Stem Cells Paper

Hi everyone,

A few months ago I started working on a science paper with one of my friends who is interested in veterinary medicine. We were given this opportunity after attending workshops at the University of Nottingham (click here for my post on my experience at these workshops). The topic chosen this year was stem cells which I was extremely happy about as I find stem cells to be an immensely absorbing area of science. The task was to write a science paper based on a thought experiment using stem cells.

Firstly, we came up with a couple of ideas and then carried out our initial research to decide on our best and most unique idea. Our final decision was to go with the use of stem cells in the treatment of otosclerosis.

The results of the submitted papers were published a couple of weeks ago and I am incredibly happy to announce that we passed with a distinction! I have not gone into too much detail about our actual idea but that is because the papers are going to published online in October and I will make sure I provide a link to our paper on this blog for anyone interested in reading the paper!

Work Experience - Physio

After spending the beginning of this year searching for a placement with a GP surgery and unfortunately being turned down an endless amount of times, it was suggested to me by one of my teachers to search for a placement with a physiotherapist. 

I managed to organise a two-day work shadow placement at Allen Physiotherapy Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine. Having never been to a physio before I did not know what to expect however to my surprise I found it very relatable to a GP surgery.

During my time at Allen Physiotherapy as well as viewing numerous patient examinations I also had the chance to observe three ultrasounds looking at the patients core stability.

 Firstly, the history of the patients were taken; most patients were attending regular appointments where the physiotherapist was just checking on the progress of their recovery. During patient examinations, restriction and pain was noted with the use of diagrams. According to the level of progression of the recovery, more or less intense exercises were recommended to the patient.

Overall, I enjoyed and learnt a lot from my experience at Allen Physiotherapy!

Martini's Atlas of the Human Body

Undoubtedly, one of the most interesting and fascinating chapters of medicine is undeniably learning about human anatomy; for this reason, I bought this atlas a couple of months ago in order to broaden my current level of knowledge on the human body. I guess along with most people my age, I am more familiar with the organ systems of the human body than other areas but a reason why I have really enjoyed looking through this book has been the fact that it includes much more than just diagrams of organs. The atlas includes a range of diagrams, scans, dissections, superficial dissections and images. In future posts, I will definitely refer to this atlas and use images from it where possible. 

For now, I thought I would share with you one of my favourite pages - the Superficial Dissection of the Face, Anterolateral View. I think the main reason I was extremely immersed by this page was because I have only previously seen computer-drawn diagrams of the facial muscles and seeing this superficial dissection has raised my awareness as to the amazing structure that lays under the skin of our face!

Medisix & Medsim 2012

Earlier this year I attended a medicine workshop called Medisix at the University of Nottingham. This workshop consisted of lectures given by specialist doctors about their area of speciality. It was an extremely informative and helpful event as we were given information about the endless area's we could specialise in as a doctor. However, the aspect of the workshop I found the most useful and interesting was the fact that you could ask questions to the doctors about their experiences and also they could provide you with advice and information that you cannot find online.

At Medisix I was given information about another, more practical workshop also at the University of Nottingham. I decided to also attend Medsim in order to experience some of more practical side of medicine. At Medsim we attended four clinical sessions which were based on the subjects of X-Rays, Blood Pressure, Ophthalmology and Anatomy. As someone who finds human anatomy one of the most fascinating fields of science I was expecting to find the anatomy session extremely interesting and although it was brief, the session did meet my expectations. On the other hand, I was not expecting to find the ophthalmology session as interesting however to my surprise I found the session exceeded my expectations and encouraged the growth of my interest in the area of ophthalmology.  During my time at Medsim other sessions I attended included, Suturing, Trauma and Triage, ECG, Palpation, Ultrasound and Keyhole Surgery. 

At Medsim, I also completed the Rapid Response Advanced (Life support training including resuscitation, post resuscitation care plus use of defibrillator) course which I believe has provided me with knowledge and many skills that I will use in both my personal life and future career.

Freebies received at Medsim

Overall, I enjoyed the whole experience immensely especially the practical sessions at Medsim as I felt the at the sessions gave me a taste of life as a medical student!

 

An Introduction

Hello Everyone, 

I am Cigdem Cinar, a 17 year-old, Year 12 student currently studying at the George Abbot School Sixth Form. The subjects I am presently studying are Chemistry, Biology and Further Mathematics and next year I will also be taking up Psychology.

On this blog, I will record my journey to becoming a medical student, studying Medicine and eventually becoming a doctor.

If you would like to read about my interests and experiences then…

Welcome to Cigdem’s Medical Blog.