A few minutes ago, one of the visitors of this blog sent me a question, asking what book I would recommend for the acid/base part of the physiology curriculum.
As you all know, the lectures on acid/base are notoriously incomprehensible, partly due to the inherent difficulty of the subject and partly due to the way the lecturer approaches it. Things are not made better by the equally incomprehensible set of 'notes' which he kindly provides for the... 'benefit of the students'.
So what can a responsible student do to overcome this obstacle ? Read one of the popular physiology textbooks, like Guyton or Ganong ? Nope, the profs says they're no good. Keep lecture notes and try to memorise them ? Nope, the profs says that's no good either. Ask for a four-year leave and move to Great Britain to get an MSc in acid/base physiology ? That might help, but it's hardly a reasonable option, don't you find ?
The real solution is much simpler, my friends : ride the system !!!
Riding the educational system is an ancient art, almost as ancient as educational systems themselves. And, unlike riding a motorbike, it doesn't need any special training and involves no risks for the people that practice it. All you need is some common sense and the realisation of a basic principle : every educational system has weaknesses, and many of them can be exploited by students to make their life easier.
One such weakness is the way the physiology paper is set in our university : eight essay questions, out of which you have to answer five. Of those eight question 'slots', only one can be used for acid/base. So why bother ? Don't study acid/base at all, and you can still afford not to study an additional two physiology topics :-)
"But are we supposed to do that ?", I hear you ask. "Are we going to be good doctors like that ?", I hear you ask.
And I say, RUBBISH ! Being able to write a four-page essay on the Siggaard-Andersen equation will NOT make you a good doctor. It might make you a good physiologist, but it's trivial knowledge for a clinical doctor, which is what most of us want to become. And that is not the opinion of just a humble medical student, but of many people I have discussed this issue with, who happen to be REAL doctors, not lab scientists who have never touched a patient in their lifes.
So feel free to ride the system, and please start being critical about the knowledge you're being spoon-fed with. Because that is what you will need in the clinical years and this is what is going to ultimately make you a good doctor ;-)
3 comments:
Hear, hear! What this university needs is pressure from students like us to prod those that teach physiology/biochemistry into this millenium.
To reply to this comment, I will quote a phrase used by Dr.PSW, a few years ago. We were complaining to him about an issue that had come up. Visibly annoyed, he replied :
"Students are represented by MMSA. So don't complain to me. Go to your representatives, tell them what's going on, and make sure they do something about it !"
Yes, the MMSA listens to us, but nothing ever seems to change....I have talked to third and fourth year students who faced this same problem. Of course I was easier for them, they didn't have this stupid 35% rule. What do we need to do do change the system??? I have an idea. Year 2 students: Let's ask for a meeting with the Head of the Anatomy Department, and express our concerns. Why do so many students fail Paper 1? If we are not getting it, then maybe there is something wrong with the teaching. Surely, we are not all that stupid! If that doesn't work, we can go to the Dean. And if that doesn't work we can go to the Rector. Let's stand up for our rights!
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