Two days ago, a friend of mine was on her way down to her
locker (fyi, our student lockers are located in the hospital basement....which can be pretty cold, desolate and quiet at times), when she
stumbled upon
a young, female patient huddled at a corner.
What was unnerving was the fact that the patient's robes were
tainted with blood. There were
linear cuts on her left wrist, indicating
self-inflicted injury. No shards or sharp objects were seen nearby. As my poor friend was about to make a run up the stairs, the patient yelled,
"Are there people up there looking for me? DON'T TELL SECURITY I'M DOWN HERE!!!!" Within minutes, my friend was at the
clinical school.
Security was called, and they successfully "apprehended" the girl downstairs.
Turned out the
patient absconded from the
psychiatric unit, and sought refuge in the basement. How did she manage to get her hands on something sharp to injure herself, we don't know.
[Makes one think twice about going down to the basement (alone) right now.] I sure am glad my friend managed to escape,
unharmed. What would have happened, should the female patient become
aggressive and "pounce" on her? What if she was holding a
sharp object then? And what if my friend didn't make it to the
stairs in time?
Labels: Events, Medicine/Hospitals/Medics, Random thoughts
So it's back to work, after a two-month hiatus in KL, Malaysia.
In summary, my holidays were quite well-spent this time around. During the first half of my hols, I got to meet up many of my old friends.... even a couple of whom I've not met since high school. [I still can't believe it's almost 6 years since I completed SPM!!! D*mn, I feel old now..... =P] It's quite an amazing feeling as one catches up with the times: Quite a sizable number have graduated and are now working in their respective fields. The others are somewhat like me - being either in undergraduate courses which take YEARS to complete, or doing double-degree programmes. =P A few have decided, or are currently furthering their studies (Masters). Many are currently in good relationships; an even bigger number are single. A few are have married.....and are already mothers (!!!!) [I cannot imagine myself being a mother to two precocious kids at this stage. It's just....too soon. =P]
The last 4 weeks or so were dedicated to clinical attachments (yes, I did it again) at HKL, and CNY celebrations!!! For the former, I've decided to stick to the General Medicine Department, under the supervision of two specialists and their medical team. They were good, REALLY good. Got myself grilled (in a good and nice way, of course) almost on a daily basis during their morning rounds....which got me motivated to study somewhat. LOL. I sure need a push every now and then. XD My only qualm? I was the ONLY medical student in my ward during the first three weeks.... which was quite unbearable sometimes. So imagine my relief when another student came along on my last week!! Turned out to be my IMU-M202 senior Yi Jun, who is now a final year student at Manchester. XD
As for the latter, I was tremendously happy initially....being able to spend the first two days of CNY at home with my immediate family this year. Didn't turn out to be what I expected though, since I caught some stomach bug a few days before CNY, and was feeling really sick throughout! ><" Talk about bad timing.
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It's been two weeks since I returned to Melbourne. How time flies. XD
As for my term at Melbourne Uni, it has been quite an exhilirating ride. I am, for the first time in six months, riding on the high waves....enjoying almost every minute of my clinicals here at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH). In case you're wondering, I'm doing Block 4, which consists of: Renal & Urology, Endocrinology and Vascular Surgery. Pretty broad systems, with so many important sections to cover within 6 weeks (or should I say 4 weeks now? =P), but I'm taking it well, for now. XD
It's getting late, and since I have some work to do, I better end my entry here first. hehe. More updates soon!
Labels: Events
Heh. Behold my long-overdue blog entry. My apologies. As you can see from the date of entry, I've meant to post this a long time ago. However, I could never seem to complete it for a while. Blame it on a mental block of sorts, and time constraints. =P
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So it happens one fine day, when
my relative (I shall address her as
M in this entry) has to go for a
general medical check-up.....which is the norm for someone who has applied for a
student visa.
She went to a
private medical centre. It went pretty smoothly at the beginning - blood and urine samples were taken promptly, her chest X-ray done within 10-15 minutes.
Even the initial consultation was fine (remember the general screening "questionaire" we all got to fill? XD)......right until it was time for a
quick physical examination.
Like all general check-ups for females, a
breast examination is to be done to complete the physical. Well that is acceptable, considering the need to screen child-bearing women for any breast disease. What was unacceptable, however, was
THE WAY a certain female doctor (let her be
Dr. S) handled the examination:
After informing M that she'd have to check her breasts, she got M to undress and promptly proceeded to examine her. At the end of the procedure, Dr. S remarked (albeit as a matter-of-factly) that she noted
a "LUMP" on M's
right breast.....and promptly left the matter just like that.
My female relative was obviously
shocked by the sudden news that she subsequently
broke down. It was only when the tears started flowing did Dr. S panic, and tried (in vain) to console M.
I found this appalling, for:
1. There was no explaination done regarding the significance of the "lump" found on examination.M is in her
early twenties, is
not in the
medical field, does not realize that
a "lump" could also mean anything other than breast cancer, and on top of that, both her
grandmother and aunt had breast cancer....so I'm not surprised if she concluded,
"OMG, does that mean I have breast cancer too?" Can't one see how
distressing it might be for her?
What irked me most was the fact that M was almost at the
end of her menstrual cycle, so wouldn't that mean her breasts might be
physiologically "lumpier" than usual?
[NOTE: M did tell Dr. S prior to the examination that her last menstrual period was almost a month ago]At times, I still wonder if the doctor actually took that into consideration before telling M she has a "lump" in her right breast.
2. Dr. S never bothered to explain if this matter should be followed-up or not. 3. The aforementioned doctor clearly doesn't know how to break "bad" news properly....and she has been practising medicine for a few years! If the doctor were to be given another chance to break the news, I would very much like to see her
explain clearly what she has found on the breast examination, what she thinks the "lump" could be (eg: physiological lumpy breasts, cyst, fibroadenoma, breast Ca etc),
taking into consideration M's menstrual, systems review, past medical, family and social history, how the lump feels like on palpation, whether or not there is axillary/supraclavicular lymph node enlargement and/or constitutional symptoms, and the epidemiology of breast diseases within the younger population. I would also like Dr. S to explain if M needed a
follow-up within a period of time (eg: after her menses arrive perhaps), just to see if the "lump" is still there....and if it IS present, whether or not she would consider a breast ultrasound/ mammogram, with or without a fine-needle aspirate/tissue biopsy to rule out anything sinister.
Dr. S, at the end of the consultation, finally conceded that it could be just normal breast tissue (and that was only when she realized M hasn't had her periods yet).
M sought a second opinion, one week after her menses came.....and no lump(s) could be felt on examination. How would you respond, if you were Dr S'?
Labels: Medicine/Hospitals/Medics
