It's our ability to show compassion, love and forgiveness that makes us who we are, it's never to late to turn your life around and make a difference.
(this thought was inspired by a beautiful person) Continue
"Let they Food be thy Medicine and thy Medicine be thy Food." – Hippocrates
Check out this trailer from a new documentary about food: Food Matters. Very flash!
Continue
Posted by Ronan on April 14, 2008 at 12:30am —
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We often walk past the good ones because we try to hard to see them, sometimes you just have to reach out, THEIR STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO YOU! HELLO! Continue
Was in the library till 9.30 last night and got loads of work done plus quite enjoyed it! The only problem is today I've not been in the mood to work at all and probably managed only about 2 hours constructive work which considering I have a 4 hour gap on Thursdays is pretty lame! I think the moral of the story is don't do too much work, pace yourself!
I need to be writing more about about any clinical experience I'm gaining as this is what this learning journal is all about, to allow you to wr… Continue
Posted by Steven Ojari on February 28, 2008 at 7:17pm —
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We have to do a research synopsis for CAE which at first I thought would be a pain in the arse but so far I've really enjoyed doing it! I'm doing it on the relationship between TMJ disorders and back pain which I'm really interested in hence way I've not minded doing the hours on PubMed looking for relevant articles! I now have ordered the journals and am looking forward to reading them!
The work load is starting to increase a little now as we approach the exam season, we don't have a FD exam t… Continue
Posted by Steven Ojari on February 25, 2008 at 9:24pm —
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Not related to osteopathy directly but might give you something to talk to patients about. There are dozens of free audiobooks available to download via oCulture.
Everything from James Joyce's Ulysses to George Orwell's Animal Farm. I love free things.
I wonder are there any classical osteopathic texts available in audiobook format.. Continue
Posted by Ronan on February 24, 2008 at 9:30am —
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I went into the hospital, CUF Descobertas, at 18.00 the night before the surgery.
David Sampson, a good friend and Giulia and Becky two of my daughters, who all kindly came with me...God bless 'em
Very nice room, big and with a killer view of the Tagus and Vasco do Gama Bridge
I was advised not to drink or eat anything after 22.… Continue
I really enjoy the Manus talks that have been quite varied and interesting over the last few weeks, tonight it was about acupuncture something that I'm really interested in but knew nothing about, until tonight that is a really good talk explaining some of the ideas behind sticking needles in bits of the body and no mention of ying and yang or anything like that!
We had our first proper exam on Monday and I think it went alright! I've changed my approach slightly from the beginning of the year… Continue
Posted by Steven Ojari on February 13, 2008 at 11:33pm —
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Following on from the "Come Together" post here is a timely story highlighting the challenges with the accessible and spontanteous nature of Internet communication.
I presented at the Advancing Osteopathy 2008 conference with Jody last Sunday (3rd Feb 2008). The title of the talk was "Come Together over the World Wide Web For Osteopathy" and was about using the Internet to share k… Continue
Posted by Ronan on February 6, 2008 at 9:30pm —
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Getting a bit slack with keeping this journal so must write more often. I feel like I'm just keeping on top of my work at the moment, I make sure I do something everyday and try not to leave anything to the last minute and it seems to be working. Someone said to me weeks ago that the work itself isn't hard there's just a lot of it to do! I think that perfectly sums it up really and as long as you just keep going it's not too bad.
I went to the GOsC reception on Thursday launching th… Continue
Posted by Steven Ojari on February 3, 2008 at 2:41pm —
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I originally put this up on the forum but I think it would be a good blog post too!
I think one of the key strengths osteopaths have in helping patients get better is the amount of time they spend with them - typically 45 minutes instead of perhaps 5-10 from an UK NHS doctor - which gives us the time to… Continue
Well I've had a good week on the whole, this morning was a bit of a write off as I was in a foul mood but managed to sort myself out for the cadaver study in the afternoon which was really good! The guy showing us the specimens really knew his anatomy, I mean really knew his anatomy! Plus the way he conducted the afternoon was good putting people on the spot but without making them feel too stressed!
I'm pleased that I've managed to get my head back into the "Osteopathy is my job" fram… Continue
Posted by Steven Ojari on January 26, 2008 at 12:40am —
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I finally got Netter today, it's such a good book and I think you could pretty much learn all your anatomy just from that book the drawings are so good! My diagrams are something I really need to work on because I like to draw lots of them in exams but where as last year I practiced a load I've hardly done any this year, it's something I'm going to include in my PDP as drawing something really shows that you know the structure!
I had a really good day of study today 10 till 6 with only… Continue
Monday 9am publishes short 5 minute films every Monday. The idea is to challenge your perspective, without drama. Sometimes there are some real gems and it is great way to start your week.
I feel like I'm almost settled into being back now the first week I wasn't really feeling it but over the weekend I did a fair bit of work and felt more on top of what I'm doing!
I've realized that you get so much more out of a seminar if you really prepare for it and again it's using Daniels principles of how to learn, trying to work it out for as long as possible BEFORE looking it up! I think the LRP's are a really useful resource as they show us exactly what we need to know espe… Continue
Posted by Steven Ojari on January 16, 2008 at 11:10pm —
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Can't say I'm really that excited coming in to this year, which has really surprised me! Think it's because of this exam and exams don't usually bother me, it's cos it's a subject that I really can't get excited about, if it was on nervous, muscle or proteins then I'd be really up for revising! Now I'm pissed off, cos there will be loads of things over the next 4 years that I'm not interested in that I need to do so I really need to find a way to do things that don't interest me! Plus they've ch… Continue
This is the first time I've found to write since breaking up, I'm at my parents house and working during the week, meaning I'm not managing to get too much study done, I'm spent when I finish work! It doesn't help that there's no internet in their house or the surrounding area!
We have a FD exam on the second day back which is on connective tissue so I'm spending my time trying to fully understand exactly how it is formed it's functions and some clinically relevant stuff like the import… Continue
I'm a little worried about the open book exam we have in Feb, cos I don't make many notes but usually manage to get a good understanding of the subject, I'm just a little concerned that in a 1500 word essay which you can take your "notes" into that they're going to want it to be perfect including the spelling! Don't know if it's good that I'm not so hung up on my spelling now because before I would try to prevent people from realizing that I can't spell by avoiding scribing, writing on a bo… Continue
I got a lot from the study group on friday and think it's probably the best way to make me spend time on FD, cos you can't really just answer your questions without understanding and being able to answer the others first!
Think it seemed to work quite well with everyone chipping in from their different angles which is whats needed to fully understand something!
Found "Anatomy for beginners" on http://youtube.com which is really good as they do a dissection of the different sys… Continue
Watched the Andy Cotton Manus talk on Saturday and thought it was wicked! It is totally how I view health but he manages to put it across in quite a factual, obvious and believable way.
If you tried to explain to someone that the fact that their mother was stressed during childbirth has had a lasting effect on them, most would think you were talking shit, Cotton explains how if their born into a soup of stress hormones, adrenoline etc... then thats what their body prepares for!… Continue
Posted by Steven Ojari on November 25, 2007 at 1:07pm —
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I feel like I'm coming along alright with my structure function (SF) mainly due to the fact that I love learning the muscles, nerves and bone osteology of the body! The Ligaments aren't quite as interesting to me, so I'm not as good with those yet.
Function dysfunction (FD) isn't that interesting for me, so I'm spending a lot less time on it which is something I need to change...... must try and find a way of making it fun.
Need to refocus as after exam last friday haven't really done much work since! Really happy with my results but need to keep up with the work or I'll fall below what I know I can achieve as this is all I have to do this year don't have to work! I really want to find at least an hour a week to practice technique cos the amount of things we've been shown is mounting up now!
Oh we bought a skeleton this week, we're drawing the muscles onto him (Sebastian) which is really ace for really lea… Continue
Posted by Steven Ojari on November 16, 2007 at 7:28pm —
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Had the formative exam yesterday and it went alright really, made a few silly mistakes and think I could have got some more marks if I'd approached some of the questions in a more logical manner but all in all quite pleased! Think I need to start doing the LRP's now as what I've been doing is just look through them quite often and try to answer the questions, if I've then got a completed one to refer to for the things that I really can't get then that would be a lot better!
Really good study session with Roger Carne this afternoon feel like I'm finally getting my head around the nerves (well in the lower extremity anyway) and can now make an informed guess at the innervating nerve! We sat down with a skeleton and Stone & Stone and went through, first the nerve route of the Sciatic, Femoral and Obturator nerves then all the muscles of the hip and thigh working out the nerve supply rather than looking it up in a book.
Mondays session with Roger on the hip was one of the best studies I've done so far! The hip is a really complex joint and by doing it in the way we did we both know all the muscles of the hip and thigh and I can make a pretty good guess at the attachments and action! So thats an additional 16 muscles this week, we started on the knee on wednesday so nearly have that nailed! I think the main thing I might struggle with is the spelling of words, my spelling is appalling! Continue
Posted by Steven Ojari on November 2, 2007 at 3:30pm —
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I must start doing the LRP's as so far I've not really done any of them! When I work through an LRP with someone who's done them I do seem to know the stuff just worried there's going to be little definitions and bits that I don't know the correct terms for!
Me and Roger found a really good way of learning all the muscles of the hip.... we sat down with stone and stone and Kingston and wrote down all the medial/lateral rotators, the flexors/extendors and adductors/abductors then kept te… Continue
I need to get more organized, I seem to go to the library then sit there without a plan as of what to do so end up doing muscles, today i did a couple of hours on FD which felt good, working through the LRP.
Ooh clinic on friday was wicked seeing real patients made me really want to do well and learn as much as i possibly can from the next four years! Continue
Posted by Steven Ojari on October 24, 2007 at 7:37pm —
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so... we've started the basic cranial course on friday mornings it's really interesting, and is something i'm really enjoying doing.. and getting fairly good results at.. i think..
but
it ruins my day.. i'm supposed to have lectures after, but it just leaves me feeling so spaced out that i can barely think, let alone go into another practical lecture.. i feel hungry, but can't eat for a couple of hours...
the tutors say it's about energy, and grounding yourself… Continue
I'm 4 weeks into the degree now.. the embryonic period of my formal osteopathic education. Layers of knowledge are beginning to form, laying the foundation for osteopathic nirvana .. a time far in the future (..in a land far away).
Is that a spinous process? What is CSF? Palpatory database.. I wish I could just download that on limewire. What on earth am I meant to be feeling for? I hope I get a nice skinny person to examine in my final exams! Hmm.. there is much to learn, young jedi.… Continue
Posted by Ronan on October 17, 2007 at 9:34pm —
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Felt quite annoyed for most of the day! I've had very little sleep this weekend and been really busy, so monday when i have the whole day to study. I've managed to do very little: learnt the osteology of the innominate and thats about it! My biggest battle currently is avoiding the head in sand mentality on being faced with so much work, just need to keep chipping away at it and I'll be ok! Continue
Posted by Steven Ojari on October 15, 2007 at 6:50pm —
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There's quite a lot to do! Seems like they think they've done the back now and are moving on to the hip!!!!! The more muscles I learn the easier it becomes to confuse them, I do seem to be getting a better understanding of the muscles tho and which lie deep to which largely due to buying primal pictures which is wicked!
Think I'm gonna go out to the pub for a bit Niamh and a few others will be there but maybe not too many first years. Continue
Yeah I've come to the conclusion that as soon as I write down my plan of what I'm going to do, I don't do it so from now on I'm not writing it down...... an hour of technique a day..... whatever, I am doing a couple of hours a day on muscles tho!
Just looked at a marked SF essay from 1st year and it is as I thought need to put all the details in like cartilage 70% water etc... I think if I make sure I spend every day from like 9.00-4.30 at the BSO working I should be able to do enough!… Continue
Posted by Steven Ojari on October 8, 2007 at 10:09pm —
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I'm 3 weeks into the degree and I've more balls in the air (so to speak!) and paper work than I thought possible for such a small period. With the volume of information I'm dealing with, it is important to keep on top of things and doing that requires getting organised.
Getting Things Done is a popular method to manage workloads with as little stress as possible. I've been using GTD for a while now and have found it very helpful to keep on top of things.
Need to be quite organized with my study as there's so many different areas of study, needing time spending on them it's quite easy to focus too much on one area. I want to spend at least one hour a day on muscle attachments and about the same on technique maybe not quite as long as I think muscle attachments are one of the most important areas this year!
Today was good I went in at 8.30 and only really stopped to eat finishing at 5.00 was in a bit of a grumpy mood when i got home but t… Continue
I was coughing for more than 2 weeks.
It all started two wednesdays ago, I went to the gym ,as usual, at lunch time. I was not mentally prepared to pump any iron at all. After 5 reps of squat, I thought "damn! I don't want to do this".
Went for a shower and back at the office. The rest of the afternoon was spent telling to myself " i am getting sick, I am not coming tomorrow at the office"
As I expected, I started coughing the following day and this got worse over the weekend. I went back to the… Continue
Posted by K on October 3, 2007 at 8:57pm —
2 Comments
Probably should have written my first entry slightly sooner than now but hey! Up till now the course has just felt like revision really looking at difference between vertebrae and the like, I have been spending a few hours in the library every day tho, don't want to become complacent! Learnt a couple of muscles too! Starting with the back think it's just something that you need to spend lots of time on really. I need to have the skeleton in front of me really to have a picture of where it at… Continue
Posted by Steven Ojari on October 1, 2007 at 5:48pm —
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My name is Elton Pirrone, I'm an italian osteopathy student at ICOM in Milan. Over here we have the top osteopathic formation in Italy, wich is a 5 year degree mix-mode for physio and doctors or a 5 year full-time for student from other back ground, both validated by Westminster University via BCOM.
As we all come from such a variety of college and nations I think it would be great sharing a list of books, videos, technique pics and articles from the college that…
I believe that if health care is to provide people with optimum health, different fields must become better integrated. No individual healing modality has a monopoly on health. Each system has something to offer. By keeping the patient, instead of our own personal philosophy, at the centre of treatment, everyone wins.
Prince Charles, in his address to the WHOs 59th World Health summit in May 2006 makes some… Continue
Posted by Ronan on September 4, 2007 at 12:13am —
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Google
is playing an increasingly important role in the world of healthcare.
They are working on a new product codenamed Weaver to digitize your health records, and many patients route to medical information is via Google's search
engine. Their new role as a virtual gatekeeper to the worlds healthcare
information is one they seem to be taking seriously.
Pierre has been talking about his experience as an osteopath in Thailand. It reminded me of some a medical adventure I had there in November 2005.
November 2005, Thailand
I've been feeling fairly miserable for the last few days. The vaguely numb cheek (face!) I'd been experiencing since before I left had gotten much worse. I had been mostly ignoring it, occasionally moaning to thos… Continue
First of all getting the basics right and committed to memory. You may think you have to learn a lot of bullshit (and you do) but you never know when something you learned is going to be useful for you to crack a difficult case or something you learned in biochemistry leads you to connect the dots to figure out a patient.
Tomorrow August 15 is a big holiday in Portugal. It is a religious and a national holiday. It is the day Catholics celebrate the assumption of Mary into heaven. It is also considered as half way point of the summer holidays.
Inflammatory Arthriis is really a b---!! Not for sissys, I can assure you. If you think you are tough this can bring you to your knees. The way I look at it it is good for my practitionership. I can relate to the patients a lot bette…
Ever wondered how they produce those drawings in medical text books? Flicking through Tortora, I know I have. How do they know cells look like that? Are the colours even accurate?
The people who produce these drawings - medical illustrators - often agonise over tiny details in how to illustrate specific components of the body. How best do I illustrate these functions or contrast individual components?
One of the pioneers of medical animation is David Bolinsky. I… Continue
No not that first time, this is my first time on Sacral Musings and a big thankyou to Ronan for creating such a great and easy to use site. I look forward to using this site and sharing info with lots of new friends. Continue
Posted by Peter Orwell on August 5, 2007 at 8:08pm —
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I came across a website at the weekend that's been keeping me occupied for the past few hours. 1000 Years of Osteopathy is dedicated to keeping a public record of philosophy of Osteopathy as represented by key members of the Osteopathic community. It features a dozen or so video interviews w… Continue
Posted by Ronan on July 24, 2007 at 10:30pm —
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I'm all finished now aside from a presentation tomorrow and an exam on
Saturday. The course officially ends tomorrow.. but I've an exam to
repeat. GRrr!
It's hard to believe it's been almost a year since
I kicked this course off. What a year it's been. I've learned so much.
Even a bit of anatomy too!
After 9 months of screwing around higgildly pigidly, last week I
finally figured out the best way for me to learn. Better late than
never. It was an eureka moment when it all clicked.
1. Close
the book. I write down as much as I know about the topic I'm studying
without referencing anything. I try and figure it out just by thinking
about it. It becomes pretty clear what I don't know.. a blank page is
very telling. Thinking through the subject without any learning
material in front of y… Continue
Posted by Ronan on June 15, 2007 at 11:00pm —
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Right .. it's been a while since I posted here. My bad, but fear not, I
have posts I've written offline which I'll upload over the next week or
two.
Things are just crazy at the moment. Work is absolutely
mental, involving implemention of spanking new global systems I've no
prior experience of, in ridiciously short time frames (10 days). I've
also a lot of uni work on too - exams, presentations, essays - you name
it, it's on. So I'm going to get this out of my system..
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA… Continue
Posted by Ronan on June 12, 2007 at 9:30pm —
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As part of our genetics module I gave a 20 minute presention to my classmates on Tourette Syndrome. I'm happy with how it went and got some very positive feedback my classmates. It was a fairly big deal for me to do it both in terms of pubic speaking and that topic in particular so I'm pleased with the results. I'll upload video later during the week and maybe some background as to why I chose that topic. In the meantime, here's the presentation I gave:
… Continue
Posted by Ronan on April 2, 2007 at 6:30pm —
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Food Matters
My experience post op with complete knee replacement surgery
I went into the hospital, CUF Descobertas, at 18.00 the night before the surgery.
David Sampson, a good friend and Giulia and Becky two of my daughters, who all kindly came with me...God bless 'em
Very nice room, big and with a killer view of the Tagus and Vasco do Gama Bridge
I was advised not to drink or eat anything after 22.… Continue
FINALLY!
Cough, cough, cough. Osteopath can treat anything?
Tomorrow August 15 is a big holiday in Portugal. It is a religious and a national holiday. It is the day Catholics celebrate the assumption of Mary into heaven. It is also considered as half way point of the summer holidays.
