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Wednesday, January 12, 2005 My Time in Emergency Medicine
It’s been almost three weeks since I’ve started Emergency Med, and this attachment is coming to an end. It’s been…. An eye-opener. The medical system here is different, the medical culture here is also different, so much more efficient, yet the way patients are dealt with is still very paternalistic, compared with UK. … Triage and fast track. Resus. Did a number of anaesthetic blocks (at least now I'm confident of doing digital blocks) and T&S (know all abt the sizes and types of sutures used and for what. Heh), mostly for superficial lacerations. So far, I’ve done on the wrists (someone tried to slit her wrists), a full lip (had to use internal absorbable sutures too), a finger with a very torn nail, an occipital lac, a couple on the face, esp around the eyebrow area (when people fall). Did M&R too (done too many Colles' fractures to count, but u know who to look for if u ever have one), learnt about Bier’s block. Did iv plugs, can’t say I’m very proficient in them, but I’ve had successful ones, and not successful (but salvageable) ones. :+: Went to visit a couple of relatives. You know what? For the older generation, I don’t know whether it is being awed or what, but they seem to be very proud to have a doc in the family, however extended the family is. Aunties, uncles, nephews, nieces, all go ‘wah… going to graduate, and soon we’ll have to call you doctor already’. Not that I’m not proud of that, but it’s as if it’s a mountain out of a molehill. No one in the family (at present) is in the health sciences industry as yet, but I have a brilliant cousin who’s pursuing a masters or PhD in neurosciences (self-taught bio from my notes. Impressive). And now, 1 younger cousin (his bro) is going to do dentistry in aussieland (although when I last talked to him, he didn’t want to do anything like that, but his mum wanted him to), and a niece is going to aussieland to pursue vet science. When I went to visit her parents (my cousin) this Sunday past, they were going on and on about how their daughter took me as a role model, and next time when she grows up, she wants to be a doctor like me (I went, erm… really? *ponders skeptically at how I can even be counted as a role model*). :+: Met up with Les early last week. Due to a breakdown in communication, dinner was really delayed. Was supposed to meet him at NUH, where he is working (where I was supposed to go for a revision lecture but didn't in the end). Anyway, he came to pick me up, then we headed to Jln Kayu though, at Jerry’s, to have a western dinner. It was good =) :+: Had another George's gathering at Newton circus for supper, before the freshers and other years flew back to london. Not that many turned up, compared to the previous one, but it was still a gd outing, nevertheless. When I offered to drop JTI off at his place (it's just behind NC) at the end of the night, he declined, then the next min, he asked a MALE junior to drop him off. Hmph. But he was nice enough to offer me a lift to anywhere along the way to NUS the next evening, when we were both at TTSH for the surgery revision lecture. :+: Met up with JD at Holland Village last night. It was great meeting up and catching up. Bitching about medicine in general, talking about working conditions, him lamenting about how he can’t go overseas coz of his bond, and that I should treasure working overseas, and his finals exams, and my rants about the difference of systems here, exams, etc. We both can crap loads, from jc when we were junior and senior, and as canoeists team mates too. Must be all the crapping, coz we just clicked. That's why he was saying.. it's a shame that i haven't been back for a long time, more than a year. loads to catch up on and there's not much time. A pity I'm going back so soon. Agreed. =/ :+: Saw Claudia. Recognised Min qi and other jc schoolmates and ex-canoeists at revision lectures. Met Owen on the way from Novena square to ttsh after lunch. In one day. On Monday. Lots of people to recognise, eh? :+: Was invited by Lit to go for his OCS social gathering thingy in a couple of weeks. Nice of him to ask (I accepted of course lah). now I'm left wondering what's army socials like, esp when he said to prepare for boredom. Heh. |