#themed-student

[themed-student]

Update.

I hope you are all doing well!

I haven’t been active on here for a long time, but I’m happy to announce that after 5 years of ups, and quiet frankly a lot of downs (way more than I care to admit), I am currently a final year medical student. I still have a few exams that I have to get out of the way (should be done in a couple of months) before I officially graduate and start a different chapter that will hopefully be a little less rough.

Just a tiny bit less.

Will do my best to keep you guys updated and answer any questions you may have!

[themed-student]

you know on your list you said that you don't shock people when their hearts stop beating? when do you shock them? i'm not in medical but i wanted to be a surgeon for the longest time and i never knew this!

Hey!! I hope you’re doing well! I realize that I am answering this waaaaaaaaaay too late. I’m really sorry about that!

So when I say “shock” I’m actually referring to “Defibrillation” which is when you deliver an electrical current across the heart muscle over a very brief period to TERMINATE an ABNORMAL heart rhythm. So essentially, when the heart starts fibrillating (irregularly beating- also referred to as arrhythmia) due to any underlying pathology, using a defibrillator may restore the hearts normal rhythm. According to ACLS, the the shockable rhythms are ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation and supraventricular tachycardia. 

However, if you’re heart isn’t beating AT ALL (this is known as cardiac arrest/asystole), and you flat-line, shocking won’t really help here as there’s really no electrical activity in your heart - you won’t really be correcting any abnormal rhythms because there is no rhythm. This is where chest compression comes in (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). 

I hope this was helpful!

[themed-student]

Medical School Resources! (and other human biology,physiology,biochemistry-related resources)

Hi Everyone! 

Update: I am now officially done with my second year! I know i’ve been MIA on here for a while now - but that’s only because I was drowning in textbooks and assignments! I will be writing a whole other post on what my second year in medical school was like - so watch out for that :)

I, for one, can not just rely on one method of learning. Meaning, I’ll jump from videos, to textbooks, to flashcards. In this post I’m going to list some of my holy grail youtube channels that have helped saved me. 

1) Handwritten Tutorials

https://www.youtube.com/user/harpinmartin

Every video in this channel is short, but not so much that you feel like you’re missing out on information. Definitely one to save as a favourite!

2) Armando Hasudungan

https://www.youtube.com/user/armandohasudungan

The best thing about this channel is the fact that there are over 300 videos, covering a wide range of core topics in endocrinology, neurology, physiology and pharmacology. Another pro is the presentation of topics (otherwise considered snooze-worthy) in an artistic manner!

3) Speed Pharmacology

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-i2EBYXH6-GAglvuDIaufQ

Raise your hand if you’ve ever fallen asleep trying to read about the mechanism of action of opioids, their side effects and contraindications. I know I have. Fret not, for this youtube channel will introduce you to a world where pharmacology is actually interesting.

4) Wendy Riggs 

https://www.youtube.com/user/wendogg1

Wendy Riggs is a very down-to-earth professor in Northern California, and she covers a wide range of  topics in Anatomy, Physiology and General Biology. 

5) Anatomy Zone

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheAnatomyZone

A better way to learn anatomy is to supplement your textbook information with videos from this channel. The explanations and visuals provided are absolute gold.

I hope you all find these channels as helpful as I did!