Before I started HSFY, I wanted to find out a lot more about the course, what we'd learn and what to expect. I felt the need for a more recent experience and decided to start this blog after HSFY ended (meant to do it during the year but work caught up with me).
You may have already come across these sites and blogs before, but these were really helpful for me in both HSFY and writing this blog:
Achieving Success in Otago HSFY
A great blog by a med student with other tips on how to get into Medicine and their experiences through HSFY in 2009/2010.
Epikness
Epikness has a brilliant dentistry interview guide (under the blog tab) and other cool random thoughts for those of you who don't get in at the end of the year of HSFY - other options including post-graduate entry for med and dent.
Med-Students Online Forum
This site is great for students looking to take medicine in the near future. I've linked to the NZ forums where there is a wealth of information about rank scores, random advice and halls of residences to general chats.
However, there is much more on the site so if you have time, have a poke around and see what else you can find that helps you.
I'm going to update this later with more useful sites, these were just the first few that came to mind. If you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to comment below.
Sunday, 21 December 2014
Thoughts on CELS 191
CELS 191 is the biology based topic for HSFY All of the information they tell you in the lectures is examinable and it is taught quite well by most of the lecturers.
It covers a range of topics from genetics, cells and viruses, to ecology (to name a few).
Coming from a NCEA background, there is quite a lot of overlap with the new NCEA level 2 Biology course. (new as in updated since 2012).
So if you haven't really done much Biology before and are worried about what you might learn, I'd recommend having a look through the NCEA level 2 biology content.
For those of you who haven't looked this paper up on the Otago site:
CELS191 Cell and Molecular Biology
The course format:
CELS has 6 labs each with a Blackboard test, 44 lectures (and a few review lectures), 2 GLMs, 2 tests (mid-semester and end of semester tests)
1. GLMs (Guided Learning Modules)
Each of your GLMs are worth 5%, making up a total of 10% of your final grade.
Compared to the HUBS GLMs, these are very hard. The GLMs cover material in the lecture as well as other knowledge which is covered in additional GLM material supplied to you earlier in the year (about 4 - 6 weeks prior to the assessment open date).
Please do not expect to get the full 5% for the GLM. I managed to get 5% on the first, but was way off for my second GLM and I didn't know anyone who actually got the full 5% on the second GLM.
However, don't neglect the GLM since it is worth 5% of your grade and as everyone says, every point counts. :)
Unlike some previous years, there was no printed GLM booklet available for usage, so all of the resources were available online (you can print them off yourself).
2014 had a four or five sectioned booklet ranging from agar plate colours to interpreting electron micrographs.
There is ample preparation online for this so I'd recommend going through the preparation material early so that you don't rush the material right before the assessment opens. In fact, some of the questions asked in the actual assessment GLM were identical to questions in the preparation material.
The actual assessment GLM is released online and is available for about 2 weeks. You have 4 hours to complete it but unlike other GLMs, you cannot go back to previous questions.
This adds to the pressure but so long as in your mind you are sure about an answer, you should press on.
I've met with friends and pored over the GLM for hours just to get an extra 0.1% added to my grade. In hindsight, it was probably better to have used that time to study for the exam.
2. Labs
3-hour labs can seem quite daunting. Considering you have 4 labs in the first semester, you wonder where your time has gone. However, use this time wisely as you can ask your lab demonstrators questions about anything CELS related, not just what is covered in the lab.
In addition, in our year we were allowed to complete all the bookwork prior to coming to the lab. If you want to put in the hours early, you can leave early from the lab after completing the experiments. Also, if you leave everything until last minute in the lab, you have to wait an agonisingly long time for a demonstrator to check your work. It's up to you.
3. Study Questions and Past Exams
These are gold, a lifeline to your CELS studies. The study questions are posted rewording past exam questions to match changes in the course over time. Model answers are also posted the following week which should give you some idea as to what you're missing in your answers.
Those minor details could mean the difference between a good mark and a great mark. Usually it's not enough to know the general gist of what the lecture was about, every point covered is pretty much assessed (except for the lecture on Darwin and his backstory)
The CELS exams are well written to match the lecture objectives provided in the handouts and ensure that they're covering only what is taught in lectures.
From what I've heard, to get those extra marks, it would pay to give extra relevant details to your answers eg. Allele frequencies can change due to migration. Migration can add or remove alleles from the population.
Warning: I did the 2013 exam a couple of nights before the exam. Some of the same questions came up but you may resent forgetting in the heat of the moment what the answer was
4. CELS 191 Helpdesk
One thing I wish I knew about earlier is the CELS 191 Helpdesk. It's as simple as going to the CELS 191 office in the Microbiology building and asking to book a time to meet one of the Teaching Fellows.
The teaching fellows are more than happy to tutor you in anything you are struggling to understand. In addition, you can take your written answers to exams or practice SAQs, and they will happily mark them or give you pointers about them. Since the answers to the practice mid-semester test nor the answers to the final exams are given out, you can get an idea of what they are looking for for your answers.
Each session is half an hour long so it's pretty useful and you don't have to rush through anything.
Well, that ended up being a long ranty kind of post but hopefully that was useful to you.
CELS is enjoyable if you look past the GLMs and BETs (Blackboard exit tests), the content itself is quite interesting.
It covers a range of topics from genetics, cells and viruses, to ecology (to name a few).
Coming from a NCEA background, there is quite a lot of overlap with the new NCEA level 2 Biology course. (new as in updated since 2012).
So if you haven't really done much Biology before and are worried about what you might learn, I'd recommend having a look through the NCEA level 2 biology content.
For those of you who haven't looked this paper up on the Otago site:
CELS191 Cell and Molecular Biology
The course format:
CELS has 6 labs each with a Blackboard test, 44 lectures (and a few review lectures), 2 GLMs, 2 tests (mid-semester and end of semester tests)
1. GLMs (Guided Learning Modules)
Each of your GLMs are worth 5%, making up a total of 10% of your final grade.
Compared to the HUBS GLMs, these are very hard. The GLMs cover material in the lecture as well as other knowledge which is covered in additional GLM material supplied to you earlier in the year (about 4 - 6 weeks prior to the assessment open date).
Please do not expect to get the full 5% for the GLM. I managed to get 5% on the first, but was way off for my second GLM and I didn't know anyone who actually got the full 5% on the second GLM.
However, don't neglect the GLM since it is worth 5% of your grade and as everyone says, every point counts. :)
Unlike some previous years, there was no printed GLM booklet available for usage, so all of the resources were available online (you can print them off yourself).
2014 had a four or five sectioned booklet ranging from agar plate colours to interpreting electron micrographs.
There is ample preparation online for this so I'd recommend going through the preparation material early so that you don't rush the material right before the assessment opens. In fact, some of the questions asked in the actual assessment GLM were identical to questions in the preparation material.
The actual assessment GLM is released online and is available for about 2 weeks. You have 4 hours to complete it but unlike other GLMs, you cannot go back to previous questions.
This adds to the pressure but so long as in your mind you are sure about an answer, you should press on.
I've met with friends and pored over the GLM for hours just to get an extra 0.1% added to my grade. In hindsight, it was probably better to have used that time to study for the exam.
2. Labs
3-hour labs can seem quite daunting. Considering you have 4 labs in the first semester, you wonder where your time has gone. However, use this time wisely as you can ask your lab demonstrators questions about anything CELS related, not just what is covered in the lab.
In addition, in our year we were allowed to complete all the bookwork prior to coming to the lab. If you want to put in the hours early, you can leave early from the lab after completing the experiments. Also, if you leave everything until last minute in the lab, you have to wait an agonisingly long time for a demonstrator to check your work. It's up to you.
3. Study Questions and Past Exams
These are gold, a lifeline to your CELS studies. The study questions are posted rewording past exam questions to match changes in the course over time. Model answers are also posted the following week which should give you some idea as to what you're missing in your answers.
Those minor details could mean the difference between a good mark and a great mark. Usually it's not enough to know the general gist of what the lecture was about, every point covered is pretty much assessed (except for the lecture on Darwin and his backstory)
The CELS exams are well written to match the lecture objectives provided in the handouts and ensure that they're covering only what is taught in lectures.
From what I've heard, to get those extra marks, it would pay to give extra relevant details to your answers eg. Allele frequencies can change due to migration. Migration can add or remove alleles from the population.
Warning: I did the 2013 exam a couple of nights before the exam. Some of the same questions came up but you may resent forgetting in the heat of the moment what the answer was
4. CELS 191 Helpdesk
One thing I wish I knew about earlier is the CELS 191 Helpdesk. It's as simple as going to the CELS 191 office in the Microbiology building and asking to book a time to meet one of the Teaching Fellows.
The teaching fellows are more than happy to tutor you in anything you are struggling to understand. In addition, you can take your written answers to exams or practice SAQs, and they will happily mark them or give you pointers about them. Since the answers to the practice mid-semester test nor the answers to the final exams are given out, you can get an idea of what they are looking for for your answers.
Each session is half an hour long so it's pretty useful and you don't have to rush through anything.
Well, that ended up being a long ranty kind of post but hopefully that was useful to you.
CELS is enjoyable if you look past the GLMs and BETs (Blackboard exit tests), the content itself is quite interesting.
Saturday, 20 December 2014
The English Diagnostic Test
Most students freak out when they find out they have a test to do first thing before lectures start.
You may be concerned that this will separate you out into different bands of people right from the get go. Fear not, the English diagnostic test is designed just to make sure that you have a decent grasp of English.
It's mainly designed for non-native speakers of English. You don't even need Year 12 or Year 13 English. So long as you are able to write a decent essay, you should be fine.
The test is broken into three sections.
The format:
Section 1: Reading Comprehension
Time: 10 - 15 min approx.
A short paragraph from an article is given to you. Any words that may be specific to the content are defined at the bottom as well. Five or six questions are given to you and you have three lines to write a short answer. You mainly have to state basic facts from the article.
For us, we had an article on sport doping (doping was also defined), and one of the questions asked about the author's opinion.
Section 2: Dictation / Listening Comprehension
A few sentences are read out at a time. Then a question is asked about the sentences that were just read. You can take notes while the audio is playing. The sentences contained words that most people would know.
For example, from what I recall:
"In NZ, the floor at ground level is called the ground floor. The floor above it is called the first floor.
However in America the floor at ground level is called the first floor. The floor above it is the second floor. What is the floor one level above ground level called in New Zealand?"
Section 3: Essay Writing
Time: 30 min
An article is given to you to read. You are then given a question with which you must agree OR disagree with. I think we were only given one topic and the article was pretty irrelevant to the topic we had to write about so it might be better to skim read the article to get the general gist of it.
In summary, the English diagnostic test is not something to really worry about. If you think English is not your strong point, perhaps do some English comprehension e.g. reading an article and summarising the main points and author's view.
Most people who take the test pass it.
If you fail, cheer up since there are still two chances after it to pass it. Just make sure you turn up to the allocated catch-up time (I know someone who missed it).
Also for anyone still worrying about the test, here is a link to the official information from Otago:
http://www.otago.ac.nz/englishlinguistics/english/health-sciences-test.html
You may be concerned that this will separate you out into different bands of people right from the get go. Fear not, the English diagnostic test is designed just to make sure that you have a decent grasp of English.
It's mainly designed for non-native speakers of English. You don't even need Year 12 or Year 13 English. So long as you are able to write a decent essay, you should be fine.
The test is broken into three sections.
The format:
Section 1: Reading Comprehension
Time: 10 - 15 min approx.
A short paragraph from an article is given to you. Any words that may be specific to the content are defined at the bottom as well. Five or six questions are given to you and you have three lines to write a short answer. You mainly have to state basic facts from the article.
For us, we had an article on sport doping (doping was also defined), and one of the questions asked about the author's opinion.
Section 2: Dictation / Listening Comprehension
A few sentences are read out at a time. Then a question is asked about the sentences that were just read. You can take notes while the audio is playing. The sentences contained words that most people would know.
For example, from what I recall:
"In NZ, the floor at ground level is called the ground floor. The floor above it is called the first floor.
However in America the floor at ground level is called the first floor. The floor above it is the second floor. What is the floor one level above ground level called in New Zealand?"
Section 3: Essay Writing
Time: 30 min
An article is given to you to read. You are then given a question with which you must agree OR disagree with. I think we were only given one topic and the article was pretty irrelevant to the topic we had to write about so it might be better to skim read the article to get the general gist of it.
In summary, the English diagnostic test is not something to really worry about. If you think English is not your strong point, perhaps do some English comprehension e.g. reading an article and summarising the main points and author's view.
Most people who take the test pass it.
If you fail, cheer up since there are still two chances after it to pass it. Just make sure you turn up to the allocated catch-up time (I know someone who missed it).
Also for anyone still worrying about the test, here is a link to the official information from Otago:
http://www.otago.ac.nz/englishlinguistics/english/health-sciences-test.html
Friday, 19 December 2014
Motivation
The first thing you should work out is why you're doing Health Sci (HSFY).
You could be going for one of the professional programmes: Medicine, Dentistry, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy, and Med Lab Science.
Or, you could be going for the restricted-entry programmes: Radiation Therapy, Dental Technology, and Oral Health.
Alternatively, you could just be there because you want to work in the health sector and you're not really sure what programme you're really going for.
Either way, ideally aim for one or two of the programmes and use this as motivation for good grades.
You could be going for one of the professional programmes: Medicine, Dentistry, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy, and Med Lab Science.
Or, you could be going for the restricted-entry programmes: Radiation Therapy, Dental Technology, and Oral Health.
Alternatively, you could just be there because you want to work in the health sector and you're not really sure what programme you're really going for.
Either way, ideally aim for one or two of the programmes and use this as motivation for good grades.
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