Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Viva
This is what you’d call dry, ‘err-what’ and has near perfect properties of an agent to induce sleep, however, not quite in one arm-brain circulation. (For that, you must either whack yourself in the head, or walk into a lamp post). If it is not yet obvious, I am feeling a bit ratty today. A bit? Some would say.
But, if you are sitting the FRCA exam anytime soon and want to know what it is like, rather than asking me ‘watchu get asked, whatcu get asked?’ I will tell you, first hand. So you may find this almost like a little cava sangria. Just what you need.
There were two poker face examiners. And then there was a you, shitting yourself across them. It’s worse than a job interview.
Viva 1 (Physiology)
1. Sinoatrial node resting membrane potential and action potential. Ionic changes for every phase. Compared with myocardial action potential. (he looked slightly sleepy and bored, I can soooo tell he soooooo wanted to sit there and ask me questions on tiny little thing in there somewhere, which if it stops you’ll die…err so fairly important, so yeah ok, it’s a fair question, so he grilled me).
2. Nerve cell resting membrane potential, what are the figures for potassium and sodium, what happens during the propagation? Nernst equation and Goldman’s equation. ( So I don’t know if all the constants are in the right order, but they didn’t seem to disagree. They probably couldn’t remember themselves. At least the equation looks correct on paper. You know like when people ask you to spell ‘konshens’ as in conscience, you have to marvel at it on paper first, to know that it’s the right spelling? So this one is like that. My throat was closing up and drying at this point, I so wanted to jump in a big river and soak my self . Sweaty as well mind you)
3.What is Parathyroid hormone, what kind of hormone is it? Explain in terms of calcium handling. Osteoclastic activity. Calcitonin action. ( Reduce, increase, reduce increase seemed the only words I was using, I wasn’t sure if they followed me, it’s not like gossip this, you can’t have much facial expressions to make it interesting apart from, eyebrows up, frown, down, very far apart, far apart, and semi lifted. And maybe just no expression when they said, right let’s move on to the next question)
Viva 1 (Pharmacology)
1. Acetylcholine receptor at neuromuscular junction. Nicotinic receptor .Draw the pentameric structure. Where does it bind, where does the atracurium bind. What about aminosteroid group? Where does that bind? (I think they liked my fat karipap style receptors, but the other examiner was starting to fall asleep)
2. Antihypertensives during anaesthesia, classes of drugs, explain in detail sodium nitroprusside. Action of GTN, and nitric oxide. Esmolol, what kind of beta blocker is it?( Right maybe I don’t quite remember how many cyanides get liberated, but I know what they do, ok not bad not bad.)
3. Pharmacogenetics , and I was like you are kidding me!!! I wanted to die.
So in the afternoon, some more torture.
Viva 2 (Physics, Clinical measurement and Equipmet)
1. Capnography- tell me all about it. So I did and he asked me about infrared, so I told him. Tell me the difference between capnometre and capnography. I waffled but I think he accepted my waffle. Something to do with continuous monitoring and sampling.
2. Latent heat of fusion, latent heat of evaporation of water. Explain the graph of heating up a block of ice. Saturated vapour pressure and critical temperature. Hmmmm. People melt ice everyday, in a plastic bag, by the roadside in a bowl, with cendol and red stuff and kacang and syrup and all the goodness you can think of. But I paid these people to ask me what happened when you melt ice. Can I not be me?
3. LASER. How it is produced. How is it made, how it is used, what precautions you have to take in theatre. Laser ..laser lah kan?
That took me to the clinical question which was 18 year old boy involved in a road traffic accident for splenectomy. How do you manage. Well, you just have to tell a story of how you would have done it. Something I like and enjoy doing so I didn’t feel it was all that bad. But I am soooo, tired now and I need a break.
But, if you are sitting the FRCA exam anytime soon and want to know what it is like, rather than asking me ‘watchu get asked, whatcu get asked?’ I will tell you, first hand. So you may find this almost like a little cava sangria. Just what you need.
There were two poker face examiners. And then there was a you, shitting yourself across them. It’s worse than a job interview.
Viva 1 (Physiology)
1. Sinoatrial node resting membrane potential and action potential. Ionic changes for every phase. Compared with myocardial action potential. (he looked slightly sleepy and bored, I can soooo tell he soooooo wanted to sit there and ask me questions on tiny little thing in there somewhere, which if it stops you’ll die…err so fairly important, so yeah ok, it’s a fair question, so he grilled me).
2. Nerve cell resting membrane potential, what are the figures for potassium and sodium, what happens during the propagation? Nernst equation and Goldman’s equation. ( So I don’t know if all the constants are in the right order, but they didn’t seem to disagree. They probably couldn’t remember themselves. At least the equation looks correct on paper. You know like when people ask you to spell ‘konshens’ as in conscience, you have to marvel at it on paper first, to know that it’s the right spelling? So this one is like that. My throat was closing up and drying at this point, I so wanted to jump in a big river and soak my self . Sweaty as well mind you)
3.What is Parathyroid hormone, what kind of hormone is it? Explain in terms of calcium handling. Osteoclastic activity. Calcitonin action. ( Reduce, increase, reduce increase seemed the only words I was using, I wasn’t sure if they followed me, it’s not like gossip this, you can’t have much facial expressions to make it interesting apart from, eyebrows up, frown, down, very far apart, far apart, and semi lifted. And maybe just no expression when they said, right let’s move on to the next question)
Viva 1 (Pharmacology)
1. Acetylcholine receptor at neuromuscular junction. Nicotinic receptor .Draw the pentameric structure. Where does it bind, where does the atracurium bind. What about aminosteroid group? Where does that bind? (I think they liked my fat karipap style receptors, but the other examiner was starting to fall asleep)
2. Antihypertensives during anaesthesia, classes of drugs, explain in detail sodium nitroprusside. Action of GTN, and nitric oxide. Esmolol, what kind of beta blocker is it?( Right maybe I don’t quite remember how many cyanides get liberated, but I know what they do, ok not bad not bad.)
3. Pharmacogenetics , and I was like you are kidding me!!! I wanted to die.
So in the afternoon, some more torture.
Viva 2 (Physics, Clinical measurement and Equipmet)
1. Capnography- tell me all about it. So I did and he asked me about infrared, so I told him. Tell me the difference between capnometre and capnography. I waffled but I think he accepted my waffle. Something to do with continuous monitoring and sampling.
2. Latent heat of fusion, latent heat of evaporation of water. Explain the graph of heating up a block of ice. Saturated vapour pressure and critical temperature. Hmmmm. People melt ice everyday, in a plastic bag, by the roadside in a bowl, with cendol and red stuff and kacang and syrup and all the goodness you can think of. But I paid these people to ask me what happened when you melt ice. Can I not be me?
3. LASER. How it is produced. How is it made, how it is used, what precautions you have to take in theatre. Laser ..laser lah kan?
That took me to the clinical question which was 18 year old boy involved in a road traffic accident for splenectomy. How do you manage. Well, you just have to tell a story of how you would have done it. Something I like and enjoy doing so I didn’t feel it was all that bad. But I am soooo, tired now and I need a break.
