Lesson of the Day

Going over genitourinary disorders today. In the section talking about pyelonephritis (basically a kidney infection), it states that one of the risk factors for pyelonephritis is “sexual intercourse > 3 times/week.”

So all you tumblr folks complaining about not getting enough action… at least you have one less risk factor for a kidney infection. 

Just trying to brighten your day. 

Q:Any advice on study techniques and saying no to procrastination?
thanks :)

Anonymous

If you knew me, then you probably wouldn’t want to ask me for advice on saying no to procrastination. I could probably write a couple textbooks on how to procrastinate; of course, they would all be written while I am putting off something I should’ve been doing instead.

What about study techniques? Well, I hate studying. Seriously. I DO NOT like to spend time studying books. I didn’t come to medical school for that. I didn’t choose to apply to medical school because I wanted my days filled with books. Some people do. And that’s great. Some people choose to go to medical school because they are really interested in the material — they find it fascinating. I am not one of them.

To be clear, I’m not saying that I don’t find the material interesting. I am just not one of those people who gets a high off studying. I wanted to come to medical school so that I could treat patients. So getting into the study mode was and still continues to be quite a challenge for me. 

Unfortunately, there isn’t a short answer to your question. Everyone studies differently. What worked for me was making my own notes with as many quirky or strange pictures/illustrations I could manage. The down side of this was that it takes longer than just reading through a text book. But I think the retention is a lot better. I created a video to illustrate what this process (for me) looked like when I was studying pharmacology. You can see this video by clicking here. 

And now, back to the question about procrastination. Honestly, I still struggle with it. The frustrating thing is that for many people who deal with it, will power is not enough to stop it. There were a few things that helped me with my procrastination. Frankly, I should use still be using these techniques more than I actually am. I also wrote about this previously in two separate posts titled The Game Plan and Study Schedules. 

I hope those 3 links above will be of some help. Good luck with whatever you are studying!

P.S. - I hope you are not an anonymous, ambitious 5 year old Kindergarten student asking these questions. If you are, I would advise you to ignore everything I wrote above, stop studying and go play outside. 

[Flash 10 is required to watch video]

GVOYour Study Setup

This is going to be my day.

And for today’s (SST) medical lesson:

Penile fracture is surgical emergency that requires emergent urethral imaging and surgical repair. The most common cause is a crush injury of the erect penis, most commonly during intercourse when the female is on top of the male.

Those who have been following me for a while know that I occasionally share some of the things I learn. Because learning is fun. And it’s better when we all have fun together.

So you’re welcome. And be careful.

Today…

I am going to a group photo shoot. Last night I logged onto Meetup.com and noticed that a spot had opened up for a meetup that had previously been closed. Someone had cancelled their RSVP.

The shoot is a free group shoot for anyone interested in learning about studio lighting and posing. Supposedly they have people who will model, make-up artists who will get them looking wonderful, and photographers who will help set up the lighting. All we do is learn and observe, and then step in and shoot some pictures.

I wasn’t sure when I would get another chance like this so I impulsively jumped at the sight of “1 spot remaining” when I saw that on the Meetup website.

Almost immediately I started thinking I should just cancel. Today was supposed to be study day. I hate that there is a certain guilt I feel when I spend a chunk of “free time” doing something other than studying.

In order to compromise, I am up sort of early on a weekend. I’ll try to get a few good hours of studying in before the check-in at 12:45. It is supposed to end at 4. Hopefully, after I come back, I’ll be able to do some laundry and get a few more hours in.

Currently reading a chapter on STDs.

For completeness, the oral cavity as well as the cervical and other lymph nodes should be evaluated, if appropriate, based upon the patient’s modes of sexual expression. 

Well that’s one way to put it…

Current Status: Attempting to self-study about gynecological cancers in the library because the attending scheduled for the 3 hour lecture called in sick.  Ordinarily I don’t attend lectures or go study in the library with a shirt/tie, but I had to round on a patient this morning. Hence, the tie.
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Current Status: Attempting to self-study about gynecological cancers in the library because the attending scheduled for the 3 hour lecture called in sick. 

Ordinarily I don’t attend lectures or go study in the library with a shirt/tie, but I had to round on a patient this morning. Hence, the tie.

I know I’ve posted this before. But I’m posting it again because while I sit here trying to study for tomorrow’s exam, I am just so restless. I’d rather be outside shooting something/someone — whether that be with a camera or an airsoft gun. (Photo taken this summer at sunrise. Lake Arrowhead, CA)
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I know I’ve posted this before. But I’m posting it again because while I sit here trying to study for tomorrow’s exam, I am just so restless. I’d rather be outside shooting something/someone — whether that be with a camera or an airsoft gun.

(Photo taken this summer at sunrise. Lake Arrowhead, CA)

GPOYourView - Harumph! I thought 8:30 AM was early enough, but it wasn’t. Someone took my favorite spot in the library. So I found another spot. And now I must look out the window at the School of Dentistry. ugh! (I’m just joking… kinda… well mostly.) Also, Southern California is awfully dreary today.
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GPOYourView - Harumph! I thought 8:30 AM was early enough, but it wasn’t. Someone took my favorite spot in the library. So I found another spot. And now I must look out the window at the School of Dentistry. ugh! (I’m just joking… kinda… well mostly.)

Also, Southern California is awfully dreary today.

Kind of freaking out over exams. They start in a little over a week. Exams will take two weeks. Then I’ll have 2 weeks to study for Step 1, which is one of the licensing exams. The Pathophysiology exam is on the 18th. It’s a cumulative exam with part one in the morning and part two after lunch. The picture above is the course syllabus. Close to 600 pages of the mechanism of diseases. I flipped through it and found a page that had zero markings. No highlighting, no annotations.  It freaked me out cause I thought I should know something about that topic. So I quickly turned to look at other marked up pages like the one pictured above.  Blah.. back to studying.
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Kind of freaking out over exams. They start in a little over a week. Exams will take two weeks. Then I’ll have 2 weeks to study for Step 1, which is one of the licensing exams.

The Pathophysiology exam is on the 18th. It’s a cumulative exam with part one in the morning and part two after lunch. The picture above is the course syllabus. Close to 600 pages of the mechanism of diseases. I flipped through it and found a page that had zero markings. No highlighting, no annotations. 

It freaked me out cause I thought I should know something about that topic. So I quickly turned to look at other marked up pages like the one pictured above. 

Blah.. back to studying.