Lyse!

I had my second SP interview last week. It was okay, I didn't forget any questions, but I did fail on some follow up questions. That's okay though, as it gives me something to write about as I relive the horror over the internet.

I can't tell you too much about what my patient had (apparently) *cough cough* *wink* but when I walked in I noticed he had a medic alert bracelet on. I made a mental note of it, but then forgot about it, as you do. When I asked him about allergies, he said "strawberries," and I went "Okay!" completely forgetting about the patients medic alert bracelet.

As the faux interview finished, and I headed for the door, I suddenly remembered the stupid bracelet. "Was I meant to ask about the bracelet - it completely slipped my mind" I asked the tutor. The SP, who was still there looked down at his arm, and then back at me and laughed. "No, I'm just actually allergic to penicillin." I was greatly, and inappropriately relieved!

As I wandered off down the hall, I heard the SP telling my tutor I was a very observant student. Made me feel good! So here's my tip: If you want to positively influence the outcome of your SP interviews, clarify whether you should have asked about something quasi relevant after the fact. Try these maybe:

"I found the SP was extremely unattractive, should I have asked about depression?" or
"The SP was wearing Kappa and Fubu, should I have asked more questions about illicit drug use?"

I hope this helps.

A real shocker

I think I will never ever ever be bothered to polish a car again. That took way too much time, even if it does look amazing.

And the new fenders? It took me four hours and I only replaced one of them. It also looks amazing though. The Jeep is turning in to one sleek beast. It's just a shame about the woeful fuel economy, it's a really cool car otherwise.

Hopefully next summer will be less rainy and I can leave the top off for longer.

It's all about passion

Today I met a person, who had quit there $100k+ a year job as a radiographer to study medicine. I thought that was encouraging. It's nice to know that there are lots of peeps doing it for the passion.

I went to a research night last night - highlighting something of the medical research going on in FMC. Some of it was boring, other parts weren't my cup of tea. But I felt a niggle within me. Something that I haven't felt for a long time. I think, I'm almost out of my burn out phase and am almost ready to get back on the bandwagon again. I'm not planning on rushing it though, but I felt this feeling once before during the break before starting my PhD. I'm feeling like being back on the bench... Though the thought still churns my stomach a little.

Had a cruise through the hematology labs today though, as part of my education about blood. That was interesting, and reminded me again what all that basic research is about. Discovering something useful, putting it in to practice, and making a difference.

*contented sigh*

Site update

Even though most of you read this blog through some form of feed reader, just thought I'd tell you that I've gone to the effort of changing the way everything looks. The blogger default settings are gone. Please enjoy my new visually pleasing page elements.

That's all really. Med school has hit the end of the first block. Goodbye basic biochemistry, hello immunology. Fingers crossed for some exciting medical conditions soon!

You can't spell progression without progress

I'm a bit worried. Well, not really. But I've relaised that the biochem book I purchased when I was an undergrad is now out of date. Which means, rather tragically. Not only have I forgotten the stuff I learned when I was an undergrad, but the field has moved on a long way... and now I need a new book.

On the up-side. I have been using even older books, and found some of the stuff to be relevant still! Dad's pharmacology text, managed to discuss the hip new drug naloxone. The good thing about that book, is that it was written in the days before molecular biology kicked off, and they had no idea what a receptor was. Gosh, why couldn't I be older?!

In other news, I have a sore back. I shared this with my tutorial group, unwisely. They then began executing the CC method of history taking on me, curious as to how the condition was effecting my life. Didn't really give them the marks for empathy, but at least they tried!

Notes *pun*

"There are two ways to kill a song. Either speed it to death, or drag it slowly to death. If you're gonna kill it, at least err on the side of caution, and kill it quickly."

Peace like a river, joy like a fountain

Medical students are renowned for their hypochondriacal capacity to take on the disease they are studying that week. This week we're examining obesity... I'm... yeah I'm not feeling it this week.

Truth be told I have no exciting stories to tell. I had my mantoux test, where they inject tuberculin just under you skin (so your skin bubbles up visibly) to see if you have an immune response. Unsurprisingly, the result indicates I have never had TB. Hooray! Hooray, because this means I'm nearly done with the paperwork and vaccinations!

I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with my lazy Friday arvo this week. Every Friday for the last three weeks I've taken a needle to the arm. Maybe I'll go get that flu vax script filled...

A day in the life of a diabetic vet

I'll be honest - today was a good day. I haven't done anywhere near as much work as I need to though, so many learning issues about to be phoned in!

Anyway, today I got to feel pseudo doctorly. First by actually having a decent interview with a patient. Secondly, we did this diabetic workshop thing, which was really informative. I think being a diabetic sucks, but its better than it used to be anyway. The highlight of the whole experience was testing our own blood glucose levels. I was 4.8, which means I've staved off diabetes for another day. Hooray! The whole experience culminated with jamming an insulin syringe filled with saline in to your own stomach. Deliberately sticking yourself with a needle is an interesting experience, but it all went okay in the end, with only a small amount of blood lost.

It was amusing, some people were unable to inject themselves, whilst others would spend time building up the courage. One guy just jammed it right in... I bet he'll turn in to surgeon.

And tonight I spent the night suturing a pig back together. That was perhaps the most fun... but boy I need some practice in order to get those brain pathways down right... For the record, my horizontal and vertical mattress sutures are beautiful. Can't wait to try them on human flesh!

Empathetic nods all 'round!

Apparently being able to communicate is a necessary skill, if you are to function as a successful doctor, and not be sued. Most lawsuits apparently pertain to certain aspects of treatment and potential outcomes not being communicated effectively. So there is an understandably strong focus in trying to get us to communicate well with patients from the beginning.

One technique is just to sit there quietly and not, allowing an awkward silence to build so that the patient is forced to tell you what's on their mind. If this doesn't work you are then allowed to ask them if they have something on their mind that might be concerning them. It actually works horribly well, as patients tend to keep giving you information if you don't cut them off, and everyone feels great.

So with the task of attentive listening at hand, I set off to perform a patient history in front of my tutorial group (eight people) and a tutor. Unfortunately, the patient who was randomly selected - which is a story in itself owing to some confusion regarding where certain wards end and others finish, was a rambler. He was great though, but he went in painstaking detail, even mentioning the weather, about the previous seven days where he had been in and out and then back in to hospital. Regrettably, my task of attentive listening, general politeness, as well as my lack of authority as a medical student, meant I was disarmed as I tried to direct the conversation back around to specific symptoms. On the upside, and before I even knew what was happening, he was proudly showing us his epic rash! It was hilarious, and the guy was pretty upbeat about it all, despite being painfully itchy.

A long time later I abandoned the CC method of history taking and then escaped, much to the relief of the tute group who had to stand quietly for what seemed like 20 minutes, without glancing at their watches. The history itself was quite interesting... I just hope there is a section in the future that will teach you how to make your patients concise yet human.

I think part of the problem was that he was telling me about the disease he was being treated for. But I, being only 4% of a doctor, had no idea what he was talking about, but then chose to nod so as not to interrupt the guys narrative. Oh well! Live and learn and blog!

You're mugly - a public service announcement.

Is it just me, or are the photos they show of people who have been murdered, or gone missing, on the news always terrible? Always the worst shot, often taken from a small portion of a larger photo, where the victim is the only one not looking at the camera properly. I swear it's a conspiracy.

So please, prepare for this eventuality. Lodge your favourite photo of yourself with your loved ones (unless you suspect they plan to kill you, then choose someone else) just in case your mug ever needs to go on the telly.

On the economics of shaving your own head

Cleaned my room today. The thing about staying at home for too long is you accumulate a lot of junk, and then let it pile up. Well, jam it under your bed. I finally had the heart to throw out my old school bag and some books, as well as my old (and rapidly deteriorating) cricket gear. It's funny the way you can be sentimental about some things for so long, and then one day decide you'd rather throw it out then get all the dust off it*. How times change!

Have come down with a wicked man cold though. It's not that debilitating, but you know... man cold. And my arm has swollen up from that stupid tetanus shot... grumble grumble.

Actually, I got my blood tests back. I have no infectious diseases and immune to everything. Also my blood showed, once again that I am as fit as a fiddle. This healthiness is making it harder to pander my hypochondriac tendencies!

*If you're trying to find deeper meaning in this blog, you might want to reflect on this paragraph, rather than the stuff to come