Student quality

I know I have moaned about the attentive qualities of my fellow undergrads, but on the whole they're a high quality bunch. Particularly my small study / clinical group of six or so.

I spent my year in the UK med school astounded at the poor quality or complete lack of motivation demonstrated by a small minority of my peers. Some of them I could never in a million years imagine in practice. In my year, we had some of the most arrogant people I have ever come across. And bear in mind that I used to work in the City. We had completely incapable idiots who couldn't grasp straightforward concepts. We had Tim NBDs like the chap above who had no idea what they we doing at med school let alone how they found themselves in the north of England parking their mother's 3 series on the street. The worst were those with no apparent interest in care, no empathy and a complete lack of insight into their own character.

Here, on the other hand, despite being much younger than their UK counterparts (some being 17...), there isn't a single student that I have come across so far who I couldn't imagine making a good doctor. Or at least wanting to be a good doctor. It's fun watching them develop... case in point a very introverted young man having to raise his voice to make himself hear by a elderly WWII veteran. He got there in the end...

Lots of fun to come.

Boomshanka

Just to prove that procrastination is the thief of time, I'm going to spend a few minutes posting rather than write my reflective section of the report that is due on Monday.

I remember during the last month of my first degree asking my sister to return the video of the Young Ones that she'd borrowed so that I could watch them one last time as an actual student. How wrong I was...

The Young Ones have a few aspects relevant to them appearing on this blog:

1. they were popular both in the UK and Australia, rather like Are You Being Served, and so are a rare cultural touchstone linking the countries (they're rarer than you'd imaging);
2. erm.. they're students and Vyvyan was a medical student (at a poly.. never!);
3. They were on the telly when I was very young: like Monty Python, it was the pups that formed the first strong fan base and have perpetuated their popularity (reference needed);
   
4. popular opinion is that the series is getting dated and I was interested to see if that's really the case..

So, the main reason for revisiting to see whether they've dated well or poorly. Let's consider different aspects of the programme before delving into specifics. I'm not going to go into details of the programme here. Head over to Google if you're keen.

Politics
Lots of anti-Thatcher commentary, so obviously 25 years out of date. Still resonant for those who grew where the effects of Thatcherism were at their most malevolent so perhaps not as dated as all that. However, from what I've seen, the political activist Rik-like student is dead and buried largely due to the pressure of fattening up the CV.

Fashions
Neil the hippy was always out of date being a character from Nigel Planer's late70s set transported into the format. Nostalgia being what it is, this slight anachronism of the time now seems less obvious and, oddly, Neil now seems to make more sense rather than less. Rik's hair looks like it is, being an early 80's rat tailed nightmare. That's the problem with being up-to-date: you tend to date. Mike looked bizarre at the time and still looks odd. For a man who isn't keen on hippies, he has a predilection for the lapels seldom seen outside 70s school photos. Vyvyan falls into the Neil camp: what kind of punk was he supposed to be? A poorly thought-out hybrid punk / new wave of British heavy metal nightmare. From the neck up, he could pass for a punk with the forehead and nose piercings and a very odd sort of mohican sort of not haircut plus a chain around his neck. His "Very Metal" denim body warmer and Whitesnake T shirt plus wrist bands are pure poodle metal. Waist down, the patchy-bleached jeans and DMs fit either label. Whatever: punk we wasn't. But does he look dated: not really; like Neil, he looked odd then and looks odd now.

Conclusion: doesn't look too bad (except for Rik, particularly when he goes the yellow dungarees).

Music
The live bands selected have stood the test of time... except maybe for Rip, Rig and Panic. Motorhead still look the same as do Madness. Ultra-short term nostalgia being what it is, most of the bands you see are still touring so music isn't problem (ex-Party where a Human League record makes an appearance... but Phil and the girls are still touring too...)

Surrealness
Never the strongest part of the deal, oddball cut-aways to elephant men, Chekov pisstakes and the like look even worse today.

Animation
Poorly animated chips / carrots and SPG looked poor at the time and still do now: no more dated now than then.

Student life
Probably the biggest anachronism. There are no grants here or in the UK. Lectures are attended on pain of unemployment with large debts. Medical students don't dress like that (if they ever did). New Universities don't get to go on University Challenge (often). Trips to the laundrette don't happen. Student houses are fully serviced and have broadband. You work your summers. Can't remember last time I saw a rag mag.

That all being said, there's lots of similarities: student parties, acne, poor hygeine, poor housing, etc. And this is, I think, the main thing. Much of the humour comes from recognition of these things, and many more people attend university now than when the Young Ones first aired which has grown the audience of people who recognise the humour.

Watching the programme today, I still find it enjoyable. But then again, it could just be that it's my own Proust's madeleine (Copyright every single lazy writer trying to seem well read).

Random tasks slow posting rate shock

Been a busy couple of weeks so little time to keep this diary going. There's a much greater emphasis on this course on written reports than there was on my last and these are taking up too much of my time at the moment. This could be due to a number of factors:

1. I still think I'm writing a document that has to be legally correct and suitable for circulating to a paying client / customer;
2. I am over engineering everything because I don't know the level that's required;
3. I'm working inefficiently;
4. I'm incompetent;
5. I'm busy with a whole load of grown up crap in addition to uni that my fellow students don't have to take care of; or
   
6. mix of 1-5.

Whatever the cause, I'm going to have a group assignment every term until clinic takes over so I have to get used to it. It's a challenge working with some of my new colleagues sometimes. On other occasions, the quality of their writing knocks my socks off: beautiful written English at age 18.

Just on that, the quality of the character and intellect of my fellow students is most impressive (attentiveness / inappropriateness of comments in lectures notwithstanding). They're coping well with having a weird old knowitall in the class: I would have been very standoffish at their age. And I would have struggled with the volume and the diversity of the workload, I'm sure.

Right: time to finish my individual assignment. Living the dream!

Motes and eyes

Funny: the new advert for low carb beer from Toohey's can be found here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8PCuh6eZeQ

Lots of jolly underdog racism here: those stupid fat seppos, eh?

Odd thing is, which is the obese more nation? Let's not get facts get in the way of a bit of stereotyping, though, eh?

BTW I'm not as po-faced as these last two postings make out: it's just that some things get my contrarian goat.