Yesterday I uploaded my first video to my YouTube account. It is a short video clip from my friend's Mathematics class in Saudi Arabia.
Its just 11 sec. long, so you don't waste much time.
April 30, 2008
My First YouTube Video!
April 28, 2008
Marriage ... Random Thoughts of a medical student
I see marriage as the best way for every individual to fulfill his/her needs and fill in the gaps of his/her life, personality, experience, finance, mentality, emotions, and so on. Either way, male or female, one should look for the other that will best and most likely fill gaps and fulfill needs.
Every human being is different, and every one of us has unique needs and preferences. Hence most people get married. And many are healthy happy marriages no matter the culture, religion, education and looks. Sometimes when I get some negatives thoughts that Ill never find the right person I think to my self, how did that 200 KG woman get married? How did that blind guy get married? How did that taxi driver get married? How did that poor guy afford getting married once twice and thrice?
One of the beauties of humanity is Diversity. That is how every one would find someone to suite him/her. I’m not saying the all marriages are perfect, but there is a good chance for you to find a decent wife/husband because there are so many different people.
If I am a busy hard working physician, who enjoys academic and voluntary work and plans on growing really big, I don’t think it would be a good idea to marry a busy surgeon. Someone needs to take care of my kids. I will need someone to be always there when ever I need them.
If I am a stubborn nervous bossy guy, a kind calm easy going lady will better suite me.
If I am a normal physician with no huge ambitions, marrying a physician won’t harm.
Regarding age, in my opinion there are three main factors that determine this. Maturity, finance, and education. Some guys are pretty mature when they're 18 and others act like children when they are 28. Finance is the main factor if you are a male. How will you get married and spend on your house, wife, and family when you do not have a job or enough financial support? Of course if you were born to a millionaire this is a different story. Education is a factor in some cultures. In some countries the main role of the female is to graduate from high school and get married as soon as possible. Now if that will stop her from continuing her education I disagree with this mentality in the most fundamental way. These days education is sacred. We cannot live with out it. On the other hand, if marriage will stop males from getting their masters, specializing, continuing education, I think they should give the issue another thought.
Now, what is the poor guy supposed to do until he completes his education, secures a job and has enough experience? I DO NOT KNOW. In fact, I am stuck in this phase! Probably parents, families, and societies should support the youth and help them get married. Probably marriage isn't supposed to be so damn expensive in the first place. Probably there shouldn't be all these trash erotic shows, movies, and magazines. Probably the sex-sells marketing plans should have limits. Probably education should not consume 24 years of our lives. ... I do not know.
What do you think?
Related posts:
Marriage, Hurry up or Delay? Doc or Non doc?
April 27, 2008
TEDTalks: Jimmy Wales --- Wikipedia - Video
Jimmy Wales is founder of Wikipedia, the self-organizing, self-correcting, ever-expanding, and thoroughly addictive encyclopedia of the future. In this presentation, he explains how Wikipedia's collaborative system works, and why it succeeds. (Recorded July 2005 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 20:47)
Marriage, hurry or delay? Doc or nonDoc?
What are your thoughts on marriage? Do you think it is better to get married at an early age or at an older age? When do you think it is best to get married, when you are 20-25-30-35-40-87?
As long as physicians and physicians-to-be are concerned, do you think its better to get married: during college-during medical school- before,during, or after residency- or not until you secure a job - buy house?
There is another issue that I still didn't make my mind upon; do you think it’s a good or bad Idea to marry someone from the medical field?
What about marrying from another country and region? Good-idea? Bad-idea?
I have a hot question if you don't mind too: What about marrying someone from a different school of belief than yours? I know that is forbidden in some cases in some religions, but how do you see it? Would you consider marrying some from another religion?
April 26, 2008
Jehane Noujaim: TED Prize-wish: Unite the world on Pangea Day
Do you like the idea? Are you interested in such things?In this hopeful talk, 2006 TED Prize winner Jehane Noujaim unveils her wish: a global acceptance of diversity, mediated through the power of film. The first step? Getting people to understand each other. In 2003, Noujaim gained access to both sides of the story of the Iraq war for her film Control Room, a dichotomy she illustrates with provocative clips of Al Jazeera journalist Sameer Khader and U.S. press officer Josh Rushing. Noujaim ends by outlining her plans for Pangea Day, an event in which people all over the world can watch the same films at the same time.
April 22, 2008
Will be back on Saturday
This has been a hectic week for me. I was very busy (too bad not with studying). I did not have anytime to write anything. Emails and articles have been accumulating. I have about 405 posts waiting for me in my reader! I will try to go through them as soon as possible. I will try to visit and comment at my favorite blogs soon, too. Hopefully, Ill start posting again on Saturday. Till then, take care.
April 09, 2008
Careers in Medicine: Primary Care
Internal MedicineNature of the work
A personal physician who provides long-term comprehensive care in the office and the hospital, managing both common and complex illness of adolescents, adults and the elderly. Internists are trained in the diagnosis and treatment of of cancer, infections, and diseases affecting the heart, blood, kidneys, joints and digestive, respiratory and vascular systems. They are also trained in the essentials of primary care internal medicine which incorporates an understanding of disease prevention, wellness, substance abuse, mental health and effective treatment of common problems of the eyes, ears, skin, nervous system, and reproductive organs.
Internists can receive training in the following sub-specialties:
Training/residency information :
The residency for general internal medicine is three years. To practice in an internal medicine subspecialty requires from one to three years of additional training.
Workforce and salary information:
According to the American College of Physicians, "the number of individuals trained in internal medicine and its subspecialties will keep pace with growth in the total U.S. physician workforce. As a result, internal medicine will continue to account for 20-25% of the physician workforce, remaining the dominant medical specialty."
The annual salary ranges from $161,200 to $192,000.
Family Medicine
Nature of the work:
A family physician is concerned with the total health care of the individual and the family, and is trained to diagnose and treat a wide variety of ailments in patients of all ages. Special emphasis is placed on prevention and the primary care of entire families, utilizing consultations and community resources. More patient visits are made to family physicians than to any other type of physician.Family physicians can receive training in the following subspecialties:
- Geriatric Medicine - special knowledge of the aging process and special skills in the diagnostic, therapeutic, preventive and rehabilitative aspects of illness in the elderly.
- Sports Medicine - deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of injuries sustained in athletic endeavors.
Training/residency information:
The residency training for family practice is three years. The family physician receives a broad range of training that includes internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry and geriatrics. An additional year of training is required to be certified in a subspecialty. Workforce and salary information:According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, the demand for family physicians far surpasses the demand for all other specialties. Health care systems are particularly reliant on family physicians because of their ability to practice with the greatest cost efficiency. Incomes of family physicians are comparable to those of other primary care physicians.
The annual salary ranges from approximately $142,200 to $190,000.
Pediatrics
Nature of the work:A pediatrician is concerned with the physical, emotional, and social health of children from birth to young adulthood. Care encompasses a broad spectrum of health services ranging from preventive health care to the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic diseases.
Pediatricians can receive training in the following subspecialties:
- Adolescent Medicine
- Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Pediatric Hematology-Oncology
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Pediatric Nephrology
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Pediatric Rheumatology
- Pediatric Sports Medicine
Training/residency informationFollowing graduation from medical school, pediatricians complete 3 years of education in a pediatric residency program. The 3-year residency includes mandated rotations in general pediatrics, normal newborn care, and time in selected subspecialty areas. Up to 3 additional years of training are required to be certified in a subspecialty.
Workforce and salary informationAccording to the American Academy of Pediatrics, opportunities for pediatricians have increased and will continue to increase with the growth of managed care.
Annual income of primary care pediatricians is comparable with other primary care physicians and ranges from approximately $142,917 to $195,000.
Source:
AAMC
Selected Threads from SDN for Medical Students
"When I tell non-med school friends that I don't go to class & watch lectures online, they make this comment. I wonder if it decreases their confidence in physicians? Eh... the stuff we really need to be taught (i.e. can't really learn it on your own) is during the clinical years. We're just memorizing b.s. in the first two years, and you just figure out the best / most time efficient / least painful way to get through the b.s. (basic sciences / bull shizer / whichever!) "
"At most schools anywhere from 40-60% of the class will attend regularly. It's all about how you learn best. If you have the discipline to sit down and truly study the material on your own, then go for it. Many people do find that if they aren't getting up to go to lecture, they sleep in, then work out, then goof off, and by the time they actually start studying half the day is gone. (which is a bad thing, given the volume of material you should be looking over daily).
Med school is about trying things and finding what works best for you. It is a bad idea to expect that what works for others will work for you -- everybody's optimal learning process is so different. So in a given group of 200 people, you will find something like 75 people who learn more effectively on their own with no lecture, another 50 who skip lecture but end up wasting more time than they should, and the remainder who probably learn more effectively in lecture. (Numbers are just pulled out of air, but that's my own estimate of how it breaks down). Figure out which group you are and run with it. Nobody is right or wrong here -- there are many ways to skin a cat. But there will definitely be an approach that is optimal for you and an approach which is foolish for you. And you won't know until you try each and compare results."
"I have only been to a handful of classes in medschool period. Most people try to attend classes for the first few blocks before realizing that it's less efficient than studying on your own - I made it less than two weeks."
"Honestly, my attendance has to be no higher then 15-20%. I dont go because I dont think lecture is the way I learn best. I think one needs to figure out what works for them when it comes to studying, for me I go to lectures and fall asleep and therefore its a total waste."
"I prolly really havent been to a class in 3 months and my grades have gone way up since i stopped going. I just read and also the 2nd years gave us a scribe cd w/all the notes they had last year, and since the lectures are pretty much the same i just use that w/the ppts...oh and i also get a good bit of sleep as well."
"Pretty fast - always have. If interesting, I can read most normal-length novels within a few hours. Textbook-wise, if I'm concentrating and just highlighting (not taking notes), it usually takes me around 2 minutes to read a page."
"I was updating my CV recently when I came to the realization that apart from being in medical school, I have accomplished very little else in the past 3 years. There are no prizes, no extracurricular activities, no research or publications to be added. At the end of first year, I traveled to SE Asia not to help people but to lounge on the beach. My lounging was punctuated by getting a massage, eating, and aggressively bargaining for an extra five dollars off fake designer goods. In my spare time, I watch reality television, drink, read books I don't have to think about and experiment with ethnic cooking."
"Wow!" is generally something that I try to say only in my head. Same with "Ew, gross!"
"Don't ever say Oops!! It's bad for business and your career!"
"0. thousands of med students go abroad to learn Spanish every year
1. learn spanish b/c it will vastly improve your ability to communicate with pts, not to be more competitive. You'll be really grateful you did.
2. if you want to speak with pts in the US, learn Spanish in Mexico or maybe Latin America. Spanish as spoken in Spain is really pretty different.
3. you need more than 2 weeks to learn Spanish well enough for clinical work, unless you're amazing and you have a good bkg. Invest your time and do it well, instead of trying to short cut."
"40,5% We should conduct ourselves honestly and professionally and do some charity work."
"26,9% After residency @ $9/hr, society owes us a nice living!"
"Except for one time when I was nine and I thought it was hot chocolate, I've never drunken coffee."
"Bought an unlimited coffee card at the coffee shop down to road for $120/year. Let's just say that it paid for itself about a month later ;)"
"My fellow classmates, and how immature most of them are. (I thought that med students would be mature and professional!)"
Pathology midterm
Here are the topics that we had to study for the test:
- Nephritic syndrome
- Nephrotic syndrome
- Pyelonephritis
- Renal Calculi
- Hydronephrosis
- Renal cell carcinoma
- Carcinoma of the urinary bladder
- Malignant tumors of the testis
- Nodular hyperplasia of the prostate
- Carcinoma of the prostate
- Endometrial hyperplasia
- Endometriosis
- Leiomyoma of the uterus
- Carcinoma of the cervix
- Cystic tumors of the ovary
- Tumors of the breast
- Infiltrating duct carcinoma
- Carcinoma of the larynx
- Broncho-pneumonia
- Lobar-pneumonia
- Lung Abscess
- Bronchiectasis
- Bronchial carcinoma
- Tumors of the tongue
- Ulcers of the tongue
- Barrett's esophagus
- Dysphagia
- Peptic Ulcer
Here are the exam questions:
All questions to be answered, (15 marks each, total 60 marks)
- Discuss the pathogenesis, pathology and complications of bronchiectasis.
- Give an account on the pathology and fate of post-infectious glomerulonephritis.
- Discuss the pathology of the different types of benign tumors of the breast.
- Give an account on the predisposing factors and complications of peptic ulcer.
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This is how they do things here. How do they do it where you are?
April 07, 2008
Virgle, Biggest April Lie, oops I mean joke!
In case you missed out on the fun, have a look at what google and virgin had set up for April.
Virgle
An invitation.
Earth has issues, and it's time humanity got started on a Plan B. So, starting in 2014, Virgin founder Richard Branson and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will be leading hundreds of users on one of the grandest adventures in human history: Project Virgle, the first permanent human colony on Mars.Update Apr 7 ... Midterms
I stopped studying for Step 1 and shifted to studying for my school midterms.
This Wed, Pathology
Sat, Pharmacology
Tues, Parasitology
Wed, Microbiology
Wish me good luck!
April 02, 2008
Medical Student Carnival 3rd Edition 4-2-2008
Welcome to this weeks edition of the carnival :)
Posts by Medical Students:
- Kendra at Island Med Student wrote: Trust Me, I'm a Doctor! Explaining her experience in a psychiatry rotation.
- Tomography at Indulge in The Fascinating World of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine wrote: Tomography blog is over it’s 11000th visitors!
- Alberto at Medical Pills shared another pod-cast with us. This time from John Hopkins.
- Hoover at Med School Hell shared an other reason with us on why he hated med school; Needle Sticks!
- Vitum Medicinus at vitum medicinus ::: a life of medicine wrote "The vaccines scare us because the diseases don't. And they don't because of the vaccines."
- Medskool at From Medskool wrote: "British Doctors Say Don't Treat The Old and Unhealthy"
- Halfmd at HalfMD.com wrote on "How To Succeed in Medical School"; some bad habits some medical students have.
- Maria at intueri: to contemplate wrote Three Events That Trainees Don’t Ever Want to Experience, But Might!
Posts by Non medical students:
- From Radiology Picture of The Day: Achalasia --- Traumatic Aortic Injury
- From USMLEMD: USMLEMD group on Face Book
- From Clinical Cases and Images - Blog: How to Backup Your Medical Blog
Thank you for reading this weeks edition of the Medical Student Carnival. I hope you enjoyed it. To submit an article for the next edition of the carnival please send me a link to your post by email at: prep4md(at)gmail(dot)com. Till next time, take care!
Note: I would really appreciate it if you could mention the carnival on your own blog.
Can we blame the parents?
In the last couple of weeks there was an interesting conversation taking place at "The Doctor Blogger" blog. Titled: "Can We Blame the Parents?". Though the talk is a bit quite now, I thought I should republish parts of it, so more readers can contribute or benefit from it.
First of all, the author of the blog is Dr. R. Bishara, an internist who has special interest in parenting and raising children. Good for me I share some of these interests with her! Not long ago, as a comment on one of her posts I said:
"...In my opinion, there are some cases where you cannot put all the fault on the parents. Sometimes society is at fault. Sometimes the grandparents are at fault. In some places the society and families are so screwed up you don't know who to blame for it, so we put all the fault on the young ignorant parent when she or he might be a victim too.
Honestly, I do not know how such cases can be fixed. Having children is a right.
Most of these parents would not be seeking help nor advice on the Internet,etc.
Instead of taking care of the children on behalf of the parents, why aren't the
parents enrolled in obligatory parenting classes and if they are poor and
uneducated, enrolled in high school or college and of course supported all the
way financially? (does this sound cheesy?)..."
Dr. Bishara was kind enough to write a-several-pages reply:
"...you make some excellent observations and comments about how to "fix" the
situation we are in. I'd like to address one of the problems, in my opinion, that
has put us in the situation you describe--divorce. As a physician, I have the
opportunity to observe families over many years. Sometimes I treat the parents
and their children. And, although this is only one aspect of the problem, I think
it needs to be said that we are at least 2 generations deep into children who
have been raised in divorced homes and, we are seeing some of the effects
on our society in general.
Children are raised with a lack of either financial resources or relational resources--I'll explain below. In other words, they are not as well equipped to be parents as they might be..."
Among several replies I said:
"...I'm so glad there are people out there thinking of, studying, and brain storming how this huge problem can be solved. No one can deny it is an immense problem (unless they never experience life differently) but unfortunately, I barely (perhaps never) heard anything about this issue in the media, so thanks on putting it in the spotlight.Afterwards, she wrote a Part Two. In which she said:
If you don't mind I would like to reemphasize two point you made: "They assumed that if the child didn't complain, they were OK" ... that is so true in this case and in other cases especially when the parents are very strict. Sometimes the children are so afraid they can't express them selves at all. Then it becomes a habit for the child. Children don't know any better. They will become accustomed to suffering, being sad, feeling lonely, etc and keeping there mouths shut..."
"Y.S. is obviously concerned about how we can help parents that might be
disadvantaged suggesting obligatory parenting classes, school for a
trade and being supported financially all the way. Because divorce has
become such a big part of our society in general, I thought it might be useful
to look at this particular aspect since the impact on children is prominent.
I believe the issue has multiple facets. Among them is the governement's
role in our lives and our own choices. It has to be said that parents who
have more money have a better shot at good parenting. It is easier for
them to get quality help from sitters, day care, and nannies.
So, how do we impact those that have limited knowledge and limited resources?
...Let me be clear that divorce is not the only damaging thing that can happen
to families. There is alcoholism, family violence, drug abuse, and any of a
number of really bad things that can exist both within intact as well as
divorced families...
So, my intention is to highlight divorce but not to assume
that it is the only problem that exists...
With regard to the "right to have children", it must be said that children should
be considered to have rights also, should they not?
Children should have a right to good parents, good parenting, and good teaching.
They should have a right to an education and the skills to make a life for themselves.
They should have a right to a childhood unencumbered by their parents' mistakes.
They should have a right to safety, security, a full stomach, and a warm bed.
...Parent is a verb not a noun. To have children may be a right but, with having
children comes responsibility that, if poorly attended, carries consequences.
In the purest sense, I believe we can blame the parents. Parents are the ones
that have make the choice to have children--parents choose to have sex, choose
to carry a child, choose to have a child. It is not something that happens while
they stand on a corner minding their own business..."
To which Brenda Replied:
"...Is poor parenting to blame for many of the problems we see today - teenage pregnancy, teenagers getting into drugs, alcohol, etc. ? - you bet! Entitlement has become a multi-generational concept. As a three-time PTA president of a local public school, and a two time representative of a district council of PTAs, I can say that I have come into contact with a lot of kids, teachers, and parents. Some of the poorest parenting I've seen belonged to upper-income families; some of the best to families who were the poorest of the poor.And I replied:
I read in research that problems in families tend to repeat themselves - abuse begets abuse, if you will..."
"...Talking from the point of view of a guy in the middle between childhood and parenthood, I remember a lot of my parents' mistakes, teachers' abuse, relatives' mistakes, terrible atmosphere at school, etc of which had a missive impact on my beliefs, personality, psych, and the way that I deal with social problems. Whether these effects were +v or -v I do not know. But with no doubt it did effect me big time.
Now tomorrow, when Its my turn to show the world my parenting skills, will I screw up because of my own childhood? or will I do a good job because of what I went through?
So, Can We Blame the Parents? I will say: YES. Every individual should be held responsible for his actions. I know you had a tough and mis fortunate childhood, you took care of your self, you didn't receive the care, attention, and education that you deserved. I know you were once a victim. But that is not an excuse to slip out of your responsibilities towards your own children and community...
One thing that will make this a little more complicated is the defense mechanism that behavioral scientists call "Identification"; unconsciously pattering one's behavior after that of someone who is more powerful; where a man who was physically abused as a child abuses his own children. I guess we should look out for that also!
Regarding whether the church, school, ..., should have a roll here, of course they should.
When Dr. Bishara started the talk with divorce as a major factor contributing to poor parenting skills I under estimated its significance. To my amazement I recently read some statistics that reinforce her point. I read that "Close to 50% of all American marriages end in divorce" I must say that is a huge number!
Here are other facts that I found:
- Children who were sexually or physically abused are more likely to become violent adults.
- At least 250,000 cases of child abuse are reported annually, in the US.
- Approximately 25% of all girls and 12% of all boys report sexual abuse at some point during their lives.
- About 1 million US teenagers become pregnant each year: 50% have the child : 33% have elective abortion : the remainder are spontaneously aborted.
- Consequences of teenage pregnancy, For the mother: leading cause of school drop out. For child: possible lower level of intellectual functioning and increased risk of delinquency and suicide)..."
For the entire article:
Can we blame the parents? (part 1)
Can we blame the parents? (part 2)
Do you think we can blame the parents? Do you really think that divorce is a problem? Did you have a tough childhood? Please share your thoughts with us.
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