More exams

In my whole four years in med school, I’ve never worked this hard before. Not to mention how consistent I’ve been compared to the honeymoon phase in the pre clinical years.

I’ve always known that medical school would be tough. It was a pleasant surprise in the first few years at how easy everything was, not having to push myself to any extent to obtain decent (though not brilliant) results.

Next week will be my last rotation in medicine and surgery, which has been full of memories, both pleasant and not too pleasant.

Hopefully the pressure doesn’t get the better of me, as the impending surgical OSCEs with 9 stations will definitely be a test of nerves.

Knowing just isn’t enough. It’s about performing under intense pressure. A skill I've yet to master.

So, hoping for the best!

I pity the fool

I kid you not. He does freakin exist. Tall. Huge. Black. And most importantly, with a golden stethoscope around his neck!

Meet the anaesthetist reg. Dr Tolo, from Africa. I'm seriously digging the bling-stethoscope!

Though, I wouldn’t fancy seeing his face as my last memory before being put to sleep. Damn!

I pity the fool!

The Battle of James Joyce

After the ‘holiday’ in Wexford, the busy corridors of St Vincents was indeed a welcomed change. With the finals only three weeks away, one can only hope that through the process of osmosis, ie picking up the medical lingo on the wards; it will be possible to at least scrape a pass for the dreaded OSCEs.

The final stint in medicine comprises of radiology, anaesthesiology, and emergency medicine, with particular focus in the acute management of a critically ill patient.

Radiology

This is would probably be at the bottom of my list in preferred specialties. While the common stereotype of sitting in a dark room looking at X-rays the whole day isn’t entirely true, the lack of patient contact remains the primary reason why I wouldn’t be inclined to choose radiology.

The study dilemma

I usually opt to study at the James Joyce(JJ) library, which is a ten minute cycle from the hospital library.

I hate studying around medical students. They annoy me. They study too hard. They’re sub-human sub-machines.

The JJ library on the other hand is populated by students from different faculties. This means that I don’t get freaked out by people who can continuously keep their head buried in books for five, maybe six hours straight.

Hospital library = INFERIORITY COMPLEX

JJ library = SUPERIORITY COMPLEX

Intruder alert

For the past few months, it’s been a joy studying amongst mere mortals in the secluded corridors of JJ. However, last week, an intruder arrived.

She was tall, blond, and had a bag that was too big for her. The minute she took out her notes, there was no mistaking who she was. On her table lay three huge files; colour coded, containing hand written notes.

A medical student.

This had been going on for a week. It annoyed me as hell that she outlasted me each and every day.

Challenge accepted!!!

Outlast. Outplay. Who will survive?

She arrived at the same time I did, right after lectures. We exchanged cordial smiles as she sat right behind my table.

My mission was simple. I was going to outlast her. Just for the hell of it. It was 4pm.

5.30pm

I was still going strong. So was she.

6.00pm

She left for a break. I was hungry too. I grabbed a prawn sandwich and some tea. Half an hour later and she was already in her seat before I even arrived.

6.30pm

I was getting sleepy. I decided to do some light studying. Flipped through some old notes. Concentration levels were dropping.

I waited for the screen saver on my laptop so that the screen would turn black. Hence I could see her reflection and what she was doing.

She was still hard at work.

7.15pm

She yawned a few times. This might be the moment.

She got up.

Bathroom break, sigh.

8.30pm

I had given up on studying. But I wasn’t going to move until she left!

So I started checking my emails.

8.45pm

Was crazy bored. Went to the bathroom. Spent some time reading the graffiti. Hilarious!!!

Here’s a sample.

Then I went into the disabled bathroom. Kudos to the guy who did this. He labeled everything in there.

I can only shudder to imagine what he used as leverage to reach the ceiling. (click photo to enlarge)

And my favourite....

loL with a capital L

9.00pm

Returned from the bathroom. She was still at it.

9.05pm

I started to write this post.

9.20pm

It finally happened. She started packing her things. I had won.

Shut up.

Wandering in Wexford

The journey to Wexford took two and a half hours by train.

Even though it’s slightly more expensive than the bus, going by train allows one to walk around, and more importantly, go to the bathroom.

......

I pressed the green button on the door. It slid open. It was one of them automatic toilets. As I entered, the door closed on its own.

I almost wet the floor when a woman’s voice suddenly said, “Press red button to lock door and ensure privacy”

It came from a speaker right beside the sink. You gotta love technology.

.....

I had arrived at 9.30pm. It was slightly drizzling so I decided to walk up to the bed and breakfast about twenty minutes away from the station.

That wasn’t the best of decisions.

1. It was a dark night, drizzling and cold
2. I took a cab the last time, hence wasn’t really sure of the directions
3. I had google map on my phone so it was a foolproof idea (at the time)
4. I’m a great a navigator, just like mom
5. The streets were empty

This was what happened

1. Within 10 minutes, I was lost
2. The skies opened and it rained heavily
3. Since it was so heavy, I couldn’t take my phone out to check for directions
4. I’m pretty sure I stepped on a grave
5. There was NO ONE around (on the ground at least)
6. The wind made the tree shadows all the more scarier
7. I knew that the B&B was up on a hill
8. I just didn’t know which hill

Soaking wet, I dragged my luggage back down the hill, past the graveyard and into the city centre. I managed to grab a cab and finally arrived at my destination.

Moral of the story : ?

One step at a time...

Amidst all the uncertainty and chaos, I woke up on Friday morning alert enough to realize that it was D-day.

To my relief, I passed everything, albeit horribly. None of the 'D's I got bothered me at first, it was a solid pass and loads of my colleagues were worse off.

As the day went on, I realized how low my standards have become. I've become accustomed to scoring above average in a majority of exams.

Then I chose medicine.

At least I passed..

Gone with the wind

It’s been a windy few days in Dublin. Reports were coming in of an elderly lady who died as the wind caused a tree branch to fall right on to her.

I even witnessed a guy getting blown off his bike while taking a corner.

Even though the weather was dark and gloomy, it was heartening to get smiles from quite a few patients while I walked along the halls of St Joseph’s Ward.

....

I was feeling pretty pleased with myself that morning. I had obtained an “outstanding “ grade for my case presentation on a patient with a perforated sigmoid diverticula.

I could tell that the consultant was impressed by the fact that I could answer all his questions. It actually came to a point where he admitted,

“Well, the more you answer, the more I’m going to ask. The way this goes is that I’ll keep on asking until you say, ‘I don’t know’,”

It was turning out to be a really good day for me.

As I made my way back home, I looked down and realized that my zipper had been open all the while.

No wonder I was getting smiles all round....

Tight Lipped

Dean the intern was really into teaching us the 'practical' bit of being a physician. He had us running around putting cannulas in and taking consents from patients undergoing minor procedures.

I was asked to obtain consent from Mr AR, who was due to have a left sided colonoscopy later in the evening.

He was sitting on a chair right beside the bed looking lucid and alert. I noticed that he had a really thick moustache which was covering his upper lip.

"Mr R, we're basically going to put a camera through your back passage to have a look at your bowels. You will be sedated for this procedure and will feel groggy. You will be concious enough so that you can adhere to our instructions as you will be lying on your side"

I asked if he understood what I had just explained.

"Hmmph," he mustered.

"As with all procedures there are some inherent risks associated with it. However I assure you that you are in good hands"

I raffled on about the potential complications of a colonoscopy.

Throughout the whole "consult", all he said was "hmmph".

At this point I was worried that I might've not explained the procedure well enough to warrant a signature of the consent form. Something was definitely off about the guy.

I asked for leave and went to seek Dean for help.

"Oh f*** it, I forgot to mention that AR had a squamous cell carcinoma removed from his upper lip. Yeah, he basically has no upper lip and can't really talk."