Sunday 31 March 2013
Wednesday 20 March 2013
Air Polution & Public Health
Nowadays,
almost everyone drives a car to arrive at work. We also use electricity to
power almost everything in our lives: fridges, computers, cell phones, and a
whole lot more.
“But this electricity has to come from some place,” you may think, and indeed,
the electricity you consume is most often generated through the stoking of
fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coals. We also burn fossil fuels in
factories to create other products. But oil, gas and coals aren’t the only
source of energy we’ve got: nuclear power plants generate electricity through
allowing radioactive materials to react with each other under tightly regulated
conditions. Aside from these sources of energy, there are also several sources
of energy which generate power which is considered ‘green’ and ‘clean’ – wind,
solar and bio-fuel are amongst them.
But even
though more ‘green’ sources of energy are becoming available, most of our
electricity is still being generated by fossil fuel plants and nuclear
reactors. Even then, air pollution is not solely caused by the burning of fuel.
And while we know there are certain health risks involved, we often choose to
turn a blind eye to them…
Tuesday 19 March 2013
Tick Removal Hoax
One of my friends recently contacted me regarding tick-removal techniques. He noticed someone reposting a certain picture/status post promoting a very wrong tick removal technique: coating the little critter with soap.This is so wrong on so many levels.
First, Facebook. While some Facebook-users may be true geniuses and their status updates truly helpful, a whole lot of Facebook-users is in fact dumber than the back-end of a cow. It's up to you to decide which post contains helpful information and which post is absolute gibberish.
Second, coating ticks with soap, alcohol and anything else is a very bad idea if you value your health. In the Dutch First Aid curriculum, we're taught to remove the tick using tweezers and not to rub ANYTHING onto the little pest.
Shame on you if you decide to paint your tick with soap, alcohol or anything else. Even high school-going children know not to drown a tick in whatever funky goo you wish to smear on it.
Rubbing anything onto the little creature might cause it to release extra saliva. Its saliva may contain pathogens, causing lyme disease or any other tickborne disease.
If anything, you don't want it to pump more pathogens into your body.
DON'T COAT THE STUPID TICK WITH NAIL POLISH, PETROLEUM JELLY OR ANYTHING ELSE!
First, Facebook. While some Facebook-users may be true geniuses and their status updates truly helpful, a whole lot of Facebook-users is in fact dumber than the back-end of a cow. It's up to you to decide which post contains helpful information and which post is absolute gibberish.
Second, coating ticks with soap, alcohol and anything else is a very bad idea if you value your health. In the Dutch First Aid curriculum, we're taught to remove the tick using tweezers and not to rub ANYTHING onto the little pest.
Shame on you if you decide to paint your tick with soap, alcohol or anything else. Even high school-going children know not to drown a tick in whatever funky goo you wish to smear on it.
Rubbing anything onto the little creature might cause it to release extra saliva. Its saliva may contain pathogens, causing lyme disease or any other tickborne disease.
If anything, you don't want it to pump more pathogens into your body.
DON'T COAT THE STUPID TICK WITH NAIL POLISH, PETROLEUM JELLY OR ANYTHING ELSE!
Saturday 16 March 2013
AMC-UvA Selections Part 1A
Hello y'all!
Today, I participated in the first rounds of the med school entrance exams of the University of Amsterdam.
The test was designed in a way that no one could have prepared him/herself for it, although this is not completely true..
The entrance exam consisted of 40 questions and a curriculum vitae to be filled in in about 2,5hrs.
I'm not sure if I did well or not, but I later found out that I'd correctly answered some of the questions.
I especially seemed to do well on the radiology/diagnosis questions, in which they presented me with an X-ray or CT scan of a patient, along with a question regarding the image.
I've had no training or whatsoever, but it seems like reading scans and x-rays seems to come to me naturally.
(Not to mention I spend some part of my spare time staring at cases and diagnoses for fun. In a way, I have had some training..)
Now, this doesn't mean that you'll have to focus on radiology if you're trying to enter med school. The questions will be different, every single time.
I merely found that my earlier exposure to radiology & diagnosis really helped me through some of the questions.
Having dealt with Threat & Protection I, in which we dealt with pathogens and immune responses, also immensely helped me through several questions.
If I happen to post a question of the entrance exam online, I'll probably get my ass sued, so I'm not going to post any questions, although I might cover some topics..
Wish me luck, as I'll hear of the results in a couple of weeks.
My chances of passing this test may be as low as 28%, as about 1450 people signed up, and only 420 or so will advance to the next tests.
If I did pass this round, I'll be subjected to a final series of tests in June..
Today, I participated in the first rounds of the med school entrance exams of the University of Amsterdam.
The test was designed in a way that no one could have prepared him/herself for it, although this is not completely true..
The entrance exam consisted of 40 questions and a curriculum vitae to be filled in in about 2,5hrs.
I'm not sure if I did well or not, but I later found out that I'd correctly answered some of the questions.
I especially seemed to do well on the radiology/diagnosis questions, in which they presented me with an X-ray or CT scan of a patient, along with a question regarding the image.
I've had no training or whatsoever, but it seems like reading scans and x-rays seems to come to me naturally.
(Not to mention I spend some part of my spare time staring at cases and diagnoses for fun. In a way, I have had some training..)
Now, this doesn't mean that you'll have to focus on radiology if you're trying to enter med school. The questions will be different, every single time.
I merely found that my earlier exposure to radiology & diagnosis really helped me through some of the questions.
Having dealt with Threat & Protection I, in which we dealt with pathogens and immune responses, also immensely helped me through several questions.
If I happen to post a question of the entrance exam online, I'll probably get my ass sued, so I'm not going to post any questions, although I might cover some topics..
Wish me luck, as I'll hear of the results in a couple of weeks.
My chances of passing this test may be as low as 28%, as about 1450 people signed up, and only 420 or so will advance to the next tests.
If I did pass this round, I'll be subjected to a final series of tests in June..
Saturday 2 March 2013
AMC-UvA Selections Part 0
Amsterdam's teaching hospital (AMC) invited me to the first rounds of their Med School Entrance Exams :)
Good news: I can't get lost, as part of the participants, including me, gets to write their exams at my current (at the time me writing this) university.
Bad news: Approximately 1300 people are participating. Only 260 or so students can be selected through this exam.
But there's no turning back now! I can only hope for the best. Wish me luck! <3
 |
| AMC-UvA Med School Entrance Exam Invitation! |
Bad news: Approximately 1300 people are participating. Only 260 or so students can be selected through this exam.
But there's no turning back now! I can only hope for the best. Wish me luck! <3
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