Remember the summer elective I told you about sometime ago? I sent the application on Saturday and according to Aramex's website it has been delivered to them today. Hopefully Ill get an affermative reply soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me :)
March 30, 2009
March 27, 2009
Is Circumcision Good?
Circumcision May Reduce Incidence of HIV, HSV-2, HPV Infection
"March 25, 2009 — Male circumcision significantly reduced the incidence of HIV and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection and the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, suggesting potential public health benefits, according to the results of a randomized controlled trial reported in the March 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine."
"Circumcision has been demonstrated to reduce the risk for sexually transmitted infection, particularly with HIV, in previous research, and the current article describes potential mechanisms by which circumcision may be protective. In uncircumcised men, the retraction of the foreskin during intercourse exposes the inner preputial mucosa to potentially infectious fluids, and this area might be particularly prone to microtears, especially at the frenulum. The moist, humid environment of the subpreputial cavity may particularly promote infection. Moreover, this area is lightly keratinized, and this may facilitate viral access to underlying epithelial cells. Conversely, the scar and dense keratin after circumcision can create the opposite effect.The current study examines whether circumcision can reduce the rate of infection with HSV-2, HPV, and syphilis."
March 26, 2009
Some Cases I Have Seen So Far
Internal medicine:
- Hepatomegally
- Thalassimia
- Liver Cell Failure ... this patient particularly was in a very bad shape. She was disoriented, didn't communicate that well, she was jaundiced, had a huge distended abdomen, small umbilical hernia, her lower limbs were edematous and painful on touch, slight tremors, slight dyspnea, she had a funny smell, she coughed a lot, had rashes and fungal infections all over her and what not. I am telling you this wasn't a pleasant experience and it didn't seem that she was going to do well.
Surgery:
- Inguinal hernia
- Umbilical hernia
Pediatrics:
- Hepatosplenomegally "metabolic"
- VSD
- Rickets
March 22, 2009
March 20, 2009
Doubting Darwin: Debate Over The Mind's Evolution
A century and a half after Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution, some still doubt its ability to explain the emergence of human beings and other forms of life.
These days, some Darwin skeptics are focusing on the human brain. They say a higher power must be involved; otherwise, how could a bunch of cells produce such complicated mental processes as consciousness or subjective experiences? How could something like free will be the result of evolution?
While Darwin skeptics have homed in on this mind-brain problem, most brain scientists say there's plenty of evidence that mental actions such as consciousness have evolved along with the brain.
Read full story here
New Degree Creates "Doctor Nurses"
"Physicians such as Knope say the title of doctor implies a certain amount of training, hours in medical school that nurses just don't have. Dr. Ted Epperly, president of the American Association of Family Practitioners, says that while doctors place a high value on nurses, sharing the same title could confuse — and even harm — patients."Read full story here
Reading Beforehand
Reading for lectures in advance has an upper and a lower side to it. If I prepare for the lecture I can answer most of the professor's questions and thus get his attention and approval but the problem is that the lectures become boring as hell because I already know most of what he is going to say and the entire time I am comparing what he is saying with what I have read and subconsciously looking for any mistakes that he might make.
What should I do and what do you do?
March 19, 2009
March 18, 2009
March 13, 2009
Materials I am Using
Note: LN= lecture notes and handouts from school
Internal Medicine: LN + Pocket Kumar and Clark + Davidson's Practice and Principals of medicine
Surgery: LN + Pocket Churchill Surgery + Case Files
ENT: LN + LNS Diseases of the Ear Nose and Throat
Ophthalmo: LN + Oxford Pocket Ophthalmo
Pediatrics: LN + NMS Pediatrics
OBGYN: LN + Case Files
Forensic and toxicology: LN
Community medicine: LN
Miscellaneous :
Pocket Differential Diagnosis
Tutorials in Differential Diagnosis
Pocket Introduction to Clinical Examination
McLeod's Clinical examination
Snell's Clinical Anatomy
I am planning on buying Blueprints for most of the subjects and Lecture Note Series for a couple others once I have a chance.
What books have you used/are using and which do you recommend?
March 09, 2009
Update March 9th
Hello dear readers! How have you been?
I can't believe I haven't posted anything in about 5 weeks! I have a 100 emails in my inbox to read and more than a 1000 unread posts in my google reader!
I had a three week vacation after my last semester. I traveled, visited my parents, and attended my older brother's engagement party. And now I am two weeks into my forth year at school which have been pretty dense.
This semester I have lectures and so-called-rounds (we will discuss this later) from 9 am till 5 pm (no breaks included) Sat. through Tues. Then on Wed. and Thurs. I have to attend at the affiliated hospital from 9 am till whenever we are done (12-1-2-3 pm) + unfortunately 3 hours of commuting per day. Which as you can imagine is a pain in the ***.
As I mentioned in a previous post I have 8 subjects this semester. General medicine, General surgery, ENT, Ophtho, Pedo, Gyn-Ob, Foresic-Toxo, and Community med. 8-|
I honestly do not know how I am supposed to keep up with all my readings with such a demanding schedule this semester. Any tips?
As long as blogging is concerned, I have a lot to write and talk about but I need to figure out how to do it with wasting the least time possible.
This is it for now, I will write some more later.
S' long
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