SHE.HER.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

[Picture taken from http://www.tulipfestival.com.au/]

No, this isn't the Netherlands.

Behold the Tesselaar Tulip Festival, an event held to celebrate the coming of spring in Lilydale, Victoria.

[Another picture taken from http://www.tulipfestival.com.au/]

With so many rave reviews regarding the 53-year old event, and beautiful photographs to boot, I thought this festival would be worth checking out.

When it came to the flowers, it did not disappoint:

[One of the flowering beds]

[TULIPS!!! XD....gosh, if I had known that my photos would turn out so well, I'd have taken more pics!!! =P]

[Min & I]

[Hmmm, never knew a tulip would look like this inside]

[My uncle, whom I currently live with in Melbourne =)]

[Blue hyacinths]

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With regards to how the event was managed, it was a different story....

First off, the public transports.

It was an hour train ride from Melbourne Central to Lilydale. From the Lilydale station, one has to catch a shuttle bus (specially for the Tesselar Tulip Festival itself), which in turn took another 15 minutes or so. The trouble was, there were 100-odd people waiting for the public transport by the time Min, Uncle Hong and I got there....and guess what, only ONE bus comes every 30-minutes!! Imagine the ruckus ensued when not everyone could get into that vehicle. ><"

When we finally reached the tulip farm:

We saw TWO TERRIBLY LONG LINES at the entrance, much to our shock and horror. "Great, now we have to queue up for our tickets..." Despite the massive turnout, it was (thankfully) quick, and a good 10 minutes later, we got in.

And, when we had to have lunch:

Being the foodie that I am, I WAS MOST DISAPPOINTED. The theme of the day was "Dutch", and so a wide range of Dutch food was sold....which included: Poffertjes (mini Dutch pancakes with icing sugar), Oliebollen (traditional doughnuts), beef croquettes and Frikandellan (minced-meat hotdogs). So why was I most displeased by the variety of food available, you might ask. The reason was....

I COULDN'T EVEN TRY ANY OF THEM, AS THE QUEUES WERE SO FREAKISHLY LONG!!!! T_T

(and there was not much time for me to line up, as we planned to board the shuttle bus at 2.30pm)

I WANT THOSE PROFFERTJES!!! *wails*

Labels: Travel

Monday, September 17, 2007

Here is something I've picked out from the University of Melbourne's Clinical School Study Guide 2007:

"...The unit registrar tells you that Mrs. V has a really interesting heart murmur, but tells you to say that you are a doctor doing exams not a medical student 'because the patient is sick of medical students'. What do you do?..."

Allow me to tell you a story first, before I reveal my current thoughts on the above scenario.

It happened to me last Thurday afternoon, when I decided to clerk a patient (and perhaps practise my clinical skills, if given the consent). Being the "enthusiastic" medic that I normally am, I headed first to the Oncology ward. There, a nurse kindly pointed out two possible candidates (who were obviously not very ill) for my practice.

Two patients to choose from. Hmmm, that wasn't too bad now, was it?

I approached the first patient, a pleasant 64-year old who was actually very willing to talk. Unfortunately, he could only speak simple English. His native tongue: Croatian.

Since I could not speak nor understand Croatian, and he could not really comprehend what I was trying to convey.... there wasn't much I could do then. His son would visit him at 4pm (and hence I could ask him to translate for me!), but I've got to leave for RMH at 3.30pm. In addition, I could technically page a Croatian interpreter in WH, but was that necessary? Plus, interpreters are usually on the go within the hospital, pacing from one outpatient clinic to another, if they are not in the wards.

I don't relish idea of getting an interpreter to help me, a mere medical student who is just trying to improve her history-taking skills, when the aforementioned interpreter may have more urgent matters at hand.

So that leaves me with the other patient.....how how bad would that be?

The second patient I went to was soundly asleep at that time.

Now then I thought, "Well, I could go to other wards and find someone else. I guess it shouldn't be a problem..."

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FIVE WARDS LATER.....

I HAVE YET TO FIND A SOMEONE WHOM I COULD SEE!!!

T_T

What the heck happened?

Few patients were asleep.

3-4 patients had visitors, and would prefer not to have those visiting times interrupted by a nosy medical student. =P

A number were having lunch, and would like to have a peaceful one.

Many were in distress and pain at that point, and would rather be left alone. (Which is fair enough, as I wouldn't like to entertain a bumbling medical student when I'm very ill!)

Of the many patients who wished to be left alone, a large proportion weren't too pleased when they saw my ID tag (which read: MEDICAL STUDENT beneath by name), or the moment I introduced myself as a medical student.

It was pretty obvious that they have seen a number of medical students before I came along. Heh. I don't blame them, really. To be fair, I wouldn't like to entertain another student when I've already told my side of the story (at least) five times... unless I have nothing better to do of course.
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Truth to be told, when I was on the look-out for patients I could clerk, there WERE moments when I do not want to introduce myself as a medical student, more so when I've been "rejected" at least FIVE times in a row.

But, on second thoughts.....

....that would be manipulating and lying, wouldn't it? I'd be guilt-ridden if I had done so.

In addition, I'd be disrespecting patients' autonomic rights. They are, after all, admitted to the hospital for a reason (be it to find the underlying cause of their medical problem, or to simply seek treatment). Hence, they are entitled to accept (or reject) any form of services the hospital has....which invariably includes whatever us medical students can offer.

At the end of the day....

There will always be patients who would LOVE to tell you their side of the story. So if one cannot find anyone to clerk, heck, just try again tomorrow!!! ^^

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On a side note, no prizes for guessing what my answer would be, with regards to the above scenario. =P

Labels: Events, Medicine/Hospitals/Medics, Random thoughts

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Two weeks into Block 5 (ie: Haematology/Oncology/Infectious Disease/Breast), and....

....it's quite a different story altogether, as opposed to my previous 6-week stint in RMH, juggling Neurology, Ophthalmology and ENT (aka Block 2).

For starters, Block 5's timetables are not as packed as Block 2's, which is a really GOOD thing for an inexperienced, slow-learner like me! XD I found (much to my relief and delight) that I could reflect on things I've seen at the end of each day, without having to stress too much on what I need to accomplish the following day. I could also take a breather from time to time, and that is definitely a bonus! =)

In addition, I am now posted to Western Hospital (WH), and there will I remain till the end of 2007. It may be smaller and perhaps not as busy as RMH, but the atmosphere is nevertheless a nice change.

The bad bit of being at a hospital in Footscray? I gotta wake up between 6.00-6.15am on weekdays. Not gonna complain about it anyway, since a colleague of mine has been waking up at 5.45am since DAY ONE (of clinical school). =P

More updates later.

Labels: Medicine/Hospitals/Medics

Thursday, September 13, 2007

I WANT TO WATCH!! NOW!!!! ><"

Labels: Random thoughts

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Hello! I got tagged again, this time by Keat! XD So, here it goes:

5 things found in my bag:

1. Little note book
- To jot some things I need to look up at the end of hospital rounds

2. Pens (black, blue and red) and a ruler
- To take down notes ma.... =P

3. Oxford Clinical Handbook (6th Ed.)
- VERY HANDY!!! XD

4. Tendon hammer, a 256Hz tuning fork, stethoscope, ophthalmoscope/otoscope, measuring tape, red hat-pin, 2 mini Snellen charts and 2 pen-lights
- You know what they ARE for =P

5. 1Gb thumb-drive
- My precioussss!!!!

[Side note: Yeah, it's obvious that I've written down more than 5 things already....BUT, note that I've lumped them up into 5 groups instead. hehehe]

5 things I like in my room:

1. My little pillow and 2 dog-plushies XD

2. The bed (nothing beats a goodnight's sleep!!!)

3. That bar of dark chocolate *squeals in delight*

4. Hairbands and scrunchies
- To keep my hair off my eyes whenever I'm at work

5. Kakuro gamebook
- To keep me busy when I have nothing to do!!! lol.

5 things I've always wanted to do:

1. Keep fit and be lean! (well, that's what EVERY girl wants, right? =P)

2. Sample foods the world has to offer!!! (and hopefully will still stay fit...LOL)

3. TRAVEL!!!

4. Paintball XD

5. Take up a martial art for discipline and leisure - Kendo, for instance. heh.

5 things I'm currently into:

1. Baking....as always. XD

2. Anime
- No longer have the time to enjoy them like I used to though =(

3. Terry Pratchett's Discworld Novels

4. Sampling whatever Melbourne has to offer, foodwise! hehehe

5. Erm, haematology?? =P

5 people I'm going to tag *drum rolls*:

1. Min-chan

2. Ionie

3. Ken

4. Po Yin

5. Anson (I'm aware you don't have a blog, but I don't care!! Send me your answers via email or something!! ROLFOL)

Anyone who wants to do this, feel free! Post your answers in your blog, or send them to my yahoo/hotmail account la. XD

Have fun.... =P

Labels: Just for fun/Meme

Sunday, September 02, 2007

My Neurology/Ophthalmology/ENT block has finally come to an end *wipes sweat off brow*, and I've come to a verdict:

It. Was. A. VERY. Trying. Block. Period.

There were times when I absolutely loathe it.... and since I've already blogged about my experience in the last entry, I shall not dwell on the "darker" side any more. =P

But on the bright side:

It was the PATIENTS who actually made my day in the end. They were not merely cases with positive signs and what-nots: they are PEOPLE from all walks of life, with a different story to tell, each more interesting than the last.

I met a 66-year old granny, who migrated from Eastern Europe to Australia with her two daughters in the mid 80s. She could not speak nor understand English then. She now speaks English proficiently, and would tell me stories of the days gone by.

I met a 68-year old Caucasian, who practises Tai-Chi for a couple of years, and is currently a Tai-Chi instructor in her suburb.

I met a determined single-parent, who would do whatever she can, to prevent her ex-husband from taking their 11-year old daughter away from her.

I met a 43-year old former sales assistant, who fears being surrounded by people more than anything else, after a traumatic event two years previously.

I met a 21-year old law student, who is still determined to complete her degree, despite her current condition.

I met a 82-year old man, who proudly proclaimed that he still loves his wife of 50 years.

I met a professional photographer, who shared his travelling experiences in South Africa, emphasizing that it was both a beautiful and dangerous country to visit.

I met a 88-year old, who told me about how he met his wife in the Phillippines.

Their stories are real - of triumphs and losses, happiness and despair. They could be hilarious at one point, depressing on the other; enlightening, yet poignant at the same time.

These people, along with many others I've crossed paths with, have undoubtedly made my hospital rounds in Block 2 an experience to remember.

Thank you, for taking the trouble to accommodate.... a very inadequate 4th year medical student. XD

I wish you well.

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My next stop: Block 5, aka the Haematology/Oncology/Infectious Disease/Breast rotation.

Taking into account that they're squeezing FOUR massive components into a 6-week block, this might not be any easier than the last.

I'm looking forward to it though. XD

Labels: Medicine/Hospitals/Medics