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| Whoa. What happened to this place? I just spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to write a new entry. Man things have changed. I took a look at the "member since" date and it's 2004. Which is... 4 years ago. I was but a sexually budding 20 year old at the time. Well, seems like a long time ago anyways.
That means I'm almost done my time at Queen's! For those unfamiliar with the process, I'll be graduating (convocation-wise) in May of 2009. "The Match" occurs in March. So between March and May, I'll still be technically in clerkship but we'll all be very chill because we already know where we're gonna be next year.
The Match = Residency match. Prospective graduates apply and interview at various schools to determine where they want to go. They then rank order the programs and the programs in turn rank order all their interviewees. A mysterious computer program distributes positions in these programs to optimize happiness and satisfaction for all. Kinda like communism.
Anyway, I think I've narrowed down the places I'd like to go to just a few places. Of course I won't mention my top choice as it would OBVIOUSLY jeopardize my chances to match there. It's funny how superstitious surgeons can be. Or, anyone in medicine who is on call actually. When you're on call, you never mention that it's "quiet" or even worse that you're bored. Because most of them have a deep seated belief that truly the minute that the words exit that dumbass mouth of yours, you will be flooded with work. It's silly I know, but I ain't gonna be the one to break the rule.
So right now I'm just wrapping up my elective at Western, in general surgery. It was 3 weeks, but honestly, it really blew by. I think my personality takes at least 3 weeks to get used to the surroundings. Being raised in an asian family, it's difficult to learn to speak your mind. We were raised on the belief that the most important thing a person could do was respect teachers and elders. I've found however, that the most "impressive" points of my clerkship experiences occur when I find the opportunity to speak out. Sometimes I feel my inhibited nature can hold me back.
So tomorrow is my last day at Western. Despite what I mentioned up there, it was a good elective. I learned a lot, and I'm excited about general surgery. London will be one of my top choices.
Shit, did I just jinx it? | | |
| So I'm walking down the steps of the Hotel Dieu hospital, going to catch a shuttle to Kingston General hospital, and I'm chatting with a friend about one of our residents. He's a great guy, good to get along with, good to work with, but he doesn't really teach us anything, we're saying. And that's a big point for me, so I'm talking with my usual loud-mouthedness.
I get to the bottom of the stairs, and there's the attending who's on the same team as me and the resident. He's waiting for the shuttle too.
Sure, I wasn't talking about him, and he probably knows it, but damn, he must not have a great impression of me right now. And the kicker is that I gave him an evaluation sheet to fill out for me like 5 minutes before this happened. He's yet to give it back, but I'm getting a little nervous about seeing what it says now.
I just want to say to all you people climbing the ladder (any ladder, corporate, health care, anything involving general ass-kissing behaviour) - don't forget the little people!!! I feel like the junior residents are the better teachers - accordingly, because they've been students the year before. So they remember how it feels to be lost and totally useless to the team. Senior residents are a mixed bunch. Sometimes they're good teachers, but other times, they're pretty absorbed into what they're doing. To some seniors, you're just in the way between them and a good night's sleep on call. To have you follow them around means they have to spend an extra couple of hours teaching you things when they could easily be in bed instead. Based on this theory though, staff physicians should be horrible teachers. And yet, weirdly, they're very often the best.
And so, my point is that there is obviously no pattern here and you've wasted 5 minutes of your life reading my mish-mash of opinions that don't lead anywhere.
Just don't forget how it feels to be the little person, people! | | |
| hello xangan friends,
damn, we almost had people updating again didn't we... and we just gave up all of a sudden. i'm telling you, it's this inertia stuff. very tough to overcome.
let's recap the holidays first. it went by VERY fast. much to fast to have been 2 weeks. seriously, why do high school kids get 2 months off? US GROWN UPS should get two months off. x-mas was a blast, got good friends and family time. my brother moved into his new condo which is real nice. especially since i'll get to use it during my time at UofT. it's only a one bedroom, but it's at yonge and finch which is a hard location to beat. snowboarding was good - twice! annnnd, an expensive shopping trip in the states yielding "work clothes".
and now clerkship! my first block is surgery - specifically general surgery. so we do a lot of the abdominal surgeries - appendicitis, gallbladders, obstructions, etc. it's only been one and a half weeks, but i've learned a hell of a lot. it's been great. it's really weird, but while walking home today, i was thinking about how it feels to be in the hospital and the OR, and clinic, and just generally taking care of these patients, and i couldn't help grinning like an idiot. i think i've hit the jackpot in terms of career, folks.
the thing about being a surgeon, is that it's not just medicine. there's some medicine involved - correcting someone's electrolytes, keeping their blood good, making sure their heart and their lungs are working okay, emptying their bowels, getting rid of their nausea, etc., but it's nowhere near what internal medicine does. they know everything about every disease. but it's the other part of a surgeon's practice that really draws me - the OR.
it's like a sport. for the surgeon, the more procedures you do and the more OR time you have, the better surgeon you become. when surgeons evaluate other surgeons, they don't really talk (for the most part) about their clinical ability (though it is still an indispensible part of a surgeon's performance). almost 90% of what surgeons think of each other comes from an evaluation of "their hands". surgeons can be precise, fast, and amazing - but there is always a drive for perfection. it's essentially the most difficult trade you could take up. and i feel so privileged to be given the opportunity to learn it.
anyway, long story short - lovin' the job and excited about where it's going. this weekend will be a nice break from the hospital though. the longest time i've spent there is 30 hours. ridonculous no?
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| I know I haven't written here since exams ended - I know I said that I'd update too, so I feel like I have to start making up for it
So this week constitutes what they call "Clerk Camp". It's a bunch of lectures during the day that's designed to help us get through the next phase of our medical training called clerkship. In clerkship, we become the bitches of the hospital. We run scut (paperwork, random forms, checking bloodwork, doing requisitions for imaging) and basically, based on how well we run scut, we get evaluated. I guess it's kind of the same thing as being an intern in an office. Except we're interns 24hrs a day. Which brings me to what I did today.
Behold the dreaded pager.
Note the scary lighting and the gleam of evil in its display. This ensures that we clerks will be reachable for inane chores anytime. Trust me, the novelty is already starting to wear off. To give the pager a little personality, I'm going to give it a name. Maybe I'll even grow to enjoy her presence. "Paige" comes to mind, but that's much too stupid. Any suggestions? Yes, it does have to be a girl's name because it's always nagging me and expecting me to call her back. If it were a guy, it would just sit in front of the TV collecting dust, only getting up to hump my phone.
Okay, so clerk-camp. During the day we have lectures that aren't in the least helpful given that we have 2 weeks to forget about it right after. And during the night, we go out. So far, there have been a couple of house parties and Commander Foley's LAST CONCERT EVER. That was last night, and it was a blast... FROM THE PAST. We played at The Merchant again, the site of our first concert. I think everyone had a good time, we had a pretty decent setlist.
The Doobie Brothers - Long Train Running
Roxette - Fading like a Flower
The Tragically Hip - Little Bones
Maroon 5 - She Will be Loved
Bush - Machinehead
Stone Temple Pilots - Plush
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
Sheryl Crow - My Favourite Mistake
The Cranberries - Zombie
The Strokes - Last Night
Nirvana - Lounge Act
Metric - On a Slow Night
Stevie Ray Vaughn - Pride and Joy
Janis Joplin - Piece of My Heart
Tracy Chapman - Gimme One Reason
The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter
Aerosmith - Dream On
Guns n' Roses - Sweet Child of Mine (Encore)
There's a good range of songs there I would say. Something for everyone right? Anyway, I was sweating bullets up on stage - it was hot, and we didn't get off to a good start. But by the time we got to Machinehead, there were people dancing and having fun so everyone loosened up after that. After the show, we packed everything up and for the first time ever, we took everything home instead of our practice room. Kinda bittersweet, but everything's gonna end sometime right?
I'll post up videos/pics as them come. In the meantime - rock on, folks. | | |
| I cannot describe this feeling. Imagine (Your first orgasm) + (chocolate cake) + (your first kiss). Then MULTIPLY IT BY 20. Then divide it by like 5. I got a little carried away.
I'M DONE EXAMS FOREVER!*
This is probably going to sound a little nerdy, but I always get this anti-climatic feeling afterwards. Empty almost. Oh well, I guess I'll have to fill it with booze and women. I guess it goes to show you that you gotta have goals in life.
Plans for the winter break:
- snowboarding galor! I gotta get my monies worth out of it. Hmm... that "REVOLUTION" sprayed across the board seems a little childish now. Maybe I'll cover up some letters. "R O TI ". Mmm... Love that roti.
- guitar hero! I think it's finally time I break into the guitar hero scene and just totally OWN IT. Now I'm the hero.
- Sleep whenever the hell I want. This is going to be difficult, as I have gotten into the old-man routine of sleeping at 11 and waking at 7. I will tackle this enormous task with all my might.
- Movies that I've missed out on: The Squid and the Whale, June, Superbad, All the Real Girls (Zooey Deschanel!), Sideways, I Heart Huckabees, Love Actually, and a bunch of other movies that make me seem less gay.
- Eat like a normal person (living on Michelinas and take-out for the past 2 weeks = "outtie")
*Excluding the 8 block exams in clerkship, and the 8-hr board exam at the end of medschool, plus specialty exams in residency for the next 6 years. | | |
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