So after the UKMSA Conference today I, unfortunately, feel like I have irreplaceable been denied my precious cramming time. Good lectures? Check. Lots of Fancy tea? Check. Accompanied by fancy biscuits? Check. Decent workshop? Check.

So why do I feel like i have wasted £40 of my stupendously high student loan??!! Hmph.

I LOVE THIS WOMAN!!!

An extract that explains it all. But don’t not read the whole thing. Seriously.

“I tried to be professional and detach myself from my emotions,” Anna Mackowiak, 34, told the Austrian Times. “But when I saw him lying there I just thought, ‘What a bastard’ and decided to take all his teeth out.”

Marek Olszewski, 45, reportedly showed up at Mackowiak’s dental office complaining of toothache just days after he broke up with her. She then allegedly gave him a “heavy dose” of anesthetic, locked the door and began removing all of his teeth one at a time. “

And the comments are even more classic than the article (well….almost). My personal favourites, because I can’t not!

“I’m surprised she didn’t leave him the one tooth that was hurting in the first place - just to add insult to injury?..”

“And then told authorities…but I couldn’t FIND it!…”

” ‘He loves me…’ Yank! ‘He loves me not!’ Yank! ‘He loves me…’ Yank! ‘He loves me not!’ Yank! …*final tooth* ‘I don’t think he loves me.’ YANK! “

And last (but not least):
“Oh your ex dumped your clothes on the front yard?? Poor guy…mine RIPPED OUT ALL OF MY TEETH.”

Oh MY! *wipes tears of laughter from eyes*

Enjoy!

You begin to question the effect of medicine on your sanity and life in general when you wake up and promptly freak out to find yourself in bed with a skull (who just so happens to have a dislocated jaw from someone getting a little too excited studying the TMJ).

*sighs*

So an informative, good answer to an interesting question.

“News of the sudden death of 30 year old Claire Squires at the end of the London Marathon on Sunday has led to widespread shock,sympthay and donations to the Samaritans for whom she was running. Cause of death of this fit, slim 30 year old hairdresser who had already run a marathon before, is still unknown.

So should we be advising patients to avoid extreme sports and marathon runnning? There have been 10 deaths during the London marathon since its inception in 1981 (no data on the week or so after).  The last death was in 2007 when a 22-year-old fitness instructor died of hyponatraemia,presumably due to overdrinking. Most fatalities are due to undiagnosed underlying heart problems (would that be conduction problems in the young?)

Given the numbers running, the fatality rate is reassuringly low. I suppose the question is whether an ecg to check for conduction defect and/ or echo to look for cardiomyopathy are worthwhile before embarking on training for a marathon. The pick up rate’s going to be very low but is there any down side (apart from time,money and false reassurance)? Certainly, if there’s a family history of sudden death, should we suggest investigations?”

And the answer?

“Well done Anne!
There are still nearly 2000 deaths a year from road accidents, but also still falling.
2001   3,450
2002   3,431
2003   3,508
2004   3,221
2005   3,201
2006   3,172
2007   2,946
2008   2,538
2009   2,222
2010   1,850

Should we tell people to stay at home, not drive, cycle or walk anywhere near a road and wear full body armour?

I suspect that like Fabrice Muamba and the maraton death you quoted, , most deaths associated with sport are due to occult dysrythmias, not ischaemia, or to the excessive heat and dyhydration demands on endurance athletes.   The resources required to detect the first would also be excessive, while the care and observation to prevnt the second might be, and I am sure have been, instituted in marathons.

John”

An interesting article on the benefits of podcasts for studying. The question of “can podcasts replace professors?” is placed and whilst the answer is likely ‘No’, Dani McKinney’s research on the topic poses no doubt that they should play a larger role as resources in university degrees. Something I wholeheartedly agree with.
The reason behind its benefit is summed up in her statement “it isn’t so much that you Have a podcast, it’s what you do with it”, referring to a students ability to pause/ replay parts of lectures and therefore compose better notes etc. with a podcast in contrast to a live lecture.

I have long been a fan of iTunes U which, although lacking in the medical (clinical) topics, provides a wealth of information on most others including the sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, biochemistry etc.) so likely invaluable for American Pre-Med courses. It aso provides series on bioethics (Oxford Uni provide a fantastic course) which may interest all you fellow debaters out there.
Other recommended resources of a similar type would be Dr NAJEEB’S videos which, whilst expensive, will essentially almost guarantee one an understanding on all medical topics and is specifically designed for medical students/ doctors. A fantastic resource and has garnered a cult following. Don’t let the heavily accented voice deter you: this guy is fabulous and you will soon realise this very fact.
Khan Academy, whilst is lacking in medical topics like iTunes U, covers most others and has a fantastic maths course which I plan to take sometime in the future. It is rapidly gaining popularity and as a quality, 100% free resource, it is not hard to see why.

So I was browsing Amazon to find my next book to read after exams (i know, I know, why am I wasting my time doing that now?!) but nonetheless, I was damn glad since I came accross this review for ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ by E.L. James:

4,792 of 5,015 people found the following review helpful

An older man on truckling,March 7, 2012

By david shobin/thatch pond corp

This review is from: Fifty Shades of Grey (Paperback)

First, a disclaimer. I am a male senior citizen, a semi-retired gynecologist whose customary literary fare is spy novels and military techno-thrillers. I have never read a romance before, except perhaps for junior high’s “A Tale of Two Cities” (or was that a classic?) But after the recent hullabaloo over James’ “Fifty Shades,” I opted to give the genre a glance.

The book’s protagonist is college student Anastasia, who has never had sex or even “touched herself.” I had to suspend disbelief at the social and sexual naivete of this twenty-one year-old, but I guess this implied vulnerability makes her more attractive as a romantic heroine. Yet it doesn’t take her long to rectify this situation, and soon she is having orgasm after orgasm at the behest of her “dominant” partner, Mr. Grey. At my age, my arthritis flared up just reading about Ana’s sexual gymnastics. And for some reason, I kept thinking about her contracting genital warts. Soon, however, Ana’s endless pyrotechnic climaxes resembled repetitively watching porn: after a while, it leaves me bored and yawning. That said, there was a definite infectiousness to the plot; and taking Viagra to stiffen my resolve, I persevered.

James’ strong suit is her ability to elicit sympathy in the protagonist. I wanted to find out what happened to Anastasia, and that lent the story a compelling, page-turning quality. James is a polished novelist. Her dialogue is crisp, her prose poised, and her paragraphs well-parsed. The author’s considerable skills notwithstanding, would I pick up an erotic romance like this again? Probably not.

But that’s just me.

HA! How can you NOT love this? My go, I have to read this if only to confirm the above!!