QEH

Realising that my previous post topic should be QEH instead of surgical rotation, hence i decided to put this post as QEH the name of the hospital i am currently still in (damn i am going to get so used to this hospital). Anyway as i said in my previous post i shall give a small talk on my surgical rotation and realising that most probably no one will read it cause everyone is so busy these days (actually i am busy too, that is why i am blogging now before all those crazy evidence based medicine, research proposal and studying to show what IMU student are made of comes), so i think i can type a looooooong post or maybe i should do some venting of all the stress here.

Surgical posting i dare say have given me different experiences. I think my previous post mention i was post at colorectal unit and Upper GI the 2 most hectic posting, guess what turns out i am wrong for the 1st part. Colorectal is such a slacky unit hahahahahaha, patient are less but the RMOs are very keen in teaching so sometimes we follow him to the ED and clerk a patient and present it to him. He will than ask for our differential and we will give him the answer even though it is a very stupid answer. The interns are also very keen in teaching too. One of them even brought all his text books for us to borrow home, so nice right. The best part is when they are to perform a procedure such as inserting a catheter or a NGT they will bring us along to observe. Oh and not to forget taking blood which i am still very bad at and doing Jelco (the slang here in South Australia which means IV cannula). Ward round in surg starts at 7.30am and my consulant ward round is at 11am every Monday and Friday. So yea guess this is it for my first posting for 4 weeks (sorry no pic of the team).

So the next team i am posted to is Upper GI/Professorial surgery. One word when i was about to go for it. DIE!!!!! the busiest ward in the whole Surgical division cause it also covers for general surgery too, i have to go for ward round at 7.30am and 7am on Monday and Wednesday. Sometimes there is so many patients that the ward round last from 7.30am to 11am for a surg ward round (its consider a long ward round for a surgical unit). We walked from 2nd floor to the to the 2nd floor at the old wing where the ICU is located, then to Emergency department at ground floor to see all the patients. Worst is i have to cover or clerk every patient to do case presentation to the consultants on Wednesday where we have our consultant rounds. We are expected to present how the patient performed throughout the week and what are their treatment plans, the investigations they have gone and the results of the investigations if there is any. The most many patients i have to present was 8 patient. Luckily the 6th years did help me out and divide the patient equally among them. Oh and did i mention that i have to be there in the hospital by 6.30am before the ward round start which is at 7am just to check on how my patient is doing which include their obs (Temp+O2 saturation+drain output from wound+BP), and the result of any investigations which include X-ray and CT scan which were not out on Tuesday.

After Consultant round on Wednesday, we would have MDM, multidisciplinary meeting between surgeons, oncologist and radiologist than i have to go for OPD (out patient department) to clerk patient, do a PE and present it to the consultants again. haih

But at the end of my posting at this unit, i kinda have a 'miss you' feeling. Maybe cause i am too used to it. After the 2nd week in the unit my crazy mind started to make me enjoy the posting hahahahahahaha. Must be crazy already.

For this posting i manage to take a incomplete team photo which i have it on FB for a very long time. Well might as well show it here too.

So shall i introduce the Upper GI team. From left is Dr Markus, the doc from Switzerland who came here for experience purposes i think. Nice Doc who will quickly come in and help me or generally help me when he sense i am in trouble during consultant round. Next to him is Associate Prof Vijay from India who came here for a different sort of experience. A fast thinker who can associate symptoms and conditions quickly in split seconds and taught me and answer all my real stupid questions. The lady in black is Dr Tiffany the registrar of Upper GI, she is very good and taught me stuff too and i really respect her for specialising in Surgery. She shows that nothing is impossible in this world. The guy next to me is an IMU grad who went to Auckland, Dr Wong aka JT (that is wat i call him). Very nice boss who always teaches me stuff and ask me to look up stuff but ended up forgetting to ask me hahahahahahaha (so i usually did not look it up, shhhhhhh don't tell him) and me of course. There is 2 more interns who is not around but they taught me a lot too and let me try some hands on sometimes.

Oh well guess that it is, now in Med posting with the local students. Now i am seeing the real world. Back to my research proposal (i am SICK of doing pubmed search already)!!!!

Surgical Rotation

Can you believe it 9 weeks have just gone by and i have finished my Surgical rotation! Looking back i think i should slack more during my first rotation at Colorectal unit cause apparently the consultants did not notice my friend when she was there (but i do remember the consultant notice me and my other friend and kept asking us questions). Then come the one which i say is the most busy unit in the hospital, Upper GI which take in any surgical cases cause they have a consultant who is a general surgeon hence general surgery is under this unit. Upper GI problem is also under this unit as it is an UPPER GI unit and any cases which deals with the liver and gallbladder (hepatobiliary) is also under this unit. So its busy busy busy for this unit.

But 1st lets talk about the hospital where i am attached to for my whole of sem 1 and 6 weeks of sem 2. The hospital i am attached to is called The Queen Elizabeth Hospital or short for TQEH and even shorter way of calling it, QE.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital

New Wing-QE

Old Wing-QE

Old Wing and the bridge that connects the old to the new

Old wing car park-QE

Visitor waiting area in the new wing

The Bridge that connects old and new

Colorectal room where i hang out when i have nothing to do in the ward

Interior of the room of colorectal where the intern, RMO, Registrar, nurse and med students hang out when thet are free

QE early in the morning mainly 6.30am (sorry for the poor quality)

QE is a very special hospital as this hospital is a Mini IMU hospital. Yes your eye is not playing tricks on you i just typed out that this hospital is a MINI IMU HOSPITAL. IMU-PMS grads from all over mainly Australia and New Zealand can be found here. In Upper GI team there is 3 IMU grads mainly my RMO and one of the intern who graduated from Uni of Auckland and the other intern who is from Uni of Queensland. In medical unit, one of the unit team is comprise of all IMU grad except for the consultants (which means intern, RMO and registrar are all IMU-ians). My friend met an IMU grad who graduated from Uni of Manchester working here and the other friend of mine met another IMU grad who graduated from Uni of Auckland and chose to work here cause he said most IMU grad is working here. I personally met another IMU grad who graduated from Uni of Adelaide and now is a junior Registrar in anaesthetic and she asked for our number and said call her if we need help (so nicey). Now i wonder when will the first IMU grad from Seremban coming??????

Surgical posting here is fun i guess. I work hard for it cause this is our 1st 9 weeks here so working hard doesn't hurt right? At least now i know how their system goes. The teaching here is mainly at OPD or during ward rounds where you try to pick up what the docs are saying. Sometimes they will ask you some questions and ask you to find out the topic and come back to them. Tutorial is definately a must and guess what we also have some training in suturing.

The suturing equipments

Me gloving and preparing to do suturing (for the 1st time)

The patient (Victim) who is going to be sutured by me!!

My suturing skills

And the cut i purposely made on the patient so i can do more suturing

So i guess this is it for my blog update. Maybe next time i do some blogging about how the surgical ward round are conducted here. Before i sign out, one last picture for you guys of dawn in Adelaide.

Look at the sky. I took this picture when i was on my way to the bus stop taking the bus to the hospital (and was late on that day too)

Cheers guys!!!!

Tired but Enjoyable

Urrrgh i can't believe i am actually writing this post at 2.16am when i should be reading up on breast cancer and the management and treatment for it or sleep so i could wake up early to do...... more reading.

Life so far in Adelaide.... one word TIRED. I can't believe i have been waking up at 5am in the morning to go for my ward rounds with the whole team (hey i am part of the team too, so i have to go). I can't believe i am still doing follow up for my patients, what they have gone through and all the investigations done and i still can't believe i am struggling to read the drain chart of the patient. You know how after every surgery they put a drain at the site where they did the cut, just to drain off any serous fluid or leaks. Apparently it is important to read it. They don't expect 4th years to do it but well sooner or later we have to do it, so why not learn it now right. So guess what i finally sort of master it BUT the short forms used by the doctors are annoying cause i don't know which drain bag is for which.

But no one would believe that Surgical Attachment here is so busy. I mean we go ward rounds, do patients update, go to the theatre, study, do online questions and do presentation. How much do we have to do really? Haih well 2 more weeks of surgical and off i am to med and speaking of which, history taking in Surg are usually short and concise and after 9 weeks in it, i think i have forgotten how to do a thorough full History taking for med. SHIT!!! Now i have to re-learn everything again.

Overall Surgery is fun. I helped one of the Surgeon in 2 surgeries and for the first time in my life, i hold a laparascope in hand, helping the surgeon in Appendicectomy and Cholecystectomy. Now that i think about it, maybe i do want to do it again cause when i did it last time, guess what i was so bored i almost feel asleep (SHHHHH don't tell the surgeons ok). So far my Surgical rotation is well tiring, hectic and enjoyable cause i think i do learn a lot hahahahaha.

Ok back to study and hopefully by Monday i can read the Drain Charts and figure out how much the fluid has been drained from the patients wound hahahaha. This will be my update for now. Cheers guys (Mate - So Aussie hor, i still think Manglish is better lol)

Left Over

Don't worry people this is not what we did during our posting in the hospital, this is what we did like 3 or maybe 4 weeks ago when we were still having our bridging course at the medical school. Our life now is sad cause most of us are lock up in our own rooms in our own apartment studying or reading. I think the Med guys are more busy cause they need to type out their case report for patients (like most of you in IMU), do some Evidence Based Medicine thing and all (which i am going to do after 6 more weeks). Surgical or Surg posting as they call it here is not that relaxing but it is not very hectic either.

Ok lets not talk about our SAD life here and focus on the left over pictures which i have in phone and was lazeeeee to put it up cause i was lazeeeee to send it from my phone to my com.

The Barr Smith Lawn

This is us having lunch Ang Moh style, eating at the lawn

Part of the Botanic Garden of Adelaide

University of Adelaide Med School (oops got blocked by the trees)

The Union House at the University (this is where the Student Union is located)

More Pic of the University (back of the Union House)

The Custard we ate at Sangeeta's place where we had Custard Party

The AUD3.50 lunch set i have in IKEA (if you come on Thursday u pay 3.50 for Pasta and you get to eat all you can which means u get to refill your pasta till you are satisfied)

This guy was at Rundle playing with the Keyboard and he is GOOOOOD

Well i guess this sum out all the pictures i took in Adelaide. Hope you guys really like it and to all those IMU Seremban folks happy holidaysssssss. Remember this saying, "The reason why we take a rest is so that we could continue on with our long perilous journey later", it is suppose to be in chinese and i am not a translator so this is roughly what it means, so enjoy your holidays. Crap i need to go back to my studies.

Hospital Posting

Hospital posting has officially started for me. This means less time to go explore Adelaide and less pictures to be posted. So far my life here before hospital starts is like i am here for vacation but then after a long daydreaming of a carefree life, i reckon is time i wake up from it and start working my lazy ass and work towards my goal.

Hospital here is so much different from those back home. For a start they are all air conditioned lol. Back home only private hospital are air conditioned but here public hospital are also air conditoned. Next difference is that Med students are part of the team in managing patients. Which means we are very involve with patients and this means we are obligated to go ward rounds together with the doctors. Ward rounds can be interesting sometimes but it will get ugly when the consultant (layman term is specialist in Malaysia) asked you questions and you just fumble right there.

Anyway i am on surgical posting for 9 weeks and i will rotate after 4 weeks to another surgical ward. The next big surprise is that i am at the 2 most busy ward or surgical posting. Currently i am at Colorectal which some say is the 2nd most busy ward and my next posting is called Professorial posting which is an Upper GI and the busiest ward in surgery. And as the name of the posting implies the Consultant there is a Professor and the Professor likes to hammer 4th year med student. Guess i am screwed this time (really screwed when i am at the ward as the one and only 4th year). Too avoid being screwed i am currently preparing for my Upper GI attachment and at the same time tackling the Colorectal attachment, but i still think i am screwed no matter how hard i prepare.

Just a bit info about the team in my ward, it consist of a Fellow which is a going to be Surgeon who had just pass their surgical test, a Registrar someone who is going to take the surgeon test (i think), the RMO which is same as Medical officer in Malaysia and 2 interns plus me and my friend, 2 4th years. The consultants only come for ward rounds on Monday and Friday so other days it is usually the people i mentioned above. Just to mention, the interns are really nice and friendly and so is the Registrar, RMO and Fellows. Of course for Colorectal ward the consultant i met so far is nice but my senior said there is one "evil" one there. Hopefully i don't encounter him/her.

Well that is all i can tell right now. Need to go back to studies for my ward rounds with Consultant where we have to read up Colorectal cancer, hernia, Bowel obstruction (small and large), Diverticular disease, all the anorectal abnormalities (where i have tutorial for it on Monday) and if i have time i need to do my preparation for my Upper GI ward. Well how nice is that.

Henley Beach

Alright this will be a picture post as i am very lazy to really type anything. Holidays are ending soon and my posting is starting soon. I am starting off with Surgery. Everyone says its fun, hope i really enjoy it but after hearing what the seniors here said well....... all i can say is i hope i still have more holidays. So here are the pictures when we went to another beach called Henley beach which is less touristy and more relaxing.

The houses by the beach with a view. I want one!!!!

The Aussie loves to bring their dogs for a walk at the beach.

The Australian wave!!!

Sunset in Adelaide!!!

Last but not least a picture of me by the beach doing nothing hahahahah!