G’day team,

Well after jumping into the thick of thing with my ‘Only Bad Reviews’ I thought I’d take a second to step back and introduce myself

My name is Tom.
I’m 25 Years Old.
I’m a Medical Student
I’m from Australia

In four facts, that’s me!

I’m a massive fan of all things science, medicine, fantasy and writing. Accordingly these will be the things I write most about. I’ll be sharing what I learn while studying medicine and what I discover when reading about science. I’ll be reviewing the books I read and games I play (generally fantasy genre) and I’ll try and have some fun writing (and share my bad sense of humour) ‘Only Bad Reviews’.

But first up, more about me, how I got where I am and what makes me tick!

How’d I get Where I Am

Medicine is a field that drags in all sorts of people, from all walks of life, and my path to Medicine was similarly indirect.

My love for all things science began with a book called A Brief History of Nearly Everything, which I received for my 13th birthday. As you can imagine this isn’t a romance set in Paris. It’s an amazing (and large… really large) book written by travel writer Bill Bryson, and through the 6 months that it took me to finish it I learned more than I’d done in 8 years at school! The novel covers almost every field of science and how we got to where we are today. But it does so much more than that. It introduces science as a subject of discovery, not of facts and figures. It took mundane topics and made them exciting and it did it effortlessly. And for me that’s what science is about, it’s about exploring the unknown. Like the explorers of old, scientists are an eclectic bunch of personalities. Bill Bryson’s book introduced the men and women who fought back popular opinion, pressure from the Church, family tragedy and even wars, in order to push on and make the discoveries that have created the world we live in today.

From that book on, I was hooked.

I studied science all through high school and when I graduated and moved to America to continue my education, it was to study science. I moved to Michigan in 2011 with a full scholarship to swim for my college. I loved science and I loved all of my classes. While I always had a passion for human –based sciences I made the effort to take classes in ecology and evolution through to analytical and organic chemistry (chemistry being my second love). Over the next four years, between the 20 hours of training and competing a week, I completed my undergraduate degree, an honours thesis and sat the Graduate Medical School Admission Test. With a score of 79 I was almost guaranteed a place in Medicine, and I’d planned to move back to Melbourne and study at UoM. But first I had some lessons to learn.

Long story short…

I made a mistake in my application. Spent 18 months arguing with administration teams, and finally gave up and moved to Queensland to complete Medicine.

Over these 18 months I learned one very important thing… I worked in Sales for a company called Thermo Fisher Scientific, selling scientific products to universities… (oh and I learned I’m terrible at sales). Over this year I learned I love studying and learning more than anything else. So when 2016 rolled around I was happy to give up on my UoM dreams and move up to Queensland to get back in the books.

And this is where I am now. Two and a bit years on and about to start 3rd year of Medical school. I’ve learned more about the human body in the last 2 years than in the 24 before that, I’ve learned how patients see their own health and diseases and how the public sees the sick. I’ve learned to study hard and expect mediocre results and I’ve learned, most importantly, that with medicine the learning never stops. And that’s the best thing ever as far as I’m concerned!

What Drives Me

While I may study medicine, I always maintain that my passion is for science. When I’ve said this to people before a lot have reacted confused, because for most lay people, science is medicine. So let me explain.

Scientists discover. They use their toolbox of experiments and observation and analyse it using statistics to either support or refute a hypothesis. When they do this enough, and if they’re both very bright and very lucky, we make discoveries.

Engineers build. Engineers use what scientists have discovered and apply this new knowledge to real-world problems.

Think about your fridge. A scientists discovered laws about the conservation of energy and thermodynamics. A scientists learned about and documented electricity, and a scientist discovered how to use long carbon based polymer chains to make plastic. An engineer used this to create a compressor and seals in a large but temperature resistant box that you use to keep your food cool.

Doctors are more like engineers than scientists. We use the discoveries other people have made and apply them to patients in order to heal the sick, relieve the suffering or reassure the worried.

It’s true that lots of doctors are also scientists, working on research and discoveries in the fields in which they work. But I’d still argue that practicing medicine on a patient is more like engineering than science.

So science is my passion, and alongside my studies I’m always trying to tack myself on to research projects. I would love to move into the field of stem-cell research or bio-engineering and I’m fascinated with using artificial organs for transplants.

I’m also a fanboy of science, and I defend it whenever it’s under attack. I argue against people who deny climate change, who fear-monger GMOs and who refuse vaccines. I try and educate people I meet about how (surprisingly) nuclear energy is the safest form of energy and chemotherapy drugs (not so surprisingly) are neither miracle cures nor toxins pushed by “Big Pharma”.

Ultimately my love of science drives me. But my love of people has made it impossible to be anything but a doctor. So the research has to settle for second best :P

What I Enjoy

Life isn’t all about study and research. So what do I do to wind down!? Well, in short, I love everything! I love reading fantasy novels and watching similar shows (GoT, Vikings etc.). I peruse different anime occasionally too, and enjoy playing computer games with my mates when time permits (LoL, PUBG). I love working out and while I’m generally a fan of lifting I’ll be aiming to run a ½ marathon this year. I love a good night out, I love a good meal and I love a good night in with the girlfriend. I love volunteering and donating blood, I love hiking and I love a day at the beach. I’ll write about all these things (except for the nights in with the girlfriend ;) ) when the mood takes me, and it’s these areas that I’ll be reading a lot about on Steemit too!
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My Place in The Community

I’ve only been on Steemit a short time but I love it here so far. I’m excited to meet other science-driven people and share our passions. I’m excited to learn and teach and I’m excited to critique those who insist on posting about the curative powers of essential oils!!!

Most of all I’m excited to write. I’ve always loved writing but in the life of a science-obsessed medical student time isn’t exactly abundant and I haven’t taken the time to write in years.
I would LOVE to hear any topics that any Steemians would like me to write about (especially in the medical field where I’ve the most knowledge) and I look forward to similarly pestering all the other Steemians to answer my questions and give me advice on books etc.

THANKS TEAM

-tfc