Are We Insensitive?

A very typical scenario, you walk into the wards their are patients screaming and crying, and the doctors there seem to carry on with their work like they are deaf. The patient is crying please not a needle, but the doctor goes ahead and stick the needle. The patient begs to be discharged so she can go home for her birthday, the doctor ignores or tells her you have to sign a form stating you left against our advice. We break really Bad news causually. So I ask the question "Are doctors insensitive"? Or are we being clam and rational? Are we trying to give the impression that it is no big deal or it isn't the end of the world?

I was siting in the labour ward the other day and all around all I hear is screams, no one seems to care but we the medical students. We look around hoping our eyes could help the patients, yet no one moves an inch. Those of us bold enough ask is she in labour and the doctor answers very causally, yes. Not moved at all by the crys and screams. The more time I spend in hospitals d more I realize that as a doctor crying and screaming means nothing, when usually it should be a call for help. I watch and observe doctors ignore this call and I myself follow suit or at least I try. I must admit it's hard for me but I'm learning.  
During my surgery practise one day, I went into the theater and there was a young lady lying in the corridor crying so loud. I asked a surgeon, whats d case? and he tells me ectopic pregnancy (which we are taught is an emergency and immediate surgery must be done). But oh well here is this patient lying in the corridor crying, yet no seems to be bothered. I looked at her and she's like "help me, I'm dying" ( I can't even imagine the pain she was in). I could have walk off like every other "busy" surgeon around, to be honest I was tempted to but this lady was crying real hard, so I held her hands and smiled at her, and she said "I'm going to die" I told her you will be fine (not knowing), she clamed down down a bit somehow and then I left to go find my team. 
Days later I'm walking in the ward and some woman is greeting me. She must have me confused with someone else, but I smile and say hi to, "don't u remember me 'doctor' (head swells) from the Theater?" she said, immediately I remembered, she was d the lady I told "you will be fine" thank goodness she was. She goes on to add "thank you so much". Oh my the joy that went through me as the doctors on my team just stared, thinking to their selves what could a medical student possibly have done, to make this patient so happy and grateful. Well I was SENSITIVE!


keep smiling, love

Procrastination!

One thing I really dislike on blogville about blogs I read regularly is inconsistency in posting. You start up a blog, u go hard, mayb update daily and then all of a sudden when things get interesting and there r promises made for interesting post, bam!!! u hear no more from the blogger, you keep checking back and still nothing, so u kinda give up. Then they put u a post apologizing saying they r back, you get excited once again and then still no post. I really hate this. And unfortunately this was exactly what I did. Well I could go on and explain how I have been busy with my practices I'm a doctor you know, studying for exam, working on my thesis, traveling up and down plus the holidays. But this are all excuses we like to give, especially as medics we are always busy. Well part of that is true, I'm not disputing d fact that we so busy. But in my own case its was simply this thing called PROCRASTINATION.

Procrastination is just a form of being lazy. I procrastinated so many things, my applications, my thesis work, blogging, cleaning my apartment, registering in the gym etc. At the end of the day, I find myself in a big mess, confused, stressed and having too much to do at once.

Always tell yourself this DO IT NOW. and DO IT NOW!

Keep smiling, love

I'm Back...

Oh beautiful people, its been a long time since I last updated. But I think its safe to say am back. And hey where has 2010 gone to??????
Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas.. And Happy New year in advance all and you know this comes with wishing you the Best the year has to offer.. Any new year resolutions? Mine is to become a doctor in the new year.. haha.. Enjoy the new year people..

Update

Aloha..

Just a quick post to let you all know I'm alive and well. Been traveling a lot so haven't had anything to blog about. But guess What I'm in Nigeria now!!! Started Internal Medicine practice and today was my first day. All I can say now is that there is lots more of story.. hmmmmm. I'm gonna have to look for a way to tell it all. Its a whole different experience from Hungary, but I'm so glad to be here. I Have just one main goal to wear a smile on my face ALWAYS.

A little about my first day.. well I felt like a fool because I couldn't answer any of the questions thrown at me. I'm sure this made the doctors question my uni, I'm so sorry debrecen, I'll for sure step up my game. Also I almost fainted today, I guess it was d combination of no breakfast, standing for long and the heat that caused it.

So much more to come, stay with me.

Love.

Internal Medicine

Finished two weeks of Internal Medicine here, still have 8 more weeks (oh boy), but not here in debrecen I need some English place, lol.
Speaking of English internal medicine was hard enough in the sense that, the ONLY day I had the opportunity to do anything in my two weeks there, I was given two patients to take their history and do a physical examination. Its like communicating with the deaf. These patients spoke no English, when I say no English I mean no, not a little English, but none at all. And since I am not so good in Hungarian myself and had no translator (as I did in other rotations) it was hard. But some how the Job was done with much difficulty. It was also so frustrating that I didn't understand everything they had to say. One of the patients even had so much to say. Now even if I didn't need the long story to write out a complete history. Its just nice to be able to listen and UNDERSTAND what someone is saying to you. I mean there is a reason they are telling u what they are saying right?
Like I have warned in a previous post, If you wanna study medicine, please go somewhere you understand the language and if you are like me, already stucked in a country u don't speak d language, make every effort to learn the language before your clinical years. If you are even more like me, and its already too late, suck it up, wear a smile on your face and learn how to make signs and facial expression work for u to understand. Because one important thing I have learnt in the years in medical school COMMUNICATION is key. I need not say more.

Well, well that has pretty much been my week. Working more on my thesis now. So might not be blogging as much in the next two weeks, but u never know something might strike, so stick with me on this journey.

love,

Eeekk its September

But really where has the year gone to??? Can't believe its already September. I know its kinda late but happy new month to all my lovely readers and you knows that comes with wishing you all the best this month has to offer.
Ooooh so its good bye summer. Bring on fall. And guess what 10 months or less to become a doctor, yippeee!!!

I know I should have posted update about my first week in internal medicine, but I have done nothing this week. Showed up to the hospital everyday but it seems no one has time for us. Oh well I'll see how this week goes.
By the way I changed my thesis topics, no longer writing on Children with HIV/AIDS as I previously mentioned. I'm now writing on some much complex topic in neurology. will let you in on it pretty soon.

Well thats all with me. will in check in during the week if anything interesting comes up, till then have a lovely week, and remember to keep smiling.


Love

Surgery

Finished My two weeks of surgery here. And it was an experience. Quiet stressful I must say in terms of physical strength. At least It was my first on a lot of thing and was a great opportunity I got to assist in all those surgeries.

I was on call on Wednesday as you know from my previous post and this was the most demanding day in my whole time in surgery. I assisted in two surgeries and it was hell. both of them were open abdomen surgery, so I had to work with really large instrument and being small it was a very difficult task.
During the 1st surgery the surgeon was pretty much mad at me. Taught I was doing a rubbish Job retracting but I was doing my best, and as the surgery went on and he kept complaining I started to get frustrated. Here I am, operating table as high as my chest (duh, d surgeons were both taller than me), couldn't see a thing, arm paining me from retracting, its 3pm, been in the hospital since 7:30am and he just didn't appreciate my effort, oh psst. at least the other surgeon told me I did a good job. I needed to hear that.
At 6pm the phone in the call room rings telling me there is a surgery, come to the OR in about 30mins. I'm scrubbing in and the surgeon on call comes in, I ask what surgery is it, and he is like its a case of colon cancer. Oh no another open abdomen surgery. By the time we were all prepped and ready to start, my legs had began to fail me, they were tired from standing and walking around all day. Then we started the surgery I was retracting and then my sides were like it was on fire, and at this moment, I realized I can never be a surgeon, I'm not just cut out for the job, don't hv the inner core strength for it. well I did what I had to do, bared all the pain in my body and tired legs.Didn't leave the hospital till 10pm that day.
I checked with the porta (don't even know what it is called in English,lol) only to see I had been schedule for surgery the next day again.. This people are Kidding me. Something funny happened on my way out, The Porta followed me, so thinking I had dropped something I stopped to answer him, and he asked me If another student had come to take over from me. Meaning if no one had come I would hv had to stay, and my friend who took over from me, had a six hour straight surgery that day..lol. I would have been dead if I had to stay the night.
Thank God I'm done with them, Phew!!!!

A glimpse of the surgery department here

Whats next? two weeks of internal medicine.. watch this space!!!

Love