Tuesday 27 March 2012

An average week of a fourth year medical student: Monday

An average week of a fourth year medical student: Tuesday


So what actually happened after my committee meeting yesterday? Yeah, the room didn't get tidied and no work was done, oppsy.  Instead my partner came round and we ate pizza and chatted to my housemates, oh well!
Still new day, new chance for that essay to get written....



8.15: Actually get up despite having the morning off! (The advantages to dating a final year who does not have mornings off!).  Its a lovely day here in my part of the country, feels almost like summer :). 


09.00 ish : Get showered and changed and start being constructive in the form of emails and phone calls I've been putting off for a while.  Oh and of course : Coffee!


This isn't my picture but sums up my day today pretty well :), happy halfadoc!


10.30-12.30: Got my room back to spotlessly tidy, looks much nicer now :)


12.30: Coffee and toasted teacake break :) then a quick spot of ebaying (I need a desk chair - house came unfurnished and still haven't got one and haven't had any room in bedroom for said chair until recent tidying spell ;D)
1.30: Head to afternoon clinic, take a textbook with me because last time the doctor didn't turn up for ages....


1.45-2.30: *Read textbook*


2.30: See an interesting patient with one of the nurses, he is virtually blind in one eye (can only see light and movement) and has extremly bad vision in the other eye due to a cataract which was due to be operated on a few weeks ago but they discovered during the pre op assessment that he had an eye infection so the operation had to be postponed.


When the nurse got him to read down the eye chart with his "good" eye, it wasn't immediately obvious which line he was trying to read as what he was saying didn't resemble any of the lines in the slightest, the nurse asked him again to read the top line multiple more times before she was sure that that was the line he was trying and his eye sight was simply that bad.   This means this patients vision at SIX metres was so bad that he couldn't see a letter which was sized so those with normal vision can see it at SIXTY metres, so pretty bad!!


I wasn't too impressed with the nurse in general with this patient though because he was a fairly confused elderly gentleman and she was quite grumpy/ rude with him just because sometimes he took a bit longer to understand her instructions.  I know she must be busy but I do hope that however busy I get in the future I don't lose patience with those who for no fault of their own take up a little bit more time than the average patient.


My patient couldn't read the top line of a "snellen chart" like the one shown in this cartoon




2.40ish: Doctor arrives
The first thing he asks me is what clincal skills I still need completing which saves me the awkwardness of asking him, so this is quite nice :).  The patients are for the most case pretty bog standard follow ups and mostly all patients with glaucoma who have to be monitored once/twice a year.   I get to do my clinical skills though and rather than it just being a matter of getting the sign offs, the tips he have definitely helped my actual ability so this part of the clinic was useful.


The doctor quizzes me on a various things throughout and for the most part I actually do pretty well as they mostly happen to be the bits I read whilst waiting for him. WINNER!!


4.30 ish: Clinic still on going but Doctor signs off my clinic and suggests I see if theres anything more interesting going on in the A+E department but if not tells me I can go home because "you have above average knowledge about the eye anyway" - wooo never has bringing a textbook with me ever been such a good idea before!  There were other students in A+E so I couldn't get in and headed home.


4.45: Have somehow bought FOUR desk chairs for £5.98 (all together!) second hand from ebay. Interesting.... I wonder if I can sell the other 3 using the Friday ad and make some profit?!


Fortunately I didn't buy *quite* this many chairs


5.00- 6.30:  Been sitting out in the garden enjoying the surprisingly warm weather with my lovely rabbit Chunks (he's erm a sturdier build than most rabbits) running about while I type this and sort out a few other internet things.  Its been a pretty good day!

Action shot of chunks in the garden
Chunks tired after all that hopping about



Normally at this time on a tueday I would be at sports training, but we had our last "BUCS" (the university league) match last week and also the rest of the uni are now on their easter holidays (damn them!) so I'm free to get on with work, joy! So time to conquer some more of that essay... wish me luck!

Halfadoc x

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