I visited Oxford and Newcastle University this week! I thoroughly enjoyed my time at both universities and I think its even clearer now that if I was lucky enough to get into any medical school i'd have a fantastic time!! I thought that the city of Oxford was lovely and I found the collegiate system very attractive, the obvious problem with Oxford is how competitive and difficult it is to get in. Even more difficult that the other medical schools perhaps! I fell in love with the sports centre at Newcastle and liked how close the campus was to the city centre.. In addition Newcastle often scores very highly in student satisfaction surveys and I can see why! Finally it may have been perception but I thought everyone I met was very friendly, both at the university and in the centre.
I plan to look at more universities over the summer, if possible in person, otherwise via the internet and prospectuses. I think the open days I have attended so far have confirmed my desire to study at a campus university and have made me even keener to study medicine having heard about the courses in detail! There is only one large barrier, getting the grades and being successful in the selection process..
A few months ago I posted about a man called Tony Nicklinson who is suffering from "locked in" syndrome and has been for seven years following a stroke. He is paralysed yet his mind is fully functional. His plea for death is due to go to trail very soon, he does not wish for a new law to be put in place - simply a remedy for his particular case, which is a desire to die to end his suffering. His condition is so severe that the suicide would not be assisted, instead he would have to be killed by medical means, Euthanasia.
There are obviously many complications surrounding the case and time must be spent considering them and a conclusion, the ruling will occur at a later date after some time. There are many arguments for and against the case, for example Tony's mind is fully functional so surely it is his decision whether or not he wants to die, not the states? However by contrast, would the permission for Tony to end his life with the help of medical support be murder?
Saturday 30 June 2012
Thursday 21 June 2012
Birmingham Open Day
My most recent medically related activity was visiting Birmingham University today!
For anyone interested there have been several changes to the admissions requirements, an admissions tutor told us the following:
- There is no longer a 7A* GCSE threshold but instead a requirement of an A* in Science, Maths and English GCSE
- Four As are required at AS level
- The typical offer for the upcoming year will be A*AA
- MMIs (Multiple Mini Interviews) are being introduced instead of a panel interview, initially with 4 stations each lasting between 5-8 minutes
I thoroughly enjoyed my day and thought the campus was brilliant! It was cool and very convenient arriving at the university's own train station and the sports facilities were excellent with a swimming pool and an impressive gym. There are opportunities to get involved with sport at all levels from university to subject teams, something which I am particularly interested in! Not only that but they are also planning to improve the sports facilities even more!
Today was my first university open day and I was impressed by the accommodation on all levels, it went beyond my expectations! It is definitely somewhere I would enjoy living and the students who were there were very honest about the advantages and disadvantages surrounding life at a campus university.
For anyone interested there have been several changes to the admissions requirements, an admissions tutor told us the following:
- There is no longer a 7A* GCSE threshold but instead a requirement of an A* in Science, Maths and English GCSE
- Four As are required at AS level
- The typical offer for the upcoming year will be A*AA
- MMIs (Multiple Mini Interviews) are being introduced instead of a panel interview, initially with 4 stations each lasting between 5-8 minutes
I thoroughly enjoyed my day and thought the campus was brilliant! It was cool and very convenient arriving at the university's own train station and the sports facilities were excellent with a swimming pool and an impressive gym. There are opportunities to get involved with sport at all levels from university to subject teams, something which I am particularly interested in! Not only that but they are also planning to improve the sports facilities even more!
Today was my first university open day and I was impressed by the accommodation on all levels, it went beyond my expectations! It is definitely somewhere I would enjoy living and the students who were there were very honest about the advantages and disadvantages surrounding life at a campus university.
Thursday 14 June 2012
A study published in Science Translational Medicine..
The study is a very interesting one and talks of "hitch-hiking" anti-cancer viruses travelling on blood cells, if you have time have a look here! If not here it is briefly summarised:
The reoviruses which combat the cancer tumours "sneak" around the body on blood cells themselves (not in the blood plasma) enabling them to evade the body's immune system and are therefore not destroyed!
The viruses are able to kill cancerous tumour cells and leave the surrounding tissues unharmed.
The viruses have been used in patients with advanced bowel cancer. Following an injection the virus was detected in the tumour but not in the liver itself. This suggests the virus is able to selectively target the cancerous cells!!
The professor at the University of Leeds behind the trails believes eventually these viruses will be "used in combination with chemotherapy" to treat cancer.
We will soon see.. Further trials are being carried out in patients with neck and head cancer and studies using genetically modified viruses are also being carried out in America.
The reoviruses which combat the cancer tumours "sneak" around the body on blood cells themselves (not in the blood plasma) enabling them to evade the body's immune system and are therefore not destroyed!
The viruses are able to kill cancerous tumour cells and leave the surrounding tissues unharmed.
The viruses have been used in patients with advanced bowel cancer. Following an injection the virus was detected in the tumour but not in the liver itself. This suggests the virus is able to selectively target the cancerous cells!!
The professor at the University of Leeds behind the trails believes eventually these viruses will be "used in combination with chemotherapy" to treat cancer.
We will soon see.. Further trials are being carried out in patients with neck and head cancer and studies using genetically modified viruses are also being carried out in America.
Tuesday 5 June 2012
"Abuse" of painkillers
My interest in sport and the up and coming Euro 2012 competition drew my attention to this article, here it is if anyone wants to take a look
It talks about the use of pain killers and nsaids (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) by sports people, in this case footballers.
Research from the 2010 South African football world cup showed that 39% of all players took a painkilling agent before every game in order to prevent any pain which may occur during the game enabling them to play on.
The use of painkillers in football is still increasing, the researchers suggest this is due to the eagerness of clubs to keep their best players on the pitch at all times (which I agree with) and this can consequently put pressure on sports doctors to try and do just this!
The use of painkillers can put strains on the kidneys and liver, during exercise a player's kidneys are working hard which makes them more vulnerable to damage from strong medication.
Croatian striker Ivan Klasnic believes that the kidney failure he suffered from in 2007 may have been caused by the painkilling medication he received whilst at his club. The matter is still before the courts however so the cause is not known for sure.
It talks about the use of pain killers and nsaids (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) by sports people, in this case footballers.
Research from the 2010 South African football world cup showed that 39% of all players took a painkilling agent before every game in order to prevent any pain which may occur during the game enabling them to play on.
The use of painkillers in football is still increasing, the researchers suggest this is due to the eagerness of clubs to keep their best players on the pitch at all times (which I agree with) and this can consequently put pressure on sports doctors to try and do just this!
The use of painkillers can put strains on the kidneys and liver, during exercise a player's kidneys are working hard which makes them more vulnerable to damage from strong medication.
Croatian striker Ivan Klasnic believes that the kidney failure he suffered from in 2007 may have been caused by the painkilling medication he received whilst at his club. The matter is still before the courts however so the cause is not known for sure.
Saturday 2 June 2012
Post exams
Its been almost a month since my last post and I felt I should write something briefly before I get back into the full swing of things!
Exams are over!! I hope they went well for everyone..
The next step for me is visiting universities for open days and then at some point over the summer taking the UKCAT.
I was wondering wether anyone was planning to do one of the organised revision courses for the UKCAT? Also if anyone had any "revision material" for the test which they thought was particularly good and would recommend?
Exams are over!! I hope they went well for everyone..
The next step for me is visiting universities for open days and then at some point over the summer taking the UKCAT.
I was wondering wether anyone was planning to do one of the organised revision courses for the UKCAT? Also if anyone had any "revision material" for the test which they thought was particularly good and would recommend?
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