Thursday 13 June 2013

Happiness always comes when you least expect it.

Quick update to let  you all know how I'm getting on!

So I got results of my first year summative exams yesterday and I am very happy to tell you that I have PASSED all my exams!! :)

Can't wait for 2nd year :)

Monday 17 December 2012

'And now, it's time to celebrate'.

Song of the day: Celebrate - MIKA

I'm finally writing again.

Hey guys, I know last time I was around I said I was moving to a new blog just because I am now a medical student!!!  but then with all the stress of medical school I didn't have time to get it all ready so for now I am staying on this one :P Guess it's better as you don't have to make the effort of going to another blog and checking it all out.


Medical School!
So I have now survived a 12 week term, which does sound like a very long one but it feels like yesterday when I was moving in to University Halls.

These 12 weeks have been stressful, interesting and most importantly fun. I have enjoyed a lot my first semester in Medical School and that's not just based on the social life :P

I think we have been given a very good insight into the course and I am more sure than ever than Medicine is what I want to go for.  As most of you will know, or remember, I am studying in Liverpool so my course is very very very PBL based. We have one hour of lecture every day, and I am very glad about this as I don't think I will be able to survive those 9-5 lectures that other medical students have to go to. PBL is something that I have found very difficult to  get used to but it slowly makes a bit more sense, basically you just have to do that 9-5 work in your own time in the library, making notes and learning the learning objective for the sessions which you cannot take notes/books to. That is a total struggle if you are in Halls and you are interrupted by everything and so you never get time to learn all that many things for PBL. Even though I am enjoying PBL, especially the food!, the best part of the course so far is Clinical Skills.

We have 2 hours a week and it's the most useful thing ever. I have learned a lot of things in the past 3 months from hand washing and taking blood to cardiovascular exam and even rectal exam (on a model, of course!).  The bad point of this is that when we get back to uni after Xmas we have an OSCE and I am a bit scared about it we are going to be examined in most of the skills we have learned and we have done a lot of things! Guess my family will have to be my patients during the holidays!!

Communication Skills in the third main part of the course and we also get an exam on this in January. At first I thought it was very challenging as we had  a patient simulated actor that was our patient and we were filmed and then we had watch back. However, we are now all used to that kind of thing and I really enjoy the session and hopefully will be helpful next year when we are  in hospital.

Basically medical school has been great so far and all we have to do is CELEBRATE that I'm finally en route to be a doctor. And for all of those who are still trying always remember to keep going, it's so worth it!


Outside of medical school, I am enjoying quiet a busy social life and I'm still looking for a job so  will hopefully get that sorted in the next semester. I have to say Liverpool is a great city for my liking and I think I can be here for the next five years... with a few trips to London and back home every so often of course :)

Looking forward to some comments!

Thank you for reading!

Beh

Friday 17 August 2012

Much needed update: 'If you work hard, things work out, they have to'.

Song of the day: Read All About It (Part III) - Emeli Sandé 

I think you guys deserve a big update on what has been going on and what I'm planning to do ! 

Last time I wrote here I was kind of set in staying in Spain and doing Medicine here as I had a place at a med school which I liked and everything. However, results yesterday were a big surprise. 

I still cannot believe I managed to get an A* in Chemistry and an A in Physics (after a bunch of resits though), which means I have a place to study Medicine in Liverpool. 

This has made a huge difference and even though I'm not 100% sure on what to do next I am very happy about being able to choose. Going to the UK has always been my aim and dream, however, I have been convincing myself about staying in Spain for a whole year so that's giving me lots of second thoughts. 

Regardless of what I do my gap year will be over by September and I am happy because I always knew that someday somewhere it was going to happen and I was going to be at Medical School! 

As soon as I make a firm decision I will update and a new blog will follow (third one !) for all you who want to follow me around for a bit more! 

Thanks for reading and thank youu for all the support and advice you've all given me! I would not have done it without it all! :D 

Beh 

Monday 25 June 2012

'How something is going to end can never be predicted'

Song of the day: Express Yourself  - Labrinth


Last time I posted here I was starting my revision for exams and was very confident on going to Liverpool in September to read Medicine. 


However, my life continues to be unexpected, and for the look of it, I won't be going to Liverpool because I got my Spanish MedSchool Admission Test results and I can choose any medical school in the country and do Medicine there. For that reason, I've already started to sort all the paperwork out and for now I will be staying here in Spain. That is the plan unless in August I get surprised (again!) with good enough A Level results to be able to go to Liverpool, then I will have to make a tough decision. 


I was always set on going to UK and study there and had never thought about staying here and now that I have done my research I actually like the course structure and all the opportunities you have. Most courses are divided into pre clin and clin and they take 6 years without any intercalation but you can do a project for a Masters if you want during that time. This means in 6 years I could finish my degree with a master, also they are recognised by the GMC so I could apply for FY1 in UK if I wanted to :) You also get to do a 11 months erasmus exchange and also an elective (kind of) which seems very nice. 


I won't be very far from home which would mean that if I ever needed anything I could just get on the car and go home. 


I'm currently very very happy about this all because now I know I am going to medical school, it may not be the medical school I've always dreamed with but it will get me where I want to go. 


That's all for now, don't really know what else to tell you guys... exams didn't go very well and all I'm doing lately is working and sleeping! 


Take care guys!


Beh 


@behrouzn

Sunday 29 April 2012

'All you need to know is where you want to go and how to get there'

Song of the day: Different -LidoLido 


About a month ago I posted to tell you all about the great news, that I had a second offer to start medicine in September! 


Well, today it's for something even better! Liverpool has lowered my offer so now I need an A in Chemistry A Level and 7.0 in the IELTS and then I can go there in September. This means I can forget about Physics even though I am taking the exams!!! 


I have now firmed Liverpool over UEA basically because I prefer Liverpool as a city to Norwich and both courses were very similar so there was not much of a choice in that aspect. Also I remember how when I was in Liverpool I felt like it was perfect for me and I could really see myself there so I it's my FIRM choice :) Accommodation has now been chosen as well and all I'm doing is revising and revising especially going over my exam technique to make sure I meet my offer this time round! 


If I don't, I have a PLAN B which I'm also very happy about!! 


Lately I've been meeting up with people from sixth form and they've all been asking about my gap year and stuff and I have to say it's been great so far and if I could back I would choose to have one! Talking to a friend I really realised how all you need to  have in your mind is where you want to go and who you want to be and then all you need to do is find out how to get there and eventually you will be there. 


I think that's what has happened with me. I always wanted to go to UK to do Medicine and with this gap year and a lot of thinking about it I've realised all I want to be is a doctor regardless of the place where I study and I know how to get to medical school so no matter how long it will take I'm confident that one day I will be a medical  student which is what counts :) 


Also, I'm looking for a second job for the summer! Going for an interview at Hollister in 2 weeks! 


Wish me good luck with exams and give me Chemistry tips :) 


@behrouzn

Saturday 31 March 2012

'It's not how it starts, but how it ends'.

Song of the day: We Are Young - Fun




We are the end of March now, so Liverpool have got back to me already. Those of you who follow me on twitter will have already read about the BIG news, if you haven't then that's okay :P I will tell youu again! 


A few days after tweeting about how you get a heart attack every time UCAS sends you an email, I got one. It was from track. I knew it was from Liverpool, but didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad one. By that time I was ready for either because I have a back-up plan sort of sorted out and it's not that, so I went for it.... I clicked on CHOICES and I saw CONDITIONAL !!!!


I am really happy about that, I have 2 med offers!! I only managed to get one last year. I guess that must mean they really think medicine is the right path for me. Also the conditions for this offer is much nicer, they want AA in Chemistry and Physics as I already have AA in Biology and Spanish. However, what was really weird and it is still not sorted is that I have to take the IELTS and get a level 7... I rang the other day to say that if I'm doing A Levels and have GCSEs I should not be required an English language test just because I do not live in the UK and my first language is not English. 


The woman on the phone really thought I had a point so she gave an email address to write to the Admission Tutor and then when a decision has been reached they will email me back. How bad is the fact I called them to complain about the conditions of my offer.... 


Any ways, now I have to choose between UEA and Liverpool and I really need to get at least AA... so please guys MAKE ME REVISE!!! 


Beh
@behrouzn

Thursday 8 March 2012

'One day you think you are nearly there, the next it seems like it's over'.

Song of the day: Chasing Cars (Grey's Anatomy) - Snow Patrol


Today has been a long day, not too long ago I wrote a blogpost about how happy I was about UEA's offer because I was finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.


However, today was results day. Even though I'm currently quiet ill with flu I decided I had to go to college to collect my results instead of finding out by phone. I was quiet confident I had at least achieved an A in Chemistry so was going to tell them that I was going to do some resits again to improve my grades and meet the A*A offer that I have. 


Unfortunately, I was wrong. 


I have achieved the same grades as last summer. I have only achieved by a few UMS so  I am at a grade B in both Chemistry and Physics. When I received my results and saw all those Bs I just couldn't even talk, I felt so empty inside, so surprised, it was just so unexpected. Not even a single A in one of the modules, nothing. So I just left, no one asked how I had done, all teachers must have known already. They must have thought that they were right in telling me that with my results last summer I had reached my full potential. 


Now I don't know what to do. I have two options. 


- I can resit again all my modules to try to meed the offer by August which is accepted by UEA, however it's a big risk because if I didn't make it in two attempts why would it happen in June? Also if I go for this, I will ask for my papers back and maybe get some remarks. 


- Concentrate on my Spanish exams to get a place at a Spanish medical school. 


Both exams require quiet  a lot of preparation and are both in May/June period so even though I really want to do both I am not sure if I should try and do both. I don't want to risk having to take another gap year.


I just feel frustrated right now because I think I really worked hard for these exams and I just didn't get the marks I deserved, which I did get on the past papers. 


There is a problem somewhere but I have no idea where it is.


Comments are welcomed :) 


Thanks for reading!
Beh
@behrouzn