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Sarangiya's 너무 사랑하는 Medical Journey Journal

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smamsmo22:
Hey!! I'm super excited to read your med journal this year! Especially since I was so close to choosing med as a study option this year and definitely still have an interest in the field! Wishing you the best of luck :D

Just wondering, how is the UNSW course set out? How many years is it? Is it a provisional pathway or a completely med-focused undergrad degree? (I didn't look to much into this course when doing my med research :P )
How have you settled into your new living situation (or when are you moving in if you haven't already?) Anything in particular that's exciting you about living in Sydney?

As for the article/blog post you linked; I've read it (and similar stories from others) and it definitely is concerning :/ I do think that bringing light to these issues will help in eliminating them in the future and I hope (for your sake) there are some culture changes on the horizon, especially for women in the field. How did it affect you as a brand new med student?
Article aside, I'm excited to hear you dispel some of the myths/stereotypes of medicine and compare your expectations with the reality! Any interesting realisations you've made so far?

Can't wait to hear more! (Evidently... :D)

sarangiya:

--- Quote from: smamsmo22 on February 09, 2019, 12:37:44 am ---Hey!! I'm super excited to read your med journal this year! Especially since I was so close to choosing med as a study option this year and definitely still have an interest in the field! Wishing you the best of luck :D

--- End quote ---
Thank you so much for your reply!!
It's lovely to hear from you again. Thanks so much for your replies in my VCE journal. Did you go through with physio? I hope you enjoy it. I'm sure that you will! And even if you don't in the end, it'll be an awesome experience.
Best of luck to you too and please keep me posted!!

--- Quote ---Just wondering, how is the UNSW course set out? How many years is it? Is it a provisional pathway or a completely med-focused undergrad degree? (I didn't look to much into this course when doing my med research :P )

--- End quote ---
Great question – I'll attach this to the introduction post too for others' reference!

Medicine at UNSW is an undergraduate degree (combined Bachelor's/Masters) which spans a minimum of 6 years.
It is structured into 'phases':

Phase 1
The first phase consists of the first two academic years of the degree. Learning is largely University-based, with hospital placements once every fortnight. There is large focus on the academic disciplines of medicine, like biomedical science, health science, public health etc.

Phase 2
The second phase aligns with the third and fourth years of the degree. One year is spent learning in a clinical setting. Students spend three of five days a week (or more) in a hospital. The other year is spent completing an Independent Learning Project, which aims to introduce students to academia, research and contribution to medical literature. Some students can also complete an Honours project instead, but as general education courses (subjects outside the medical faculty) are usually studied alongside the ILP, it can extend the duration of the degree to do so.

Phase 3
In the final two years of the course, students complete 8-week placements at hospitals to explore different departments (e.g. emergency, surgery, paediatrics etc). Students are expected to be able to perform professional tasks like making diagnoses, taking histories and helping to make decisions about treatment. Essentially, students are preparing for their internships.

Please note too that this is just my interpretation of the course!

--- Quote ---How have you settled into your new living situation (or when are you moving in if you haven't already?) Anything in particular that's exciting you about living in Sydney?

--- End quote ---
I'll be heading to Sydney today, and moving in this week!
I'm really excited for O-Week. In general, I'm just so anxious to actually finally see what on earth UNSW looks like! I hope I like the atmosphere.
I'm also really keen to explore Sydney and NSW in general. It's such a beautiful place and it's always nice to feel a bit more worldly! Lol.

--- Quote ---As for the article/blog post you linked; I've read it (and similar stories from others) and it definitely is concerning :/ I do think that bringing light to these issues will help in eliminating them in the future and I hope (for your sake) there are some culture changes on the horizon, especially for women in the field. How did it affect you as a brand new med student?

--- End quote ---
I think that it's very important for these stories to be present in the public eye too. Unfortunately it's just a matter of considering viable solutions, and then whether people will care enough for those changes to take place.
A senior doctor on another form suggested that temporary contracts for unaccredited registrars were contributing to the problem, along with unrelenting cultural expectations and lack of advocacy from the higher-ups.
As a med student, it makes me a bit upset, I guess. I knew that medicine was never going to be an easy path, but I can't imagine having what happened to Dr. Kadota happen to me and the people I'll come to care about. More than anything though, I guess it's quite sobering. A look at (a harsh) reality.

--- Quote ---Article aside, I'm excited to hear you dispel some of the myths/stereotypes of medicine and compare your expectations with the reality! Any interesting realisations you've made so far?

Can't wait to hear more! (Evidently... :D)

--- End quote ---
Thank you! I'm quite excited to do that too. I hope it's beneficial for anyone considering medicine, or well, anyone that's interested, really!
I haven't really had any epiphanies so far. Hopefully they will follow as I begin the course.

Thanks again for your reply. It gave me a lot to think and write about!
I'll be giving my first update next weekend :)

Joseph41:
Wishing you all the best for the move! :)

Isla77:
Hey sarangiya!
I hope your move to Sydney goes well, and that you enjoy your journey in med school. I'm sure you will handle and manage it all as you seem to be very capable.


--- Quote from: sarangiya on February 08, 2019, 12:37:04 pm ---
I probably should have replied a bit quicker to answer that properly, but my initial reaction was one of shock! I didn't ever imagine I would be offered a place UNSW. I was estatic, my mum a bit apprehensive. But she's right on board now, so that's encouraging. It'll be hard to leave home, but I might be able to return more frequently than what I thought!


--- End quote ---
Congratulations on receiving your dream offer! Hope you won't miss your mum too much, but if you do, I will definitely relate to that lol. Great thing you will be able to return every now and then!

As for the media coverage concerning a resident in NSW, I was quite upset too. I can't believe someone will push that far, sacrificing their health in the process, but then again, I guess you do have to push yourself beyond limits if you want to succeed in certain medical specialties. But having said that, the problem lies certainly in the hospital that created this and the medical education that structures it. I suppose Dr Kadota did this because she have been faced with many challenges in her life and still overcame them, and so believed she can conquer this one too. No doubt the medical educators and the people responsible for it should be well aware that there are a lot of perfectionists in this field, perfectionists who tend to push themselves way too far. Medical educators will teach medical students about their work, so they should also shed light on looking after yourself and not to go too far when things might become toxic.

I heard about this on world BBC news on a flight from middle east to Asia two days ago too(it's become a worldwide news now :-\), and I really hope this extended media coverage will bring about some change in the system.

Lear:
From what I’ve gathered from some seniors in the medical field, such a story gathers attention in the media every year or so. People care for a few months and then nothing happens.

Quite a scary thing that, if a builder injures himself at a construction site, work safe is there ASAP. Meanwhile this sort of stuff is allowed to go on in the medical world, and has been for ages. Can you believe we are still better off now than many years ago?
Then again, what is worksafe going to do? Shutdown hospitals?

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