Paediatrics - Week 1

Wow this week was LONG. First started the week with a whole day of introductory lectures from 9-5. Then on Tuesday it was the start of our placement and the start of long drives early in the morning. Got to the peripheral hospital and the minute I stepped into the Children's Unit, I knew something wasn't right. In first year I had a placement in Paediatrics and you could hear children screaming/crying from outside in the hallway. This time...it was dead quiet. There were no doctors to be seen. We met in the doctor's room and soon all the doctors arrived and did a handover. The reason for the quietness of the ward? We only had 3 patients on the ward and another patient was coming in later in the day. I mean the doctors are all really nice though. All of them are also really keen in teaching as well. They did mention that the lack of patients is common so we do have to be proactive.

We are expected to do 7 on-calls in our entire attachment (7 weeks). So it would make out to be 1 on-call per week. I did my on-call on Friday which meant I was in from 9am-10pm. What a long day. However, I managed to clerk in several patients and I was definitely learning. Also in the middle of the week I got to do baby checks. This is where the doctor would check over a newborn baby making sure he/she is healthy and ready to go home. Some of the babies were so cute; however, after all the baby checks, I feared crying babies. Every time I hear a baby cry, I flinch a bit. Also the funny bit is that almost every baby we checked, the baby decided to leave a present for us in his/her nappy. Lovely. Guess that's what you get in paediatrics. Cute babies and stinky diapers.

Paediatrics is definitely interesting, but the lack of patients in our hospital is really taking a toll on me as I do find myself standing around doing nothing. I also find myself getting bored quite often. Unfortunately there isn't much to talk about for this week. It has been overall quite dull. Not a lot of banter either on the ward. Guess not every placement will be fun. Hopefully next up will pick up. I mean at least I'm starting to get to know the doctors quite well and they are very welcoming. 6 more weeks. Yay....