II/II Over!!

So exams are finally over. I sit here, pondering upon the last two weeks and thinking, I’ve done it!! Now, I only have to worry about studying after about two days. The past week and four days have been enlightening. Firstly, I know for sure that doing Pharmac just the one time, isn’t enough. My paper was no way better than last time, when  I hadn’t even completed my portion properly. And, today, the practical also sent across the same message. It isn’t just enough to have a chapter underlined and marked and coloured and full of charts. You need to know those charts by heart. My aim in the coming few months will be the same. We will, of course, have the entire portion now, for the prelims. If it has been tough the last two times, the prelims are going to be complete torture. ‘Coz there will also be two papers of each subject.

I have also learnt in the past week that my study method for Microbiology is pretty much what it should be. My paper was the best out of all my theory papers and the same can be said about the practical. This means I’m sure about a lot of stuff I have said and written. So, I love Microbiology and would love to make it my strong-point in the coming months.

Pathology still remains a kind of mystery. I loved it when we were doing General Pathology. And I hated it when we were doing Systemic Pathology. It is vast, and this time I haven’t read much of Robbin’s (a total change from last time, when most of the portion had been read from that thick little green book). I didn’t end up getting a lot of marks last time although my paper had been the best of all the three we wrote. I want to see whether reading Harsh Mohan makes a difference in the marks we get. I am going to finish reading up Robbin’s by the prelims, but I need to know whether it is going to be for the sake of reading it, or whether it is going to help me in getting the marks that I’m currently after.

PSM (Preventive and Social Medicine) has been labeled the disaster my third year, before the year even starts with the kind of crap it dished out to me in this term. According to the schedule of MUHS, students are tested on PSM in II/II. A 3-hr theory paper (with 3 compulsory 8 mark questions!!) and a 20 mark practical. That theory paper turned out to be the only paper I have EVER given without studying ANYTHING! The standard textbook is Park’s and it one hell of a boring book to read. I didn’t manage to do anything the whole evening before the exam. And then, the morning of the paper I came to know that there are notes available in PSM. I only managed to get the notes 2 hours before the paper, and I also had to have lunch. So, I went for the paper having read NOTHING. It turned out to be a disaster really. I haven’t written such crappy answers in such beautiful handwriting ever before! The practical was no better. The lecturer who took my viva, realized early into it that I did not know one small thing. I don‘t think I’m going to be passing in the subject this time.

FMT was pretty ok. The Department didn’t even know we had a paper! We started ah hour and a half late, because of all the confusion. They distributed éclairs as a penalty for forgetting that they had to conduct an examination J

Basically, I’m finally done with everything. Not everything, actually. My family-planning term-end is left, which will be held on Saturday. But I am free as such. I missed out on enjoying the Wimbledon and the Football World Cup, as much as I would have in another time span. But, luckily, Rafa and the Spanish Football team, have ensured that I have watched it all throughout. Congrats Rafa !! It was such a fulfilling moment to watch you lift that trophy! And I gotta say to Tomas Berdych ( I watched him beat Roger and Novak Djokovic), you are so totally all over the place!! It was great to see you play in the final, and I do want you to keep playing the brand and level of tennis that you are. Your serve…..simply sensational!

And that Football team! Switzerland seems in a different universe. I so want you to win the World Cup now!! You beat Germany! I am so proud of them all!! I hope to witness you guys raising that Cup as high as possible on Sunday :-)

I’ve actually had a great week. Guess, having exams did pay its dividends in some ways:-)    

My Brother BEST!!!!!

Rutwik, my younger brother, has made me the proudest and happiest sister ever!! His Std. 10 ICSE Board Exam results were declared on Wednesday (19th May), and he has topped the guys in the City with 97%!! He has got amazing marks and has finished with the highest marks in five out of seven subjects in his school. He got 100/100 in Social Studies and in Environmental Studies.
I am just so, so, so proud of him. Feel like screaming out the entire world that he has topped in the entire city. When my results were declared four years back, I had come 2nd in the city and had also beaten the Boys' Topper. At that time, it had felt awesome too. This time, with my brother appearing, I was hoping he'd manage to be the Boys' Topper. And he is!! Anything less than this would definitely have hurt a bit. he has gotten the highest honour (to call it so) there can be in this city.
His photos have been splashed in newspapers and today, my mom stands as the proud mother of two ICSE toppers with pictures in the newspapers with both of them :-) She obviously feels elated and extremely proud of my brother. But, I am completely over the moon. Hell, I'd never known what my brother felt when he heard about my results. I always wondered whether his happiness had matched mine. Today, I know what it feels like. And, we may not show it as much as the actually rank-holder, but our happiness can even go beyond their's!!
I've always felt and known that Rutwik was definitely the more talented of the two if us, and more intelligent too. If there was any one in the family who could have beaten the 96% I'd set 4 years back, it had to be him. He's meant for so many greater things than this, but I wanted this to be a start. And for all the crazy, sporty things he has ended up doing for last 10 years in his school (including all the complaints from teachers), he deserves this more than anything else. The guy is an absolute genius! And I want him to come to B.J. Medical College, but if there is anything, simply, ANYTHING, that can provide him with medical education better than that, I want him to go for it. Because he deserves every single bit of it.
As an elder sister, it has always been my responsibilty to take care of him, and to love him. It would pain so bad to see talent like him wasting away in the dirt of the playground in school. I would wish so many times that he understood what he really possessed. Today, I feel I don't have that responsibilty any more; because my brother has grown up, he has become mature and understands what he wants; because, he knows what he needs to do to get it; because he will do everything in his power and beyond to get it; because he is a winner with that killer-instinct, and knows it.
I am so proud to have a family like mine. My mother and uncles have been rank-holders too. My cousin has got almost every scholarship there is to get, and currently is working like a madman to get onto the Indian team for the Mathematics Olympiad later this year. Among the youngest cousins of mine, the elder of the tiny-tots is busy winning prizes and certificates for projects that even my Uncle has a hard time understanding! Oh God, I feel so so lucky. I love my family and I hope this streak of winners never runs out. I want us to become great people and make our parents and grandparents proud. I want us to be able to change the world in our way. And, I want my brother to keep working hard and weaving the magic that he has got hold of now. Thank you for everything bro!! You are simply the BEST :-)        

The Vacation Approaching

The two term-ends did end up happening. I should say that Anaesthesia was much much better than Radiology. Firstly, because we got new questions and I knew quite a lot of them. And secondly, because an MCQ test doesn't end up making the Examiner tired of looking at Students' faces as they come in and go out. We even discussed the answers after the test was over. I got around 20 of them. So that means I am safe and will not get a re-term on the basis of my marks. Getting a re-term on the basis of attendance is another issue.
Radiology was long, tiring and, in the end, very boring. There was just one teacher taking the term-end for 50 students..And I wasn't even from the current batch. So I had to wait even longer to get it done with. Finally, when my turn came, the only question asked to me was "What abnormality do you see in the X-Ray in front of you?" I replied, "Cardiomegaly" "How do you assess cardiomegaly?" "By measuring the Cardio-Thorasic ratio (CTR)." She then explained how to measure the ratio. We then talked about Echocardiography and that's that. She gave me 25. That hurt a bit. I wish I could have gotten a chance to tell her more about what all I knew. I definitely deserved more than 25. But the fact is that I finished off with both my term-ends. The headache and continued nagging inside of me has been trampled upon, even if that means that the numbers aren't very heavy. 
We now have Ohpthalmology. Three of us went to the OT today, but it is shut for some maintenance till Wednesday. I really wanted to go have a look today. Very disappointing not to be able to do it. I don't think I am going to have any enthusiasm left till Wednesday, so I'm going to turn my attention to what I had planned to do in the pre-vacation. I have to finish big chunks of my Pathology and Pharmacology portion till Sunday. I am trying my level best to get that done.

Two term-ends coming up!!....I hope...

I finally finished with all my Anaesthesia cases. Wow! A relief! I couldn't get sleep on Monday night thinking about how many of them I had left!! I kept telling myself that I should be able top complete three cases the next day so that I'd have a shot at finishing them all, well in time. The sleepless night paid its results, and today I stand (rather, sit) in front of the computer proud to have taken all 10 cases complete with the signatures and everything.
My Anaesthesia term-end is on Saturday only. We tried to make the lecturer take it tomorrow, but the attempt was pretty futile. I don't know how it is going to be possible to give two term-ends on one day. But, I want to finish off with both then. I don't want that Radiology term-end to get postponed to 30th May!!
I've started studying for the Terminal exams coming in the last week of June. I do hope I will be able to do just fine, and not disappoint myself once for a change.
That is actually it. Nothing else going on in college right now. The atmosphere is one of gloom, tension and exams...

On the Other Side of a Break

Radiology turns out to be a strange subject. The aura around it is amazing. It is one of those ungettable things, you only study for and wish to do your post-graduation in. It is a branch that has money, doesn't have a lot of odd working hours, and also makes you an integral part of the patient's treatment, but at the same time, you have to study beyond limit for the same. And, as we learnt from our posting of 15 days, it isn't a very interesting subject to listen to.

I guess, teachers do decide the love you tend to feel for anything. And, as good doctors as they may be, the people in the Radiology department did not turn out to be great teachers. We learnt something, but had it not been for my prior decision to include the subject on my "I'd-like -to-do-my-PG-in-this" list, I'd have hated it.

I still have to give my term-end. The break ate up 30th April, when I should have given it. But, since it was amazing, I don't care much. I'm hoping to give the term-end on 15ht May.

Moving onto Anaesthesia, man! it is one BORING subject!!! We just seem to be running around doing clerical work, copying cases down, and then having to listen to one lecturer screaming her head off at us, as if we were posted in the Department for that very purpose. I still have 7 more cases left, and I hope to finish them off in 2 days. Frankly, I'm not very interested in the subject. And, also I'm hoping ardently that Anaesthesia takes the term-end one day before the term ends (i.e., on Friday), so that I can be free to give the Radiology term-end on Saturday.

SO, the other side of the break doesn't have very exciting things coming up. It is gut-wrenching to have nothing to look forward to. But, I think the break came at a vert apt time, so I can't be complaining much, can I?

Psychiatry gives me a surprise!!

The 15 day posting ended on 15th April. Haven't exactly been the mood to write since then. Today, I am.

So Psychiatry. Wow! There is something, an inherent, ever-present sentiment.....a disbelief of sorts, that these clinicians can remain Doctors, sane-headed Doctors. It is interesting to listen to the calm and off-hand manner in which the patients speak. Stories seeming to be absolutely impossible, are said with such belief, it is SCARY. These people have a weird expressionless look in their eyes. Apart from that, extremely normal. And, of course, in our posting, we learnt about :

1. Schizophrenia

2. Bipolar Affective Disorder with Psychotic signs

3. Manic Episodes

Almost every second patient seemed to suffer from some kind of auditory and visual hallucinations.

That way, a very easy case to diagnose.

The Mental Retardation cases were heart-wrenching. We had a case of two 27 yr old brothers, who were mentally reatarded in the severest way. They couldn't utter a word , only identified individuals. Their father looked so old and worn-out and tired, I couldn't get his image out of my head for a very long time (stilll can't). The world is such an unfair place. Firstly, people are financially unequal, and to top that, the lowest class of people have to suffer from such disasters. Disasters that need the financial help to run a decent course, a course that is manageable. A mentally-retarded child is loved despite everything by his parentsm probably, even more because of his condition. It is killing to imagine, being in that 60 yr old father's shoes, wondering about the future of his two children, after he may be well beyond the capacity to provide for them....to imagine how he has spent all these years having to look after two children, he could never expect himself to hate or be taken away from him, and yet at times, wish for the same. It aches so much, and I felt relief, and still do, when he mentioned that he also has another son and daughter.

This is the only part of being a doctor that I don't like. Some patients, with the baggage they bring along, touch the most sensitive part of my soul, and almost always, I wish I could run away from it all, and never feel all this stuff.

Any way, I topped in Psychiatry. 37/50!!! It a second. After having got our Gynaec journals checked, the CR told me I did amazingly well in the term-end, and that our HOU was very happy with me. Now this. I feel previleged and lucky. I'm finally making some headway, and it feels like it. So satisfying, and a confirmation that I have chosen the right field.

Our current posting is Radiology. Very interesting. The best part of it is, the posting gets over by 11 30 am. So I easily get about an hour and a half in the library. Plus, I really like it, and the branch is one of my choices for a PG in.

My ICMR project didn't get selected. Only three out of like an easy 15, got selected. I'll still be doing it. The news was saddening, but I don't want my research being wasted, and I intend to see this project through.

Thats about it. We're going to Mauritius next week. I am SO excited!!! Can't wait! And I will write before we leave... I promise myself that.

Over At Last!!

I don't have to look at gynae and babies being born for another two years now!!!! Such a relief I say.

We finally finished with the last part of the term-end today. It wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't bad either. I could answer quite a bit, and over all, did not leave the room red-faced having embarrassed myself to the core. I was asked about the Sim's Speculum, the some drugs used in Obstretics - Oxytocin, Carboprost, Misoprost and Mala-D, the OCP. The viva did not last very long. We didn't even have any questions on normal labour or the maternal pelvis and fetal skull, which I had done more painstakingly than the rest. Actually, if I had been told that the pelvis isn't even kept on the viva table, I wouldn't have bothered at all!!

Any way, it doesn't matter. Fact is, it is over. 2 months.....can't even believe it has been that long. Feel like just yesterday we had started with the posting, and I was so disgusted with the nature of the branch. The past months have been fun obviously. Every batch of students gets closer to each other because of clinical postings, one or the other. In case of the first twenty students, it was their paediatrics posting, in case of roll no.s 25-40, it was their Gynae posting. In our case, i guess it was this posting only. its not anything different than normal. But, I can bear the people in my batch a lot more easily. And I have an easier time, shunning out the talk of people I don't want to listen to. It is just that simple.

In case of Surgery, and to a certain extent, Medicine, we did not really connect. Lots of irritating moments, when I wondered why I had ended up in a batch like mine; when I felt like slapping some people on their faces as hard as I could, and just throw them out of the batch. Trust me, it wasn't the simplest thing meeting them everyday. But, I guess, you do get used to some things when you do them every day. It is just that, with me.

Our unit might not be the most interesting unit, or the most intelligent. But, there's something about it that I am proud of. And, well, although I'm over the moon that Gynae is over, I'm equally excited about our next posting. It is Psychiatry, and I'm very eager to move into that mode. Looking forward to the weirdest patients there might be......:-))

Gynae, SOS!!!!

My Gynae term has almost come to an end, and I don't feel like I've anything new. Yeah, actually, it's wrong to say that. I have learnt something. But, there's no feeling of achievement, of having learnt something that can make me want to do Gynae. In fact, the feelings are the exact opposite.

Having watched children being born, I am not exactly awed by the procedure. Contrary to that, I'm grossed out by it all. And I have huge respect for any woman who has gone through it all. Man, we have a tough life, don't we?

Our term-end was divided into 4 parts:

1. Complete Journal - 5 marks

2. A short viva by our HOU - 5 marks

3. Case Presentation - 15 marks

4. Table Viva - 15 marks

Points 2. and 3. are over, and they were good. I got a Previous Lower Segment Caesarean Section case, and I enjoyed answering the questions. Trust me, the only enjoyable experience this whole term has been this part of the term-end. The journal completion was hell, and I still have to get it signed.

The last part of the term-end will be held on Monday. I am sort of dreading that, because this is the real test. Of knowledge, application, understanding and of course, the pre-requisite of Medicine - memory. I hope I do well.

The next terms we will have are 15-day terms - Radiology, Anaesthesia, Ophthalmology and Psychiatry. I'm excited about them.

College has been full of interesting academic activities, the latest being the Dr. V.S. Prayag Memorial Oration by Dr. Velu Nair, on Stem Cell Therapy and its future. It was a very interesting take.

Last weekend, we also attended our first Clinico-Pathological Correlation Seminar, popularly termed as CPC. It was a typhoid case. Every department involved presents their viewpoint, and then everyone has a take on the final diagnosis. Lastly, like the magic box, the pathologist has a final say and gives what the actual diagnosis was. Since it was a first, we didn't understand much. But it was an interesting 2 hours to spend.

So, life is abound with lots of sources of knowledge, and I'll make the best I can out of it all.

Gang Day and Traditional Day

The Cultural Week has ended on a high note. Yesterday and today have been awesome!! We totally nailed the meaning of Gang Day! Our theme was a Hawaiian one. Flowery t-shirts and jeans, coupled with a pair of Osho chappals, accesorised with garlands, flower-bracelets, chains and a flower pinned into the hair. We looked pretty great! Some other gangs in college came up themes like Devils, Mafia, a ZooZoo theme, Save the Tiger, Om Mangalam.......and a lot more.

We entered the lecture hall a little late, and the till then quiet class was suddenly echoing with the noise made by all the gangs together! This is College Life in its true sense. We had an awesome time!

Today, all you could see was vibrant colours and extremely pretty girls walking around amongst handsome looking guys. Its so strange how a simple sari or a simple kurta can change your entire persona in seconds!! Traditional day last year was sorta boring. It was all about clicking pictures and then BORED. Today, however, we were clicking so MANY pics, I didn't even realise how quickly time flew! I had the time of my life. Pluc my sari was very heavy, so despite the heat, I didn't want to change into something like a salwar-kameez, like I wanted to, last year. I wore a green sari. The colour really looks good on me.

Now, its the Freshers I'm waiting for, where it'll be total opposite of traditional. Haha!!!

Vedant '10 - The Glorious End

Here are the outstanding rangolis created out of just powdered colours, from the Rangoli competition held during Vedant '10.

The guy who made this has won a prize in all

the cultural events - Rangoli, Poster-Making

& Sketching. Bravo, Amol Deshpande!!

Our very own BJite bagged a little something.

very proud of you!!

A picture of two friends of mine, as we tried to detach the backdrop, to take it to Yashwantrao Chavan Natyagraha for the last event - The Group Dance Competition followed by the Prize Distribution and Dr. Salil Kulkarni's performance.

The Fashion Show held at Yashwantrao Chavan Natyagraha - 'Poise', was a success too. Our college came third and the top honours were taken by SOFT. I didn't go for it. Sadly.

The last day, was mainly a success due to Dr. Salil Kulkarni's presence. God, I am such a fan!! He's a big name in the Marathi Music Industry, and he was our Guest of Honour. I love his songs, and it was surreal to hear him first hand. I even got an autograph, and a photo with him. A friend of mine took the photo, so it'll be some time before that comes up here.

After the Prize Distribution and his performance, my group of friends had a sleepover. We had a lot of FUN!!! Pizzas and the cold coffee from Durga ( famous for its cold coffees)......I didn't stay up too long. We had college the next day, after all. I was the second to drift into sweet sleep...

Currently, we are still reeling under the lethargy of the entire show. But, now our much-delayed cultural week has begun, and next weekend would the weekend of our Freshers'.....God, thigns never seem to end!! After that, would be my Gnynaec Post-End. So, March is not going to be uneventful....

Lord, help me manage it all!!