subjects led to the panic attack I had this morning.

My reaction to my future. I think it would be easier to walk into Mordor than pass these subjects.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Way to start the week.