Saturday, October 24, 2009
Time
Everyone wishes for more time. Yet its how we make use of the time we have in hand that really matters. Make your day meaningful. Get the most out of it.
Friday, October 23, 2009
A taste of things to come.
For the 1st time in my life today, I was allowed to scrub in at the OT and assisted in an operation. A patient came in for an emergency open appendectomy and the operating doctor allowed me to assist her.
I expected the surgery to end 90 minutes but things got complicated. A surgeon had to be called in and the surgery prolonged to slightly more than 3 hours.
Yet the experience was priceless. From scrubbing in, fumbling around trying to wear my sterile gloves with the "closed" method, to assisting an operating MO and finally a surgeon, it was indeed worth staying up till 3am in the OT. Being only in my 6th week of Clinical School and my 1st ever posting, i do consider myself lucky to be given this opportunity.
I did not have any major role. I was basically an extra pair of hands to hold retractors and pass instruments as well as an extra pair of hands to get in the surgeons way. hahaha Nonetheless, it was a great experience. Its like an introduction course to the life of a HO on OT call, somethings that I hope I will be doing in the not too far distant future. After the 6 weeks i spent in surgery, I am considering Surgery as my pathway in the future. I rank it 2nd to ObGyn which has been top of my list for many years.
To the doctors who granted me this opportunity, Mr Loo, Dr Tiong and Dr Jan Jan, thank you very much. Cheers.
I expected the surgery to end 90 minutes but things got complicated. A surgeon had to be called in and the surgery prolonged to slightly more than 3 hours.
Yet the experience was priceless. From scrubbing in, fumbling around trying to wear my sterile gloves with the "closed" method, to assisting an operating MO and finally a surgeon, it was indeed worth staying up till 3am in the OT. Being only in my 6th week of Clinical School and my 1st ever posting, i do consider myself lucky to be given this opportunity.
I did not have any major role. I was basically an extra pair of hands to hold retractors and pass instruments as well as an extra pair of hands to get in the surgeons way. hahaha Nonetheless, it was a great experience. Its like an introduction course to the life of a HO on OT call, somethings that I hope I will be doing in the not too far distant future. After the 6 weeks i spent in surgery, I am considering Surgery as my pathway in the future. I rank it 2nd to ObGyn which has been top of my list for many years.
To the doctors who granted me this opportunity, Mr Loo, Dr Tiong and Dr Jan Jan, thank you very much. Cheers.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The truth about life.
Death. It is something that none of us can run from. We will all face it sooner or later.
Yesterday I experienced loosing a patient for the 1st time. A young man in his 30s came in with signs of MI and was in Ventricular Fibrillation. The MO and HO tried really hard to rescue him but was unsuccessful. We medical student help by doing chest compressions. Unfortunately. all available resources are eventually used up and the bad news has to be broken to the patients wife.
It was an emotionally intense moment. Of course it is. Imagine waking up one morning, all things well and suddenly you lost a loved one. One with no known medical illness. The truth would be hard to accept. When faced with this situation, I am reminded how fragile our lives are. In a second or two, we could lose everything we have, everything we are, everyone we love. That's the frangibility of life.
Don't take things for granted. Never waste any moment of our lives. Make the most of what we have and give every day our best we ever have.
To the patients wife, friends and family members. I wish you my deepest condolence. May you be blessed with the strength, love and support to get through this difficult time in your life. May you overcome this obstacle and may you be well and happy.
Yesterday I experienced loosing a patient for the 1st time. A young man in his 30s came in with signs of MI and was in Ventricular Fibrillation. The MO and HO tried really hard to rescue him but was unsuccessful. We medical student help by doing chest compressions. Unfortunately. all available resources are eventually used up and the bad news has to be broken to the patients wife.
It was an emotionally intense moment. Of course it is. Imagine waking up one morning, all things well and suddenly you lost a loved one. One with no known medical illness. The truth would be hard to accept. When faced with this situation, I am reminded how fragile our lives are. In a second or two, we could lose everything we have, everything we are, everyone we love. That's the frangibility of life.
Don't take things for granted. Never waste any moment of our lives. Make the most of what we have and give every day our best we ever have.
To the patients wife, friends and family members. I wish you my deepest condolence. May you be blessed with the strength, love and support to get through this difficult time in your life. May you overcome this obstacle and may you be well and happy.
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