URGO

Launching our new website

better than moodle!

2014; 87:2

How To Solve a Problem Like Ebola

ALSO FEATURING
SSCs
Conict and Health
Horoscopes
Competition
App of the Month

Quote of the Month

The scrotum or as it is known
colloquially, the
bawbag - contains the
testes.
Dr. Sarah Mackay

Autumn Edition

2014

Are you in your final year

at medical school and
need help preparing
for the Situational
Judgement Test (SJT)?
MPS has worked
alongside Medical
Educator to offer free
online revision to all our
members.

If you are already a member you can access

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The Medical Protection Society is the
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than290,000 members around the world.

If you are not yet a member, medical students can join MPS completely FREE.
Dont miss out sign up today at www.joinmps.org
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Editors Welcome

Wow. This ones a real page-turner! We have again

provided you a feast of articles to get your teeth into. I
know its late for you 2nd years but Trung and James
have given you the low-down on SSCs to hopefully
clear some things up (NB. Surgo is not responsible for
any poor SSC choices). Following this, Dr Catriona

Whats Inside

Page

Student Selective
Components

The Do's and

Don'ts of FY1

Horoscopes

COVER STORY
How to Solve a
Problem Like
Ebola

The Art of
Queueing

Ode To Freshers

Bamford (an actual, legit doctor) has imparted her

wisdom on how to survive FY1. If you are a believer,
then Michaela has interpreted the heavens for you with
her horoscopes; but this has nothing on her scathing
attack on Western societies handling of the Ebola crisis
(well worth a read). Also, Dan has enlightened us with
his hard-fought lessons on how to survive the MedChir
queue. There are details on medic societies, a selection
of pics from nights out and the poems from Ode to
Freshers Week for your viewing pleasure! And to
round it all off Jamie tries to sell us an iPad app.
Enjoy!

FACT
The hyoid bone is the
only bone not attached to
any other

Editor
Tom Baddeley
Editor
Tom Baddeley

Affiliated Societies

11

MedChir Photos

13

App of the Month

15

Surgo
Assistant
Editor
Surgo
Production
Editor
Ella Bennett
Rory Quinn

Surgo Finance Editor

Surgo Arts Editor
Michaela Jewson
Jenna Woods

Surgo
Assistant Editor
Surgo
Production
Editor
Rory
Quinn
Ella Bennett

Surgo Arts Editor

Surgo Finance Editor

Jenna Woods
Michaela Jewson

Autumn Edition

by Trung Ton
A man who knows his Balls. Trung is a maestro
intent on world domination, From one rhythmic
celebration ritual to the next!

Paediatrics/Obs & Gyn/Neonatal

There will be many of you who have
decided you want to dive into these
specialities and this is a great way to get first
hand experience before 5th year. Most people
come out of these SSCs feeling very broody
after delivering their first baby or saving the
life of an 8 week premature neonate.
Non-medical
Fancy yourself a historian or artist? Maybe
learning Spanish or French is your thing? Or
scaling the walls of Glasgow Climbing Centre
is what youre interested in?
These SSCs are a great way to escape those
medical textbooks and make you more
cultured.
Usually found in a second year SSC, there are
always the odd ones in the older years such as
Remember, there is art in medicine.
Language SSCs maybe useful for those
future electives to Cuba, but they definitely
arent a walk in the park!
Slice and dice!
For those surgery lovers, there is a great
range of options for you! From Orthopods to
Plastics you will find most surgical specialties
covered.
These can be highly competitive so choose
your other options carefully.
But the consultants will have you scrubbing
in and assisting in no time, I even got to
suture some folk up! (The surgeon quickly
removed them and showed me how to do it
correctly.)
Revision aids
So there might be a few SSCs that look quite
boring, but if they is based on something
which will come up in your exam youll be
laughing!
ECGs and Radiology are loved by examiners
and you will find them handy come revision
time. Even if it is a speciality that youre not
too handy at, give it a go and it wont be the
end of the world if it appears in an MEQ.

2014

Student Selected
Student Selected Components are pretty much a
blessing in your 5 years here. They act as a five-week
period for you to delve deeper into an area of medicine
or surgery that you are potentially interested in, but
equally give you the opportunity to relax and take a
bit of a slower pace throughout the year. However, in
saying that, it all really depends on what you pick, as
some can be far more intense than others. Once you
get to second year you have the chance to pick from a
list of SSCs that the med school puts up online. Its
difficult to advise on which to pick, but my advice
would be to read the information that the supervisor
provides, and ask people in the years above for their
opinion. It would be too difficult to list them all here,
but weve highlighted a few than we think struck the
right balance.

its really down to you, in case student

selected wasnt clear enough
In early years (unless things have changed), SSCs
tend to be more pre-clinical. You can opt for a whole
number of eccentrically named projects. And as you
get further along in third and forth year, although
many SSCs change from year to year, more
opportunities open up for you. You get the chance to
commit to further research, or more badass stuff like
neuroanaesthesia & paediatric emergencies.
Alternatively, you can go the other way; picking a
more relaxed, meandering SSC, that includes a
handful of lectures and a lot of free weekdays. Its
really down to you in case student selected wasnt
clear enough. Usually (not always, but usually) you
should be prepared to write an essay around the
general theme of your SSC at the end of your block.
The essay topics can be chosen by you, but if youre
feeling particularly lazy ask your supervisor for
suggestions. With good support, and an enthusiastic

Autumn Edition

Components
supervisor, you could end up with an essay or audit
that could put you in good stead when it comes to
applying for FY1 jobs, as publications count towards
your overall score. For many, audit and research
projects are the last things you would be considering,
but sometimes they just pay off. A few friends of mine
used an MRI scanner to investigate how chocolate
changed your brain chemistry; and they even managed
to get to present it at a conference in Brazil. Not too
shabby.
There are, in fact, a fair few to chose from, but if none
really take your fancy and youre pro-active, you could
just propose your own. I cant speak from experience,
but can imagine it to be a bit of a ball-ache, what with
risk assessments and finding an ideal supervisor. If
you can find a supervisor to take you and a project
that could be half decent, youre well on your way to
self proposing. I do know a couple of people who
chose to do a running SSC. Sorry: The physiological
adaptions of the human body following
cardiopulmonary exercise to give it its full title. Best
thing about it you make your own timetable. Just as
long as you get that essay in, and it isnt just a
youtube video of you in a headband getting a sweat
on, youre pretty much golden.
Its difficult to give advice on which SSCs to choose
and not choose. The bottom line would be to pick
something youre all-together interested in, otherwise
it will make for a pretty dull five weeks. Also, balance
it with a timetable that suits you. Lets be honest, if it
sounds pretty intense, its probably going to be pretty
intense.

by James Divest Tadjkarimi

Scholar, freedom fighter and SSC
veteran

2014
Psych, Psych and more psych!

If you love the weird and wonderful world

of psychiatrics, this one is for you! You will
meet some of the most interesting patients
(and doctors) you will encounter in medical
school.
However you wont find this SSC in the
comforts of the Western or Royal, so be
prepared to travel to the deep, dark areas of
Glasgow (a car is usually recommended).
CV builders
Take your time to read what the assessment
for your SSC may be. There are always
chances to be part of an audit or even getting
published. Many people in the past have gone
onto presenting at a conferenceeven (as
James mentioned) in exotic locations such as
Brazil!
The Self-Proposal (3rd & 4th year)
Finally! The medical school have given you
free reign to do what you wanna do!
Your own very ticket to by-pass the SSC
menu - possibly the biggest gamble of your
medical school career
This is the perfect way to choose a specialty
you want to do. I have self proposed my SSC
in both of these years and have thoroughly
enjoyed every bit of it. However, there is a
down side to this method. The supervisors
who have chosen to be part of the menu are
keen to have students. Self proposed
supervisors do try their best to be interested
in you, but they have their jobs to do as well
and you may get left on the side a bit.

In conclusion, really try to enjoy your SSC.

It is a great way to gain experience in areas of
medicine that the medical school do not
offer, and strive to get something out of it. Be
tactical with your menu choices and dont
just put something down because you had
to fill your 6th spot. At the end of the day its
only five weeks now but it might well
influence your career in the future.

Autumn Edition

The Dos
and Donts
of Foundation Year 1
Surgo has
interviewed a recent
Glasgow graduate,
Dr Catriona Bamford
who has recently
moved into F2. We
asked her to give us
the low-down on her
1irst year of practice.
Having spent it
working in Forth
Valley Royal, she has
gained a wide range
of experience.

2014
you. If you have a question dont hesitate to
ask it. Although, I would say that if you think
an FY1 should know the answer, go and ask a
fellow FY1 before bringing it to your senior.
What advice would you give a prospective FY1?
For all Glasgow students I cannot stress
how important it is to attend the Preparation
for Practice. Use this time to understand how
an FY1 copes with the workload and
prioritises tasks. Once you are done with
1inals, you dont need to hit the books, just go
to P4P and enjoy your summer of freedom!
One of the tricks I learnt was to bring
brownies on your 1irst day, the nurses will
love you and they will help you out during
your time on the ward. Dont forget most of
the nurses have been on the ward for years
and they know whats what. Finally, dont
worry about not getting your entire job list
done; youll learn to prioritise your work.
How was the social life?

So lets start with an easy question, were you

prepared for the reality of FY1?
Well thanks to the Preparation For Practice
course post-1inals, I was given an insight into
the day-to-day running of the ward before I
got there. Spending the whole day on the
ward, rather than just popping in for teaching,
was so useful and I would advise all 5th years
to spend as much time as possible shadowing
the FY1 they get allocated. One of the things I
was not prepared for was the sheer amount of
paperwork; it becomes the bane of your life!
However, it is all needed and is important to
get correct. Also, it takes time to become used
to the computer systems. It can be super
frustrating to try to print a discharge letter
and not knowing how to do it.
What is the most important thing for an FY1 to
remember?
I would say that every FY1 must remember
that they are the most junior member of a
team and that support is always available to

Well, that was one of the biggest changes. I

went from being able to go out whenever I
wanted (due to a lack of responsibility) to no
nights out during the week at all. You
obviously cannot turn up on the ward with a
hangover when you are responsible for
patients. Plus, for the 1irst few months, you
come home exhausted and dont want to do
anything other than eat and sleep. This is
totally normal so dont beat yourself up over
it. However, it is nice to get paid for your work
and this makes you make the most of your
annual leave. Most of my friends managed to
go travelling as you can always 1ind someone
else who is free to join you.
What was your highlight of FY1?
It might seem funny, but now that I have
1inished it is fantastic to see how far I have
come. The 1inal few months were great and I
got into the swing of working, managing each
day well. However, after you are done with
FY1 you move on to new challenges as an FY2,
which thankfully you are more prepared for!

www.surgoglasgow.com

HOROSCOPES

Autumn Edition

2014

by Michaela
Capricorn

Sagittarius

A desire for justice has

had you holding many a
demonstration, let this be your
month to save-the-bees. Then
SumOfUs can finally live in peace
(and stop sending me emails which
I 100% unsubscribed from cough cough - I mean saw
from the stars)

Aquarius

Your rebellious streak

has got you into trouble
before. Not signing into the
library after hours every
day this month?! Calm
down you animal!!!

Thirst for challenges

has really got you into a
pickle this month. Was it
really worth the pint to talk
at full volume for a full 20
seconds on level 5 of the
library?!

Pisces

Pisceans are just so deep

man, I mean like if you drop
soap on the floor is the floor
clean or the soap dirty...

Aries
Uranus is in your 4th
house. I feel this problem
may be beyond the help of a
GP. Ask for a specialist
referral.

Libra
Embrace the scales
this month. Try
announcing your weight at
the gym, in the supermarket or
on Byres road, and make sure
you pick the perfect person to
make eye contact with
whilst doing so.

Scorpio
With great power comes great
responsibility. As much as
being chair in PBL is
important, there is no
need for capital
punishment.

Virgo

Things are looking

up for Virgo. In an
unexpected twist, all of
your flatmates are out when
you get back from Viper and
havent hidden in your
wardrobe to scare your
new friend away.

Taurus

The planets have

aligned, things should go
well for you this month.
Who knows?! You may even
stop getting Gunther on the
Which Friends cast
member are you?
Buzzfeed Quiz.

Gemini

Your star signs disdain

for boredom has led you to
this place, now only two
tubs of butter and a good
shove can get you out.

Leo
A red moon rises, its
time to reassess your life. As
much as you may pride yourself
in sculpting your pubes with a
delicacy of pruning a bonsai tree,
doing it with your flatmates
kitchen scissors is not
acceptable. Even if they
drank the last of the
milk.

Cancer

Your insistence on
lateral movement has lead
you to the edge of a
precipice. Unfortunately,
with your eyes facing
forwards, you may not
see it in time!

www.surgoglasgow.com

FACT
Everyone has a
unique tongue
print

Autumn Edition

OTHER ORPHAN
DISEASES

2014

How to Solve a Problem Like

any disease for which the cost of

drug development and making a drug
available will not be recoverable by
sales of the drug
For reference: Ebola= 10,000 cases

CHAGAS DISEASE
15 million infected
parasitic protozoa
debilitating chronic symptoms
treatment with antiprotozoals

CYSTICEROSIS
100 million infections
tapeworm infection of the CNS
epilepsy and hydrocephalus
spread by humans and pigs
treatable

DENGUE FEVER
100 million infections/year
flavivirus spread by A aegypti
high fever + flu symptoms
no treatment

You would have to be living in a cave,

Ebola virus are horrifying. Its

under a rock, or in the middle of a

hard not to feel some urge to

desert not to have heard the mass

help in any way we possibly can.

outcry and worldwide worry about

But what can we do? Whats

the Ebola virus. How much is known

most important to give? Money?

about the virus and what is being

Expertise? Organisation?

done to help those affected and or stop

Security? I dont have the

its spread?

answers; even the internet

doesnt seem to have the

NHS choices defines Ebola as:

answers. I cant tell you what

a serious, usually fatal, disease

will help, but I can tell you one

for which there are no licensed

thing; your sympathy isnt going

treatments or vaccines and adds:

to stop the Ebola epidemic.

for people living in countries

Worrying about the one case so

outside Africa, it continues to be

far in Europe isnt going to stop

a very low threat. The virus

it either.

spreads via contact with an

ELEPHANTIASIS

infected person or their bodily

It seems like the world is at a

120 million affected (40

million with deformities)

fluids, so it follows that those

loss as to how to best provide

trying to help fight the disease

help. People are worrying about

lifelong lymphoedema
caused by filarasis nematode

are most likely to be infected.

the spread to their own country,

treatable with antihelminthics

Once caught, the disease can

but cant seem to begin to

have a 90% death rate and we

contemplate the preventable

currently have no proven cures,

suffering going on in West Africa

only supportive treatment.

at the moment. The prevailing

ONCHOCERCIASIS
aka River Blindness
37 million infected with filarial
infection by blackfly
blindness, lesions and
depigmentation
no treatment

attitude in the news seems to be

The WHO had reported 9936

stopping the spread to other

Ebola cases, and 4877 deaths, up

countries. This is an important

to the 20th October. This is a

goal, but not the most important.

horrifying statistic. The news

390,000 people signed the

reports of the symptoms of the

petition to save the life of the

www.surgoglasgow.com

Autumn Edition

THE EBOLA
2014
TIMELINE
DAY 0-6
the hangover stage

dog of a woman infected by

this article because I wanted to

Ebola in Spain. By comparison,

do some research into what we

150,000 people have signed a

in the UK could do to help those

petition urging the Food and

suffering in Guinea, Liberia and

Drug Administration to fast-track

Sierra Leone. It turns out our

research on a potential vaccine

government has already pledged

and treatment for Ebola. The

money to the cause and many

cartoon (above) makes a similar

NHS workers have signed up to

point; the suffering of those far

go and organise teams of

away is no less, just because it is

untrained volunteers abroad, all

distant from us.

that is needed is a push to bring

these promises into a reality. So

So far only 26% of the

what I would advise is to put

estimated 988 million dollars

pressure on the government to

necessary to stop Ebola in its

fulfil their promise. Never have

DAY 6-12

tracks has been given. We need

we had more ways to lobby:

to start raising money and raising

Facebook, Twitter, email and

the massive internal

awareness, not only of the virus,

even hand-scribed letters. I

but of the steps needed to

believe this is the only way we

combat it. Many countries have

can help.

made pledges to give money, but

the reality is that money has not
yet come into fruition. I wrote

by Michaela Jewson
a.k.a miss Moneypenny (finance for Surgo). Currently
doing an intercalated year in women and childrens health
www.surgoglasgow.com

haemorrhage stage

Autumn Edition

2014

The Art of Queueing

Queue: Radh, Prestaskaro, O, einreihen, La cola, ulayini, Ilara, k,
All the greatest places in the world have queues that have to be
navigated: Wimbledon, Alton Towers, The Rungrado 1st of May
Stadium (Pyongyang) and of course Thursday night MedChir events.
Weve all been there; Its 8:00pm on a dreich Thursday evening,
youve just paid one of MedChirs beautiful committee members at
the door of one of MedChirs wonderful events and youre buzzing to
get your bev on. You push through the heavy oaken doors of the
GUUs dining room only to find that theres a massive horde of
already inebriated medics blocking your way to your refreshing pint of
(free) Tenants thats waiting for you behind the bar. Damn! Say hello
to the mildly alcoholic medics worst enemy the infamous MedChir
beer* queue.
After spending the majority of my Thursday nights over the last 3
years scheming to beat the MedChir drink queue, I feel I am in some
sort of position to impart my years of wisdom onto the next
generation.

by Daniel Rhodri
Taylor-Sweet
The man from the
historical capital of
Wales (?Ludlow) has a
keen interest in craft
sausages, danger-can
and rolling up the
sleeves of his t shirts

I present to you my handy 5-point guide to effectively navigating the

drink queue on Thursday nights.
ing asked
urs of my life be
ho
ng
di
en
sp
r
te
picked
, af
g?, Have you
medic small talk
on
st
al
be
ng
ur
tti
yo
ge
g
L
rin
PB
B
and
1.
rather intrusive
on?, hows your
e
u
es
yo
th
e
ar
to
t
s
en
er
m
what place
d expert answ
ank refuse to
ld be to point bl
t? Ive develope
ou
ye
w
e
u
tiv
yo
ec
to
el
ce
ur
s medic
vi
yo
the overly zealou
questions. My ad
ct
ru
ne
st
da
In
.
un
m
ns
tio
ht
ig
es
qu
d slide
downr
medicine related
re medic chat an
y
di
r
an
ei
th
ng
ki
of
as
n
tio
ne
bu
talk anyo
pint in retri
to long arm their
nt of T.
speaking to you
closer to your pi
on
rs
pe
ne
O
.
em
swiftly past th
2.
As you step past the
dripping wet gunner
smooth Tennants aw
and closer to the glo
aiting your lips, you
riously
may be lucky enough
certain Mr D.P.H Orr.
to bump into a
Mr Orr is a bit of an
institution within MedC
that is Desmond Partic
hir. The enigma
k Hamilton Orr will keep
you occupied for hour
his witty stories and hig
s on end with
hly stimulating intellec
tual conversation. Born
Lisbon (Portugal) to Ba
circa 1987 in
ngladeshi immigrants
he soon developed a
set of skills that led
very particular
to him being selected
to sing backing voca
eponymous album. He
ls for Keanes
currently spends the
majority of his time ba
his weekly cake stall ou
kin
g cakes for
tside the QM (#wehave
morecakes), driving his
right-hand drive diabe
reverse only
tic screening van arou
nd Partick (providing
service to the commun
an invaluable
ity) and caring for his
ileostomy. Go on, ind
probably be one of the
ulg
e him itll
best conversations of
your hour.

WARNING
*Anyone who drinks Old English or orders a cider black, please? is not worthy of my
advice and should turn to the next article.
www.surgoglasgow.com

Autumn Edition

3.
Much like our brave bo
ys and girls in the Gu
one may begin to ex
lf (petrol station),
perience queue fatigu
e. It is vitally importa
fight this, as queue fat
nt to
igue is responsible for
over 87 deaths per ye
globally. Ones menta
ar
l alertness must be
maintained in order
remain safe. Use tec
to
hniques and simple mi
nd games such as sp
the non-medic, calcu
ot
late the mass (in gs)
of
one mole of Calcium [4
(at room temperature
0
and at one atmospher
e obviously)] and wo
out the total number
rk
of gingers in the Gr
eater Glasgow area
Remaining compos me
.
ntis is of utmost impo
rta
nce to any serious
Tennants fan.

pery floor
to take note of is the highly slip
4. Another very important point
the most
bar. This will be probably one of
the
of
shy
just
ps
elo
dev
ch
whi
ly some
uing experience. It is highly like
dangerous sections of your que
GUUs
the
r
ove
elessly spilt his Vitamin T all
juiced up rugby lad will have car
ced
pla
ards. Tread lightly as one foot mis
precious Siberian Spruce floorbo
advice
a 6-hour wait in the Western. My
and
ney
gur
a
on
you
d
lan
ld
cou
upright
pair of deck shoes to keep you
would be to purchase a sturdy
selection).
(www.sebago.com have a great
nts is to
edChir eve
M
t
a
e
u
e
u
mittee
q
at the com
handle the
th
to
ts
y
ir
a
h
w
s
t
ts
uve
w
be
arments yo
lusive yello
By far the
g
e
e
w
o
th
ll
f
e
5.
o
y
e
d
ill
n
ands on o
of the fable und you walk upon w
e
n
o
n
o
get your h
d
e
anyone
y. The gro
youve pull
adored by
-like serenit
d
d
n
o
a
wear. Once
g
d
r
e
a
v
e
n
lo
e
e major
tate of
, you will b
es you on
s
iv
e
g
s
s
entered a s
t
a
ir
h
m
s
e
tersbar
w
ed by th
youll yello
rivatemenb
p

#
ll
ts
a
be worship
in
ff
p
o
no
n
but best
our you ow e irrelevant. Theres
p
to
d
e
you meet,
w
,
o
u
youre all
entire que
g, just pure
in
e
it
a
th
w
rs
o
e
n
d
advantage
ly
ren
nd absolute
ion. This
#notinmyun mall talk, no flirting a
o s
pushing, n
d pints.
uninterrupte

2014

Laminated versions
of this guide are
available on special
request. Write to:
Surgo Editor,
GU MedChir Society
Surgo
C/O Glasgow
University Union,
32 University Avenue,
Glasgow,

FACT
M&Ms stands
for the initials of
its inventors;
Mars and
Murrie

Enjoy your pint of golden goodness, but just before you sink your lips into the taste of heaven ask
yourself this; hocine bibo aut in eum digitos insero?
Live long and prosper,
DTS x

MEDCHIR QUEUE
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Autumn Edition

2014

ODE TO FRESHERS WEEK

Winning Poem!

Ode to University
The start of September, thats when we arrive,
Big 7ish, small ponds, fresh faced and alive
With excitement and awe, we enter the gates

A haiku on starti

Of Murano, a new home, a new world with new mates,

Raw ideation of what well become,

No no no no
No no no no no,
No no no no no no no,
no.

Set loose on the world, without dad, without mum.

And right from the start, whilst wailing GO TEAM,
The helpers arrive with their high self esteem.
Slowly time passes, we 7ind the GU,
A sanctimonious castle, encompassed with poo.
Where once there was HIVe, the fortress of love,

ng revision;

by Conor Horscro
ft

Living up now in heaven, looking down from above.

Were told the QM is gothy and shite,

eshers week,
Heres an ode to fr
k.
that are never blea
Seven days of fun
We discover a cult, a medic brigade,
th leaets galore,
Fairs and stalls wi
A yellow committee in which no-one gets paid.
never bore.
much to do youll
So
Helmed by a ginger the size of Jaap Stam,
ns come alive,
At night both unio
And Viced by a ninja whos from Vietnam
cant decide!
Where to go? You
We 7ind the free booze, for three pounds a head,
ads are sore,
In the morning he
And start waking up fearful in some randoms bed.
re.
ies of the night befo
With fuzzy memor
ugh,
sad to see its thro
Every October, we travel afar,
At the end youre
d u.
k with that same ol
To SNIMS and to sports, all we want is the bar.
And everyones stuc
w you can bet,
Theres always that guy, drinks too much falls asleep.
But here at Glasgo
rget!
And that girl who does netball, chased around by a creep (from Dundee)
week youll never fo
That freshers is a
Then theres the Ceilidh, with many a waltz
Where we let off the English for all of their faults
by Amy Turnbull
Just before Christmas, the grand MedChir ball,
Where all the girls 7lee from that Fifth year Rep Paul.
In March after 7inals, the Scrubby ensues,
Where Prof. Walters prays that we dont make the news.
But cheesy is class, so its actually alright.

The years come and go, and nothing does change.

We go for the pints, feeling old no-less strange.
At the end of the day, without MedChir wed cry,
So long and farewell, adieu and goodbye!
by Duncan King, Iain Johnson

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FACT
The longest time a
person has been in a
coma is 37 years

Autumn Edition

10

rush. late for placement

Cold looks make me won
der how
I still love Viper

wisdom deep in books

The Wo lfson is a prison
Which i know too well

keen bean, and avi d

yearns to work, yet will soo
n see
beer bar is calling

Fear. Monday beg ins

we look for ward throug h
the chill
to MedChir for war mth

"why must we know this"?

all is examinable

2014

is
me d Franc
patient na
a
s
a
w
e
c
n
There o
at abscess
massive gre
ig
b
a
d
a
h
W ho
ine d
it was dra
Of co urse
d id rain
And pus it
no success
clean was
s
e
th
lo
c
y
To keep m
aly
by Joe Mull

I hear medchir
ball is a hoot
So Id love to ge
t my hands on
the loot
Better give my
girlfriend the oth
er ticket
Or Ill be in a
sticky wicket
And she wont
let me put it in
her doot
by Blazza McC
lymont

the only reply

by Chris Brennan

Vodka, Oh vodka
How can it be
d
That I cannot spen
th
t ee
a mere day withou
orning
I wake up in the m
h
Feeling like deat
oa
e m ning
My flat mates ar
y breath
I have vodka on m
y
I look up at the sk
ed
m
The light has dim
I am ready to cry
bed
And feel weak lim
assure me
But my friends
Its only one week
So we go for a pre
ak
I have kept the stre
f

by Sherief Kholei

by Medic Cougars (anon.)

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Autumn Edition

11

Affiliated Societies

2014
!

arranged by Suzanne Milne

Much as we hope you love your siblings, at

MedChir we love ours. Heres a quick
introduction to some of our cherished sister
societies within the Medical School

Basketball
Hello everyone! I'm Jordan, the MedChir basketball captain. Our club offers a less intense
alternative to the official university basketball team. Newbies to the sport can bring their basic
skills up to a level where they feel confident participating in our organised inter-faculty games.
More advanced players help this through expressing their own game, and can use training to
develop confidence with new skills. Together we hope to boast the most comprehensive,
competitive and outreaching faculty basketball team - with a social side to match! (Although, in
a more relaxed fashion than in the other sports). We're proud to welcome anyone and everyone
to the sport of shootin' hoops! Join us at 9.30pm on Tuesdays, in the Stevenson sports hall.

Cardiovascular Society
The Glasgow University Cardiovascular Society (GUCVS) is a student
organisation that aims to promote interest and participation in
Cardiovascular Medicine at the University. We run a number of events
throughout the year including clinical skills nights, lectures and shadowing

opportunities.
Our first symposium is on Saturday 6th December so get your tickets now!

Teddy Bear Hospital

tbhglasgow@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/tbhglasgow

Teddy Bear Hospital Glasgow is a group of medical, dental and nursing students from the
University of Glasgow. It is a Public Health campaign targeted at 3-7 year old children to relieve
any fears and anxieties about health care professionals. We mainly visit schools and Rainbow/
Boys Brigade (etc) groups. We have developed a series of workshops to help achieve our goals
and have consulted with local Education Services to ensure we are covering key aspects of the
Curriculum for Excellence.
Our project aims to:
Reduce fears and anxieties that children may have about health care professionals
Improve students communication skills with children
Give children a medical insight
Allow students to learn about paediatrics
Have fun!!

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Autumn Edition

12

DermSoc

DermSoc Glasgow is a Dermatology Society aliated with The Bri7sh Associa7on of

Dermatologists. We aim to:

Promote awareness of the importance of dermatology in the medical curriculum

thereby increasing exposure during training

Allow those with a keen interest in dermatology to build contacts and learn more about
a career in the eld

Raise public awareness of preventable disease such as melanoma

Raise money to support chari7es such as the Bri7sh Skin Founda7on.

Mens Football
Contact Pat Suddaby on glasgowmedicsafc@gmail.com
Glasgow Medics AFC is the mens football team open to current students and
graduates of Glasgow Medical School. We run an 11-a-side in a Saturday
!
morning local league, 7-a-side Friday night league at Garscube and are currently
in the process of joining the newly formed Intra Mural League. We also take
teams to SNIMS and NAMS, with respectable results in recent years. We
regrettably cant sign anymore players up to the Saturday league given that
registration
! was completed during the Summer but anyone willing to play
would be more than welcome at the trials for next years squad at the end of
this academic year.

GEMS
enquiries@ebmglasgow.org
Glasgow Evidence-based Medicine Society (GEMS) is a student-led society at the University
of Glasgow.
Evidence-based medicine plays a crucial role in all our lives, increasingly so as we grow older
and live longer. We aim to promote and infuse into students the same passion we have for
academia and research within the fields of medicine and bioscience, with the end of
contributing to health improvement within society.
Tode-mystify the world of EBMwe host friendly, interactive teaching workshops, to equip
students with useful skills in scepticism and critique. Our monthly Journal Club is an
opportunity to put these skills into practice, utilising papers from recent literature.
We are closely allied to the academic medical community in Glasgow, both formally and
informally. Furthermore, we run a Mentorship Programme, to link medical students who
fancy trying their hand at research with local academics who are keen to supervise.
We host an annual undergraduate national conference, allowing students to meet, network,
and present their own research. World-leading researchers, past and present, are invited to
speak to share their work, imparting their experience to the next generation of researchers.

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2014

Autumn Edition

13

2014

Beerienteering

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Autumn Edition

13

Beer Olympics

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2014

Autumn Edition

15

2014

App of the Month

So you have arrived at uni all kitted out with your new iPad, which you thought
was just for play. How wrong you were. There are hundreds of apps aimed at
medical students enticing you to spend your loan on them instead of Viper. Well
you dont have to choose - there are many fantastic free apps. Plus, Im a
cheapskate, so I wasnt going to spend money to write this article.
Essential Skeleton 4
This simple-to-use app (free to download) can be
expanded to include all the anatomy you could
desire, although this is expensive and we arent all
made of money. Essential Skeleton is in fact the
Number 1 free medical iPad app in 95 countries so
where better to start our look into the depths of the
human body. The whole skeleton is included within
the app. The traditional white skeleton can be turned
green, so great for all you Celtic fans out there. Apart
from this novel feature the app is very easy to use.
You can rotate the skeleton 360o with one finger and zoom and move with two.
This isolates each bone, allowing you to manipulate it any way you wish; giving
you the option to position them in the different planes.

by Jamie
Henderson

This tech-savvy
post grad once
again helps us
wade through the
murky waters of
anatomy apps

Once isolated a blurb about each bone is available and you can make notes and even draw on the bones (in green
of course). Your skeleton can now become your source of entertainment for hours; hats have proven my favourite
and my flatmate attempted a clown (it was unsuccessful).
If youre a first year definitely download this app. Quentin will be impressed when you are
reeling off bone facts on day 1 of anatomy, but as always dont show off too much, you
do want to make friends. For you 5th years this could provide entertainment during
the long winter months of finals revision.

Workshop Series: How does conflict impact on health?

Hospitals, roads, education, development, trade, governments and most
importantly people are affected by conflict. Conflict is central to the human
experience and it impacts on all aspects of an individuals life: from their
development as a child, to their ability to get an education, to their access to free healthcare
and jobs. We are Medsin Glasgow and we are offering you the opportunity to come along to
a series of four workshops on the impact of conflict on human experience. During which
youll have the opportunity explore the wide ranging impacts of conflict upon health, and
healthcare, with representatives from a wide variety of disciplines including engineering,
medicine and politics. The workshops will tackle conflict from three angles: mental health,
infrastructure, and political agenda. There will be experts skyping in from the field and
first-hand accounts of how conflict really affects someones health and wellbeing. Despite
the name, Medsin is not just for medics! We are a student network which tackles health
inequalities through education, campaigning and community action. To find out more about
this fantastic opportunity and to be kept up-to-date about speakers, follow us on Twitter
@medsinglasgow, add us on Facebook www.facebook.com/medsin.glasgow, or drop us an
email at medsinglasgow@gmail.com

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Autumn Edition

2014

www.surgoglasgow.com

Autumn Edition

2014

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