I Made Some Biochemistry Flashcards For Carbohydrate And Nitrogen Metabolism! They’re Basically Condensed

We actually have around 20 senses (depending on how you count) but this infographic outlines the 5 main ones; hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling, and touch. More like this on To Be A Genius.

100 days of productivity || day 2

In the progress of making notes for my Psychological Statistics exam. I don’t get this shit 😭😭

#studyblr #originalpost #studyspo #psychblr #100daysofproductivity

This is what my revision wall looked like this time last year. So gutted I got rid of these note cards. I’m so dumb.

Physics exam in two days!!!

one of my lecturers printed us a step-by-step guide to writing an essay for an assignment we had. i decided to type it up and share it with you guys. i think for the most part it is really useful and a super simple way to break down your essay. hope this helps :~)

2017 US Medical School Application Timeline

Hope you all find this helpful! Good luck chickadees! My inbox is always open if you have questions!

Download my printable 2017 application cycle checklist here

very confused by Master’s students in one of my module who seem to freak out at the idea that they be forced to use a citation style they are not used to (forcing them to use either MLA, APA or Harvard) … Don’t people use Zotero, or Mendeley ?? or any tool to which you just say which style you want to use??? The the smart smart computer does its thing ??? Do they FULLY WRITE ALL THE REFERENCES BY HAND ??? INCLUDING THE BIBLIOGRAPHY ??? I AM WORRIED

Medical Student Resources 101

I’ve been thinking about this post for quite a while now, and I have finally decided how I want to approach it. If you have any suggestions, please comment or message me! So, when I started medical school 18 months ago all I had available to me was a crazy long list of textbooks recommended by the university. It has been an uphill battle figuring out what textbooks are helpful and which are less than helpful. So this is my masterpost of resources I’ve used for medical school thus far, organised by systems! 

Basics

You’ll need a good anatomy atlas, physiology text and pathophysiology book as a bare minimum. Most universities also guide you towards a clinical skills book of some sort.

Anatomy: 

Rohen and Yokochi “Color Atlas of Anatomy: A Photographic Study of the Human Body”

I used an old version of this book, and it was amazing for our human dissection block, I would strongly recommend it. 

Physiology:

Boron “Medical Physiology”

Guyton and Hall  “Textbook of Medical Physiology”

I used a combination of these two, Boron can be very heavy, so I only used it for topics I had a really good grasp of and wanted to know more about. I would recommend Guyton over Boron if you can only get one. 

Pathophysiology:

Robbins and Cotran “Pathologic Basis of Disease”

This is one of the best books ever written. I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

Clinical and Practical Skills:

Talley and O’Connor “Clinical Examination” 

This was recommended by my university. It is a good textbook, however I’ve recently discovered: 

Thomas and Monaghan “Oxford Handbook of Clinical Examination and Practical Skills”

and I personally prefer this, but it is much more concise, so Talley is great for all the background information. 

Cardiovascular

Lilly “Pathophysiology of Heart Disease” 

This textbook is fantastic, very easy to read and covered all of our cardiovascular block thoroughly.

Respiratory

West “Respiratory Physiology: The Essentials”

This book can be a bit hit and miss. I really didn’t like respiratory physiology, so I struggled a bit with this one, I used a combination of Guyton and Hall, and West. For pathophysiology you can’t go wrong with Robbins and Cotran.

Genitourinary

I didn’t use a specialised book for this block. For physiology I used Boron, which was insanely hard as a first year student. I also used Guyton and Hall at the end of the block, which was much better. So I’d definitely recommend Guyton and Hall for physiology and Robbins and Cotran for pathophysiology. 

Gastrointestinal

Chew “Crash Course Gastrointestinal System 3e” 

I really liked this book for this book, I thought it covered the hepatic system very well, overall it was very easy to read and understand. This book and Guyton and Hall if you wanted to supplement it would be great. As always, Robbins and Cotran for indepth pathophysiology. 

Endocrine and Reproductive

Porterfield and White “Endocrine Physiology”

This was one of my favourite blocks! The university recommended Greenspan’s “Basic and Clinical Endocrinology”, which for what we needed was probably too much. I found a fantastic little orange book at the library, which I will need to go get the name of, so keep an eye on this if you need a good endocrinology book. UPDATE: little orange book found!

Psychiatry

Kaplan and Saddock’s “Synopsis of Psychiatry”

This is actually a really great book for any psychiatry you might do. We only used it for four weeks, but I’d definitely recommend hiring a copy if you can! 

Neurology and Neuroanatomy

Yogarajah “Crash Course Neurology, 4e” 

Fix “BRS Neuroanatomy”

Young “Basic Clinical Neuroscience”

This has been an incredibly hard block to find a good text for, at a reasonable price. These two have been very helpful, and I find them easy to read. Only time will tell if it has been enough to pass! Update: Young’s book is also excellent!

Musculoskeletal

Jenkins “Hollinshead’s Functional Anatomy of the Limbs and Back”

This is the most amazing textbook for any block of all time ever. Literally. It is so good! I’ve used a combination of this book, and:

Moore and Dalley’s “Clinically Oriented Anatomy” 

for our musculoskeletal block. It’s been absolutely fantastic. I’ve enjoyed it so much! I would also recommend investing in some quality flashcards. I have:

Hansen “Netter’s Anatomy Flash Cards”

Which have been great, another really great resource has been WinkingSkull.com, which you do have to pay for, but it is helpful! 

Other

So, there are a few other resources I’ve used that have been very helpful. Mostly online databases and websites but I thought it would be handy to have them. Many (most?) universities have subscriptions to them so try your university library website! 

UpToDate: www.UpToDate.com 

Everything you ever needed about anything in medicine

Best Practice: www.bestpractice.bmj.com 

This is my favourite resource. Ever. It goes through signs, symptoms, risk factors, diagnostics, differentials, everything. It is a small slice of heaven in medical school.

Lancet Review Articles 

There were a really great series on Immunology in The Lancet, I would strongly recommend trying to find them for a concise overview of immunology

Life In The Fast Lane: www.lifeinthefastlane.com

Great series on ECGs!

Radiopedia: www.radiopaedia.org

These guys are great for understanding what you’re actually supposed to be seeing on any radiological film. I’ve been using it a lot for musculoskeletal, looking at Le Fort fractures, etc. 

Toronto Notes

So I just borrowed a friend’s copy of Toronto, but I believe there may be online access. Maybe an online version. It’s great for an overview and is a little more clinically focused. I really liked it for gastrointestinal, psychiatry and neurology.

Anatomy Zone 

There’s a website and a YouTube channel with great tutorials and information for anatomy, particularly musculoskeletal. I’ve found it immensely helpful whilst studying for this block! 

I know I’ve probably missed a few things, I’ll add them as I think of them but I hope this helps a few pre-clinical medical students out there! If it’s helpful I’ll keep you posted as I move into my clinical years on new texts and resources I find helpful! 

the no bullshit guide to getting your shit together: for the lazy student

Let’s be honest: time management and organization? They’re really hard. Sure, at first you might feel like you’ve gotten the hang of them, that you’re in control of your life. But how often have you fallen off the wagon? Procrastinated on one thing and the next moment, you’re behind in all your classes? I know that sometimes laziness feels like a part of who you are, but honestly, fuck that. Do you really want to give up your success for the disinterest of a moment?

If your answer is no (it better be no, or you really need to get your priorities straight), let’s get to it. 

STEP ONE: BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF

“This class doesn’t even matter.” “I don’t care about my grades.” “I can finish this the day before.” Sound familiar? You might feel great now, but when you’re staring down at your report card later, it’ll feel like you just got punched. 

This is a cliche, but the greatest obstacle to your success is yourself - especially the lies you tell yourself! Sit yourself down and be honest about what you need to improve on. Be as blunt as you can, but for god’s sake, don’t throw yourself a pity party! There’s no use agonizing over what you can’t change. Instead, set realistic, achievable goals, and make a game plan. Struggling with math? Go to extra help. Behind in all your classes? Stay in for a couple nights and actually work. 

STEP TWO: STOP WITH THE FANCY SHIT

Now you know what your goals are, but maybe you want some inspiration, so you log on to tumblr and are instantly bombarded by all these beautiful, well lit shots of the most gorgeous bullet journals, planners, and notes. Impressive, right? Well, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: they’re all useless! A simple phone planner works just as well, if not better, than a fancy agenda, because you’ll always have it on you, it’s not a hassle to carry around, and you don’t feel obligated to make it look pretty. 

Riddle me this, where are you going to find all this extra motivation to keep prettying up your bullet journal? To write all your notes in perfect, colour coded printing? There aren’t many times in life where taking the easy was out will actually benefit you, so take advantage! Stop wasting your time; get a phone planner and write your notes in your natural goddamn handwriting. 

STEP THREE: CLEAN YOUR ROOM

Yep, your entire room - not just your study space! This one can be put on the back burner for a bit if you’re on a really pressing deadline, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m notoriously messy, and if I don’t watch myself, I’d find myself in dirty-laundry-and-old-notes hell. A little bit of organized chaos is fine, I even encourage it! But try working when your desk is covered in mounds of paper and you have nowhere to put your laptop – it’s just not conducive to success. 

Keeping your entire room clean is a way to stave off stress, frustration, and even embarrassment, because nobody wants to show potential roommates how much of a mess they are. 

STEP FOUR: ACTUALLY WORK

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking: “actually work? Who does this girl think she is?” I’d probably think the same thing, except I’ve learned the valuable lesson of sucking it the hell up, and you will too. When you get home from work, grab a snack and work. When you have a free period, figure out what’s due and work. Stop reasoning yourself out of work: you’re not going to finish this later, and that will be on the test. There’s really not much to say about this one, because it’s the step that requires the most raw effort, and you’re really only going to find that within yourself. Tell yourself what’s at stake, and realize that, by setting the standard for your mediocrity now, you’re potentially trapping yourself in a cycle that will last for years. 

STEP FIVE: CUT YOURSELF SOME SLACK

Maybe you’ve been on top of your shit for a day, a week, or even a month, and that’s really great. But then… you fail. You miss a deadline or you bomb a test. So what do you do now? Do you allow yourself to fall back into your old habits? Fuck no! Everyone fails, even that studyblr with those perfect bullet journal photos and a perpetually clean study space. I’m going to tell you something that’ll sound really strange: you should value your failures, especially if you worked hard to avoid them. What?! Be HAPPY about failing when I actually TRIED? Yeah, you heard me right. If you don’t know how to handle failure, then when you inevitably experience it, your reaction will be much worse. 

Failing hurts, and boy, I know how embarrassing it can be. But learning how to deal with failure, and especially how to keep trying after it happens, is an invaluable lesson. 

STEP SIX: TREAT. YO. SELF.

Disclaimer: I’m not suggesting you treat yourself after the most basic of tasks, because please. Treat yourself when you know you goddamn well deserve it. Remember that “all work and no play makes jack a dull boy.” If all you do is study and do your homework, then, pardon my french, your life sucks. If you don’t have friends, play a video game! Eat an entire jumbo chocolate bar! Indulge in whatever the fuck you want, you deserve it. I’m someone that has trouble prioritizing future benefits over immediate gratification, so by allowing myself little pleasures, I save myself from crashing and burning. 

Hope these tips helped, but remember to take them with a grain of salt - you’re you and I’m me, and different things work for different people. Good luck!

math aid

OK SO in the days leading up to the biggest maths exam I’ve ever written (also my 4th last one ever ) i’ve found this website. now, symbolab is different to mathaway and wolfram alpha (which are both great!) in that it shows you all the steps and it doesn’t do that thing where it’s “free” but if you want the explanation you have to sign up and pay. it’s AMAZING. know why?

it does everything. not baby everything, but everything. Calculus?

what’re you looking for? 

also, the interface is really easy to use, and it’s set out so well.

the website is https://www.symbolab.com and you will not be disappointed.