English Language Challenges

Hi Everyone!

Today I´m going to talk about my experience learning english at university.  For me it was a very good experience. At school I had good grades in the subject but it was a bit difficult for me to learn it.

My base was not very good, for this reason I had a little fear of English at the university. But it was the opposite. I started in English II and I had very good grades. I learned to know the language better and to speak in English in a more fluent way. 

The following year, in English III I had to practice more dialogues and write through blogs. I think that blogs are a very good strategy to learn to write texts on different topics, such as our experiences in the university, our personal tastes, hobbies, our personal opinions. English IV was also a very good experience. At the beginning I thought it would be very complicated but I realized that it was easier than I thought. What I liked most about this course is that we could learn the language in an environment of trust and without fear of mistakes. In this university, it always happens that professors are excellent professionals in their area, but they question us a lot if we do not know something, by the fact of being in this university. I'm not saying it's wrong but sometimes it's exhausting.

In general, learning English at the university was a very good experience. At the beginning I was afraid but I realized that learning this language is very easy, it only requires a lot of practice and dedication (like everything in life). I would love to continue learning since that would open many doors in the professional field.

Changes to my study programme

Hi Everyone!
Today I´m going to talk about changes that I would make in my university studies program. This year in particular has been very complicated in terms of academic load. This year I am studying the subject of "Simulation for clinical practice" where we have to develop manual skills to perform treatments and restorations. The complicated thing is that they demand a great amount of evaluated activities and there is no time to have mistakes. If you fall behind you can fail the subject.

I would make changes by better distributing calendar times and privilege learning instead of the number of approved activities. The fact of doing so fast activities is that we stop thinking that we are attending to a person and we concentrate only on the teeth or caries and nothing else. The profession is mechanized. To this is added all the other amount of subjects such as "health promotion and education", "anthropology", "evidence-based dentistry" and "diagnosis", which have a high level of academic demand.

I think the most important thing for dental students is not to mechanize professional practice. But rather worry about the patients, that there are different factors that cause the diseases and that the treatment considers those situations. For example, the socioeconomic level of the patient, if the health center is very far from home, his work, his habits of dental hygiene, the illnesses of his family. All that influences their behavior and how we can guide a solution to end their discomfort. Do not concentrate only on the tooth, because this way we are not generating a change of consciousness to help the patient.

My Favourite Subject

Hi Everyone!
Today I´m going to talk about a subject that I enjoyed studing this semester. My favourite subject is "Scientific and clinical basis for the diagnosis II". This subject is very complete because it covers different branches of science that have to be applied in the clinic, in order to make diagnoses of diseases. The areas that are studied are; biochemistry, physiology, radiology, pathology, clinical semiology, microbiology and the specialties of cariology and periodontics.

At the beginning of the semester, we started with biochemistry studying the different properties of the cells and their relationship with systemic and oral diseases. We also study in depth the systemic diseases that may have an impact on oral diseases such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, gastritic diseases such as gastro-oesophageal reflux, ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, seizure disorders and anemia.

Another very interesting part of the subject was the study of the different laboratory tests to control the health of the patients.

In the last part we have been studying about the two most prevalent oral diseases in the Chilean population; caries and periodontal disease.We analyze what is the origin of the disease, how it affects the oral tissues, how to diagnose this disease and what kind of treatment we can indicate to the patients.


I really like this subject because it allows me to understand how diseases act and how we can diagnose and prevent them.

My opinion

Hi

Everyone!

Today I`m going to talk about my opinionon different topics.

Violence on television?

In this last time there has been an increase in violence that is shown on television, whether in television programs, movies or in the news. Violence exposed on television can lead children to develop aggressive behavior. Many of these behaviors are learned through observation and are easily remembered.  This is a big problem because when children have difficult situations to solve, doing it with violence will be something natural. I believe that parents should take responsibility for the content their children see.

Adoption?

I think adoption is a very good option for couples who can not have children or for people who choose to give a child a better life. Adopting is not an easy decision, because the couples who are going to make this decision have gone through difficult times trying to have children and assuming they can not do it. Parents often have feelings of vulnerability and impotence. The best thing for children is to generate a secure attachment, that the parent - child relationship is of quality and that there is the ability to impose discipline and at the same time be affectionate.

having pets at home?

I think having pets in the house is very good for the family. It allows to generate healthy habits like going for a walk being a great relief for people with depression or bipolar disorder. It makes the lives of people much more active because they have to be aware of the needs of their pets. In the case of children, it causes them to be more empathetic, active, sensitive and responsible.

chilean education?

I think that education in Chile is of poor quality. It does not encourage children to search for their own methods of study. It is based on learning from memory and repeating the same in tests. There is no adequate process of understanding and analysis. In addition there are many children per room, which makes it difficult for their learning process to be better.

Postgraduate Studies

Hi Everyone!
Today I´m going to talk about my future postgraduate studies. I still do not have a clear idea of what I am going to specialize in, but I am attracted to the idea of studying Surgery and Traumatology of the mouth and maxillofacial. I like this specialty since it incorporates a lot of knowledge of other specialty of dentistry, such as pathology and oral radiology. Some of the topics to be discussed are; scientific method of investigation, basic fundamentals of surgery, biological bases of pathology, embryology, growth and facial cranial development. I would like to study this specialty in Chile, at the University of Chile. But if there is the possibility of doing it outside the country, I would happily take the option.

I would like to study some days of the week and work the days that I have available. As a part-time course. Before studying the specialty I would like to work in general dentistry. It is a way to get to know the work field and also to know the main health needs of people.

My Future Job

Hi everyone!
Today I´m going to talk about my future job. In the future, I want to practice my profession as a dental surgeon. I would like to work first in public health. I think it's a good place to start developing my profession. Also in our country, public health has many shortcomings. The current health system needs better professionals and another system of organization to increase the resources in another way.

I would also like to work in different regions of the country. Places that have less access to oral health. I would like to have a mobile clinic to visit different parts of the country and in this way to know how is the oral health situation in our country.

Finally, I would like to have a dental clinic in Padre Hurtado, the place where I have lived a large part of my life. Although it is located near Santiago, there is little access to health professionals. There is only one dentist for 65,000 people. For this reason I would like to have a clinic with professionals from different specialties, at reasonable prices, to improve the oral health and the quality of life of the people of Padre Hurtado.

For now these are my life projects, I have a long way to go but with effort and work I can achieve everything that I set out to do.

My Profession

Hi everyone!

Today I´m going to talk about my profession. The profession that I chose is Dentistry. 

Dentistry is a profession that  takes care of the health of the stomatognathic system. This system is composed by; lips, tongue, teeth, gum, cheek, palate, tonsils, salivary glands, lymph nodes, temporomandibular joint, among others. The organs and tissues of this system allow basic functions such as; eat, talk, to pronunce, chew, smile, breathe, even kiss.

Due to the vital importance of this part of the body, the dentistry degree has a duration of six years. This profession is a mixture of a wide scientific knowledge (branches of science such as biology, chemistry, physics, biochemistry, pathology, semiology, physiology, pharmacology, among others) and highly developed manual skills.

Personally, this profession that brings together all the things that I like. But the most important thing is to give a better quality of oral health to our patients and educate the Chilean population about oral health and its prevention. In this way we can even improve the quality of our country's health.

                                 

My Favourite Concert

Hi Everyone!

Today I'm going to talk about my favorite concert. The best part is that I was able to participate. I play the violin since 2008. I started with private tutors and then I applied to a youth orchestra. I am currently a member of the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Padre Hurtado. 

In 2016 we were selected to participate in the 15th anniversary of the founding of children's and youth orchestras of Chile (FOJI). It consisted of a series of concerts in different parts of Santiago. First we went to the Pablo Neruda concert hall in Quinta Normal. The second presentation was at the Palacio de la Moneda and the last and most important was at the Movistar Arena. 

It was the best experience of my life. There were 40 orchestras from all over Chile, and we played several songs together. It was wonderful because there were many types of classical instruments. It was a great experience for us, because it was the first time that a youth orchestra represented Padre Hurtado in a national event.

A Country I´d Like to visit

Hi Everyone!

My favourite country is Sweden. It is in Northern Europe. Its capital is Stockholm. Its population is 9.903 million people. This country has a mixture of modernity and nature. 

Sweden has one of the most efficient political systems in the world. In fact, the country guarantees all the rights of its inhabitants, such as free education and health. Swedish nature is vital for the governments and inhabitants of the country. The forests and seas are very well cared for, with their species always protected.

The city of Stockholm is built on 14 islands. It has more than 50 bridges, in addition to an ancient medieval city, Gamla Stan, royal palaces and museums, such as the Skansen outdoors.

Gamla Stan's Christmas market is the oldest in Sweden, starting in 1837. Here you can find candies, decoration, crafts and much more in some cabins that claim to imitate the stalls that existed in the Middle Ages.

I really want to know this country! 

Reflections of the Year

This has been a very dynamic year for me. I started the year very calmly enjoying my holidays in January and February. In those months, I began to buy the instruments that we were going to use in the clinical practice subjects and I bought my clinical suit. I was very excited to wear a clinic suit!  I was very motivated to start this academic year, since every time we have less theoretical subjects and more practical subjects.

The year began very demanding from the very first day and my class schedule was very extensive. Most days I enter at 08:00 am and leave at 05:30 pm. To get to the time I have to get up at 05:30 am. But I was so motivated that the schedules were not a problem for me.

The new subject “Simulation” is stressful but I've learned a lot about clinic and patient care. I learned to fight against frustration, which is very common in this type of career. It is the first time that I perform operative practices and it is very common to make mistakes, but I had to learn to be efficient and to work quickly. 

The other subjects are easier such a “Anthropology”, “promotion and education in health” and “dentistry based on evidence”.  Also take a drawing course that allows me to relax a bit.  And I cannot forget my violin classes on weekends and the concerts with the orchestra of Padre Hurtado! 

In this English course I learned a lot about this language. I am a very introverted person and English scared me sometimes. But now I feel more secure  and I want to continue learning.  

The year in general has been a bit more complex than the previous one, but everything can be achieved with hard work and persistence, that is the key to everything!  I have learned to organise myself better, to organise better my times and to be more persevering with my goals, there is still much to be given. I also had to study much more, but I'm happy.

My Favourite Food

It was very difficult for me to think about my favorite food because I love to eat.

In my family everyone knows how to cook but my grandmother does it every day. She has a garden with all kinds of vegetables to cook and  prepares most of the time traditional food. Of all the delicious things she cooks, what I like most are beans, and the best thing is that they can be prepared in many ways, always with many vegetables.

For example,

1. Granados beans; They are cooked in summer and prepared with corn and basil,  can be accompanied with tomato salad.

2. Beans with reins; They are cooked in winter and prepared with noodles, pumpkin and sausage.

3. Beans with mazamorra

4. Beans with Mote

5. Beans with rise

Then you will find a recipe to prepare beans with reins in these days of cold.

Ingredients

2 ½ Cups of beans
½ Kg of sliced pumpkin
2 Tablespoons of oil
½ Finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Teaspoon of colored pepper
½ Teaspoon of ground oregano and cumin
¼ Pack of noodles cut in half

Preparation

1.- Put the beans and squash together in a saucepan with 1 ½ liter of hot water, cook on high heat for 25 to 30 minutes or until they are well cooked.

2.- Meanwhile, heat a frying pan with the indicated oil and add the onion with the garlic, sauté for a few minutes until it softens slightly. Season with the colored pepper and the oregano, cook again for a few more minutes.

3.- Add this sauce to the pot with the beans and add the noodles, cook for about 8 to 10 minutes until the noodles are cooked completely and thicken the preparation. Once ready serve when you like accompanied by a salad of tomatoes or celery if it's your taste.

My Favourite Subject

       

This year at the university has been very intense. The subjects of this year have been more complex and more related to future work in clinic. But that does not mean that these subjects are not entertaining to study. Currently, my favourite subject is "Scientific and Clinical basis for diagnosis in dentistry I".

It is very interesting because this subject covers several branches of the sciences such as biochemistry, physiology, pathology and semiology It helps the dentist in training to identify signs and symptoms through the clinical examination to recognize alterations of normality. Thanks to this knowledge we can recognize the most prevalent pathologies in oral mucosa, salivary glands, periodontal tissues, maxillary bones and teeth, in patients of all ages.

The subject begins with biochemistry, which studies the chemical composition of human beings. Especially proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and metabolic reactions.

Physiology studies the functions of each part of the body. It is related to the nervous, musculoskeletal, circulatory, respiratory, gastrointestinal, immune and endocrine systems.

Pathology is a branch of medicine responsible for the study of diseases. More specifically, this discipline is responsible for the study of the biochemical and functional structural changes that underlie the disease in cells, tissues and organs.

Finally, in semiology, the various pathological manifestations (signs or objective clinical manifestations and symptoms or subjective perceptions) are identified to form a clinical diagnosis.

All this knowledge allows me to see my profession from different prospectives and makes me understand all the dimensions that a disease can have. It is complex to study but it allows me to be better trained as a health professional.

Medline Plus

In this blog I am going to talk about a website that helped me a lot in my first year of the career. In Anatomy, I learned about all the organs of the body, bones, muscles, etc. I had to study many types of diseases of the whole body, not just the mouth. In addition, I had to solve clinical cases in which it requires a lot of information about surgical interventions, diseases and their diagnosis, recommended drugs according to the case and which anatomical structure was affected.

For that I used the website MedlinePlus, which is supported by national library of medicine of USA. In this Website we can inform ourselves and learn about the systems of the body and its various components, disorders and diseases of any kind and education about well-being, prevention and planning.

In the diagnosis and treatment section, we can find information about surgery and rehabilitation, diagnostic tests, symptoms, alternative therapies, transplants and donations, and medication treatments.

In the diseases section we can consult about; injuries, mental health and behavior, problems of metabolism, infections, congenital defects, poisoning and toxicology, abuse of addictive substances, pregnancy and very common diseases such as diabetes and cancer.

It also has multimedia material and videos explaining how they affect diseases, how they perform surgeries, questionnaires on healthy lifestyles and games about health.

One of the things I like most about this website is that it can be used by all kinds of people, from professionals to patients. It is highly recommended for people to educate themselves about their illnesses and which is the protocol that the doctor follows to treat the disease.

Link: https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/

The reason why I am not a Typical Woman

Gender stereotypes is a very controversial topic these days due to feminist protests that have challenged these stereotypes. The role of women in society has changed over time.

When I was a child, I imagined my future as a doctor and working independently. I did not imagine myself as a housewife. Currently, I do all kinds of house works because that makes me an independent person, but I´m not going to dedicate myself to that all my life. 

I always liked studying. My dream was to enter university. At school, I had good marks but some teachers told me that I wrote ugly, like a man. I was surprised, but I did not change my writing because I am left-handed and it made me feel better to write like that. 

In the case of my family, my mother and my grandmother taught me to be an independent woman. My grandmother widowed when she was forty years old and had three children. She had to build a house and a mini-market to pay for the education of her children. She was mother and father at the same time.

The older siblings of my mother left and she stayed to live with my grandmother, both worked together to get ahead. My mother worked for five years in a shopping centre and then went to study design in haute couture. She has a very strong character, and some people have told her that she has the character of a man. But in the same time she is very elegant woman and her work is very feminine.

Then I understood that the gender stereotypes are still very marked in our society but my family taught me that we can do all kinds of things and not limit ourselves.  We must change this stereotypes.  

A Photografh Story

This photografh was taken in December 2013, at that time I was sixteen years old. In this picture I am in a Gala Concert of the youth symphony orchestra of Padre Hurtado and I play a violin solo. I was an incredible experience for me because it was my firts violin solo. The theme was the Tango Por Una Cabeza by Carlos Gardel. I practised for six months because Tango is dificult to play and requieres a lot of skill and passion. I choose this theme because it represents the instrument; is elegant, passionate, complex, very connected with feelings. All my family went to see me. The teather was full of people, however, I was very quiet. 

My mother made the dress for me, because she is high fashion designer. The dress was long and black, similar to the costume of the Tango Dancers. It also looked sexy. 

At that moment I felt calm but anxious. When I started playing, I began to feel more confident and calm. Finally the solo sounded really good. In fact, at the end of the concert they asked me to repeat the song. The whole audience applauded, it was a gift to all my effort and dedication. 

In January of this year I began to rehearse the Concert in A minor of Vivaldi. I´m going to perform at the Gala Concert in January of 2019. I´m very excited. 

My Opinion About Abortion

The Abortion is the most controversial theme in Chile. The debate of his Legalisation had extended for many years because our country is one of the most conservative respect of that. The different point of view between the people that believe the abortion is a murder, influenced mainly for church, in opposition to the people that is more liberal and believed that is the mother decision. In august of 2017 the government approved the law that allow the practise in some cases like: When the mother´s life is at risk, when the fetus will not survive and in case of rape. Although is a legal practise, even had a restrictions. 

In the history of Chile, the therapy abortion was permitted by the Health Code in 1931 but was abolished by the military dictatorship on September 15, 1989. Arguing that due to advances in medicine it was no longer justifiable. This facts enable to us that in our country the abortion it was done for a long time, in a therapeutic way, but is a reality.

 My suggestions for improvement this law is train and educate doctors in this procedures, improve the hospitals and clinics with appropriate instrumentals and pavilions. Educated the people and understand that is not a tabu theme. Is a reality and a right of woman.

I Believe that the abortion is decision of the mother and cannot be influenced by religion or prejudice. The woman is owner of her body and is able to decide if she can give a decent life to her son. Our Country should be more aware of this issue, in this way people will understand its importance for our society.

In this link are more information about the history of abortion in our country:
http://fundacionbalmaceda.cl/desarrollo-historico-politico-y-social-del-aborto/

My Favourite Technological object

Personally, I´am not aware of technological advances. But, I recognize that the technological advances have changed our lives. In the orchestras are very conservative and has very little technological advances. One of my favourite object when I play the Violin is the Digital Tuner. In 2008 my father gave me a turned when I started studying music.
The Tuner is placed in the on the upper bout or in the scroll of the violin. I play a string with the bow and the tuner indicates if it is tuned or not.  I use the violin tuner every time I practice and when I have a concert. I like to use because facilitated the study and avoids that the tunning of the instrument be incorrect. The tuning is very important in the orchestra because the concertino (the principal violinist) is in charge of tuning all the instrument of the orchestra, and because of that the tuning must be perfect!
Without this object, tuning would be a more time-consuming and complex process.     

The Digital Tuner

The Scroll of the violin

The Upper Bout of the Violin

Parts of Violin

The reason that I study Dentistry

I love to study dentistry very much, but throughout all these years I have had some different ideas to choose a career. When I was a child I wanted to become a doctor, but at the same time I like science. I had a laboratory in my room and created "potions" to help people, like medication. I wrote a book about my research of plants and flowers in my garden, I drew the different forms of leaves, trees, so much nature. In one occasion, I pretended to be a dentist with a teddy bear. And I liked it so much.

In 2011 I made a list with all careers in Chile, I was undecided and had curiosity for entering a university. In my options i had pharmaceutical chemistry, medical technology, architecture (I liked to draw buildings and constructions), graphic design and obviously dentistry. I didn't like the idea to study law or engineering. 

I decided to study dentistry because you can incorporate the studies of science in many areas, like biology, microbiology, pathology, physiology, anatomy, pharmacology, histology, among many others. But also odontology has the manual dexterity, is the artistic part in my opinion. I can do a lot of research and different lab tasks. And the most important thing is we can help people. Odontology has everything that I like. 

My experience at university has been so good. I know many people with the same interests like me and the university has the vision that we can improve dental health in Chile, and especially the public health, that was very impressive to me because we had so much responsibility in the future decisions of our country.  

The kind of job that I like is restorative dentistry but also i like teaching. 

My Autobiography

I was born in Santiago, Chile on July 14th, 1997. My family is composed of my father Fernando, my mother Gaby (Yes, Gaby no Gabriela), my grandma Eliana and my little brother Martín, he is my best friend. I was born in Nuñoa but all my life I live in Padre Hurtado, is a little town located in the south of Santiago. First, I studied at catholic school called Benjamín Vergara up to 2011, then I went to Terraustral Oeste of 2012 up to 2015, I had good grades but I don´t like my classmates. In 2016 I study in a Preuniversitario "Pedro de Valdivia", and finally in 2017 I Can study Dentistry at University of Chile, is a dream come true for me. My brother Martín studies in a special school in Peñaflor, because he had  problems to communicate and speak, but he is amazing drawing and painting, specially cars and motorbikes. 

I have so much hobbies, like runing, listening music(my favourite is a classical music), painting landscapes, waching movies (my favourite are Star Wars movies) and playing the Violin. I started in 2008, when I have 11 years old, with a particular teacher. Actually I play in a Juvenile Orchestra in Padre Hurtado. We have many concerts in a different places, such a "Palacio de la Moneda" and the "Movistar Arena" in a National encounter of juvenile Orchestras, the best moment in my life. I play in a different events such a marriages, baptism, graduations, inaugurations, I enjoyed so much and I meeting so many friends that, like me, play classical instrument.

One of my dreams is become to a doctor and the same time study music, I can´t live without art and music. I believe that the sciences and arts can complement and both are important in the education and in the life. 

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