End of Paediatrics.

7 weeks have passed which means I am done with my paediatrics placement! To be honest, it actually went by really fast. I got to admit that the first few weeks went by really slowly...to the point I was dreading the placement. Luckily, the placement started to blow by as I got to know the doctors and nurses on the ward and in general felt more welcomed.  I think 7 weeks was plenty of time for a taster of the specialty so my impression of paediatrics? Not for me. But I won't 100% remove it from my potential list of specialties as I find the surgical side of paediatrics fairly interesting. On my last day of paeds I had a lecture about paediatric orthopaedics, and to be fair...it seems quite interesting. These surgeons see a lot of different conditions ranging from pathological to congenital conditions. Definitely something I wouldn't mind considering in the future.

Also another reason to celebrate about the end of the placement is that I have passed my placement based assessment!!! I was really nervous for it, but it went really well. Did a full patient history on a boy with pneumonia and did a cardiovascular and respiratory examination on him.  I also got a lot of feedback from my supervisor, which was good as I'm constantly trying to improve and do better. I also managed to finish all my essays and reflective writing all in time along with my log book! Really stressful weekend, but everything came together in the end. I was really chuffed with it and after Monday (where everything was due including my assessment), I felt like the world was off my shoulders. I felt so much more at ease and just felt a sense of relaxation. I can finally enjoy the placement again and just take it easy for the last few days on my placement. On top of that, end of paediatrics = end of driving a long way to placement. My next placement is only a 15 minute drive (which is closer than the central hospital from where I live), so I'm excited for that. I no longer have to wake up at a ridiculous time to drive. I've also heard fantastic reviews about the next hospital I will be going to as they like to pride themselves in teaching medical students.

My next placement is Obstetric and Gynaecology. I'm actually really scared for this as I don't really know what to expect as well. Should be interesting as I'll definitely be able to go to theatre (YES!); however, it'll be dealing with quite a sensitive subject so I'll definitely need to change from being playful in Paeds to professional for this specialty. Hopefully I'll be able to compose myself and try to enjoy this specialty as much as I can. First I'll need to go to a week of lectures before commencing my placement. I much rather having lectures first before going to placement as at least I'll have some basic knowledge prior to going to the hospital so I won't look like an idiot in front of the doctors. I also hope I'll have a really nice/easy going/chill supervisor. My last supervisor on paediatrics was very easy-going, which made the placement much more enjoyable. Crossing my fingers that I'll be just as lucky this time with Obs+Gyn. Another 7 weeks of Obs+Gyn and then Easter Holiday! I can't wait for holiday. To be honest...I kinda need one now!

5 More Days.

So yesterday it finally set in...the sense of impending doom - exam is just around the corner. It has been a very tough revision period. It was particularly hard to muster up some motivation as it is quite weird to have an exam so soon (as I just had an exam in May). I think I'm still recovering from May's exam - it was brutal/traumatizing. Horrible experience.

I've spent about 6 weeks revising now, and I feel like I haven't really learned anything, which is an unsettling feeling. Worst bit is that no matter how much I study/revise, I am not going to know everything. That's the thing with Medicine, it's just a bottomless pit of knowledge. Give me another month, I'd still find something to study. Went to look at specimen papers earlier today - had a semi-realization. No book will teach you how to pass a clinical year exam. It seriously is common sense. I mean I went through a whole paper and I was like "...nothing I've studied has been asked." Then I realized clinical questions is the application of knowledge. Take the basics and apply it to the question. No book will teach you how to diagnose. It is a matter of taking what you know and putting it together to form an answer...like a puzzle. After 2 years of medical sciences, you forget that Medicine isn't about 2+2 = 4. It's more abstract and requires critical thinking and pattern recognition. And then I kept flipping through the specimen and seriously some of the questions they ask really deserves a fat: "What...?" And then you look up the answer in a textbook and find the answer in tiny fonts as a footnote at the bottom of a page. Seriously think some questions are put into exams just so it's impossible to get 100%. If anyone ever gets 100% in our exams I will personally go to them and bow to them. Then again I forgot how disliked my year is in the medical school so I'm pretty sure there will be questions on the exam where you just want to pick up the paper and throw it at someone.

Anyways...looking forward to end of exams and at the same time I am scared out of my mind for this year's exam. Ugh. ALMOST THERE!