It’s been awhile, partly due to the burden of having to speed through Legal and Forensic medicine in a mere three weeks. It’s still too early to laugh about the events that transpired during the OSCE exam. Though there were one or two gems worthy of being mentioned, I’ll leave the rest till after I (hopefully) pass with flying colours.
The Silent Killer
Seery, the respiratory consultant, is known for his charming smile, politeness and kind words. The man is loved by all, except when it comes to OSCEs.
When I walked into his station, I shuddered at the sight of him. I knew had to bring my A-game or risk being docked marks for the smallest of mistakes. There was no room for carelessness.
I spent the first few seconds observing the patient, not forgetting to count the respiratory rate. I counted the amount of breaths for the first ten seconds and multiplied it by six.
I finished the examination and was prompted to report my findings.
“Mr X is a middle aged man, lying comfortable on the bed with no obvious signs of respiratory distress. His respiratory rate was determined to be 16 breaths per minute which of is normal.”
“How did you get the respiratory rate?” he asked.
“I measured it for the first ten seconds and multiplied it by six,”
Swear words started to form in my head
“Okay, so you multiplied by six. And you got 16?”
As I started to scramble for answers, the audible scratch marks of the silent killer’s pen filled the already silent room.
