star trek is actually the greatest teacher

When I was an M1, an M4 was trying to do a research project on how Star Trek could be used to teach medical students about bioethics. At that time, I had barely finished watching all of Star Trek The Original Series and Star Trek The Next Generation. Within the last month, however, I finished watching all four of the widely accepted spin-offs (I know Enterprise is cannon but everyone keeps getting so angry when I bring it up!), and as I walk around the hospital I find myself wondering what life would be like if I was instead on a starship or asking myself how one of the four doctors would have chosen to deal with my current dilemmas. 

So in honor of them, I made this art:

Full Circle

I still suck at board review tuesdays, but I seem to have developed a pattern of writing in every eight days, so expect me to write about something, I suppose, next Friday.

Although the real reason I haven't had anything to write about concerning boards is because I haven't studied. At all. For over a week. For over eight days.

I'm freaking out, but instead of doing something about it (namely, study) I seem incapable of doing anything productive.

I mean I'm studying for school, but school grades don't matter. Hah!

Eventually I'll probably get out of this slump. I can't imagine cramming for the boards. That sounds like a hell no one deserves, no matter how undisciplined, dumb, currently care free, or beautiful* that person may be.

Speaking of actual school, I'm excited for class tomorrow because our hit-or-miss pathology class will be hopefully educating the idiots in my class about what diabetes is. And honestly, I could learn some more about type 2 diabetes too. I'm sick of how much stuff we know about diabetes that isn't mine. I've been skimming tomorrow morning's notes for fun.... Wrong word... curiosity. Looks like a genetic component for type 1 diabetes has been proven in white people. Which is great for me, a curious, half-white person of child-bearing age who really wants to know if my genes are defective or if I'm just unlucky. I want, nay, need to get sequenced. Besides the diabetes I am literally perfect**.

Fortunately there is at least one amazing thing about the lecture notes for tomorrow:

Borg Picard in a diabetes lecture?! 

DAMN! I'm watching television (I was not kidding, I am a failure) and I just heard Lucy Liu say the word "neutrophil." Apparently she's an ex-doctor on the television show Elementary. I approve. And I am feeling pretty lucky. Maybe I will study tomorrow.

*I needed a pick-me-up.

**I still needed a pick-me-up.

Borg Metaphor

So as the Borg are spreading across the Delta quadrant, they're behaving like prion proteins, taking similar proteins (humanoids) and converting them into a more Borg friendly model. 

Honestly, I don't think prion proteins are cubes, but such was the capricious nature of this powerpoint presentation and so I just spent the last ten minutes making this .gif. 

Retinoblastoma (gross)

Pathology, you have a penchant for understatement.