First Year (FY) BHSc/BSC 2015 Chat/Enquiry

[Pump]

Oh, my. The lowest quality one actually works. What do you use to listen at higher speeds? I have VLC, but do I need something else?

Thanks so very (very very very) much pump and clony!

VLC is fine. Look at the menu toolbar in the window above or right click the video. Look for "playback --> speed --> options" to adjust speeds. Personally I listened at 1.7x - anything higher and i felt like it became counter-productive, stopping constantly to write down/adjust for things I didn't hear. But personal preference! Enjoy efficient studying

 

[lane]

Thanks again, guys. I do feel like my study techniques are something of a work in progress. I think the most important thing I've learned thus far this year is to be flexible and adaptive rather than getting stuck on past ways of doing things. I do feel kind of... Like I'm trying to learn more than can be learned in a space of time. I suppose that feeling only ever gets worse.

I basically am trying to write out my own notes. Getting it down to one page per lecture if at all possible. Reworking the content. Weaving together the information from lecture notes and audio recordings and textbook... Pictures and writing. I guess consulting different sources and piecing things together for yourself kind of is part of it. I am very keen to try the recordings on a higher speed so I can make sure I ferret out the bits that aren't in the powerpoints / the textbook.

 

[engapol]

Thanks again, guys. I do feel like my study techniques are something of a work in progress. I think the most important thing I've learned thus far this year is to be flexible and adaptive rather than getting stuck on past ways of doing things. I do feel kind of... Like I'm trying to learn more than can be learned in a space of time. I suppose that feeling only ever gets worse.

I basically am trying to write out my own notes. Getting it down to one page per lecture if at all possible. Reworking the content. Weaving together the information from lecture notes and audio recordings and textbook... Pictures and writing. I guess consulting different sources and piecing things together for yourself kind of is part of it. I am very keen to try the recordings on a higher speed so I can make sure I ferret out the bits that aren't in the powerpoints / the textbook.

It would be nothing short of a miracle if you managed to stuff one of the earlier 107 lectures into a single page.

 

[Kiwiology]

It would be nothing short of a miracle if you managed to stuff one of the earlier 107 lectures into a single page.

Most of mine are three to five pages per lecture. The least I have gotten away with is two and the second is nearly full.

I feel like I am getting somewhere with 107 finally; even having some previous papers (more MEDSCI-ish though) I am struggling with the massive amount of content. One of my friends who is doing an MD in the US says he was surprised how deep we go into DNA. Then again, it seems to be Mel Collings' area of interest.

I was really surprised when I find out one piece of information is a half mark in SAQs for 107; wow; all through school and my previous degree one piece of information was one mark. For example she had an SAQ last year on G-coupled receptor proteins that was worth 4.5 marks i.e. they wanted 9 pieces of specific information. Now, this is just my personal opinion but I think that's unreasonably high for a first year paper when it's two slides of one lecture. If it was 9 pieces of information about DNA transcription and translation then that's more reasonable. Nine pieces of information on G coupled proteins for a second year paper would be understandable.

 

[Clony]

Most of mine are three to five pages per lecture. The least I have gotten away with is two and the second is nearly full.

I feel like I am getting somewhere with 107 finally; even having some previous papers (more MEDSCI-ish though) I am struggling with the massive amount of content. One of my friends who is doing an MD in the US says he was surprised how deep we go into DNA. Then again, it seems to be Mel Collings' area of interest.

I was really surprised when I find out one piece of information is a half mark in SAQs for 107; wow; all through school and my previous degree one piece of information was one mark. For example she had an SAQ last year on G-coupled receptor proteins that was worth 4.5 marks i.e. they wanted 9 pieces of specific information. Now, this is just my personal opinion but I think that's unreasonably high for a first year paper when it's two slides of one lecture. If it was 9 pieces of information about DNA transcription and translation then that's more reasonable. Nine pieces of information on G coupled proteins for a second year paper would be understandable.

After all it is a first year science paper, plus when you compare it to high school bio it isn't really that much of a step up.

At 200 pieces of info in 2 hours, it isn't actually that bad ~30-40 seconds per answer, and if you look at the past papers most answers are one word answers, fill in the blanks or drawings where each and every little thing you draw/label is worth half a mark. Saving time on these questions gives more time for the paragraph answers and MCQs that require more thinking.

Also the half mark means more room for error

E.g. Describe the general function of a G-Protein Coupled Receptor (regardless of the second messenger used). (4.5 marks)

At rest the receptoris unbound, nothing attached
G Protein is bound to GDP
Enzyme is in an inactive state

Signal binds receptor
G Protein binds GTP (Consumes energy)
Enzyme still in an inactive state

Activated G Protein + GTP dissociates from receptor
Enzyme is activated to elicit a cellular response
Signal transmittedto inside of the cell, usually allows amplification and redundancy
Response - usually gene expression

GProtein has GTPase activity (very slow hydrolysis)
This promotes GTP release from enzyme, reverting back to resting state

There are many opportunities for points in the first year papers.

 

[Kiwiology]

I love learning the stuff in 107; its really fascinating and this is the part of Medicine I really like; learning the details and hows and whys. It's a good portion of the reason I don't want to be a Nurse; you don't learn as much basic clinical science because it's not required. Obs and pill trolley QID just ain't that demanding.

Force learning ain't that fun however.

Looking forward to the second half which is more blood, muscles, immunity, cardiac contractility (absolute refractory period for the win!) and more "medically focussed" stuff rather than the painful details of DNA.

 

[Pump]

I love learning the stuff in 107; its really fascinating and this is the part of Medicine I really like; learning the details and hows and whys. It's a good portion of the reason I don't want to be a Nurse; you don't learn as much basic clinical science because it's not required. Obs and pill trolley QID just ain't that demanding.

You say that you're struggling with the massive amount of content - MEDSCI142 has definitely got a lot more content than 107 could ever have. Med itself has a ridiculous amount of work to do. We finished a course book the same thickness as 107 in 7 weeks. The course content is of course incredible and interesting but there is enough to construct Mt Cook in it's entirety.

For future reference, I would watch what you say about "don't want to be a nurse because ...". In fact, nurses still have to go into the details of hows and whys because they are an integral part of the healthcare system and doctors can't function without them. Although you probably don't mean it, it comes off across as belittling and this doesn't go down well at all.

 

[engapol]

You say that you're struggling with the massive amount of content - MEDSCI142 has definitely got a lot more content than 107 could ever have. Med itself has a ridiculous amount of work to do. We finished a course book the same thickness as 107 in 7 weeks. The course content is of course incredible and interesting but there is enough to construct Mt Cook in it's entirety.

It does help that it's the only core paper in that semester. Imagine if BIOSCI101 was substituted by MEDSCI142...

 

[Kiwiology]

For future reference, I would watch what you say about "don't want to be a nurse because ...". In fact, nurses still have to go into the details of hows and whys because they are an integral part of the healthcare system and doctors can't function without them. Although you probably don't mean it, it comes off across as belittling and this doesn't go down well at all.

Thank you for your concern.

I have almost five years experience working very closely with Registered Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Physicians and Paramedics both civilian and military (including Special Forces) from New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada, the UK and South Africa both operationally across travel medicine and critical care as well as within clinical development, designing and rolling out changes to practice for over 1,500 clinical people. My Nursing colleagues are amongst the longest serving Registered Nurses within the Department of Critical Care Medicine (Ward 82 ACH) and have likely forgotten more about healthcare than any of us combined will ever know.

I have also tutored Nursing students at a tertiary level.

As such I am well aware of the importance Nurses play in the healthcare system and the differences in their education compares to Physicians.

I stated Nurses do not learn the same level of basic and clinical science as a Doctor; not that they do not learn anatomy, physiology, pathology etc. simply they do not learn as much or in as much depth.

Right, now that we have that straightened out; time to get back to studying.

 

[Pump]

Thank you for your concern.

I have almost five years experience working very closely with Registered Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Physicians and Paramedics both civilian and military (including Special Forces) from New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada, the UK and South Africa both operationally across travel medicine and critical care as well as within clinical development, designing and rolling out changes to practice for over 1,500 clinical people. My Nursing colleagues are amongst the longest serving Registered Nurses within the Department of Critical Care Medicine (Ward 82 ACH) and have likely forgotten more about healthcare than any of us combined will ever know.

I have also tutored Nursing students at a tertiary level.

As such I am well aware of the importance Nurses play in the healthcare system and the differences in their education compares to Physicians.

I stated Nurses do not learn the same level of basic and clinical science as a Doctor; not that they do not learn anatomy, physiology, pathology etc. simply they do not learn as much or in as much depth.

Right, now that we have that straightened out; time to get back to studying.

It's really lovely that you have had the opportunity to work with such nurses.

Frankly, I couldn't care less who or where you've worked.

Perhaps it was unclear but my main point was that you came off across as belittling. You could have all the "knowledge" about the nursing profession but no [sane] health professional will treat you with respect if you talk about how "obs and pill trolley QID just ain't that demanding". Although I am aware you yourself are obviously aware that there is a far greater world to the nursing profession, such statements are demeaning and as I said before, it just doesn't go down well.

Right, now that we have straightened out; time to get back to studying.

 

[frootloop]

All you're going to get if you bust out your 'experience' as an excuse to say stuff like that, whether in med school or on the wards, is a huge collective eye-roll.

This is a little like when people fresh out of highschool won't stop talking about how good their school marks were. You've chosen to start something new, and like it or not this means you start at very bottom of the heap. If your previous experience helps you to find your bearings in med school, awesome. Beyond that, don't think it gives you any special privileges.

I think an important point is this: most people will probably be more than happy to listen to your stories etc in the context of a social chat. They're likelyt to be substantially less receptive if you bring them up as an appeal to your own authority.

 

[Dreamz]

Copy the link and replace .preview with .mp4 (low quality) or .m4v (higher quality) or if you have fibre or something then -slides.m4v (highest quality)

Thank you so much for this! I'm planning to go through all the embryology lectures tomorrow and this will save me so much time over the span of like, 10 lectures (considering I'll probably have to view them twice to take it all in). So glad I checked this right now. Thanks again :heart:

I've got Cell & Tissues pretty well mastered now, so I just need to get the other two to the same level and I should be ok for this test. I hope :unsure:

 

[Kiwiology]

Due to unique circumstances I am considering applying for a late deletion of my program.

 

[lane]

@Kiwiology [OFFTOPIC]Nobody likes an 'I told you so' but I do think it is important to point out that a bunch of people told you so. The reason why I point this out is because your behaviour suggests that you are ambivalent about whether you really want to do medicine.

For example, you were determined not to take the additional year to prepare for science at Auckland. You opted out of the Massey chem150 summer school program. You spent more time trying to convince me that you knew everything already than trying to see how much Biosci we could get through when I tried to establish a productive studygroup over the summer. You said to me (and your signature suggests) that you are full of plans to do things OTHER than medicine if this year doesn't get you into medicine.

I think you have a certain amount of arrogance when it comes to how easy you expect things to be for you. I'm pretty damned sure I couldn't go into final year Secondary School and do particularly well at final year Calculus, Physics, Chemistry. Not without having done the year prior to that. And even then... I have a very strong arts / social science background (and you may have a very strong work experience in the health system in management type roles) but both of these are very different (though overlapping in some respects) skillsets. I simply don't understand how you can feel confident about POPLHLTH111 without having your marks back. You are reminding me of those annoying people who are all about 'oh yeah, that class is so freaking easy' and then it turns out they only got a C or B pass (in other words vast tracts of the curriculum escaped them).

Fortunately, if this year doesn't work out for you, you still have 4 remaining pathways available to you with respect to studying medicine in NZ. If you decide that medicine is something that you really want to do, and you demonstrate that you are prepared to work for it.

Do you really want it, though? I really enjoyed the last lecture we had for POPLHLTH101 about the different players in the health system. About how different people naturally resonate with different roles insofar as the roles have different interests. Why do you want to be a doctor, in particular? Is it really something that works to your strengths?

I think a large part of why they let so very many people in to this year is because they are betting that a bunch of people discover that they resonate differently and they don't want to get people wasting more time (doing a year of science to prepare) when they can get them into allied health / management degrees. Some people... I guess it might be thought of as a form of self-stabotage. But, really, there isn't any 'self-stabotage' when it comes to finding your niche. Self acceptance can come harder... [/OFFTOPIC]

Can people give me an idea of what the exam timetable looked like for last year and maybe the one previous?

 

[Winston83]

Exam timetable for this year is out this Friday 17th

 

[8291]

Well it's three o'clock in the morning. I'm wide awake because i can't sleep. I finished all my embryology flashcards today and went up to Grafton to print out blank diagrams and more blank CHEM 110 tests to practice with.

As an adult student with a significant number of colleagues who are doctors and having a reasonable amount of experience ine medical industry I'm really finding this whole process incredibly stressful considering I really struggled to adjust to bring a student from working full time. Having to get up at 6 am four days a week, sit on the stupid bus for an hour each day and go back to studying which is something I haven't done in seven years and even then it was a joke because I was working in the industry is studying so already knew most of what I was learning or could get away with bare minimum effort given my previous knowledge or experience so never really leant how to study properly. I've tried really hard but it's been more difficult then doing 12 hour shifts as a retrieval coordinator with crook people who need moving coming out my ears and Dr so and so from Nowhere Base Hospital on the phone every ten minutes because pt is getting worse and the plane hasn't arrived yet.

The doctors I know all completed their medical degrees in the old days when a 380 in bursary was a golden ticket to a seat. They never had to go through this crap. They sort of just naturally expect me to get in and talk to me as if I have already.

I'm doing really well in my 107 labs (92% average) and am finding POPLHLTH 111 very easy but struggling with everything else. I must have like at the same piece of information five times ... Hell ifi can remember it. And 70/100 on a practice CHEM110 test while amazing for somebody with no formal chemistry backgrond at all isn't even an A minus.

I'm seriously considering asking the Faculty if I can withdraw without academic penalty and try again next year.

All I've ever wanted to be is a Physician for as long as I can remember and I feel it getting further and further away.

Dr Matthew Spence, inaugural Medical Officer in Charge, Acute Respiratory Unit (later the Department of Critical Care), Auckland City Hospital 1960-1983 said "things get worse before they get better". Matt was a legend the world over for rescuing the moribund in the days when critical care was in its infancy ... I wonder if I can get him to make a house call.

Its to late to pull out now ben - your giving up before you even started!

 

[Pump]

Can people give me an idea of what the exam timetable looked like for last year and maybe the one previous?

From memory, biomedders had BIOSCI101 on a Friday. CHEM110 was on Monday the week after followed by BIOSCI107 on Wednesday and POPLHLTH111 on Thursday (i.e. 3 cores in the same week).

Health sci kids had POPHLTH101 on the Tuesday in between CHEM110 and BIOSCI107. Basically one exam a day for the week!

Please note that this is only valid for 2014

 

[lane]

Chem first :cry:
Ah, well.

 

[Dreamz]

Hey I have a question about selecting a Gen Ed for next semester.

So, I've looked through the schedule and I've found one that I really, really want to do - EDUC 122G - about how we learn about sexualities in NZ. The problem being that the lecture clashes with my physics lab on Wednesdays and I can't shift it.

How likely would I be able to get a concession if I applied? The tutorials don't clash with anything, so I could make those. It's just I really enjoy discussing and exploring sexuality issues and I don't know what course I'll do if I'm not allowed to do it

 

[Pump]

Hey I have a question about selecting a Gen Ed for next semester.

So, I've looked through the schedule and I've found one that I really, really want to do - EDUC 122G - about how we learn about sexualities in NZ. The problem being that the lecture clashes with my physics lab on Wednesdays and I can't shift it.

How likely would I be able to get a concession if I applied? The tutorials don't clash with anything, so I could make those. It's just I really enjoy discussing and exploring sexuality issues and I don't know what course I'll do if I'm not allowed to do it

If you really want to do this particular gen-ed, then you need to change the physics labs (if possible) - try it on SSO.
Although these topics don't explore sexuality, most students will opt for INTBUS151G, PHIL105G or ECON144G as gen-eds as they are relatively 'easier' than others.