Doh!

Interesting and short week of paediatrics. Had Monday off as I was in for 9-5 lectures. Tuesday..can't remember what happened...obviously nothing exciting as I would remember. I was on-call again on Wednesday so I was in the hospital from 8:45am - 9pm. It was also my SHO's last day and to be honest I think he was really great. Probably the few doctors that really made us medical students feel very welcomed and a part of the team. He's also really good at teaching too. Really smart dude. As a medical student, the biggest worry is being left out from the team. It's already nerve-racking to step into an unfamiliar environment and have no clue what you're supposed to do, so when a doctor welcomes you and teaches - you feel much more at ease and it really makes a huge difference to your experience at the hospital.  It was also nice that he could remember our names and it really helps with making us feel welcomed. Great thing about this SHO is that I understood him. I knew when to bother him and when not to. And it seems like he too knew what I was like. Seriously, some of you may think I'm really hard working, but I am definitely not the hardest working student to have graced medical school. In fact, I'm quite lazy (blushes). It was interesting how my SHO could tell that there are times where I don't want to do anything and he lets me be. It was like we were on the same page so it was good we had this mutual understanding.

Took quite a few "tea breaks" during my on-call so I got to talk about life as a doctor with the SHO as the ward wasn't too busy either. It was eye-opening. But the conversation soon led to a massive "DOH!" moment. Out of no where I was asked: "You don't like Paediatrics very much do you..or this attachment in general right?" I was actually left speechless. My face was probably a mix of a dead pan with a "DOH" moment. Secretly inside...I haven't really been enjoying this placement very much as in general I'm not very interested in Medicine. I really miss going to theatres and watching surgeries as I find it much more interesting and exciting. I have tried my best to put on an enthusiastic/keen face during this placement, BUT apparently it is fairly obvious I don't really like paediatrics. Another interesting bit is that the SHO could tell what I wanted to do in the future. Haven't told him what I was interested in and he randomly was like: "You're definitely going to do surgery. It's written all over you." And for some of the followers of this blog, you probably know I want to do Orthopaedic Surgery in the future so it was nice that people can see I want to do surgery. On top of that, the day after, another doctor went up to me and was like "You don't like Paeds very much do you. It's like written all over your face." Cue another "Doh!" moment. I even asked if it was that obvious and everyone around me was like "Yes." Soooo....it probably means my supervisor/consultant can also tell I'm not really enjoying the attachment. Honestly though, I'm not HATING it, but I don't love it either. I'm quite indifferent about it and I do realize I'm quite awkward around kids as I don't know what to do with them. Guess it's something I have to work on...and I am trying quite hard though...guess that's what matters.

Next week there will be new SHOs starting on the job and meaning starting back at square one with trying to get on with the new doctors. Life is always full of changes and you just have to keep adapting. Also being a medical student you constantly have to remind yourself that you're at the bottom of the ladder and you really have to work hard to get noticed. Note to self: Stop making it so obvious that I don't like kids.