#joolsanswers

hey, so I've read quite a mix of fiction and non-fiction this year - here are a few of my favourites!

Non-fiction

How to survive a plague, David France - this follows the story of the HIV/AIDS outbreak and subsequent pandemic. As well as being historically accurate and providing clear information about the mechanics of the outbreak, it offers a more emotional and personal insight into the AIDS activism and outrage sparked by the slow response and recognition of the severity of the situation.

The gene, Siddddhartha Mukherjee - this popular science book offers a detailed history of the gene and its discovery, telling the story of how we have reached our current understanding of the concept of the ‘gene’. It also looks to the future, assessing the implications of utilising our comprehension of genetics, for the likes of eugenics and genetic diagnoses. Again, this book also provides a personal touch, as the author includes stories relating to genetics within his own family. Despite covering a lot of science, I found this very readable.

We have been harmonised, Kai Strittmatter - this is a comprehensive account of the current state of China’s ‘surveillance state’, detailing the shocking level of control and monitoring of citizens. Reading this immediately after I had read both Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World certainly put me on edge, as it wasn’t hard to draw several parallels between these dystopian fiction novels and the reality of the situation in China. This was hugely informative in providing insight into daily life for a citizen within China, and understanding the growing reach and power the Country has globally.

Fiction

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood - I was slightly late to the party in only reading this novel this summer - but just like the rest of the world I loved it! Prominent themes include women’s rights, religion and what it means to be an individual - all of which are still highly provoking and relevant in the current political climate; it was utterly gripping and I raced through it. 

The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt - sitting down to read this was daunting at first, being faced with over 800 pages, but I can safely say it’s worth it to press through. The coming-of-age story follows Theo from adolescence, when his mother tragically dies as a result of a bomb going off in an art gallery, through to adulthood. Theo leaves the museum having stolen a painting - ‘The Goldfinch’ - which he decides to keep - leading to increasing attachment to it, as well as developing guilt of holding its possession. I especially love the complex relationships Theo makes throughout, and the length of the book facilitates this in a way that a 300-and-something page book wouldn’t.

hi! this is a lot to answer but I’ll do my best! :D

How I study:

I take notes on my laptop during lectures, and make notes on any pre-reading or e-learning we are set. For tutorials I do a lot of reading before writing an essay. I usually make structured notes on the topic, then try and work these into an essay-structure before making a ‘proper’ plan and then writing it up. 

For exams, I will turn my lecture notes and notes from essays into “essay plans”. These plans are extensive, they are notes on the topic broadly (e.g. smooth muscle) and then I will use the relevant bits of that plan in a more specific question in the exam. I do this because the majority of my exams are essay-based for the first 3 years.

For my MCQ exams I use Anki(flashcard app) to make flashcards on common questions. This year my medic group also had a joint quizlet page and all added flashcards/questions to this bank for us all to use. 

I also like to use a range of studying methods: I will make notes, posters, mind-maps, flashcards.

I really like to condense and summarise my notes as well: I will take a 4 page essay plan and try and summarise it onto 2 sides, then 1 A4, then 1 flashcard etc. I find that this really helps solidify the information in my head.

Here’s a link to a post I did about different ways to study

Anatomy and physiology:

Learning anatomy is a bore! I have no quick fix to be honest with you. You just have to be consistent with it and don’t le it slip. I think with anatomy it is best to study little and often - read about a topic 10mins every day and that will do a lot if you keep it up!

There are anatomy flashcards you can get and use, as well as many other apps that you can get.

The website: teachmeanatomy is really good and I used that quite a lot in my first 2 years 

I find that diagrams help me loads in physiology - e.g. drawing out cells in the nephron when studying ion/electrolyte balance and ultrafiltration/reabsorption.  

How to balance studying and time off:

It is so important to work on your time management! It can be a good idea to schedule in time off into your planner to make sure that you don’t end up just working all day!

Make plans with friends. If your time off is just for you to be alone in your room then you may end up working just to fill the time you have available. If you make plans to meet X at Y and do Z, then you have to stick with that - plus you get to socialise and do nice things like go for coffee/to the cinema etc. too!

Joining societies can be a really good way to make sure you take time off. Sports training or orchestra rehearsals or committee meetings are all ‘commitments’ but are also time off (they should be fun anyway!) and time to socialise. There’s also the perk of the socials that societies put on.

Here’s a post I did on time management

Dealing with exam anxiety:

I have found that having a routine for the morning of an exam helps to calm me down. Doing the same thing can be cathartic - and it can make you a lot calmer going into the exam.

Rationalise yourself - this is easier said than done! But it is so so important to remember that academics and exams are not the be all and end all.

You still need down time during revision season, so make sure to schedule time-off. In exam season I will organise things to do with friends, as this distracts me most, not giving me the opportunity to get anxious (my friends really help with any anxiety I have - but you do what’s best for you - this might be sitting reading in a relaxing bath!)

Here’s a post I did on dealing with exam stress and anxiety

Here’s a post I did on what to do the night before an exam

Making new friends (while being an introvert):

This is really daunting - especially if you are a quiet and introverted person. I wouldn’t call myself an introvert (nor an extrovert) but I do find new environments and loads of new people pretty intimidating. I think the important thing is to force yourself out of your comfort zone, really make the extra effort to talk to people even if it feels awkward - they’re probably as nervous and awkward as you are!

When starting med school take comfort in the fact that everyone is in the same boat and they are all new to this too, and most likely know no-one else. You know that everyone in your med year has a common interest of enjoying learning about medicine - so that’s an easy conversation starter, then all the basics about where people are from etc. etc. and you’ll be chatting and making friends in no-time

Joining societies is a brill way to make friends - again you will all have a shared interest - so talk about that, and if it’s an activity then you will bond while doing that! I’d recommend giving anything you’re interested in a go, at least for a few sessions - worst comes to worst you can quit and there’s no repercussions of that so you might as well give it a go!

Hey! so I won’t lie I found the step up and learning curve for the first term pretty steep. The content difficulty was a step up from a-level but not mad mad hard. What I found more challenging was the speed at which we moved through content. Whereas at a-level you may spend a week of two of biology lessons going through the Krebs cycle and ATP generation/oxidative phosphorylation, you cover that in a lecture (or two) at uni.

Having said that, as with anything, you definitely get used to it with time. The first essay or bit of work you give in will be the hardest and take you the longest - and that’s understandable! You’ve never worked at uni level until you get to uni so there’s always going to be a period of adjustment. But you learn to work more efficiently and you’ll get on top of work in no time. Also remember that everyone else is in the same boat - they're all starting uni at the same time as you and finding their feet too!

living that isolation life tryna to simultaneously start yoga, meditation, writing poetry, keep a journal, bake daily, run and get my mandatory state approved exercise in, pick up a new instrument, complete a 1000 piece jigsaw, start painting again, and revise for finals 

ahhh!! omg that’s absolutely amazing congratulations, it’s such a huge achievement to get an offer!! thank you for following this blog for so long, and I hope the tips were even a lil helpful!

hi there :) I assume you are referring to the post I reblogged about what it would look like if we removed men from political photographs. This was not a stand from me expressing that I “hate men” but merely a post I saw on my feed that I thought was interesting. 

Photoshopping men out of those political photos just highlighted the sheer dominance of men in positions of political power - the photos shows the house of commons nearly empty and a photo with a group of political leaders with only Angela Merkel left. This isn’t to say that any of the men in those photos shouldn’t or don’t deserve to be there, but rather to state that more women should be! I saw that post as an inspirational and motivational one for women - one that I hope inspires women to want to reach those powerful positions.

I wasn’t making a stand as someone who wants a matriarchy - not by a long way - but as a woman I do want to see more women in positions of power in the government, and more widely in society. I would hate to think of myself as sexist, and with the connotations and trends would even hesitate to say I’m a feminist (in fear of getting comments like this ask!)