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15 updates

Hey there!

One of my housemates recently skimmed through my blog, and I realise how much I missed writing in it. I also got inspired to do an advent calendar again but as we can see when looking at the calendar, that didn’t quite happen. However, I was also just explaining to another housemate of mine, how for me writing a diary is not a daily thing as I don’t want the pressure of that, but rather a ”every once in a while, when ever I feel like it” kind of thing. That is exactly what my blog is for me too, and I figured I might as well do the same for a blog advent calendar. So, because here I make the rules, here you have window 15, in the form of 15 updates, in no particular order. There might be a window 16 tomorrow, there might not, but we’ll see then!

 

 

 

  1. I’m currently studying ’Psychomedical problems’ – cluster on my 3rd year of med school

2. Even more currently, I’m laying on my bed in my 3rd house since moving to Maastricht

3. In other words – I moved last summer and now live in a big house with 5 lovely housemates

4. I recently bought a pair of sweatpants that I absolutely and utterly love (in the picture above!)

5. I’m flying to Finland for the holidays this Saturday

6. I made some very nice chai tea for myself today

7. I joined a cheer team (and some other things but there I unfortunately haven’t been very active)

8. I’m seeing a new psychologist who’s even more stubborn than me – he’s great

9. I traveled to Curacao, Finland, Estonia and Czech republic in the last 6 months

10. I just did my first SPC (simulated patient contact) in Dutch today

11. This week’s to do – list includes preparing for an English SPC, a pharmacology assignment, getting christmas gifts, sending holiday cards and packing

12. My family visited Maastricht a week ago

13. The Netherlands is not doing particularly well considering corona and has once again funny restrictions – everything (aside from grocery and alcohol stores) closes at 5pm

14. I cut a fringe. Me and my fringe have a love hate relationship.

15. I have a new nickname, ”Leni”

 

I have so much to share with you, I do hope I’ll be back soon. And more than that I hope that you’re all doing well and enjoying the holiday season!

 

Love,

Anna

 

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2 kommenttia
torstai, 16 joulukuun, 2021 by

How to catch up when I’ve had a poor study period

Hi there!

 

Hope you’re doing well! So, we had exam week last week and just started with a new block this week. As a study break I wrote this short blog post but I ended up never taking another break to actually post it, so here you go, another belated post! Our exam results will come in a few weeks so for now I don’t know whether my efforts were enough this time, but I definitely tried my best with the last week’s grind, which is always a good feeling. Anyway, below’s the text from last week, and the first and last wishes still obviously stand!

I hope the sun’s shining like it was (finally) here in NL, and that you don’t have to worry about more exams this semester (unlike us)! We have a double credit (an unfortunate outcome of covid adaptations) next week, before starting our last block of this academic year.

As I’ve mentioned, there’s been a lot going on and I have needed a lot more breaks than usual, and had a lot less energy for studying than usual. This means that I don’t only have revision to do for the exam, but also quite a bit of catching up. Our block is a block of 8 weeks, and includes topics from psychiatry, neurology and the musculoskeletal system. It is thus quite a lot of information, and we still have quite a few lessons next week and not that much extra time. So, below are my tips for catching up and revising as efficiently as possible:

 

  • postpone everything else until after the exams (work, other projects etc)
  • take enough breaks, preferably doing sports or briefly meeting friends or going outside
  • make a list of everything you need to revise
    • I list out on paper all the lectures, practicals and cases we’ve had in the block and mark old scholarly what I’ve already covered and what yet not (crossing over smth is very rewarding)
    • I like to mark separately the things I need to study more detailedly and start with those before getting to revising everything
  • instead of watching lectures, I go through the slides while listening to my own music – this helps me to stay focused and motivated even when low on energy. If the slides are unclear then I’ll look up the lecture, and if something is still unclear, one can contact the lecturer.

 

 

Here’s an example of my current to do list:

  • prep for case 12
  • prep for skills
    • MSE
    • shoulder, neck & spine
    • sciatica
  • study missed case (5)
  • do paper notes on cases 1-10
  • go through missed lecture slides and take written/typed notes
    • Neck & Shoulder
    • Vertebral column
    • HNP
    • Osteoporosis
    • Uveitis and Glaucoma
    • Cataract & AMD
    • Stroke
    • Logistical regression
    • Dementia
    • Cognitive development & healthy aging
    • Neuroanatomy & neurobiology (go through again)
    • Mental state examination
    • Stress and behaviour
  • read through and fill in computer notes on cases 1-10
  • read through lecture notes and practical preparation notes
  • study anatomy on Complete Anatomy and with Netter’s Anatomy Colouring Book
  • make flashcards when in need of another study method and go through them daily

 

Yes, this does mean that my following days are quite packed. However, I love grinding my studies. I love the study dates with friends, enjoying the coffee a little extra when it’s giving me extra motivation for studying and currently also studying on the roof in my bikinis. I will probably run out of time, but for that very reason I shall go to bed now, get a good night’s sleep and have an alarm at 10 so that I will fill my energy batteries again to be able to make the most out of my little time until the exam. When ever I get distracted I drink some water/tea, have a little dancing/singing break or clean/organize something. Maybe some of those tips might work for you too when ever you’re in the same situation?

 

What ever you’re busy with I hope you’re not too busy and that you’re taking care of yourself! For everyone else at exams, best of luck, we can do this!

 

Love, Anna

 

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4 kommenttia
maanantai, 7 kesäkuun, 2021 by

THE MED ME

Hi y’all!

Hope the day has started well for you too! Netherlands is treating us with a rare sight of blue sky and sunshine until now, and because of the national holiday yesterday, we’re having a free day. This doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have tons of tasks to do and cases to study for university and emails to send for work, but I got to sleep in without an alarm and have breakfast while reading (currently reading: A fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy) so I truly can not complain.

In general I’ve been feeling a lot better lately, and while I certainly have a lot to work on still, I’ve also been able to focus a bit more on what’s really important to me. One of those things (while obviously not the only one) is obviously studying medicine. I’m also interested in just about everything else, but being a medicine student is a huge part of my life as it takes a great chunk of my time and as it is the one thing that is bringing me towards my dream. As I keep mentioning, I truly love my studies. And it’s always nice to focus on the positive, right? So that’s what I’ll be doing. I’ll finally start telling you guys a bit more about my life as a medicine student! So, to start with, this is me! A girl with messy hair, a coffee mug in my hand (very important), big smile on (most of the time), a bruise from basket ball (I have never played that sport before trying it out with my friends last week) and studying in the weirdest of places.

 

I will definitely keep writing about all these other random topics and I will definitely still keep my texts very honest, and that’s actually what I want to THE ME in my medicine studies-related posts as well: I’ve failed exams, I’ve struggled with assignments, I’ve needed to stay silent in class because I didn’t prepare well enough, I’ve over exhausted myself and I’ve done silly mistakes. While obviously these are not things I’m proud of, they are normal things and things that especially medicine students often don’t talk about. We live in a world where everyone is supposed to be an over achiever, and social media makes it look very easy. I’m an over achiever by heart and I can tell you it’s not easy.

So, from now on you will be hearing and seeing more about my study life, my struggles with my studies and how being a medicine student doesn’t mean that one wouldn’t have anything else in their lives (I refuse to stop being generally interested in everything, it all just comes down to prioritising). A medicine student can have and should have a social life, does not need to and should not be constantly over achieving, and also requires rest and other things in their lives to balance the demanding studies (also by the way a full disclosure – I’m very much aware that medicine is not at all the only demanding study line, just being a student in itself is demanding). So I’ll still keep thinking about random topics, still talk about mental health care, still go on my little trips (when corona allows), still share my favourite recipes and my favourite pictures, but just with a little more med student content. If that’s your cup of tea, nice, stay tuned! If you’re not interested, just skip the topics (you can actually choose a category you want to read on my blog on the side bar) you can’t bother to read.

As I keep repeating, I really like blogging as it’s one of my favourite outlets, so I’m quite excited! However, I will not be promising a certain amount of posts in a certain time, as that’s just not how I roll. But hopefully you’ll be hearing from me soon!

Have an absolutely lovely day, hugs from the Netherlands! x

Love, Anna

 

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1 kommentti
perjantai, 14 toukokuun, 2021 by

How are you really doing?

Hey you!

I hope you’re doing well! But you know, even if you’re not, that’s okay. I haven’t been doing very well myself. Today’s a good day, but they’ve been quite rare lately. As those of you who know me for longer know, there’s no reason to worry, I do have help with my troubles and I’m working on them. I have a lot going on that I don’t feel like discussing with everyone, so I like to keep the image of me happy & polished – as most of us do. I don’t do it because I’d be ashamed of not being okay, but just because just like I try in real life as much as I can, on my social media I want to focus on the positive (my blog is the realest exception haha) to cheer myself up.

It’s been a long year of pandemic related troubles. It’s been a long year of living in a society where we’re always told to achieve more, do better, and make it look easier. It’s been a long year of living in a world where we’re constantly over-stimulated by signals from social media, constantly reachable and constantly subconsciously comparing our lives with those of the others. It’s been a long year of studying or working or what ever you’re doing, even if it’s just occasionally getting out of bed. Damn that sounds exhausting.

On top of that exhaustion, some of us also have health problems, may they be physical or mental, visible or invisible. On top of that some of us have traumas to overcome, troubles with their loved ones or any other type of problem that we don’t have any idea of. Gosh we’re so strong for being able to carry on.

A friend of mine, who knows about some of my troubles, asked me a while ago: How are you really doing? I love that friend and I love that she specified her supposedly small talk-related question – she knew that I put on a brave face even when I may have dried my tears just a half a minute ago. So, I’m now here to ask you all – how are you really doing?

If you’re really doing good, I’m so glad for you. If you’re really not doing so good, please know that you’re not alone. When you look outside you only see the outside; people putting on their best clothes, their best set of makeup, their best pictures and their best fake smile. I’m not telling you to start questioning everything and everyone, but I’m telling you to remember that you don’t see everything on the outside. I can not repeat it enough – Everyone has a story to tell. Be kind. Always. And the same goes for you – be kind to yourself!

Whether you’re doing good or less good, please do something nice just for yourself. And stop thinking that everyone else has it better than you! Or on the contrary – stop thinking that you can’t feel sad because people have it worse than you. Every problem matters, and problems can not be compared. What matters is that you try and work on your problems, and that you don’t let them affect how you treat others.

I keep hearing from so many people how they’re really not doing good, and yet if you wouldn’t really talk with them you’d never know. People, you’re so strong and I admire you so much just for getting out of bed every morning! I think we should start a club of supporting each other – we all struggle sometimes, it’s okay to struggle and it’s okay to talk about it (if you want to). Let’s just all remember that we’re not alone in this, even if a pandemic sometimes makes us feel like that. Every cloud has a silver lining, and the sun will come out even if it won’t do it today.

 

Sending you a big hug and lots of cheek kisses x

Love,

Anna

 

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6 kommenttia
maanantai, 22 maaliskuun, 2021 by