MMSA MEDIA IS PROUD TO PRESENT

2008-09

issue 3 EXAM EDITION

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The Sphygmo Team Media Officer: Claire Vella Editor: Marquita Camilleri Article Co-ordinator: Stephanie Azzopardi Layout and Design: Anne Marie Bonnici Mallia Thank you to all those who have contributed to this edition of Sphygmo

GO TO: http:/sphygmo. mmsa.org.mt

Wall

of

shame

3

Laughter is truly the best

medicine. We have

heard this time and time

again. Yet, little did we

know that this statement

is backed up with lots of

scientific evidence.

Laughter reduces pain

and allows us to tolerate discomfort. It reduces blood

sugar levels, increasing glucose tolerance in diabetics and

nondiabetics alike. The most recent evidence supports

that laughter helps your blood vessels function better,

increasing blood flow to both the heart and brain. Its role

in intimate relationships is vastly underestimated and it

really is the glue of good marriages. This is because

laughter synchronizes the brains of speaker and listener

so that they are emotionally attuned.

Laughter also improves job performance, especially if the

work depends on creativity and solving complex prob‐

lems. So, a shot of laughter is something surely worth

giving especially during exam time. In times of great

stress it is the little things like laughter that would make

the world of a difference.

Of course, the studying is required and the pressures and

strains at medical school remain. Laughter does not al‐

ways cast out the fear of finals and, perhaps, the unfair‐

ness of a resit in September. And despite Sphygmo being

a good crack up, the naked truth is that medical school is

not easy. And the fact that we are part of an educational

system which is at times contradictory in its expectations

does not help. This January’s Student BMJ has pointed

out that students are expected to pass written exams but

attend all clinical opportunities, which is in itself contra‐

dictory. (Sokol and Bowman, 2009) Students may also be

expected to answer exam questions without resources to

hand whilst being taught not to make a decision if

EDITORIAL SHOT OF HUMOUR

uncertain without looking things up, or to have a go at a

difficult question but to admit uncertainty. These situa‐

tions are often confusing and always demanding. (Sokol

and Bowman, 2009).

Some people frown at all this… Others just don’t care and

the few who do simply grin and bear it. But the best pre‐

server of sanity always remains laughing things off… And

why? Because laughter is good for us! It’s good for us as

individuals and also as a student body. Medical school

does, in itself, encourage strong bonds between students

since friends who understand the rigours of the course and

share the burden of a heavy workload and frequent exami‐

nations are valuable sources of support. And laughter

helps establish, and even restore, a positive emotional cli‐

mate and a sense of constructive connection between peo‐

ple.

In fact, some researchers believe that the major function of

laughter is to bring people together. And that is the main

aim of MMSA and most certainly the main aim of

Sphygmo for this year. As Nokia would put it, MMSA

Media is all about “connecting people”. I just hope that

we have managed to do it successfully this year, and that

the new Meida Officer Stefan Buttigieg together with the

editorial team taking my place will be able to take up this

mantra again… Compiling together publications that will

focus on connecting people.

In the meantime, on behalf of the whole Sphygmo team, I

wish you all the very best of luck in your exams!

Marquita

____________________________________________________

References

Sokol, D. and Bowman, D. (2009) Secrets and Lies. Student

British Medical Journal. 9: 50–51.

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Lessons on Management Management Crash Course in 6 lessons… Because there’s more to life than just medicine! Lesson 1: A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbour. Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800 to drop that towel.' After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob, after a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, 'Who was that?' 'It was Bob the next door neighbor,' she replies. 'Great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?' Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a posi-tion to prevent avoidable exposure. Lesson 2: A priest offered a Nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forc-ing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?' The priest removed his hand But, ! changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, 'Father, remem-ber Psalm 129?' The priest apologized 'Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.' Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, 'Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.' Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity. Lesson 3: A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, 'I'll give each of you just one wish.' 'Me first! Me first!' says the admin clerk. 'I want to be in the Baha-mas driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.' Puff! She's gone. 'Me next! Me next!' says the sales rep. 'I want to be in Hawaii , relax-ing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.' Puff! He's gone.

'OK, you're up,' the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, 'I want those two back in the office after lunch.' Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say. Lesson 4: An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, 'Can I also sit like you and do nothing?' The eagle answered: 'Sure, why not.’ So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it. Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up. Lesson 5 A turkey was chatting with a bull. 'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.' 'Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' re-plied the bull. They're packed with nutrients.' The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree. Moral of the story: Bull S*** might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there. Lesson 6 A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he be-gan to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him. Morals of the story: (1) Not everyone who s***s on you is your enemy. (2) Not everyone who gets you out of s*** is your friend. (3) And when you're in deep s***, it's best to keep your mouth shut! THUS ENDS THE FIVE MINUTE MANAGEMENT COURSE

By Mark Cachia Markham

“You want to go?”

“Where?”

“Can I come?”

The guy asking these questions was a friend of mine who, like me,

has got to a point where the word “adventure” in any form is most

precious – even more so since we have both probably spent the

previous six or seven years of our lives obsessed with aviation!

Flying an aeroplane became a reality for me at the age of 16. I

knew at that time one private pilot who was working with a local

flying school. He gave me the news that they will be conducting

the course leading to the Private Pilot’s Licence for the first time.

I managed to convince my parents to give me the go ahead and

there I was, round about two months later, in the student class-

room of our newly established flying school! At the age of 17 I got

my Private Pilot Licence, and this entitled me to fly any small

propeller plane such as the Cessna 152 and Cessna 172 – the

same propeller planes we find on Microsoft’s Flight Simulator!

A few months after getting my licence, I decided to plan a trip to

South Italy, together with three other friends, on the four-seater

Cessna 172. Our plan was basically to spend a day airport hop-

ping, starting from Reggio Calabria, Lamezia, Crotone, and end-

ing back again in Reggio di Calabria. The day of departure was a

Friday, and we planned to come back to Malta Saturday evening.

I remember not being able to sleep the night before with all the

excitement! And my friends also spent the night counting sheep

with no avail!

At around 5.00am, I woke up, made myself a cup of coffee and

started planning the flight, first by checking the weather and then

by planning out the exact route. At around 6.00am, my friends

came to pick me up and off we went to the airport! We paid a

short visit to the Met Office for the weather briefing. We were

informed that the weather was fine and very ideal for flying. Ap-

proximately an hour later, we were in the plane and soon later we

departed Malta to our first waypoint – Portomaso Tower, after

that, it is nothing but a (quite boring) half an hour of plain sea!

We climbed to around 4500 feet, and approximately half-way

between Malta and Sicily, Mount Etna appears in the distance.

This is a very good navigation tool for us pilots since in order to

navigate, we rely mostly on visual landmarks rather than the

Flying to Italy on a Four Seater

modern computers airlines use. On reaching Marina di Ragusa

(in the south border of Sicily), approximately forty-five minutes

after departure, we headed to Catania, our next waypoint – here

we needed to descend to 1500 feet due to low clouds in the area

and some restrictions due to the close proximity with other air-

craft bound to Catania airport. On our way to Catania, we flew

over major cities in Sicily such as Modica and Ragusa.

Approximately two hours from departure, at around 9.30am we

arrived in Reggio di Calabria. The airport is surrounded on one

side by small rocky mountains, while on the other side it is just

sea. This made the landing quite interesting. Instead of the usual

approach to the runway, where we are lined up with runway well

in advance, this airport’s approach path is curved, where only at

the last minute you line up with the runway! After landing in

Reggio, we headed to the airport’s cafeteria and spent around

one hour having some coffee and relaxing. We then proceeded to

the parking area. The refuelling of the aircraft was completed

with ease and after a “crack” with the locals it was time for our

next leg, Lamezia. We departed Reggio at around 11.00am, and

the flight to Lamezia took us around 50 minutes were we flied

north via Rosarno and Mileto. This airfield is very easy to locate

in terms of navigation. And even if you get lost, you just follow

the coast till you eventually see the airport below. We landed in

Lamezia, and since the airport’s parking fee was a bit expensive,

we just went for a quick walk around the area and sooner than

later we departed off to our next destination, Crotone which was

only half an hour away. We flew eastwards through pleasant

wide valley and rolling hills on either side, with a little more

than a minor hint of turbulence, even at a lower level. In what

seemed to be a relatively short time of leaving Lamezia, we were

circling over an artificial lake next to Crotone, before landing on

the tiny asphalt strip.

Continues on next page…...

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After landing in Crotone we quickly noticed that this airport

was more like an airfield rather than an airport! There was

absolutely no sign of anything moving! The terminal inside

was literally a ghost town, and we thought that, for a second,

we owned the place! This thought ended soon enough when

in the distance, we saw this guy holding a radio in his hand,

accompanied by a small child – presumably his son! After a

quick chat, we realized that this was the guy we were talking

to on the radio in order to get landing permission! He told us

that they only get one or two aeroplanes a day, mostly private

aircraft so it would not be feasible for them to turn this air-

field into a fully functional airport. Since it was getting a bit

dark, we did not have much time to explore the area! How-

ever things were not to follow so smoothly! During the pre-

flight checks, I noted that the amount of fuel we had left in

the fuel tanks matched exactly with what we needed for our

final flight of the day to Reggio. In short, we had just enough

fuel for keep us in the air for two hours! I did not feel very

comfortable about it and even though I did not see any fuel

trucks around, I asked whether it is possible to get some fuel.

Unfortunately, we were told that there is no fuel available at

that airfield! This was a bit shocking for me. Despite this, I

decided that with two hours fuel, we will have enough to go to

Reggio even though we would be just on the verge of illegality

to fly with that amount of fuel! Still… I decided we go ahead!

We departed Crotone at around 4.30pm. The flight from Cro-

tone to Reggio takes around 1 hour 35 minutes, and due to

the high mountains along the course of the flight, we had to

climb to 6500 feet!

When we landed in Reggio, I checked how much fuel we had

left, and to my surprise, we had more than I originally ex-

pected! We tied the plane down and went straight to our hotel

for some rest, a few minutes away from the airport. The area

around the hotel was not so fascinating, we were lucky enough

to find this restaurant from where we could buy a pizza! We

spent the night exploring the area, though I reluctantly had to

call it a day earlier than planned, since I was very tired with all

the flying!

The next morning, it was time to get back to Malta! We took a

taxi to the airport, went through the security checks and

headed for the airplane. I asked one guy to refuel our plane to

full capacity, and asked one of my friends to close the fuel caps

of the fuel tanks. A few minutes later, we departed Reggio di

Calabria at around two in the afternoon… Destination Malta!

The weather was perfect for flying. But, as soon as we reached

the cruising altitude of around 4500 feet, we encountered

some unexpected bad weather with a lot of clouds having a

base of around 2500 feet. We had just passed Taormina, and

the terrain below us was quite hilly, with altitudes reaching an

average of one thousand feet. Heavy turbulence also started to

kick in, which was not surprising really when looking at all the

wave lenticular we had around. Since we are not allowed to fly

in the clouds, we had to fly between that small gap of one thou-

sand feet between the terrain and the clouds.

As one can imagine, this is quite dangerous since we could eas-

ily hit something on the ground such as the electricity cables,

which are only visible when getting too close to them. At that

moment, I asked my friend to take the map and help me out in

navigating around, while I concentrated on the flying! The tur-

bulence at one point was so bad, that one of the passengers at

the back was becoming very much afraid! Eventually, we were

faced with a fierce headwind and the clouds base had increased

a couple of feet. So, we climbed to an altitude of three thou-

sand feet to avoid the worst of the bumps lower down.

Finally, after a perilous thirty minute flight above Sicily, we

emerged out of the “danger zone” and what awaited us was a

much more beloved Mediterranean sea and clear skies! The

weather was now absolutely perfect with no turbulence at all. A

few minutes later into the flight, we were caught with the com-

forting sights of the island of Gozo emerging from the horizon,

while Malta soon followed. There was very little wind and the

sun was low – the light tobacco-coloured. We coasted over

Portomaso tower, and flew the last three miles into the airport.

Neither of us wanted the trip to end, so we flitted about the

empty runways before landing in the setting sun.

Flying to Italy on a Four Seater cont..

7

I never thought I would actually do this, but I’m going to have to apologise for the last rant I typed out for Sphygmo last Christmas. My nephew said I was a big embarrassment to him! I was rude… Inso-lent… Cheeky… Grouchy… Just like the rest of his surgeon consultants on a regular ward round day. But then again… Who cares? Law school has taught me the hard way that the best way to prove your existence is by being an annoying old crabby! And going off my HRT most surely helps. You know what happens when you’re off your HRT, right? Most of you intelligent folk, who study all the time, probably know. But for the benefit of the 3rd year students who spent more time on YouTube and Bit-Torrent rather than in the library, I will take the trou-ble of telling you what happens myself…

Ah yes! Nothing instils as much guilt as a little re-minder of the big discrepancy present between “how much you planned to study in October” and “how much you actually did so till May!” It’s how I torment my nephew every single Easter when he stays talking about how great the MMSA Ball was the previous month! They say that the balls are get-ting bigger… unlike his! The saddest thing is that this is everybody’s problem. The reason why there is so much unfairness in the world is because our leaders and the most seemingly respectable of citizens, like doctors, lack the 3 Bs. And by 3 Bs I don’t mean the

blood brain barrier! (Although that could also be

lacking.) By the 3 Bs I mean the following: people

have no brains, no balls and no backbone! This

problem is everywhere, and it’s spreading like the

wildest of fires!

The examiners, together with the rest of the public

that have their taxes transformed into stipends,

complain that students don’t study. On the other

hand, students rant about how harsh and unre-

deeming examiners are demotivating everyone to

put their noses in their books. That’s why students

came up with this strategy to keep librarians occu-

pied for only one month a year.

But what really bothers dear, old-fashioned Aunty

ELSA is not that. What really worries her is that due

to the lack of the 3 Bs mentioned above, students

don’t even need to keep librarians occupied any-

more…

Here come exams, starting with the war cry of the

loudest secretary at Medical School. On handing

out the papers, secretaries leave the talkative in-

vigilators alone. Students are left under the vigi-

lance of people whose only qualification is gossip-

ing at the local church’s square and examination

halls. And it’s not just the student’s knowledge that

gets tested in these exams… but also their diligence

and integrity!

Aunty Elsa I BITCH THEREFORE I AM

Continues on next page…..

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AUNTY ELSA: I BITCH THEREFORE I AM cont.

The toilet throughout the whole of June becomes the

haven of tomorrow’s professionals, and going to the

loo becomes a commoner occurrence… For some

people more than others. Everyone would know

who they are, and they wouldn’t be just ladies who

are often considered to have the upper hand. (You

see, they can tuck in note cards safely where no-

body will find it, a possibly would not even want to

find it… the bra! Yeah! Like they need to!)

Though… people who are very blond have tried hid-

ing notes in their boots as well, with the sound of their

heels annoyingly going clink clank every time they

got stuck in a True or False question. (You know, with

–1 negative marking you cannot afford to get it

wrong). Though that should not be a problem when

the weather changes in summer, even for people

with the weirdest of fashion sense!

And the invigilators chat on… Until one fine day, ulte-

rior motives for going to the toilet are discovered and

students get caught copying red handed. Any na-

ïve person who hungers for justice glees on the in-

side, hoping that the person will pay for doing wrong.

But Aunty ELSA knows better… Instead of repeating

the year, or re-sitting the whole exam, the guilty stu-

dent just re-sits solely that paper where s/he got

caught copying.

Of course, you’ll get one lecturer with a conscience

who wastes her time writing to the Editor of the Times

of Malta to complain about the issue. Hell will break

lose in the department concerned but the rest of the

nation just couldn’t be bothered. In the meantime,

students pass and become doctors of medicine.

They may perhaps leave us alone and go to Eng-

land. But then they come back home as consultants

to lord over their peers who would have painfully

(and stupidly perhaps) done their work properly over

the years…

Personally I rest my case! Best of luck in

your exams. And now that you read my

entry… Please do us all a favour, go

back to your bloody books and study!

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Note from the Editor: Here is an email I once sent to my class server last year, at a time when I was fed up of having my inbox being spammed with chain letters. So, I thought of writing one of my own… WE ALL THINK OUR LIVES ARE HARD!!!! READ BELOW TO KNOW HOW LUCKY WE REALLY ARE: Pray that the Lord Jesus delivers her from her situation... IF YOU DELETE THIS YOU ARE HEARTLESS!! Dear Reader, I am a third year medical student with a pea pod for a brain. God has blessed me with decent enough grades to get me into medical school at the UoM. Until recently, things were going great for me even though I stumbled my way through the preclinical years. But now, I have come to realise that there is only so much knowledge that a pea pod can take and I need a brain transplant. Doctors say that if I don’t do this, I will be in big trou‐ble. But donors are very hard to get by and time is pressing. There is a big possibility that I’ll sit for exams starting 30th May without having a decent brain to get me through third year. I know you are not obligated to do anything. You are free to delete this email without giving it a second thought, but please listen to the cry from a future doctor’s heart! (Yes, some doctors do have a heart that works). After all, it’s not my fault that I’ve an ancestry that stemmed out from some unnourished vegetable patch. Thankfully, I worked out a deal with On‐Vol where for every 10 forwards I will get 15 brain cells that can potentially get me by. Please donʹt harden your heart. If you can spare the time, then send this email to everyone on your list. Please, this is crucial! I need a miracle! God bless you all!

Sincerely,

McNerdy

Funny Class Funny Class Funny Class Server EServer EServer E---Mail Mail Mail

Accademic Corner

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Note from the Editor: This useful article has been taken from the blog Anatomy and More (http://anatomy-themis.blogspot.com/),

which seems to be inactive… This is in fact the most recent blog post. (Please note the date of posting…) Some points have been al-

tered to make them more relevant to us medics.

Friday, May 23, 2008

It's That Time of the Year Again

Assumptions: The exam will be a time-pressured knowledge evaluation. The exam will cover a large amount of material

and there isn’t much time to study for it. Such a situation will require the level of intensity outlined in this handout.

Strategy: Maximize your performance by taking command of all the factors under YOUR control and using them to your

advantage.

1. Get a good night’s sleep (at least 6 hours) the evening before the test, even if it means studying a little less material.

Pulling an “all-nighter” may sound enthralling and romantic, but that technique is an act of desperation and rarely works

the way you want it to. Remember: “Well rested, well tested.”

2. On the day of the test, if there is time, go over the material you didn’t get to the night before, if any. If you covered eve-

rything, go over it once more to load it into your “high memory.” This will reduce your recall time and thereby free up

more time to work on the questions/problems for which you aren’t as well-prepared.

3. Leave so that you will get to the testing centre early. If you leave so that you’ll get there merely on time, if there is any

unforeseen problem (heavy traffic, etc.), you will increase your anxiety and stress level immeasurably and unnecessarily.

Incidentally, if you DO find yourself stuck in traffic somewhere, try to sit back and relax – realize that there is absolutely

nothing you can do about it and you’ll get there when you get there.

4. Be physically prepared for the exam – food and drink. Don’t starve yourself and don’t overeat – have a light snack be-

fore the test and perhaps a caffeinated beverage to “keep you sharp” throughout the exam. Don’t get a super-jumbo size,

however, or you’ll be getting up to pee every 15 minutes.

5. Be physically prepared for the exam – sickness. Don’t make your sickness a distraction during the test. So figure out

what your symptoms are and use chemicals to combat and neutralize them. You may need the doctor’s advice for that…

we haven’t graduated yet!

6. Be physically prepared for the exam – other. Wear comfortable clothing to the test and make sure you evacuate thyself

in all ways before the test. The idea is to conserve as much testing time as possible. Note from the Editor: You may even

want to bring a battery operated light source with you for when the lights go off during the exam. It sounds far fetched

but it happened just before starting our ENT exam last January…

7. Turning off your cell-phone/beeper/watch alarm BEFORE the exam starts. This is an exam regulation, so respect it. If

you think ambient noise might be an issue during the test, bring earplugs with you. Remember: YOU are in charge of

YOUR OWN examination environment. If it isn’t ideal, take command of the factors you can control and make it as good

as it can be.

Continues on next page…...

EXAM TIPS

11

8. Be well-supplied – writing materials: several ballpoint pens (in case one runs dry) either black or blue ink; other colours smack

of a lack of professionalism. You may need pencils and a decent rubber.

9. Be well-supplied – other materials. Rulers are handy when graphs are called for. Check whether you’ll be needing a calculator for

your exam. If so, bring a good one whose batteries are nowhere near dead and be familiar with the operation of said calculator i.e.

don’t borrow one the night before the test. Bring a watch with you as well. (see 17 and 18).

10. Page-check your exam when you get it… Most invigilators will instruct you to do so anyway so that you won’t be the first one out

of the exam only to discover you had page 4 missing. Also, the page-check is a good time to get a feel for the exam itself.

11. Don’t forget to write your index number (and name) on every exam sheet and/or booklet when provided.

12. Answer every question. For Pete’s sake, write down SOMETHING. You cannot get any credit for a blank space; however, if you

wrote down a key word or tricky phrase and a partial-credit point value was associated with that word/phrase in the answer key,

then you may just get some points for it, even if you didn’t know what the hell you were talking about. On True/False questions,

unless it’s absolutely 100% True, it’s False. On multiple-choice questions, if you can eliminate even one wrong answer selec-

tion, you’ve increased your probability of guessing the right answer. Remember to look for the answer selection that BEST answers

the question. More than one may be true, but only one is the right answer. Note that you may even be able to use other

questions in the exam against answer selections in a particular question to rule them out, if the exam was poorly

written. It’s not your fault that question three’s phrasing essentially gave you the answer to question eight - that’s someone else’s

problem. Take full advantage of the opportunity; others will.

13. Make sure you answer all parts of the question and answer what the question asks, not what you want to talk about.

14. Don’t forget about UNITS. The GFR is not measured in nothings, it’s measured in mL/min/1.73 m2. It will score you extra

brownie points in your physiology and medicine papers.

15. When drawing diagrams, especially for your physiology papers… Label it!!! Remember that a picture is worth a thousand

words… And it would be worth much more if properly labelled.

16. Use all of the available time. If you finish early, go back through the test and make sure you’ve answered everything. And for

essay-type questions, READ WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN BEFORE TURNING IT IN.

17. Manage your time. It makes no sense to spend 20 minutes on a 5 point question during an hour-long, 100 point exam. You can

do the division and budgeting up front and write out your plan on a piece of your scratch paper. If you ran out of the allocated time

and you still are nowhere with the question, drop it for later.

18. Do the questions with the maximum number of marks FIRST. After all, there’s no law that says you have to work the problems

in the order they appear. It’s better to run out of time and tank one of the paddy-little questions than to tank a high-value question.

19. If you find yourself freezing up or panicking because you’ve flipped through the exam and think you don’t know any of it, try to

relax. And locate a question you think you have a chance at--read it carefully and start working on it. Focus. Don’t worry about

what you don’t know; work on what you do know. Once you’ve regained control of yourself and have calmed down, become mindful

once again of the relative point values and the time available – then act accordingly.

All-in-all, remember that your goal is to minimize your point loss or, in other words, maximize your points awarded. You have a

certain level of knowledge. The exam requires a certain level of knowledge. Many times, the exam’s level will be higher. What you

need to do is make sure that what you appear to know is reflective of 100% of what you do know (or maybe a little more, if you can

manage it!) You do this by making your work easy to read and follow and by answering every question to the best of your ability.

After all, your apparent knowledge is the product of your actual knowledge and your test-taking skill. Your average idiot’s test tak-

ing skill is a number less than 1.0. Make sure that your test taking skill is a number greater than or at least equal to 1.0.

EXAM TIPS cont.

12

IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING

By Marija Agius

The medical course is known to be a tough one. Not only

because there is so much to study, but because we some-

times find it hard to live up to what we study. Marija

Agius writes about the possibility of the equation

“Medicine + Sports = Possible!” based on an interview

with Dr. Julian Mamo.

“The best sermons are lived not preached.”

All doctors say (or at least should say) to their patients that

sports are good for them. But hearing this phrase from a

‘Hulk- like’ doctor, who perhaps even wears an awful

stench of tobacco smoke is not really ideal. What if doctors

really practice what they preach? Even though physical ac-

tivity is not practiced by every doctor, some really do what

they tell others to do.

Sports… Many of us would scoff the idea aside thinking that

sports are for those who are not busy as us in the medical

course! Despite having too many pages waiting to be read

by you from Snell and Kumar at a first glance, taking up a

sport is possible after all! Bear in mind that it is not me

who is saying this, but people who are medical profession-

als like ourselves and have managed to integrate their busy

lives with sports.

September 2007: Start of the 27Km Valletta - St.Paul’s bay and back

kayak race, Dr. Mamo is the one in the yellow kayak

Scene of the first brief stop at daybreak in Marsascala on Dr. Mamo’s

first round Malta by kayak experience

♦ Dr. Roger Bannister- London neurologist. He was

the first man to run one mile in less than 4 minutes

in1954

♦ Tenley Albright- General surgeon. Gold Medal win-

ner in ice skating in the 1956 Olympics in Italy

♦ Eric Heiden- Orthopaedic consultant. In 1980 he

won all five speed skating events at distances of

500, 1000, 1500, 5000 and 10,000 meters

♦ Tim Brabants - British doctor working in emer-

gency medicine who arrived 3rd in a 500m kayak

race, in Olympics 2008

But… Let us now turn the spotlight on some local talent…

Dr. Julian Mamo- 21.1km half marathon run in 89 min-

utes in 1995, co-organised a football tournament for all

medical students in 1981, won a 8th September National

Regatta medal in a medics-only gig (boat) as a 4th year

medical student; conducted a fundraising kayak event for

a girl with cerebral palsy by going round Malta in his

kayak in record time in 2008 - his third time round Malta

since 2000. As a younger doctor, he represented Malta at

football Medical World Cups on more than one occasion.

Already quite an impressive mouthful is it? And yet, he is

a man with very busy life who manages to insert every-

thing into something all of us have – a 7-day week with

24 hours in each day! So he is not a man privileged in

having extra time… He just prioritizes and schedules eve-

rything.

Continues on next page…...

13

Impossible is Nothing cont. In a few lines, this doctor is a Family Doctor working in

the community, Head of the University Department of

Public Health, President of the Malta Association of Pub-

lic Health Medicine (MAPHM) and President of Malta

Canoe Federation (he was also a pioneer of Canoe polo in

Malta). A one hour interview with Dr. Julian Mamo was

all I required to get an idea of how many things can possi-

bly to be done within an ordinary 7-day week.

Dr. Mamo started by telling me that if you want to get

things done, you have to appoint a time. That is… You

have to schedule it! I quote him in saying, “Jekk ikolli

cans [in English ‘If I find a time slot’] never happens.”

You have to give sports its importance. Once you schedule

it - keep it there!”

Dr. Mamo had this passion for sports since he was very

young. As a child, he used to play football with his father

in the weekends. Apart from football, he tried many other

sports as a student including fencing, running, tennis, and

of course canoeing. He emphasized in saying that chang-

ing sports is good so that you get a feel of what you like

most, because, as he said more than once, sport is fun.

Apart from enjoying sports, Dr. Mamo listed many other

beneficial aspects about sports, including that it releases

adrenaline, relieving stress and that it is one of the best

addictions you could have. Once you get used to it, you

will feel that something is missing if you skip a day or ses-

sion. Dr Mamo also referred to an event way back when he

was still a medical student. They had organised a football

league for the entire class and they also took part twice in

the National 8th September Regatta – once as University

team mixed as 3rd years and then as Medics only in 4th

year. In the former instance they lost but in the latter they

beat the Armed Forces, Banks, St. Aloysius and University

teams to become National Gig Racing Champions!

Of course, I was very curious in knowing how it was possi-

ble to do all the things he did, and still have time to study

and also get married. Dr. Mamo is a qualified medic, hav-

ing done a post-graduate University of London Masters

degree in Epidemiology and PhD… And doing the PhD

whilst working as a full time GP!

I also asked about his family and how much it meant to

him, to which he replied that, of course, his family is his

number one priority. However, he said that sport helps

him to be a better person for his family – here referring to

sports being a stress-blasting activity.

I finally concluded the interview by asking him if he had

any advice for us medical students who find it really hard

to get on the move. Here is his secret recipe:

- Seek out a sport you enjoy

- Sports is a way to meet new people – it is a social event

- Establish medium term sports goals so that you always

have something to give you that extra push

- Schedule it

- Have fun – It’s also good for you!

The start of the double 3Km race in 2007.Dr. Mamo is top of the photo, in the front seat of the red doubles. The German champions are in front in white ____________________________________________ Information sources: - Doctors as Athletes-Review & Commentary- Hershko-

witz, Melvin (Nov 2005)

- Doctor in the medals again as Tim Brabants follows up

with a bronze- By Brough Scott (August 2008)

- Photos provided by Dr. Julian Mamo

14

Pearls of Wisdom for exams

Dr. Ali on collagen… “THERE ARE ABOUT 20 TYPES OF COLLAGEN.... WHEN I WAS A STUDENT THERE WAS ONLY ONE.... BY THE TIME YOU DO YOUR EXAM THERE WILL BE MORE. SO WRITE WHATEVER NUMBER YOU LIKE!”

Mr. Karl German on the exodus of housemen: “THE WAY TO KEEP MALE MALTESE DOCTORS IN MALTA IS TO WAIT FOR THEM TO FIND A MALTESE

GIRLFRIEND. IF SHE WANTS TO STAY, HE STAYS. IN MALTESE WE SAY “IR-RAĠEL IR-RAS TAL-FAMILJA”, IMMA ĦA NGĦIDILKOM, IL-MARA L-GĦONQ TAL-FAMILJA GĦAX IDDAWWAR IR-RAS

FEJN TRID!”

(“THE MAN IS THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY”, BUT LET ME TELL YOU THIS, THE WOMAN IS THE NECK OF THE FAMILY BECAUSE SHE TURNS THE HEAD IN ANY DIRECTION SHE WANTS TO.)

Pawlu Coccus on microbes: “I LOVE MICRO-ORGANISMS, THEY ARE MY BREAD AND BUTTER, AND I MAKE A LIVING OFF THEM

AS WELL!”

Pawlu Coccus on antibiotics: “LITTLE DID THE ITALIANS KNOW THAT THE CEPHALOSPORINS WOULD RISE FROM FAECES TO FAME!”

A lesson from Prof. Albert Fenech: “AS THE BOYS WILL TELL YOU, WHEN SOMETHING’S HARD, IT’S MORE DIFFICULT TO BEND!”

Some advice from Dr. Michael Borg: “DON’T PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE ANTIMICROBIAL BASKET!”

For your entertainment a WHOLE page of priceless knowledge

Dr. Busuttil on haemtological disorders in pregnancy… “REMEMBER… DELIVERY IS A BLOODY PROCESS!”

15

CLASSIFIEDS

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Welch Allyn Diagnostic Set, hardly used, is being sold at €120. Please call on: 21438524/79288393. —————————–————————————————‐ Two Reister tuning forks (128 Hz and 256 Hz) and 1 Reister pinard, all in impeccable condition, for sale at the following prices: €15 per tuning fork (retail price €28.86) and €6 for the pinard (retail price €11.26). Any interested takers should send an email to joelleazzo@yahoo.com.

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16FIN