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/