So I decided that blogging in the run up to finals was a massive mistake, and I stopped. Needless to say sugar intake increased 100-fold..but guess what I lost a stone and a half.
That was because I trundled off to the cold climes of Cusco and then came back to London via the sweat fest that was Colombia. WOOOO!
Whats new? Directionless boyfriend is now ex. Deeply saddened by this development as despite the lack of his direction the only thing I was sure about was him (you don't admit your weaknesses' when complaining about others now do you? anyway from the outside it looks like it doesn't matter..I'm a Doctor nah nah nah - in my mother's eyes this equates to having made it therefore what other direction do I need).
This temporarily besides increasing the sugar consumption caused me to have a sense of humour failure, general breakdown and act like a crazy bitch. Rita is bitter. Oh well, all is good in the proverbial hood now but I have seriously pondered how do people normally do it?
This was my first, nay my only long relationship and it is completely inhumane, I realised to expect people to break up and stop contacting a person they have been in daily/hourly contact with for often in cases, years. Of course the case is different when it is a mutual decision, or when two people just realise they grow apart but there was no real reason for us breaking up or nothing that could be sorted out so how do you stop thinking about calling that person whenever something funny/sad/downright weird happens? Its a test of nerves...
Also a test of nerves is the fact that I was on the wards today and in the middle of reviewing a sweet old lady who was a few days post-op for a bypass. She was fine and suddenly next door the Nurse shouted for the registrar "quick!" and within two seconds he'd flown thruogh the curtain and attempted resusciation. all the action around me was so quick and I was left blowing in the winds of the people rushing about next to me. Why was I blowing? Why the f**k wasn't I helpimg?? Given that I'm starting my job in under a month it really freaked me out that I was unable to collect my thoguhts and start acting in a positive way in that situation. I hear from the hospital vine that this stuff comes with practice and the first month is a very steep learning curve. I also keep thinking about all those retards who barely turned up but managed to get through 5 eyars of medical school, surely I'll fare better than them? Only time will tell but all I can tell you is my pants are full of shit.
Our medical elective in Peru was quite unremarkable. They had a strange stipulation only divulged when we arrived after a week, that we had to be there for a minimum of 30 days before we coudl do any hands on work. This made for a pretty boring practical elective but let me tell you how fun it is trying to take patient histories in Spanish when you have spoken about 3 words only. ever. The good thing about htis is that you learn pretty fuckign quickly and lluckily most medical terminiology has its roots in Latin plus the usual grammatical rules of accenting and adding an o on the end of english words emant it wasn't as hard as I thought it woud be (delicate -> delicaaado and so on). One thing that was organsied well was that we had a few days of introductory medical spanish. Thankfully our teacher changed after one day and I say thankfully as we later realised the first taecher had been teaching us the most inappropriate way to call over a waiter, the way reserved for those who deem themselves a part of the higher echelons and thier waiters their minions.
Aside from the unremarkability of the practical side, obviously there were a lot of little differences which when I consider, sorry, REFLECT upon are actually pretty major. in terms of hygiene, there is a questionable approach. Hands are barely washed and when they are they are wiped on the sheets of whichever patient's bed is nearest to the sink. If that's not available they'll wipe it on whatev's. Thats often the white coat of a junior doc. Hmmm.
I take issue with the fact that this hospital is one that is maintained by a contribution from the average peruvian's pay packet and should have a better basic standard of hygiene. It is not that they don't have gloves and can't afford them, they're just whimsical about their use and its totally variable. Some complain about the nurses chasing us around with their pump spray but I would much rather this than what I saw when the resources are available and there is a slapdash attitude to hygiene.
Forget any concept of privacy as well for there are no curtains separating the beds on the all female or male wards. Covers are whipped off for all to see and I will remain scarred by the 55 year old lady who showed her prolapsed vagina to the entire surgical team in full view of the The entire entire ward and the eager intern who was (after donning gloves thank god) poking and prodding it. although the patients didn't seem to mind the transparency, I wonder if they did but they don't say and if this is in part to do with the way that as in India, Doctors are revered, I quote from an orthopaedic surgeon bearing more than a passing resemblance to the Fonz "Somos dioses" (we are gods). I half expected him to clap his hands and produce an ECG from his backside.
Anyway more to come later, I'm off to have coffee and tell my friend my Colombian tales.
Ciao!
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