Message to the Doctor

Dear 'Doctor',

I appreciate you were looking for a new companion on your travels. I appreciate that you liked the girl you just got, but I think you got the wrong medical student. You see, you misspelled my name. My name is Merys Jones, not Martha Jones. But I will be here when you realise your mistake.

Waiting patiently (at least for another 4 years...)

MERYS Jones

Friday

Despite the fact that it’s a Friday evening and I came in from work at 17.30 this evening, I’m far from winding down.

Sadly I have to be back to work tomorrow morning at 08.00 to open the leisure centre and cash up the tills. I do this because I need the money to pay for my increasing student debts through my medicine degree, and because I actually enjoy partaking in chav bashing under the guise of ‘work’.

Today I had the great delight of asking a very baby faced young gentleman for some proof of ID. His friend had purchased a jug of lager (as he had ID and was over 18) and was proceeding to supply it to his younger looking friend. Sadly people think I was born yesterday.

I ask you this: If you turned 18 yesterday, you would carry ID wouldn’t you?

Part of the joy of being 18, as well as being able to legally purchase alcohol, is to be able to prove it when challenged. Yet this gentleman didn’t see the joy, as he was unable to prove his age (and looked around 15).

Hard luck.

Reasons to love and hate Yorkshire

LOVE: Hot baths and proper toilet paper
HATE: Regularly waking up without electricity
LOVE: A washing machine that actually works
HATE: Occasionally losing all the TV channels because some random gust of wind has damaged some random transmitter somewhere (Emley Moor?? I think...)
LOVE: Actually being able to get channel 5 in the first place
HATE: Having to be in at a decent hour
LOVE: Hot meals cooked by someone else using ingredients I haven't had to pay for.


So good to be home...

A trip down memory lane

Today I did something rather odd. I went back to my old secondary school for a trip down memory lane. My father is friends with my old headteacher, so I thought I would pop in and pay him a visit.

Sadly, he was away on a meeting, so I gained a visitor badge and had a wander around my old school to catch up with some of my old teachers.

My area is not renowned for encouraging teenagers to head to university, or even college, so I felt it would be nice to show them that some of us have done well for ourselves (Ok, I wanted to brag, so shoot me).

The problem when I was in school, was that not every teacher encouraged me to chase my dreams. I always knew I wanted to be a doctor (or paramedic), but I was told by one teacher that I was from the wrong part of the country and the wrong background (because although my parents own their own business, they aren't from affluent backgrounds and didn't go to university) to become a doctor.

Sadly today I didn't manage to catch up with that particular teacher (which is probably a good thing), although it was nice to catch up with my old science teachers, who are pleased that they managed to inspire some level of interest in their subject!

It was an interesting trip down memory lane, and something that I don't regret doing.

Interestingly, when I was in school I was absolutely appalling at woodwork/metal work/resistant materials and just couldn't construct anything straight (I would like to add that this has now changed considerably, and I can now build flat pack furniture exceedingly well.)

With this is mind, I took great delight in visiting my old woodwork teacher today (who is still a friend of my father) and telling him that I wanted to be an orthopaedic surgeon and use proper tools. It took me a good 3 minutes to stop him from laughing....

Trains

I'd left the house a little late this morning to get the bus into the city. I needed to get a train home ASAP, and nicely managed to run for the bus in time.
I arrived at the train station with a comfortable 30 minutes to spare, only to discover that my train has been cancelled, and the next available one was in 2 hours.
So therefore, I'm sat pilfering wifi at the train station trying to study for the next 120 minutes. Nice.
More adventures of chav bashing for the next 3 weeks, as I'm back at the Leisure Centre as a shift manager. Which I'm sure will be fun!

Vile...

....but funny.

As usual the excellent SJHoward never fails to impress me. The name gives it away.

http://sjhoward.co.uk/archive/2007/03/22/gordon-brown-eats-his-greens-from-his-nose

Bugger it

I deleted the post Stigma because life is too short to argue. I have enough family arguments to contend with, without making here one huge argument too.

If I offended you in anyway with the aforementioned post, I apologise, but maybe my choice of words is what offended you, not my meaning.

Never mind, there's enough crap in the world without me adding to it here.

WANTED!!!

paid adverts for this blog.
Or funding for medical degree.

I'm sorry, I may have to sell myself out. You see, I need the cash, or I can't carry on with medical school.

yours, Merys

All emails to bloodystudents@hotmail.co.uk

The Giggle Fairy

This is an odd post to write, and may yet be taken down.
I have in front of me a packet of fluoxetine (aka Prozac) because upon consultation with my GP he thinks I may have depression.
I'm inclined to agree with him, but yet I can't seem to be able to take the first tablet. I keep putting it off, giving myself another reason to take the first one tomorrow.
I'm wondering when I will actually manage to take the first one.
Maybe tomorrow.

Another one bites the dust

It's with sadness that I see Barbados Butterfly has left the building - another blog I used to delight in reading. I'm not going to put a link up, but if you look at the link in the sidebar you will see that she's no more....

Sadly I will be unable to attend the White Coat March this weekend, much as I would like to. It worries me that people in my year know very little about the MTAS/MMC farce, and sadly this march clashes with a family function *groan*.

If you can't join the march, sign the forum for support. http://remedyuk.org/TheMarch/TheMarch.html

procrastination

I really really really need to start my PBL. It's due in tomorrow....
But I think I shall procrastinate a little more with some Grey's Anatomy.

The sun shines on the righteous

Obviously I've been good lately, as the sun keeps on shining.
I had a great day at work yesterday, running around with a bunch of kids in the mud and not getting rained on (for a change!). The company has obviously decided to keep me, as they've provided me with uniform which is a gorgeous (!) shade of bright turquoise.... mainly so I can be seen when running around outside.
It makes me laugh that I work in such a male dominated work force, I've gone from being plain kinda giddy Merys, to Merys the only woman in the place, therefore we shall worship her.
The boys get a thank you at the end of the day, while I get offered a phone number or a 'tussle' in the bushes. Which of course I politely decline.

Mind you, I suppose it's one way of paying off my increasing student debt....

If you do nowt else this week....

Sign this:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/sack-patsy/#detail

Mojo

I think I got my mojo back. It's like a long lost sweater to be honest, and it's a welcome return. This week I've probably been highly irritating to all and sundry, but hey, it works for me.
Besides, the weather's been good and I've been enjoying cycling (only fell off once in the last fortnight...), and as such I'm gonna go cycle a few miles now for fun!

While I'm away-ish this weekend, I have a challenge for you.
As you know, I do a PBL (problem based learning) medical course. I'm inviting email submissions of people's personal takes on the PBL system of training health professions. But first I will give you some background knowledge.
PBL:

• splits the academic year into smaller groups of people who work through questions together
• allows the individual group to define their own learning objectives (based around a scenario) and define their own education
• often means that students get to meet patients earlier in a general practice setting
• often means less lectures and more focussed group time
• essentially produces doctors who have largely taught themselves medicine.

Understandably this is from my take of medical school so far, and I welcome any ammendments or additions to my list.
What I want to know is how you feel about that?
I'm comparing my medical school to the likes of Oxford, Cambridge and ?St Andrew's, whereby the students do a couple of years of pure science before they learn any clinical skills or meet patients.
And calling all nurses, paramedics, other health professionals....do you notice a difference?
Emails requested to bloodystudents@hotmail.co.uk please ASAP, and I will publish (with credit if requested) on here over the next few weeks.

Matrix 101: The Medical School

*grin*

Well the week has started off well:
Normal PBHell and lunch with the girlies then back into the books.
I have a long night of study for an assessment tomorrow and I can see the coffee machine being filled up very regularly through the night.
I'm going to head into my bar later on to go through some notes with a friend (possibly over a pint or a coffee...) then get back here and cram some more into the early hours.
Should lead to an interesting night ahead!

But I'm still smiling, even if my facial muscles do now ache!

Right!

OK, new week, new start. No more whining and no more crying.

I managed to start an epic scale domestic between my parents when I was home with regards to quitting medical school or sticking it out.

I realise that people in this world are worse off than me and that I should thank myself lucky that I even have a place at medical school.

So, as I start the week with PBHell, I shall do so with an, albeit fake, smile upon my face and a leap in my step. (I'm aiming for an academy award too!)

Blogging will resume properly this week!

Seeking Sanctuary

I'm currently chilling out on my wonderfully comfortable bed at home in Yorkshire. In fact, it's so nice here I really don't want to go back to uni.

I've had good food, good drink, wonderful shopping in the city, 24/7 hot water and a bath, nice toilet paper and a fabulously comfortable bed..... why would I want to return to hell....?

.....Because I still want to be a doctor!