AMC-UvA Selections Part 2C

So, several weeks ago, I worked my ass off to get into med school. I struggled through the interviews, read the chapters/articles twice or thrice, summarized the chapters/articles at least once, went through the lecture slides at least twice, and kicked butt at the multiple-choice exam.

My preparations weren't in vain: I passed.
My rank no. is within the highest quartile.
So all in all, I scored pretty well.
If all goes well, I'll be studying medicine next year :D
I've got several months to enjoy my life before drowning in lectures and course materials.

But it's going to be so worth it..

Measles

Now there's an outbreak of measles in the Netherlands, I've got a reason to blog about.. Measles.
So far, 30 people have been lab-confirmed to have measles. Most, if not all, of these people live in the Dutch 'bible belt', a region in the Netherlands where many people do not have their children vaccinated for religious reasons.[1][2][3]

The last measles outbreak in the Netherlands was in 1999/2000, and yes, this was in the very same bible belt region.[1][2][3]
One way or another, this once again proves that vaccinations can be quite useful.

Measles is a highly contagious disease which generally affects children. One sick person may infect about 10 or more people.[1]
For those of you studying epidemics: its reproductive rate Ro is about 13, which is remarkably high. (The reproductive rate for smallpox is only 6 or so, go figure how contagious measles really is..)
Because of their weaker immune systems, malnourished children are at risk of dying, but even in the Netherlands, children have been known to die because of measles.

Bacterial/Viral/Fungal/Parasitic: Viral
Causative agent: Rubeola
Incubation time: about 2 days
Antibiotics of choice: - 
Antivirals of choice: -
Toxins / Factors: - 
Bioterrorism agent category: ? (I think it sucks..)
Vaccine available: Yes
[4]

AMC-UvA Selections Part 2B

Now that the selections week is over, it's time to get back to my regular activities. Sadly, this includes studying for Methodology I. I have so much work to do, yet I'm still blogging.. What's wrong with me?

For those of you wondering if I really, really can't spill any details: no. I really am not allowed to spill any details, partly because of patient confidentiality.

All in all, I truly loved last week. It was both challenging and exhausting, if not a bit stressing as well. Blame the interviews for being the major stressor.
But I'd gladly do this again if I could.
I still think this was much more fun than Health and Life Sciences, but hey, that might be me. I love studying diseases much more than studying healthcare management.
Now I just have to wait for the results - just little less than 3 weeks and I'll know if I'll become a doctor or not.

Let's hope I'll be among the 61% of those to get into med school.

AMC-UvA Selections Part 2A

Today I attended the first part of the final rounds for the entrance exams - a 2.5hr lecture.
It was so awesome..

I also got the materials I need for the Friday's test (the final rounds consist of a lecture about X topic, multiple mini interviews and an exam about the lecture and the studying materials handed to us).
It's about 16 pages long, and I have about 4 days left to study for the test.

I'm not allowed to disclose the contents of the lecture, the study materials, the interviews or the test, so the coming posts about the final rounds will be ridiculously short. You better try elsewhere :)

16 pages, 4 days. Challenge accepted.