Tuesday, March 06, 2007


Life for me at this time evolves around going to hospital everyday- just like people go to work. However, instead of being paid in currency, I get paid in "experience".
So, my experience begins with sitting in traffic, of which is takes 10 mins to cross 40 meters of highway. Once past that, i arrive at the ward to be greeted by an scotsman with an jaunty- if not intelligible - broad accent, and a 6ft tall doctor, 2 helpful interns, and 2 unfortunate 3rd year medical students. At approximately 12 mins to 8, we go on a lightening ward round seeing 25 patients in 1 hour, throughly examining each and every patient of course!
Then I ask my interns what could i do to help? So the morning consists of taking blood, (I did my first ABG today), putting in intravenous drips, and occasionally chatting to patients who were confused about what the scotsman and giant mumbled during the ward round.
After that, usually i wander around to surgery, or to outpatient clinics, or just mill around the hospital trying to look busy.

Hmm.. where's the learning?
I guess it's learning about the everyday happenings in hospital. What an intern actually does.

You get to see some sights as well. Like ulcers as big as my head on the calf of a woman. Or seeing a leg amputated in surgery. Or helping a surgery trainee to do an unplanned full thickness skin graft.

I'm sure my next rotation will be different again. But I don't think I'll ever get rid of that distinct smell of pseudomonas* permeating through the ward from an infected ulcer.

*Smells like rancid fish mixed with sulfur.. Yewerpthhhh!

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