Despite a few glitches, my three-week Emergency Medicine rotation at RMH has been fantastic on the whole, and for many good reasons too:
Reason 1:
I saw a fair number of patients, from all walks of life, with various presentations. While most of them are very cooperative, there were a fair few who were either:
a) drunk/out cold (no thanks to alcohol intoxication),
b) confused for various reasons (and thus can be combative), or
c) very emotional/anxious/aggressive/violent, again for various reasons.
Within my three-week stint, I've seen burly security guards holding down combative people, police officers keeping certain patients shackled to bed-rails. It was quite a sight to behold: hand-cuffed patients writhing in their beds, wailing and screaming, hurling expletives at us all, while the ED physicians and nurses tried to sedate them. I've seen workplace accidents and so many MVAs, some more gruesome than others. I've also seen intentional injuries - gunshot and stab wounds, potential drug overdose, just to name a few.
Reason 2:
I've seen how a trauma team "ticks". They never cease to amaze me - how they work so efficiently, how everything falls so nicely into place. =)
Reason 3:
Chungy!! XD
Chung is undoubtedly our favourite ED consultant. While many would rather leave us to our devices, Chungy tends to keep us medics busy. And in a good way too. The fact that he gives constructive feedback and his "easy-going" persona also makes things better. Learning new things and then applying them on the spot have never been this fun.
Pity he is not on duty everyday.... =P
Reason 4:
Procedural skills.
Got to practise them all!! Well, almost all of them. =P At the very least, I'm now confident with IV cannulations, backslabs and, to a certain degree, urinary catheterizations and suturing.
Reason 5:
Familiar faces.
Well what do you know - just when I thought I'll hardly (if never) see them again, there they all are.... seeing patients at ED: Alistair Miller, Andrew Mcleod and Andy Oppy, Tony Young, Wil Wilson, Jonathan Chan, Andris Elim, Shiva Badiee, Cheryl Choong, Glenn Boyce, and not forgetting the Pianta brothers (I didn't know they were so closely related!!! lol).
Can't believe I'm saying this, but: YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I MISS YOU GUYS!!!! Thanks for all the things you've taught me throughout Sem 8-9! Good to see you all once more!
Reason 6:
Group K.
Don't think I'll enjoy my rotation as much were it not for them. XD
Labels: Medicine/Hospitals/Medics
