One of the top five reasons given by medical students for not regularly attending meetings is “discouraged to attend by department and university,” a survey by the American Association of the History of Medicine, an academic society devoted to the history of medicine and all aspects of health, has found. This finding resonates with me because my attempts to seek authorised leave of absence to attend the British Neuroscience Association national meeting to present a poster were met with initial resistance from senior lecturers and clinicians. I was told that I would risk failing the “professional behaviour” domain of the module because of unacceptable attendance, despite me saying that I would do extra clinical work in the holidays to make up for time lost. more…

Iran has done what the United Kingdom has not dared: it has devised a single exam to be taken by its 20,000 doctors who are competing for 1600 residency positions. The UK system seemed to me unfair, but then an Iranian doctor explained Iran’s system. Rather than the UK’s online medical training application service (MTAS), set up in 2007 to rank medical students according to their 150 word answers about teamwork, prioritisation skills, and professional behaviour, Iran has one simple exam. Held yearly, it comprises 200 multiple choice questions that cover all aspects of clinical medicine, from psychiatry to ophthalmology. Unsurprisingly, just to pass this exam can take 2-3 years of 10 hours’ training a day. Whether those 6000 hours cooped up over books actually makes you a better doctor is debatable because it is difficult to gain any clinical experience during this critical time in training.
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So, one year of medical school finished, just five more to go. What have I learnt this year? As well as a load of useful medical things, and how to do my own washing and cooking, I have learnt some things they don’t tell you about in the prospectus…

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The corridors of the hospital were packed with worried expressions. Individuals were hysterically clarifying the status of their relatives following a vicious violent eruption between Arabs and Jews at the outskirts of an Israeli settlement. more…

My grandfather used to counsel my mother’s worries about my insatiable carnivorous tendencies as a child by suggesting that the only solution would be to ensure I gain a butcher as a father-in-law. I would frequently be teased at dinner parties when it looked like I was struggling to make it to dessert with mock incentives such as the profiteroles actually being meatballs. My meat eating was so ingrained by my teens that an aunt felt compelled to proclaim that I should stop making my stomach a graveyard for dead animals. more…

“Medicine is an ever-changing science” goes the familiar message on the opening page of most medical textbooks. Judging by the rapid pace at which textbooks expand, you have to wonder whether that would be a good enough reason to abandon the written word for good. Lateral epicondylitis used to be learnt through reading and repetition; with new textbooks you have the added quality of experiencing the syndrome’s excruciating symptoms first hand. Never before did the list of symptoms seem so straightforward to memorise. more…

I need to eat more healthily, so I’m going to cut down on foods containing E numbers. Here’s my plan. I must stay away from tomatoes, as they’re full of E160d (lycopene) and I’m giving up oranges as they contain lots of E300 (Vitamin C). Spinach and cabbage are definitely out as both are big sources of E101 (Vitamin B2). Apples have too much E440 (pectin) so they are blacklisted.  And I should avoid oats, as they contain E306 (Vitamin E). more…

I overheard an interesting conversation the other day. One man was telling his friend about an inflamed joint he’d had a few weeks previously. He had gone to his GP and had eventually been admitted to hospital and put on intravenous antibiotics. He’d spent a few days in hospital, but had a holiday booked, so he wanted to be discharged. He was told the doctor would be busy for several hours and couldn’t discharge him, so he discharged himself (after noting down all the medication he was on). more…

Finding out what’s wrong with a patient is the ultimate challenge for doctors, and relies on a multitude of factors. The other day I encountered an enigmatic patient. He arrived on the ward with a mild fever, abdominal pain and fatigue. more…

Three down two to go just started my fourth year. I am excited about sinking my teeth into some of the diverse fields of medicine. Orthopaedics, gynaecology and dermatology are some of the specialities I can look forward to. My excitement was short lived for I received my loan papers today. Granted my initial reaction was a sense of relief as the cash strapped summer holiday was officially over and now it was time for some spending. more…