Ramblings of a Scottish Student

I’ve really been struggling to find anything worthy of writing in my blog just now, so I’ve decided to give everyone an update on my life in general.

Well, if you’ve been reading recently you’ll know all about my accident on the ice and my knee injury.  However, there is more to that story than what I’ve told you.  I had my first ever bad experience with our great National Health Service.  So much so, that I had to go private to get the help that I so obviously needed (like a set of crutches – I’m not able to walk at all).  The wonderful NHS also misdiagnosed my knee injury three times.  The highly qualified private physiotherapist that I went to see was shocked that none of the three doctors and one nurse that I’d seen over the course of a three week period had picked up that my leg was actually moving in ways it really shouldn’t be.  Essentially the advice I was given by the Emergency Nurse Practitioner at accident and emergency was not the correct advice.  She told me to walk on my leg as all I’d done was pull some ligaments and muscles, when it would appear that I’ve actually torn the two ligaments that keep my knee stable and allow it to function in the way it is meant to (along with the cartilage in my knee).  None of that is really that new to those of you who read the previous two entries on the matter, but I just want to rant about it again.

Work have been less than sympathetic.  Their horrible attendance policy has kicked in and I’ve now to face a disciplinary meeting (like I was going to come to work when I can’t actually walk!).  The policy was designed to catch those annoying people who takes days off here and there when it suits them, but in actual fact only penalises those who are genuinely off sick.  Let me give you an example (other than my own).  I am one of the Shop Stewards in the store and as such often get called into disciplinary meetings to represent members.  On one occasion I was asked to represent a member who had been off for quite some time.  He had been admitted to hospital following a Myocardial Infarction (a heart attack) and the work ended up issuing him with a verbal warning for unacceptable attendance at work.  Some of the questions the managers ask are appalling and one more than one occasion I’ve had to ask the manager taking the disciplinary exactly when and from where did they obtain their medical degree.  In my case they are going to try and issue a verbal warning, they only call a disciplinary meeting if that is what they are going to do, I’ve yet to see them not issue a verbal warning after a disciplinary meeting (many get overturned on an appeal to a more senior manager as the junior managers simply haven’t used their common sense!) I will of course have my union rep in with me.  He is great, his bite is much worse than his bark and once he’s got his teeth into something he does not let go.

On the university front there is not much to report.  I passed my property law exam and failed my contract law one, which I will re-sit in August (if you remember back to January I did say that I had a complete mental blank in my Contract exam).  In May I have a marketing exam to sit and I’ll have to re-do the coursework in August as well (I just don’t seem to be any good at Marketing).  I need to pass Contract and Marketing in August otherwise it will spell problems for next year, there is no way I’ll be able to do second year for a third time (especially when I’ll have to pay fees if I repeat it again).  Plus, I wasn’t to get third year over and done with and I can finally get rid of all this management rubbish (I’m learning more about management at work than I do in any management lecture I’ve ever had the (dis)pleasure of sitting through).

I have a meeting with my advisor of studies coming up later in the month/beginning of next month.  I’m not looking forward to this as every time we meet one of the questions is always “and what do you have planned for when you finish university?”.  To that question I still have no idea.  I still really want to pursue Medicine as a career once I’ve finished my current degree (which will now be 2012, instead of 2011).  However, I’m not sure that finances will permit that (although I still do live in hope).  Other than that I’ve thought about a number of things.  Oh well, it’s only once every semester!

Other than that, life is keeping me very busy (as you’ve probably been able to tell by the sporadic nature of my posts on here) and I am enjoying every minute of it just now.  This repeat year has really opened my eyes – I’ve really been cast into the real world and I love it!  Although, I will admit that working full time while studying part time is not an easy thing to do!