UK universities

I read the most strange statement today regarding the UK GCSE results from the Times'John O'Leary, who apparently writes for their Good University Guide:

"Today’s results are vitally important, especially for those who are aiming for a selective university - whatever those universities might think about GCSE as a measure of academic potential" [my bold]



I'm not going to wade into the dumbing down of A levels / too many people going to university debate, but it's a bit depressing to think there are non-selective universities out there.

Medical literature 3

I actually quite like this book. Although it covers similar ground to the other junior doctor memoirs and is also pre-EWTD, for some reason it doesn't read quite so artificial, probably because it's a collection of short articles written for the Guardian over a period of time, which also makes it a good toilet book.

The author comes over as likeable and self-deprecating in the right measures. He covers the usual topics of sleep deprivation and the rest but offers some personal insights. Unlike other books ("Trust me, I'm a ...") it doesn't read like it could've been set in any workplace.

And, surprise, he chooses to specialise in psych.

A journalist's perspective

Here's grim.

The splash page of the SMH had a nice picture of Marlene Dietrich with the accompanying uplifting by-line letting us know that intersex patients can now be "fixed" by their doctors, which is nice:

"

When the answer to girl or boy is: 'I don't know'

They've been called hermaphrodites and intersex children - but doctors can often fix them. "

Looks like the front page has been changed.

Oh, no: it's back now.

The article itself was unimpressive and looked like an excuse to show glamorous photos with nice titillating hermaphrodite plays on words. Mmm... sexual healing. No sign of the athlete in question, nota bene. Guess she looked a bit, erm, "mannish" for the tone of the article. Nothing as off-putting as an unglamorous intersex person.

Thing is, there's no mention of "fixing" intersex children in the article. Nor should there be, given that many of the generation of intersex children who were surgically "fixed" are a bit (a lot) upset about not being given much choice in the matter what with them being infants at the time. The Intersex Society of North America may not speak for all those born somewhere along the sex continuum, but they represent a large body and have very definite and reasonable opinions on this matter which you would have thought would be taken into account before putting a nice big picture with link on your front page.

Particularly given that the article originated in the right on, intellectual as Guardian newspaper in the UK. Despite being the paper of the discerning, earnest under- and post-grad, it still took their Health Editor, who seems to have been in the job for long enough to pick up a bit of science by osmosis at the least, several goes to get the number of human chromosomes right.

But at least they didn't go for the glam angle, unlike the high brow SMH.

International students: the future

So, looks like after 2010, international students in our state will be at the mercy of the ballot / merit system, if, and it's a big if, the state decides that it needs more interns that can be provided in the shape of local grads.

I think it will take a lot of arm-twisting by the universities to get the state govt to do this: even though our uni in particular brings in A$20m+ pa (my back of an envelope estimate which may be very wrong), I don't that that's enough to sway their current position.

Although I have been wrong before. Not least in hepatology tutorials.

All done

Assignments all done for this term. I have to say I'm beginning to run out of reflections and TurnItIn is starting to get a bit suspicious.

Hope to get back to posting a bit more... just have to worry about this term's exam now.

That time of term again

Posting opportunities will be at a premium over the next couple of weeks whilst I engage in a number of repetitive tasks to complete my in-course assessment activities for this term. IMO, there's far too much of this sort of thing on this course: I'm not sure how much you learn from undertaking more than half a dozen group essays a year with the same group of chaps but I'm sure it's grounded in good educational theory.

Good news!

Here is the first bit of good news on the employment prospect front that I've seen for a long time.

"The number of empty jobs was measured on March 31 this year. Among hospital doctors and dentists, excluding trainees, the vacancy rate was 5.2 per cent, compared with 3.6 per cent in the same month last year. The long-term vacancy rates for this group jumped two thirds from 0.9 per cent to 1.5 per cent. Vacancy rates for GPs increased only slightly from 1.6 per cent to 1.9 per cent. "

Seems that there is a doctor shortage (again) in the UK. Workforce planning has always been a nightmare, particularly with changes to people's preferred working patterns (flexible, part time), the legal landscape (European Working Time Directive, other stuff here in Australia), the sex balance of the workforce (more women, more demand for part time work), etc.

Your big chance to work in a hopsital like the one above.

Despite training a lot more doctors, it looks like the effects of these reductions in productive hours per MBBS plus the attractiveness of the NHS pensions plus the generally admitted "it's not like it used to be" horribleness of the NHS working experience has accelerated the departure of older medics from the profession. Sounds like restriction on non-EU staff are also having an effect.

Given that Australia has a similar set of demographic and work practice changes imminent, it will be interesting to see whether we experience a similar effect here. IMO, given that many medics here retire self-funded, and given the hammering that asset values has taken in the last 12-18 months (esp. sthare and property), I envisage a hiatus in the rush for retirement of senior staff until the economy has picked up a bit.

Overseas students: short term salvation

Well, it looks like the international students who seemed to have missed out are going to be sorted for a training place... this year. Not sure how the state govt is going to find places for them to train given that one idea is to find interstate positions and all of the states are in the same boat. However, this is great news and must be a relief for those students who found themselves in this position.

This situation came as a surprise to most overseas students, but it's been in the wind implicitly for a couple of years and explicitly since the document I showed below entered the public domain months ago. Perhaps this change to scarcity of jobs is such a cultural shift that no one even considered checking to see what the actual situation was.

Whatever the case, I've spoken to some justifiably angry and upset people this week. For some students, by heading to Australia they have given up on their rights to be trained in their home country and so they fall between two stools.

Personally, I think the med student council should take more of an active role: it is at least their respsonsibility as much of that of the university to look after the interests of the student body and to make sure that students are aware of this sort of thing.

The next few years will see this problem get worse and for all students to be affected. This doesn't seem to be appreciated by the student council: I would say that at this time this body has a significant task ahead of it probably for the first time in memory (judging from my experience) and need to get active now.

For the time being, perhaps pub crawls and international student social nights may have to have a lower priority.

Weird looking photo and non-sequitor of the month

The poo continues quite rightly to hit the fan for these buffoons. Good to see that an absolute lack of contrition for acting like a twot doesn't get you very far these days.

In addition to providing a photo where the subject looks very weird around the jaw line (worse in the photo in the link), the article provides a quote from Jackie O's publicist:

"Jackie's a wonderful person so she's having a break [...]"

Not sure of the logic behind that statement. I'm a wonderful person too: where's my break?

News just in

This is interesting: looks like there's a presentation from our university's medical school office regarding the training issue.

I'll head along and see what's the go.