The only form of 'colon cleansing' i can think of = laxatives.

The amount of stationary you need for first year depends on how much notetaking you do. I generally prefer writing on lecture slides while I know friends who write their own notes/transfer information from slides to paper.

For me, 4 years down, I am still using the very same testpad I bought in year 1. No need to mention the untouched box of Pilot G2 pen refills.

I totally agree with the Australian situation. It is ridiculous that someone who devoted 5/6 years in a foreign country for a medical degree is not even left with the option of getting recognised in the country after he/she graduates. Only way one can 'convert' to PR status while studying is if you get in and marry an Australian ASAP. LOL.

I agree. It's quite enlightening (/disheartening lol) to know that the English standards are much higher overseas, coming from someone who claims English as her first language. You can speak English all your life in Malaysia, and yet learn it improperly. A lot about Medicine is about communication - a pt's hx is the most important part of a consult. It's very important when communicating with patients (esp overseas) because it's hard to get your questions across without proper sentence structuring. They get frustrated, you get frustrated, and it's a waste of time.

I do think that most of the time, it's habitual. We're just so used to phrasing sentences a certain way (Malaysian style yo!) that it's hard to 'switch back' to proper English mode when need be.

And that's a reflection, not a fact.

In most cases a presumptive diagnosis is made after taking a patient's history, and investigations are targeted towards confirming/ruling out your hypothesis. What various options are there apart from..walking around with an interpreter?

Isn't that what clinical trials are for? Most treatments usually start with lab based/mice studies after all. I don't see any harm in calling it a LIKELY treatment.

I'm guessing it's because HSV 2 in neonates are associated with a high morbidity and mortality rates. and acyclovir is in Category B but it isn't really all that bad - no demonstration of risks in animal studies/no or limited human studies available. Therapeutic guidelines says acyclovir +/- C section should be considered in women with active HSV2 in their third trimester, so I guess the answer is yes.