A YEAR IN REVIEW:

10 things that happened this year that I am really happy about!

1. My family is still amazing and will always be there for me.
2. One step closer to becoming a physician.(Don’t ask what kind, I am not quite that sure yet :)
3. I went traveling this summer and visited Ireland, Scotland and Spain.
4. Some close friends of mine got Engaged: Lindsay, Laura, and James.
5. Alice and Bethany both got married this summer.
6. Puja lived with me for a month while she did an elective and we both survived. Better yet, we became closer and I got addicted to Gray’s Anatomy.
7. My friends (from Lo-Ellen to Travel buddies) are good to me, and understand the hectic life of a med student.
8. I passed the USMLE Step One.
9. I keep meeting new friends: my new roomie, residents, etc.
10. I learnt a little more about the person I call ‘me’
    

RANT:

Sometimes I really hate New Years. You spend so much time planning and somehow things always seem to start falling apart. People back out last minute, people refuse to commit, it’s not like it’s a flippin’ relationship. It is just one night…that’s it. Oh why do I bother? I guess I really should blame myself; after all I let myself get too into it. Frankly, it is just another night out, the only difference is that all the bars can rip you off even more!

Why does it matter so much, so it’s another year…great? Whatever. Isn’t it funny how we make new years resolutions; we make promises to ourselves to change whatever we have been doing in the last year. In a sense we regard this previous year as one that we have failed in some way. Yet another year for me to examine under scrutiny at all the things I did not do, the missed moments, the lost….

Really we should look back at all the great things we did and if you must or if you really feel the need make a resolution. A Year in Review that would be cool!

It has been literally months since my last post, and for that I apologize. Clerkship sucks all your time away especially when you start with the two heavy hitters: Surgery and Internal Medicine.

Well I think I already wrote a little bit about Surgery: It was amazing, crazy hours, but great time and excellent experience. I learnt that I did absorb some of the anatomy from the first year of med. Also, I like seeing a problem, getting right up in there and fixing it, and being able to see the results of your actions quite quickly.

Imagine, patient groaning in pain, feverish, positive Murphy's sign and off you go to the OR. You take out their gallbladder without even hacking them open, laparoscopic surgery (a.k.a. keyhole surgery or the horrible misnomer laser surgery) eliminates the use of the big incisions allowing people to be up and moving earlier.

After that I went on to Medicine, which was totally different. I went from acute problems to more long term problems and issues. This rotation definitely made me a stronger person, and hopefully one day a better doc. I dealt with palliative care issues, and was able to provide what I hoped was the best care for my dying patient. I was also able to manage resources and collaborate with other allied health workers to optimize my patients return to the community.

Both these rotations made me a stronger team player, and definitely started to build on role as a medical expert.

So life begins…

I look forward to my next rotation: Psychiatry, a service I consulted many a time in the past 3 months for patients. I think too often we consult on them expecting them to clarify everything and present us with a totally different patient.

Anyway, Happy Holidays to everyone!!!

Also happy Birthday to all my December peeps: Mel, Lee, Shelina, Wig, Tracy, Q, HRH Y, and I hope I did not leave anyone out!