Sunday, February 08, 2009

The Fifth Year

1956DrFrankFostertutorial (by changyang1230)From tomorrow onwards, I am going to become one of the "fifth year medical students" in the hospital.

While the sound of  "a fifth year medical student" might inspire a considerable amount of confidence in the laymen, embarrassingly I find the confidence unfitting for my knowledge and skill. After four years of studies, all I could command is some bare grasp of the most common diseases, and little to no knowledge of the rarer conditions. All I could do is to insert an IV cannulae (even this was last done quite a while ago), shove a tube up the urethra of an anaesthetised patient and feel blindly inside a man's anus. That doesn't sound like too much but it's enough to overwhelm me.

It's going to be one of the more challenging times. Kicking start tomorrow at 7am - Gastrology, Hepatology, GI & Hepatobiliary Surgery, General Surgery. Stay tuned to Austin Hospital, at various places. Be on time. Pray that Connex doesn't break down. And hopefully, just hopefully, everything will turn out fine, or even enjoyable.


Image Credit: The Royal Women's Hospital - Biographies

5 comments:

nh said...

Hah. I am starting my very first clinical experience in GI ward too, for 2 weeks. I am not sure if third year or fifth year would be more overwhelming. But I believe third year leaves more chances to actually say we don't know this or that. I must say just looking forward to tomorrow is scary enough.

May your fifth year be yet another rewarding year (assuming the previous years have been). :)

Unknown said...

All the best to you in your 5th year! :)

day-dreamer said...

Another prove about how time flies, eh? :P

Anyway, all the best! :)

KC said...

Woo~ Last year to go at university. Big congratulation, Chang Yang.

Phiaw said...

Ooo...good luck (although one day late). I'll pray together with u on the Connex ^^. Did u see a lot of dehydrated n burn victims? gosh it must feel hot as hell there..