Still much to learn

So apparently "fraternal twins" is an American term. Or maybe just not one in the British English vocabulary. I asked the 2 Southampton University med students if they knew what that term meant and they were quite baffled. So... looks like I can educate them a little ;) Well, looky here, an American student that has an English term or two that the Brits don't know... lol. I'm sure it's considered quite pedestrian *shrugs*

So because yesterday was so abysmally miserable and I felt like such a failure, I decided to take most of the day to do some reading and self-educating. I did a fair amount of reading and it felt good. I'm not usually one to do a lot of textbook reading. Especially of the sort where you start at the first page and work your way to the end and often end up quitting somewhere between page 5 and 20. I usually have to have some sort of goal or a focus. If I have a desire to read up on a certain topic, I will more than happily find several sources and read page after page on that topic. So it's not that I'm not capable of doing the reading, I just have to feel the purpose of the reading, since it's not really reading for pleasure. If reading with a focus, I actually get something out of it.

I'm thinking of taking tomorrow off as well as there isn't going to be any consultants around really except for one doing theatre. But I have a teaching session in the morning on Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. I actually got to see a patient with this and it was quite interesting as apparently it's not too common around here despite the increase in families seeking IVF. There wasn't much to see of course, but the patient history was interesting. This woman was going through an IVF program and instead of the expected 10-15 extra eggs after the initial stage, she produced over 30! So her body was reacting to the excessive increase in her hormone levels.

I got a new roommate today, Clayton. He's also from SGU and was supposed to start at the same time as I did, but had passport issues so he was delayed. Lua (my current) roommate and I were slightly dismayed as we were quite enjoying having the place (and shower) to ourselves. lol. But no matter, he lives downstairs and we upstairs... and the shower's upstairs anyway :) Plus there are 2 separate entrances so it's really not that big a deal. I knew of him back in school in that I knew who he was and had seen him around. He was friends of friends, but I never spoke to him directly. Funny though when I met him downstairs after he arrived, we spoke as if we had always known each other. Guess that kind of happens when you're in a new place and you meet someone that you "know" or at least has a similar background and you kind of just assume a familiarity based on that common background.

So my knowledge of anatomy has needs to be improved, being as it's been about 3 years since Anatomy, but I've learned that I shouldn't guess... though it really depends a great deal on which consultant I'm talking to. With Mr. Olujide, I can be more relaxed and not worry too much about being wrong, but concentrate on learning. I tend to have a problem with thinking out loud, because for me it sometimes helps to verbalize my reasoning out an answer to a question. But I'm getting the impression, it's just not done here. With Mr. ____, I don't think I'll speak unless I feel like what I'm saying or asking is actually remotely intelligent. I don't remember if I mentioned, but in response to an answer I gave to one of his questions, he replied, "That is a ridiculously stupid answer." Gee.. really? You think if you just explained to me the correct answer or why my answer couldn't be correct, I wouldn't be able to deduce that my given answer was really quite amateur and outlandishly misplaced? Maybe in his experience when a student is publicly humiliated in front of a patient and staff, they remember the correct answer more vividly. This may be well founded, as I do remember the correct answer now, but I remember more the experience rather than the question and correct answer. But that is just the way of it. Part of the whole learning experience. Well, bring it on. I'll take it.

Oh and right, doctors in O&G and Surgery are referred to as Mr or Miss or Ms and not Dr. This is based on something way back, when they used to just do surgery's and deliveries and such as a 2nd job and were just referred to as Mr. But when they were finally brought on board with all the other official doctors and accorded with the title Dr. they wanted to stick by their traditional titles. Seems to only really be applicable to the old school docs here and not so much the new breed going through now... though, I would have thought this changeover had occurred prior to anyone living's birth, much less career.