Infectious skills acquired from the study of pathology: unexpectedly

Q4. Discussing skills which I have acquired, that I didn’t expect to develop through this course.

The term ‘infectious skills’ in the title is a play on the unexpected nature of certain skills that I have taken from PATH2201. Surprisingly, Pathology can cause changes in a learner in a short period of time. I found myself developing attributes which will undoubtedly help me in my future study. These have been summarized below:

Improving independent skills:

The media assessment has been instrumental in allowing me to get a glimpse into the self-directed process of writing research papers. This experience is essential for three reasons:

a) This is the first course that has offered an assessment which encourages student thinking and analysis by allowing them to create their own research question. This process is what happens in the ‘real world’ aka the field of research: a researcher chooses a topic they resonate with, experiment and write papers. It is very difficult to get a sense of this aspect of this profession, since most courses set a specific assignment question that students work towards. Students undertaking such assignments don’t realize the amount of work that goes into making a research question, and how they will be expected to do this in a commercial research lab. With this assessment, I was able to experience researching for my own question. At the time, it was a pain: to go unfocused into a stem of research can make one feel disoriented since research is all about tangents and can feel like multiple people yelling at the same time. I understood the importance of the year of submission  in this aspect. Understanding the sequence of experimentation and acquisition of knowledge is crucial for synthesizing a comprehensive research question. It can also help find gaps where future research is needed. When I understand the sequence in which anti-prion drugs were trialed, I was able to link two drugs together according to complimentary in function and suggest potential research using a combination of drugs rather than using a single drug. This assignment found me unconsciously developing an understanding with researchers. I have an inkling of the true nature of research it’s self direction and self-motivation. I realize that due to this feature, research will suit independent souls who can make their own goals and follow through.

b) critical analysis of presentation of disease in media could be undertaken. The media is famous for its dramatizations and half-revelations which often leads to misunderstandings by the general public. I thought the above was the most important relationship between media and research. However, after looking up articles, I was able to conclude the contrary:

Research into disease needs media representation.

• It can give a new discovery exposure: allowing people outside of the field to keep up with breakthroughs. I was alerted to the new-found success of anti-prion drug
• Also, it could spread the word to other researchers who may not fall under the research team’s career network. Although, it is expected of researchers to be regularly updated on current research via subscriptions to appropriate scientific journals which may explain the issue at hand better and with more industry-specific jargon.
• It may influence the working of a research team. Topics recognized by media and the public as being of high importance in the context of an epidemic (e.g. looking into an Ebola vaccine) may be initiated immediately. They may also have their research teams funded quicker. (This bit is a guess. I didn’t analyse any financial data)

I now find myself critically analyzing every feature of a scientific article. Does this drug really cure cancer? Is this vaccine truly effective despite the headline saying “CURE FOR XYZ DISEASE FOUND”? What does the scientific literature actually say?

I realize I have become more skeptical of media articles. But this skepticism is healthy in a research field where an important part of work is to critical evaluate the importance of found data and understand how one could add to or better conclude that data.

Also, I am more comfortable ruffling through scientific literature for information. At the start of this course, I found scientific articles intimidating with their content and jargon, but experience with analyzing articles has allowed me to understand how to skim and look for relevant information, and not feel overwhelmed by additional information.

c) The sense of refreshing independence provided by the assignment allowed me to look into a lesser known disease: Creutzfeldt Jakobs Disease (CJD). Prion disease are rare but had been brought into the spotlight by the British outbreak of CJD acquired from cattle infected with mad cow disease. Ever since, potential connections between CJD and more prevalent neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s has been drawn due to similarity in their pathogenesis. A breakthrough in anti-prion drugs could mean a breakthrough in neurodegenerative therapy as well.

Analytical and diagnostic skills:

It would be too ambitious to say that PATH2201 has enabled me to diagnose medical problems in the people around me, since it is an introductory course. Although, it has got me thinking about the prognosis of every little ailment presented by my family and friends.

Friend: I got this horrible cold over the weekend.

Me (serious): What color is your phlegm?

Note: The above event has been exaggerated, but nonetheless projects the idea of what I am trying to convey. This was unexpected, as I usually have a tendency to brush off daily medical dysfunctions. The introduction into all the things that could go wrong with the body has opened my eyes and instilled in me the need to study deeper into disease.

The fact that I unconsciously link together symptoms of body dysfunctions to their possible causes has inclined me to choosing pathology as a potential area of specialization in my Medical Science degree. If unconsciously, I have developed a mere inkling of a diagnostic skill; voluntarily, there is potential to magnify it and positively benefit my future career in the medical field.

Thus, in conclusion, I have gained independence, literary research and analytical skills from this course. This was truly surprising as my expectation at the start of this course was to gain a comprehensive understanding of human disease (which the course has catered to).

Using an e-portfolio for pathology: the good, the not-so-good

Q3. Reflecting critically on using an e Portfolio for my learning, i.e. discussing the role of reflection on my learning.

This is my second experience using an e-portfolio software. My first experience was with a SCIF course in my first year, which had me reflecting on what it meant to be a scientist. I understand that PATH2201 aimed to used the marked e-portfolio in order to make students acknowledge the importance of and utilize self reflection in their learning.

I feel that e-portfolios are a great way to initiate and introduce the process of self reflection. Students are at the starting points of their careers. To effectively plan and direct their career paths, one must do a lot of self reflection.

“Do I like this? Can I do this for the rest of my life? What am I learning from this?”

Taking myself as an example, I was introduced to the concept of self reflection via this assessment. I was able to self reflect and decide my third year courses for specializations in my Bachelor of Medical Science degree.

After much deliberation, I was able to single out genetics and microbiology as specializations I am not leaning towards. I am undertaking an on-going use of self-reflection to further narrow down my one true specialization.

On a lesser note, I had used self-reflection for synthesizing study notes for pathology. I used to think that notes for pathology could be done by hand. But after using too much time to do the initial lecture notes, I was able to go back, reflect and decide that electronic notes was the way forward.

Regarding the e-portfolio allowing me to self reflect; it was the main reason for my updated stance on the media assignment. Answering the questions for reflection on the portfolio allowed me to be efficient in my synthesis of my chosen article, my chosen peer-reviewed texts and hence enabled me to do my best on the media assignment. I was faced with a road-block on my synthesis of the many treatments for Creutzfeldt Jakob disease(CJD). I wasn’t prepared for the extensive new research being done on the topic- potential drugs, genetic engineering and even RNA interference are being harnessed for obtaining a cure for CJD. The question “Why and how did you choose your Media Assignment research topic?” was instrumental in making a firm decision to delve into anti-prion drugs and direct my mental energies towards this topic.

Although at the same time, I must say that this method of using a marked e-portfolio might not help everyone from the cohort.

Some people have the innate ability to synthesize and self-reflect in their own time and might find the e-portfolio process a waste and almost akin to blogging. This phenomenon is seen in people who are not used to keeping personal diaries (which helps prepare the diary-writing public by allowing them to hone writing their thoughts in cohesive sentences)

I am one of these non-diary-writing people. I often felt that I could not fully express my thoughts on paper, particularly my excitement and motivation towards choosing my research question for pathology. I had expressed that it was regarding the use of anti-prion drugs to cure CJD.

Only after much theory work on the media assignment, was I able to fully synthesize the research question. It regarded the proposal of a novel therapy involving two upcoming anti-prion drugs; chosen such that each overcame the limitation of the other.

Coming back to the reflection, I often felt that there were times where I was writing down the obvious, and that my idea of reflection was to answer the questions on Moodle.

Although the difficulty face while writing these notes, I am grateful for the fact that I am given a chance to hone my literary self-reflection skills. In today;s world of careers and employment, self-promotion is key. It is absolutely necessary to project yourself positively towards an employer, be in via CVs, e-portfolios or personally. For honing this ability, this marked e-portfolio is cruicial.

Therefore, despite knowing that I am not the sort of person gifted at projecting their reflections on paper, I am positive that if I keep at the processes required by this assignment, I will be able to overcome this aspect and grow as a person.