the numbers update.
2nd day of shadowing. AWESOME!
7 more nights to leaving. COUNTING DOWN!
17 days to slaying the monster. FREAKIN' OUT!
23 days to start work. SIANZ.. but i get to see my dogs again!
#1: Shadowing @ Trauma Hospital
it's really an amazing experience to actually shadow a doctor. i mean, im actually doing
it now.. something which wld be hard to do in sg and i got to do it here. as much as i was
deliberately very fiercely with myself if i shd go ahead til now, i still woke up at 630am
each morning and pushed myself outta the room and rode to the hospital.
it's probably fear and the sense of inadaquacy and also wondering if i shd use the time to
study and revise more instead of spending a good 3/4 of the day at the hospital..
but i think it has been worth it.
i saw some pretty gross out injuries and some really rogue operations (in my opinion). hahaa.
i mean, wat do u expect in a basic equipped hospital in a still very much developing country..
thankfully im not afraid and will not faint at the sight of blood. i saw much blood the past 2 days.
and man.... my legs felt jelly at times witnessing the kind of scenes i saw in the OPD.. woooO!
dis guy had an served tendon on his finger and his flesh was cut, showing his bone. his blood
wldnt stop oozing out despite several changed dressings. guess how d doc examined his wound??
d doc sat him down. reached out for d man's finger and starting rubbing hard on the bone of the
finger and d man was literally shaking in pain.. all tat w/o any LA of any sorts. all bared and pressed
a finger to the bone.. tat sent my blood all d way down to my toes. i was frozen for tat split sec.
looking at the hard worked man in real pain, i was speechless man. i salute him.
then i witnessed how a doc DIGGED out blood clots from a man's elbow. d man had a very deep
cut and he was under LA. i was stunned at first. i thot how was that possible man.. to dig out clots
of blood while fresh blood n fluids kept oozing outta the wound. i asked my mentor later if that
was d right thing to do.. n he said yes, it is best to remove as much, if not all of the blood clots
b4 closing the wound.. but how it shd be done.. i didnt probe further. hahaha.
it is a privilege that my shadow doc allowed me to shadow him. he is very gracious doc who
will explain d case to me aft seeing the patient.. and i cld ask him questions n he wld share his
experiences n knowledge with me too. i really learned alot shadowing him ard, seeing patients
aft patients and learning abt symptoms, causes n treatments of diseases, infections, illnesses &
cancers etc. it was and is an invaluable setting to apply what ive been memorizing from d books
to practical settings. i really enjoyed it. patients were streaming in one aft another with big prob
to small prob and there really isnt any time to rest. i stood from 0830 to abt 1330hrs.. with maybe
a few secs to mins to rest my butt on a chair. my back hurts pretty bad aft standing for hrs on end.
i was so shagged out yest that i knocked out almost immediately aft i showered n had dinner.
other that shadowing at the OPD, i was allowed to sit in during the ops morning meeting.. where
they discussed n updated on the patients' conditions, schedules for the day etc.. and aft which, i
followed the doc on his rounds. really really totally enjoyed every min of it. in d afternoon, i had
to sort out old records which i kinda dun wanna do it.. bcoz it's crap job that nobody wants to do..
but well, i gotta 'pay back' something for them giving me d opportunity to learn i guess..
but i sort out the files like super fast.. to try n get as much done as possible within d shortest time
so i can go back earlier instead of sorting out slowly n staying behind late. =P
they wanted me to wear a collar tee to d hospital but i didnt have one so they said to pick a doc's
scrub and change into it while im there.. so d patients n kins wld know im a 'staff' there.. so i picked
up a blue one.. d doc said i looked good in it. well, maybe it's just a statement but i said, hopefully
i will get to wear a real one and my own one someday soon.
#2 Heading home soon!
although i wish i had more time here to do more, im missing home too.. all my folks back home.
it's time to go back. take down the monster, resolve a (hopefully) non or minor crisis, wait for
d results, then replan, re-strategise for the coming year. then probably spend d rest of the remaining
months of 2012 doing d sports ive always wanted to pick n time with kins, fluffy n true friends.
looking forward to phuket! 5 days 4 nights of our time together.. just me n fluffy.
it's been a long time since i gave fluffy a holiday that is just us.. i always had my family w me when
we travelled. so, hopefully it will be the best one yet for us.
#3 SLAY THE MONSTER!!
17 more days to slaying the monster!! im freaking out!! there's really not much i can do now
seriously. i cldnt finish what i needed to cover last yr. did d practice papers a few days b4 d
actual exam. didnt have time to practise more n didnt do many practices as well.
dis time round, im covered every chapter. whether i rem or not, that is another question by itself..
hahahaa. i think i remembered n grasped most of the concepts in most chapters..
i covered most chapters twice as well.. with only a few left which i can cover again with the
remaining time. im a few questions short to scoring my 10. im a little disappointed n discouraged.
demoralized too.. n ive been asking myself, will i make it?? can i make it??
honestly, i feel i can make it. i just need to get maybe, 4 more qns right on avg.. just 4 more qns.
and i do get them right outside of a trial timed test. so, d thing i need to overcome now is,
to finish all d qns within time n to make sure they are correctly answered. it's ok to get wrongs
but i need to at least ans all d qns n still get at least 40 qns outta 52 qns right.
i really hoping i can up my level slightly more with the remaining short time period ive left.
im not hoping for a miracle coz i think im there already.. just need to fine tune certain techniques
or way of me attacking the section. it's like u know how to drive a car. u can get to d destination
most of the time.. but just need more drives to familiar with roads, shortcuts n u will get there
every time and in quicker time. i feel it's d same with me now. and i hope im right abt it..
to keep practising papers and questions to get used n exposed to all possible qn type & style..
and to train myself to answer the most no. of qns correctly within the set time.
i really wanna do it. i know i can. nothing is impossible.
i hope the remaining time is enuff to make it through. i really hope so.
if peaking is applicable here, i really hope i will peak within these 2 wks so i will be all
ready to wrestle d monster to d floor and conquer it flat out.
as for returning to work.... i dun even wanna talk abt it. hahahahahahhahaahahaaa!
. . . .