Well, yesterday was the BIG presentation day for Fundamentals of Pharmacology and Toxicology. I have heard that a lot of people didn’t particularly enjoy Pharm and Tox as a module however, I have been looking forward to this module for so so so long, since well, before I joined the uni… probably due to the fact Toxicology can play a key role in well, the role of working in a morgue doing Tox screens on bloods on unknown deaths so, of course I am going to enjoy this module! And… it’s interesting to know how drugs actually work in the body. I feel like now, I know a lot about paracetamol that I didn’t know before haha

This piece of coursework was worth 30% which may not sound like a lot… but in reality, in my head anyway, it is a huge amount of a lot! I am not a particularly huge fan of presentations: I may seem confident but in reality, I am the most nervous and anxious wreck known to man! I feel I have to know something as deeply and thoroughly as I can before I present it, and forced knowledge of a subject for a presentation is just the most daunting thing known to man, since forever! The one presentation I have done that I enjoyed, was for College in 2014 when we could pick any topic, so I chose my cat… and took her to the presentation as well as a show-and-tell piece. I think having her there, helped a huge amount.

SO, this presentation!

Basically, it was split into Case Studies, of which we could choose. Me and Chris desperately wanted to do the Paracetamol Overdose one… don’t ask why, we just had to do that one. And then Ruari joined us too and we got it! Luckily, a lot of paracetamol information had come up in lectures which helped, but we truly had to dig through everything and as it is university, use our initiatives, to come up with a conclusion for ours. It was hard work, but worth it.

Basically, a young woman with a history of anorexia nervosa has taken an overdose due to an argument with her boyfriend. They gave her a treatment of something named N-acetylcysteine and lab results were obtained two days later.

And that is all we had to work with. But… we all have brains and we pulled out a rather snazzy presentation haha

Lets just say, through much research, this girl was not going to do particularly well… we were certain she would be dead within a few weeks due to her history and the lab results. And sadly, because of that, I felt the presentation needed to be lightened up from start to end… with a cute little guy named Peteacetaminophen (aka, Pete the Paracetamol, renamed by mes amino, Sam Jones).

And that is were this cute little guy joined in the party!

So, as I have mentioned in previous blog posts, I keep being told that drawing for any kind of poster or presentation is a very good idea… and I guess, as well as drawing important diagrams and pathways for metabolism, I wanted to put my little mark on the work. Hence Pete. I think everyone liked him… including the lecturer who marked it, who was also called Pete. I think you can see what mes amino did there with his name haha

And my group were all cool with it as well which was truly wonderful! They really let me go to town on all our diagrams and illustrations and I must admit, it felt pretty cool announcing that I drew them at the start of the presentation!

My group were fantastic as well! We all definitely knew out stuff and we all worked super hard together! We met up loads, Ruari brought us cake and chocolate and Chris slipped in a lil funny joke in regards to knowing what he would prefer to drink 12 drinks of instead of instead of the nasty rotten egg tasting antidote! And with how the presentation rolled out, I am hoping for once I am actually right in thinking that we have done super duper well, because we were told we definitely undermarked ourselves, people outside the room that couldn’t hear it but see it, said it looked fantastic and some people gave us super high marks! It’s crazy, considering how much I was panicking about messing the whole thing up!

This was taken before we did the presentation and we were pretty happy and smiley afterwards so fingers crossed, for once I am right in thinking we have done well! (Usually when I think I have done well, I have done bad, and when I think I have done bad, I have done amazing haha).

Well, that is it for now! Everyone go and watch Deadpool! It will brighten your day tremendously!!!

Until next time my friends~

Good morning world.

This is the week my panic truly sets in. I have an assessed presentation for Fundamentals of Pharmacology and Toxicology on Friday and well… I have never been one to enjoy presentations. Usually, as with other presentations, I get really anxious, start shaking and sweating profusely, stumble over even the most simple words in the world so the complicated ones are even worse… and in the last one, the lecturer ended up asking me if I needed to sit down, which I did, because my legs turned to jelly and it was rather clear. I may have said a naughty word under my breath too… which everyone heard.

Regardless, I do like prepping and preparing posters and presentations! In the past, I keep getting told I could draw certain diagrams for it, but I never do… usually because I am leaving everything in a panic and focusing more on what I am going to try and say in the said presentation.

I am with a super group for this one though and they are all such a pleasure to work with. Indeed, I worry I am going to let them down with my rather blippy nature at the best of times, but I have made it through other presentations… I can manage this one too!!!

SO this time, I am drawing for my presentation… WHAT A SHOCK! And I won’t lie… I am actually enjoying it, and yet again, I am wondering why I did not do this sooner haha

Which begs the title of this blog, “I never thought I’d use my copic markers for liver diagrams…” because low and behold… I have drawn a liver, and shaded it in with my usual blending flair, with my epic copic markers of which I have owned for years and cost a bomb and I am surprised most of them still work seen as I only use them every now and again on work for myself.

Haha, skills.

And yes, that is Peteacetaminophen popping up there in the corner to say hello. He is our cute presentation mascot, to make light of what is rather a sad tale of events with our case study. You may see more of Pete and a few of his other friends too over the coming months, I hope! They are so much fun to make and well… if Giant Microbes can be a thing… who knows what could happen to my little characters!

Guess I’d better figure out those two non-toxic pathways for paracetamol so I stand a chance of explaining myself in semi-clear English on Friday! Good luck to everyone who will be presenting then and the weeks afterwards too!