So Tired...

I thought I'd name some of my posts in honour of several of our PBL cases. So this one's an appropriate one to start off with. PPD today - a 3rd party recollection and informal presentation based on our patient barriers to care interview - was alright. It kind of killed the mood for the day though - 2 hours listening to person after person speak; it was HSC English speeches all over again, except a little bit more interesting, haha. I did concentrate though, which may or may not have been the right thing to do, as I was phased out for the rest of the day (it was first thing in the morning). I think our PPD tutor is getting better (obviously, no names); he genuinely does care, although presenting with a few rather conflicting ideas. Our next two sessions are all going to be about talking about ourselves. And our life experiences. YAY...
I've found that taking a few lectures off and a friday PBL session really knocks you back hard in terms of keeping up with what's happening. Everyone is talking about the cardiac cycle this week, and I feel that I don't really understand them. I'm not exactly a model student, but I do make a serious effort (this is medicine after all) - this kind of thing worries me; not because of whether I'll do good in an exam or not, but rather just the feeling of inadequacy. I guess one gets used to it as the entire field is littered with over-achievers; but still, it is nice to feel like you know something.
ICM though was once again as interesting as always. We had a patient with an arteriovenous (i.e. arteries and veins) fistula (a bulge or protrusion) in his wrist; the turbulence in the vessels was so noticeable, both via a stethoscope and by simply resting one's fingers on the area. We started the cardiovascular system exam; I do feel like we're making serious progress in ICM, with the abdominal exam out of the way in just a few weeks, cardiovascular for these few weeks, and probably respiratory in the weeks to come before our big OSCE (clinical examinations). ARGGGH SCARY
It's before our theoretical exams, in October. So close. Yikes.