DAY 241

Apr 30

1) Today has been another full day in the library. At this point, I'm seeing all my friends at the library at one point or the other; most of them are there with me throughout the day. Even the Mercer Cafe has become a place for discussion of exam questions... As for me, lunch and dinner is when I completely disengage from my studies, and I'm not about to change that.

2) Today's focus was primarily on FUN2, as we only have till tomorrow to finish study. Granted, the earlier lectures were easier to revise because we used many of them in our Principal Seminars presentations. But still, that doesn't make it any easier to memorise the litany of drug names, mechanism of action, and side effects.

3) Anyway, I continued pushing- stopping for short breaks and naps. At least I managed to finish cooking yesterday night, so I have food for the week. It would be too much of a hassle to cook smack in the middle of the exam period, so it's better I get it over with. After our paper on Tuesday, followed by REGUB on Thursday, we'll be left with only GIHEP and HBPS. All of this can't come soon enough, as I have other things planned during the holidays... But for now, it's back to studying. I'll end on this note, and thanks for reading as always. Have a nice day, cheers!

RCSI

My lunch today ^^

DAY 240

Apr 29

1) Today has been another long day for me in the library. After having my breakfast, I came to the library. Gradually, the weather is getting warmer. Let's hope it stays that way haha. Anyway, I've been focusing on two modules - REGUB and FUN2.

2) The difficulty lies in preparing for both; I have only five days to finish both REGUB and FUN2 modules. That doesn't seem too difficult until you realise that there are 23 FUN2 lectures and 40 REGUB lectures. Not an easy task, but I hope to cover at least most of them before the exams...

3) In the evening, I went over to Dunnes for some grocery shopping. I am planning to cook again tonight, so I will probably come home a little earlier. I can't wait for summer to come along, and at least I won't have to wait too long. That's all for my blog today, and thanks for reading. Have a nice day, cheers!

Nearing the end of the tunnel, both literally and figuratively

My last pasta meal

DAY 238 & 239

Apr 27/28

1) I have been a bit busy preparing for my Anatomy Practical today, which explains why I didn't update my blog yesterday. Nothing much happened yesterday that was of interest, other than that I was studying for pretty much the entire day. Today's practical exam would be of paramount importance, since it contributed a significant amount to the FUN2, GIHEP and REGUB modules.

2) In addition to that, the anatomy stuff we covered here would also be asked in the MCQ paper for all three modules. So it was really important to make sure I went through all the lectures. For this, I came to RCSI earlier than usual and continued revising, just before the exam. At 9.00am, our group was called in, and I was sent to one of the tables.

3) There were two prosectors, and they had been allocated 4 minutes each to cover all three modules (FUN2, GIHEP, and REGUB). It all passed by so fast, and before I knew it, I was out the door and making my way to the Coffee Doc to grab my bags. Part of me is a little upset, as I knew I could have done better, but at that point in time that was the best I could do. Nothing else but to focus on the next exam - which is our FUN2 exam, on May 2nd.

4) I returned to the library and had a short nap. I woke up feeling much better, and started going through the lectures for REGUB and FUN2. These are the next two exams, and only two days apart of each other. There isn't much time left to revise, so I have to allocate my time wisely. After these two exams, there would only be two left - GIHEP and HBPS. And then - bliss! But of course, I shall take things one step at a time. I'll end on that note, and thanks for reading. Have a nice day, cheers!

No caption needed

My dinner today :D

DAY 225

Apr 14

1) Today has been a nice, long day in the library. I forgot to buy bread yesterday, so I opened up my one remaining packet of "Maggi Mee" or instant noodles, for breakfast. It tasted great after such a long time not having it. Afterwards, it was off to the library, where I've remained since.

2) The morning and afternoon was all about the Fundamentals of Biomedicine (FUN2) module. There aren't many lectures on this module, but boy oh boy some of the lecture slides number to the hundreds! It's really very densely packed, and a lot of memorising to be done... Fortunately, a quick afternoon nap helped me to refocus.

3) In the evening, I took some time off to go to Dunnes, to get that loaf of bread. Returned to the Mercer Cafe for dinner. After that, it was one last round of study, before I decided to call it a day. Had a light supper before packing my stuff and returning home. Here's counting down nine days till our first exam, the OSCEs. That would be my day today, and thanks for reading about it. Have a great day, cheers!

Easter is fast approaching (Dunnes Stores)

Maggi mee for breakfast ^^

DAY 216

Apr 5

1) Today has been a typical day for me in the library. Having struck the Histology Quiz off the list, I'm now left with the submission of two individual assignments, after which it will be the finals that I'm preparing for. I drafted out a simple schedule to follow for the next month or so, which (fingers crossed) will allow me to finish revision by the time exams come about.

2) I spent the better part of the morning working on one of the individual assignments (ICP1). We still have two more patient contact sessions - one at the next Healthcare Symposia, and the other at the Expert Patient Session tomorrow. After that, we'll have all the material to finish our ICP portfolio. Over the course of the afternoon, it was back to revising the usual cycle of GIHEP, FUN2, REGUB, and some anatomy.

3) Tomorrow represents a bit of a crisis for me. I agreed to volunteer for the REACH RCSI Sports Day 2017, but at the same time that means I'll have to forgo both Anatomy Practicals and possibly, the Expert Patient Session. It was a TOUGH choice, but finally I decided that I'd skip lessons tomorrow. Anyway, I'll worry about that another time. I still have all these lessons to sift through, and not a lot of time at all. Our first final exam starts barely three weeks from now, so it's best to start ASAP. That's been my day today, and thanks as always for reading. Have a great day, cheers!

Throwback to a coin

(Vote RSU - yep, just trying to throw in some subtle hints here ^^)

DAY 207

Mar 27

1) Today has been another beautiful day for me - at the library. Granted, exams are fast approaching so there really is not much left to do other than study for the end-of-semester exams. I only recently found out that our Histology quiz is worth a LOT more than I expected - it's 15% for REGUB, 10% for GIHEP and 5% for FUN2! And the best part; I've barely started touching it...

2) My afternoon and would be spent covering as much as I could, but it isn't easy considering we have Anatomy card signing just four days before our histology. Card signing is only worth 2.5%, so being the rational person that I am, I decided to take a gamble and NOT study for it until the very last minute. Hopefully that gamble pays off, and it's not like I have a choice otherwise.

3) In the evening, there was a talk organised by the RCSI Cardiovascular Society, called Life of A Cardiologist. RCSI's very own Dr. Dermot Kenny was presenting, so I had to attend. Presentation started at 7.00pm at the Albert Lecture Theatre, and was followed by a cheese and wine reception. A very interesting speech indeed, where we learnt a bit more on why he chose cardiology as a specialty, how he went about it, and his research on ischemic heart disease. I thoroughly appreciate the myriad opportunities we get to attend such talks, as they will ultimately be our guide to choosing our postgraduate options.

4) Afterwards, it was back to the library, where I spent a short time studying, before calling it a day. Packed my stuff up, and headed straight home. That caps the end of my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Have a great day, cheers!

Dr. Dermot Kenny's lecture, on how he came from medical student to professor XD

Dr. Dermot Kenny,

Professor of Cardiovascular Biology

DAY 158

Feb 6

1) Today has been really mentally draining for me. I know we have had many 9-5 lectures at RCSI, but still after each lecture I lose yet more concentration, and by the final one I'm pretty much gone. So I came over to RCSI after breakfast, and sat down for the first three lectures.

2) After a one-hour lunch break, it was another four consecutive hours of lecture, a mix of HBPS, FUN2  and Immunopharmacology lectures. And at five, surprise surprise - group meeting, to discuss for the latest event, RCSI International Night, where we will performing a couple of dances to showcase Malaysian culture to everyone. Really looking forward to that...

3) Once meeting ended, packed my stuff and went to Mercer Library, where I had my dinner. Then I had to compile notes for today's lectures, plus read up a little on tomorrow's ones as well. I'm NOT looking forward to tomorrow's 8.00am lecture XD. I guess I need to get cracking, or my assignments won't finish themselves haha. That's all for today, and thanks very much for reading. Cheers!

Breakfast and dinner :)

Dunne's Pizza for lunch

Spaghetti for dinner