Medical students are like flies

Yes, we are like flies in an Australian summer. Hanging around registrars and interns, bugging the hell out them, or just standing around and staring at whatever they do. Most doctors are more then happy to teach you. Some just ignore you until you make yourself heard.

It's already been more than a month since I came to Adelaide. Time passes really fast when you're busy and sleep-deprived. More or less gotten used to life as a clinical student, though it is rather tiring. Saw some interesting stuff on the wards, and the people in the hospital are generally friendly. Had a number of tutorials with consultants so far, along with case presentations, ward rounds and other miscellaneous stuff like attending surgeries, writing in case notes and assisting (more like botching) minor medical procedures.

During one tutorial on examintation of the abdomen:

Consultant: Tell me what you see on this abdomen.

Jebb: Erm... the abdomen rises with respiration.. there is a scar here.. on the subcostal margin...

Consultant: Only one scar?

Jebb: I think there's another scar here...

Consultant: Let me see.. There's definitely more than one scar here.. There's one here.. and here... 1..2..3..4...5..6..7 scars altogether.

Everyone: O_o !!!

7 scars? We all saw only like 2! Apparently there were really faint 3 laproscopy hidden somewhere in the umbilicus. And other scars scattered around. All of these were surgical scars. Amazing.

Also had a tutorial on how to put in sutures. We got to practice on PIG'S TROTTERS. It was weird but quite fun, sitting there stitching up pork. No way I'd get to do that back in Malaysia, so tak halal...

The most interesting (and scary) incident so far was when one of my ward partners inserted a nasogastric tube for this patient. He was supposed to go back to surgery because his laparotomy sutures were not healing well. Instead of going down the nostril and into his stomach, the tube went down about 20 cm or more, and came out from the other nostril! Wah damn scared that time la.. Even the intern supervising us was shocked. Fortunately for us, the patient was very forgiving... Unfortunately for the patient, his sutures ruptured prematurely and part of his bowel herniated out of his stomach... Poor patient was in pain, lying there with his gut hanging out. Of course, he was rushed in for emergency surgery and is currently healing well.

*Yawn* it's past 1a.m. now. Better catch up on my sleep. We're gonna have a CNY gathering/countdown at one of the Malaysian student's house later at night. *Sigh* I miss home already! Happy Chinese New Year everyone! May the year of the fire pig bring you great happiness and prosperity! :)