Sarangiya's 사랑하는 VCE Journal

[sarangiya]

It's almost June - our midway point of the year! We have come a long way.

Chemistry
I've got our SAC penned down for Tuesday. I'm pretty confident I'll do okay, but I really want to get a better mark than last time. Not that this matters all that much, but our semesterly academic awards are probably being decided soon. I do think that I'm in the running for chem. I've got competition, no doubt, so I won't be surprised if it's not me. But if I can smash out this SAC, I'll at least put myself in good stead.

Psychology
In terms of the academic award, I'm pretty set. We do have our research poster SAC coming up, which is what I have been most worried about. I'm hoping that we will be well prepared and our teacher might be able to look over a draft I do. Something like that would definitely reassure me.

Methods
Our SAC is well and truly set for a week from now! It will go over four days. We were able to get last year's SAC, and it really wasn't that hard at all. I'm not too worried, thanks to that. My plan of revision is not going so well (lol) but there isn't actually that much to do, I've found. Since the application questions (and generally just harder questions in the textbook) use a lot of different skills and use polynomials as well as logs/exps, I feel like I'm getting good practice anyway. (Am I just lying to myself?? Haha)

English Language
I don't know if it's just my school, but I really do have a hatred for this subject. I'm so disappointed, since I thought I would love it. But instead of being an English-based subject with room for individual thought, I feel like all my answers are compared against a model. If it's the same as the model, marks are awarded; if it is different, marks are taken away. When I get 3/4 or something, the response I always have to swallow down is "you didn't mention x". God forbid I wrote something else, or didn't think x was a key feature in the text (it wasn't).
I don't mind the content, or even the writing. Just the marking is so difficult to understand.
These sentiments are in light of the practice SAC I did last week. I did slightly better than my real first SAC, but still inexplicably worse than every other year I've done English at this school. I'm beginning to wish that I had have just done general English. I would have had stable, qualified staff (and not just one or two!), loads of resources and more freedom of expression.
Real SAC is next week...

UMAT etc.
No day surgery for me lol. Apparently the majority of it gets finished in the morning, while I come in the afternoon. I'll use my holidays to go and see some procedures
I haven't done much for UMAT. We will see how I go this week. I'm not going to put too much time into it, considering the volume of SACs.

Exams
I was spot on my predictions!!! Hahaha. That was honestly the highlight of my week... obviously not the best week I've had lol. These were my original predictions:

the predictions

1/11/18 9:00-11:45 Psychology
7/11/18 9:00-10:15 Methods I
8/11/18 11:45-14:00 Methods II
13/11/18 9:00-11:45 Chemistry
15/11/18 11:45-14:00 English Language

my actual timetable

1/11/18 9:00-11:45 Psychology
7/11/18 9:00-10:15 Methods I
8/11/18 3:00-5:15 Methods II
13/11/18 9:00-11:45 Chemistry
16/11/18 11:45-14:00 English Language

All were right (including the day I had predicted the timetable would be up hoho) except that methods is in the 3:00-5:15 session (my mistake...why would exam II be an hour long?), and English Language is on the Friday, not Thursday.
And if you're wondering why it means so much to me that I was right: I bought plane tickets for immediately after when I thought I would finish my exams! And yes, I was very lucky. I am leaving for Japan the day after my English Language exam lmao. I have to say, though, it makes the trip that much more exciting.
Other than that, my impression of my timetable is great! I have my psychology exam first, followed by six days until my two methods exams. It follows that I should be preparing solely for psychology until then, and dedicate the week in between to math, math and more math. Continuing on, I have another five days until my chemistry exam, with the EL exam two days after that. I guess it's best to spend most of those five days on chemistry, but also to not neglect EL. I could either use those two days beforehand to study, or maybe to pack (lmao).
I don't think this kind of plan really works in reality. It's best to study for all subjects so you have them all active in your mind, and don't forget anything. Plus, it's boring to focus on one thing for like a week. Let's cross that bridge when we come to it.

How was everyone's timetable?
Good luck for this week!

This week's quote is from 괜찮아, 사랑이야 ("It's Okay, That's Love") - the drama my forum name is based upon. They are quoting from the poem, 바람이 오면 (When the wind comes) by 도종환 (Do Jong Hwan).

   
바람이 오면 When the wind comes,
오는 대로 두었다가 Leave it just as it came,
가게 하세요 Let it go
 
그리움이 오면 When longing comes,
오는 대로 두었다가 Leave it just as it came,
가게 하세요 Let it go
 
아픔도 오겠지요 Pain will also come,
머물러 살겠지요 It will stay and live,
살다가 가겠지요 It will live, and it will go
 
세월도 그렇게 The years also the same,
왔다가 갈 거에요 They will come and they will go,
가도록 그냥 두세요 Leave them to go

[sarangiya]

It's less than a month til end of term. My last day falls on the 28th, and I can't wait for it to come.

This week I'm starting with my UMAT etc. section (lol). In last week's entry, I was disappointed to admit that I couldn't go into theatre despite my hopes and dreams But this week... I had my first day in Day Procedure! I was able to watch ophthalmological surgery for my whole shift. I saw cataract surgery with and without an iStent, which is a set of two stents put in the eye to depressurise it and treat glaucoma. The stents are incredibly tiny - I couldn't even see them on the magnified image! I was able to meet some great staff and patients, and observe eye surgery close up. The surgeon even let me look through the surgical microscope a couple times, before video was fed from the microscope to an external monitor in some of the later surgeries. It was great to see the 'live stream' because I could understand it better and actually see the quadrants being removed and the new lens being inserted and folding out.
Unfortunately, I haven't done much in terms of the UMAT... it's less than two months until the big day. I think I'll use my holidays for UMAT study and chemistry as a priority, followed by psychology practice exams and EL.

My chemistry SAC ended the same as my other SACs this year. It is good that I'm consistently getting good marks, but frustrating that I'm not improving markedly. We have our poster SAC coming up which is a little gross, but I have high hopes. Actually, it sounds a little fun. After doing that, I hope I can finally finish off Unit 4 notes. I still haven't progressed past the spectroscopy chapter. Hopefully I'll get the last few done soon.

This week I have the big methods SAC. We got some past SACs, and it actually doesn't look hard at all. The possibility I'm underestimating it is very high, but I think it's good to hold some confidence. I'm just thinking about what questions are the differentiating questions... i.e. the ones that differentiate the above average form the average.

In psychology recently, we are looking at research methods. Having done it already, I'm not too concerned. I'd rather focus on the parts of research methods that I don't understand as well, like standard deviation, reliability/validity/accuracy and conclusion-drawing, etc...
Our research poster is also coming up soon in this subject, most likely sooner than chemistry. I'm not as excited and a little more nervous, since I don't know what to expect. Oh well, eventually I'll find out.

English Language... we have the remainder of our SAC this week. I can't wait to get it over with.

I've been thinking recently about the practicalities of studying medicine.

How will I earn enough money to support myself? Where will I live? How often will I go home? It's not easy.
Because I will have a Certificate III from the VET Health package, I should be able to get Recognition of Prior Learning and complete other certificates more quickly. For example, Cert III of Pathology Collection. If I can get afternoon shifts (like, I don't know, 6-10PM?), then it could be a good way to earn money and experience.
I wish the Cert I'm doing was enough, but it doesn't qualify me to hold that many responsibilities.
If I could have done pathology collection this year, i would have - but it's age-restricted at most RTOs.

On the bright side, I did learn that the BMedSc/MD is accredited not just in Australia, but Malaysia and Singapore! That's pretty cool, and something I didn't know.

Hope everyone has a good week. Only a week until the GAT!

I tell my students, "When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else."

[Joseph41]

Sorry if this has been covered earlier (very possible - I may have even asked previously myself!), but with regard to Med, are you thinking of any specialty in particular at the moment? Or just considering Med in general as an option?

[Maya24]

Good luck for your methods sac!

[sarangiya]

Sorry if this has been covered earlier (very possible - I may have even asked previously myself!), but with regard to Med, are you thinking of any specialty in particular at the moment? Or just considering Med in general as an option?

Thank you for your reply!
I'm not actually sure if I have covered it or not.
To be honest, I really am not all that sure and it's too early to tell.
From my experience at RMH, I was attracted to surgery, as opposed to medicine. I like the idea of close-knit staff with rotating clients and cases.
From my experience in oncology, however, I am attracted to regional medicine. Going out and having people recognise me, or getting to know people over a time, is rewarding.
Both seem like good options, though I still think I'm drawn to the hands-on aspect of surgery.

Within those two broader disciplines...
For surgery, I like general or plastic/reconstructive. The choice may not surprise you considering most of my week at RMH was spent in these specialities. Other than that, opthalmology, neurosurgery, urology...?
For medicine, I think General Practice is great because there is a need and a lot of patient interaction. But, I do wonder if I'll be doing too much talking and not much of anything else.
Other than GP, I like neurology as far as I can image. It seems complex and abstract, which is very intriguing.

All in all though, I'll have to make this decision six or seven years down the track!

Good luck for your methods sac!

Thank you!!

[Bri MT]

In psychology recently, we are looking at research methods. Having done it already, I'm not too concerned. I'd rather focus on the parts of research methods that I don't understand as well, like standard deviation, reliability/validity/accuracy and conclusion-drawing, etc...
Our research poster is also coming up soon in this subject, most likely sooner than chemistry. I'm not as excited and a little more nervous, since I don't know what to expect. Oh well, eventually I'll find out.

I can make a question set based around those things next week if you would like? 

[sarangiya]

I can make a question set based around those things next week if you would like? 

That would be awesome! Thank you!! I completely forgot about the weekly questions... what have I been doing!?

[Bri MT]

That would be awesome! Thank you!! I completely forgot about the weekly questions... what have I been doing!?

No problem!   
The thread has had a bit of a lull period as everyone's being adjusting to the academic year but it'll be starting up again next week - if you're keen (and can find the time) you can also answer previous question sets before then and I'll put the feedback out next week.

[sarangiya]

I have never appreciated the Queen's Birthday public holiday before! Hope you all have a great day off too

Psychology
We started our poster SAC this week. I think I nailed this first assessed part. I am incredibly frustrated, though, because my ERC SAC in 2016 was the exact same experiment. Like, the exact same. If I could somehow find my report... wouldn't that be a miracle.
I'm quite looking forward to the rest. Stress-free, somewhat fun, and hopefully a nice addition to my GA2.

English Language
The second part of our SAC (the AC) is finally done. Unfortunately, I don't have high hopes. I essentially poured out whatever was in my head onto paper, without much rhyme or reason. I'm used to that kind of writing (see: these journal entries), but I'm super nervous.
On the other hand, if I get a decent mark I will just not know what to do anymore.
I was able to get some advice from a past student from another school, which was great. Although, it contradicted some things we have been doing at our school, which has made me even more anxious.
The past couple of months have been a massive blow to my confidence in English. Looking through my Year 11 results, I never got a mark below 93%. The change is too shocking, too confusing, and I feel absolutely lost.
I don't know what to do.

Chemistry
We did some "peliminary tests" for our experiment. We are doing thiosulfate solution in acid, which is an experiment very well-documented and equally as popular.
I'm not sure if I'll be at school for the actual experiment. Hopefully we get some nice results anyway.
I'm looking forward to this poster less than psychology.
We have started Unit 4, which is good. I like organic chemistry and seem to be going well, working through the textbook. I attempted to knock off some more chapters, as I said I would. It is definitely a lot more difficult than expected.

Methods
The SAC for math wrapped up this week too, thank God. I'm not feeling so hot with this one, either. Not many people felt good about it, but man, my expectations are pretty much non-existent.
We have started circular functions, finally. Gross but good.

UMAT etc
A past student and current 5th year Monash Med student talked to a few of us this week. I had been in contact before through email, so it was great to match a name to a face. She is hopefully going to help us through the UMAT and interview process.
Still no UMAT stuff being done, bar a few questions popping up on Facebook that I do whenever they pop up.
For placement this week, I stayed in oncology because I was meant to be assessed. The teacher didn't end up coming, so my precious theatre time next week might be under threat. It was meant to be orthopedics, too! I have a trick up my sleeve, though, which might mean I can have the best of both worlds.

Coming up this week, Monash is having an information night for the benefit of us country kids. I'm trying to think of food questions to ask. Most are about accomodation.

I'm also in the midst of writing a scholarship application. It's not easy to write for scholarships, since you really want it to excellent. It isn't bad for some introspection and deep reflection, though.

The GAT is this Wednesday, too. It's quite surreal - my third and final attempt. I have safely rejoined VCE DiscussionSpace in preparation for the annual shitposting tradition. Hope the Co2018 delivers their meme game.

Overall, I'm just happy I can sleep tonight knowing I'll be able to sleep in as long as I please.

“And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in.”

[sarangiya]

It's (technically) the last week of Term 2!
We still have practice exams for the following week, but at least we are finally closing the curtains on this long term.

English Language
If you read regularly, you'll know I've been having issues with EL. Luckily, it seems that they will be rectified!
Apparently we will be resitting our first SAC, because it was found that the criteria used to assess them was 'not good'. Also, the teacher that assessed that SAC is no longer teaching English Language, and the cross-marker has been replaced as well.
It is definitely warranted. One person, for example, got 37% on the first SAC and followed it up with an 84%. It's just too much of a jump, which led me to believe that it was the marking that was the problem.
Well, I am slightly relieved. But, I'm also so grateful for all the advice from friends from ATARNotes and definitely plan to use it to further improve my performance.

Psychology
We are still in the middle of our SAC. We have done around half, with the 'ethics' section coming up today. I've done well in it so far. Apparently, though,  we are not doing the actual poster write-up until next term. Oh well.
I'm not really looking forward to sleep as an area of study (I found it the most boring AoS in 2016) but I am looking forward to mental health. It was covered very lightly in the previous study design. I don't have any special interest or wish to 'study' mental health, but I like topics with models/systems to remember (e.g. GAS/fight-flight for physiological basis, Atkinson-Shiffron for memory, and for mental health there is two (yay): P factors and the transtheoretical model of behaviour change)

Methods
We also got our SAC marks back in methods. I was somewhat pleasantly surprised. It wasn't exemplary by any means, but our teacher said we should be happy with a mark over 50%, and mine was, so I'm taking his advice. He said to me that I was strange because I "can do things others can't, but also can't do things most can".
It's actually not so strange, though. I can do things others can't because I have some level of intuitive intelligence, and I'm good at test-taking. For example, I'm generally good at 'application questions' in any subject, as comprehending the scenario and understanding "what it's asking you" is no problem. At the same time, I'm not that great at math. So the simple things I get wrong are because I don't practice enough, and am generally pretty poor with the subject itself.
So, I think his judgement is pretty accurate.
I'm going to try practice more from now on.

Chemistry
We are still doing our PI. I was absent for the results part, so I was a bit worried. But my lab partners got nice results, so with a full description of what they did I should be okay.
My teacher said I should be looking into more advanced things to discuss, not just "do more trials to increase reliability". Hopefully I can brainstorm some things before we do the write-up.
Organic chem looks okay for now... still skeptical about AOS2.

UMAT etc
Not much in the way of UMAT practice, but I'll be going to an iCanMed lecture on the 1st. I can't believe the UMAT is just a little than over a month away.
No orthopedics last week Hopefully I can do something interesting this week, otherwise doing what I'm comfortable with is good too.
Of course, the GAT.
The memes were pretty good, I must say. We checked them out immediately after finishing but they weren't up to standard (lol) for a while. My favourites are the Eileen ones because I was just so triggered when I read that passage.
I had a lot more fun doing the GAT than in previous years. I thought I did better on the MCQs but worse on the essays. It's been so long since I wrote an essay (other than an analytical commentary).
Anyway, it's over and that's that.

Hope you all have a great last week (or two). Make sure to let loose and have some fun - I found that worked wonders for me this week.

I'm tired of reading about the achievements of better men

[userrrname]

Hey so we're doing a lot of similar subjects and your journal is really relatable! The weird thing is I'm also going to the iCanMed lecture in a few weeks!! I was just wondering if you're going to the morning or afternoon session?

[sarangiya]

Hey so we're doing a lot of similar subjects and your journal is really relatable! The weird thing is I'm also going to the iCanMed lecture in a few weeks!! I was just wondering if you're going to the morning or afternoon session?

Thanks for your reply! Haha what a coincidence
I'm thinking the morning session but I'm going with a few friends so they might have other plans haha.
How about you?

[userrrname]

Haha thats so weird I was going to go morning but had plans and changed to afternoon, plus docklands looks better later in the day. Anyway good luck with the umat this year!

[sarangiya]

Haha thats so weird I was going to go morning but had plans and changed to afternoon, plus docklands looks better later in the day. Anyway good luck with the umat this year!

Thanks so much! Looks like the morning place is filled so I'll either have to sneak in or go in the afternoon lol;
You too!!

[hums_student]

Methods
He said to me that I was strange because I "can do things others can't, but also can't do things most can".

Omg I was told the same thing by my methods teacher today lol, she just dumped my sac in front of me and said "why is it that you could correctly answer the hardest question on the entire SAC (which only one other dude in the year level also got right) while completely missing the point of the easiest questions?" (which apparently only I stuffed up RIP)

I'd like to think that our brains are just so advanced and so developed and we're just such Einstein-levelled geniuses that we can't be bothered wasting our times on simple questions that peasants can solve. Or maybe both of us just need to work on reading the questions more carefully

Looking forward to your next update! Have a good week