Whooah, We’re Halfway There

So, I got my degree classification today and it’s a 2:1! I managed it! I don’t know the breakdown yet, but I managed to average 71 in coursework before my end of year exams. PHEW!

Nom

I finally got my application in for my MSc the day on Tuesday, so now I wait. I’m fairly hopeful because I have the two references required, and the 2:1 required.

That is a massive relief.

Oh, I had my HIV/hepatitis test back after I got blood in my eye. I passed it. Thankfully I’m clear 🙂

In terms of shifts I’ve had since January, there’ve been no major incidents (for me at least! Two of my colleagues had a very tricky shift a few weeks ago). I did an all night rave about a month ago and there wasn’t as much action as I’d hoped, we did send a couple to hospital though…one of whom was a code brown.

I’ll let you know when I hear about my MSc!

 

 

 

 

A reminder of some the fun jobs an event medic could get to do!

Term properly underway, now it get serious

I’m sitting in the first aid room six hours into a ten hour shift, nice and quiet thus far…one wasp sting…exciting stuff.

I’ve had my first few weeks of lectures – not missed one yet! Pretty interesting stuff, and I’m doing okay academically, but I need to stick to The Plan bit better.  May as well go ahead and say I’m studying philosophy…there are a good few thousand philosophy students in this country! Philosophy of language is veerrryyy hard to get your head round; Frege’s puzzle and the metalinguistic solution anybody? First coursework is due in 15 days, and it’s on Frege.

In other news, I had that meeting with the Neuroscience MSc coordinator. I think it was generally positive, but he wasn’t too thrilled with my results last year…I’m hoping that I’ll receive an offer conditional on a 2:1 which is very doable. When I asked him what I’d need to get in, he said a 2:1 and two good references, and I think I can do that. My big problem at the moment is my personal statement, I’m first drafting it at the moment and the content has to be so concentrated and drivel-free that it’s tricky to fill it up. Advice is welcome 😉

Choir is going pretty well, if you listen out next year, you may hear us on Radio 4…AND my money for directing it should arrive at some point!

I have my SJA advanced course next month! Which if I pass will qualify me to use Entonox (nos/nitrous oxide/laughing gas) and oxygen and that could be hilariously fun.  On the subject of SJA training…I’ll be leading training for 60 freshers in CPR this week which is a little bit terrifying.

Also considering applying for an HCA post one day a week…it’s a lot of effort, but if I get it there’s bank work

No-hoper

Fun fact for the day #3 For severely overweight patients, apparently, hospital have to use scanners from the zoo

Freshers’ Week at an end

Phew, massively busy week is over.

In the middle of tidying my room after little sleep due to a small St John Ambulance event last night in which at one point we had two NHS ambulance crews there at the same time helping us out. 

Since I last posted I’ve been on two freshers’ stalls’; the SJA one which always does well, and the choir one…which this year more than doubled its sign-ups with me in charge! We’ve had two events since then and while we’ve just about managed to pull both off, I’ve found out just how stressful trying to run and coordinate a student society is.

In other news, I now have a meeting with the MSc Neuroscience course coordinator next week! I’m very excited, but also slightly brain dead, as I suggested a time when I have a lecture…very stupid; I knew my lecture times when I responded to his email, it just didn’t compute.

Wednesday night was my only drunken night out this freshers’; I guess I’m getting a bit old. It was great fun and I caught up with people who I haven’t seen for months, two of whom then had to crash in my lounge. But I’m very proud of the fact that I got in and got to bed after 3 and I was in Uni the next day before 10 ready for the rehearsal I was leading.

Right, the plan is to get my room shipshape by the end of today and then starting reading for this week’s lectures tomorrow.

No-hoper

Dissertation

I’ve had my dissertation title approved! I’m hoping it’ll appeal to the Neuroscience MSc admissions tutor. This is what it’s on:

(1) Is there any reason (from neuroscience?) to think that the actions we think of as voluntary, intentional, or otherwise ‘up to us’, are in fact not?

(2) If the answer to (1) is yes, then how would that affect our assessment of agents’ moral responsibility in action?

 

I.e. are we in control? Interesting, right? There’s a lot of crossover with Neuroscience! Should be a fascinating year. Nerdy, I know

 

Plusplusplus I’ve realised I only need 64 this year to get a 2:1!

 

Nighty night!

No-hoper

 

The Plan

I have it all planned out – how to get into medical school, that is. I’m going into my final year as a humanities undergrad in England and in order to get the necessary for life 2:1 overall, I need to get c. 65. this year…yes I’m lazy, but I was also working three days a week last year and volunteering in two different places (where, you ask? A neurology ward and St John Ambulance). This year, I’ve changed jobs and now work as an event first aider for a private medical company which is fairly awesome; it pays more; you barely do any work (which gives you the chance to study), and when you do work it’s fascinating – for example, on Friday I was working with an ambulance tech and we nebulised a kid with severe asthma who had difficulty breathing.

Anyway, back to the plan. Once/if I get my 2:1, rather than a Desmond 2:2, no one wants a Desmond, I’m hoping to go to one of the recently announced world’s best universities to study for an MSc in Neuroscience. And while going from a humanities subject to an MSc in Neuroscience does seem a little crazy; a friend of mine has a similar first degree and is going on to this MSc starting in the next few weeks, and when I rang their admissions tutor, she made positive noises. Apart from the MSc being fascinating, it’ll hopefully be a springboard to a grad medical course, and in the very very very long term it’ll be useful in getting a job as a doctor.

Apart from the whole, getting a 2:1, getting on the MSc course and then getting into medicine, the biggest problem I will face with the MSc is money, but I plan to do the MSc part time, which will involve one day a week of contact time at uni for two years, and the plan at this point will be to do a £500 5 day ’emt’ course which will up my pay to around £12/h and let me support my dream.

Tonight I’m officially allowing myself to start the plan. I’ll be in my venue’s first aid room for another couple of hours, I’ll go home, go to sleep and then wake up to the beginning of year III’s Freshers’ week and hopefully the beginning of the end of my student loan.

Much love,

No-hoper