All entries for Wednesday 23 October 2019

I got to channel my inner Meredith Grey (kinda)

It only feels like two seconds a go since I wrote my last blog on here. Second year is a weird mash of having a slightly slower pace academic side of life, but then taking on everything you can get your hands on outside of medicine. So, it’s no surprise that I am tired already.

I’m still enjoying lectures and I really like this turn towards more clinical thinking. However, I know on the horizon are the transition weeks. I am nervous about these, for the past 4 and half years all I have known are lectures so this change of pace of learning is going to be hard to adapt. However, I am leaving this to November Abbie to deal with.

One amazing thing that has happened was my surgical induction. I had been looking forward to this a lot as I am sure I want to pursue surgery as a career. I know I must start building up my portfolio now, so I was keen to get into scrubs. I managed to get to Rugby for 7:30am (no small feat for someone who does not drive) and spent the next 20 minutes wandering around St. Cross trying to find the theatres before I eventually found them tucked away in the corner. The staff were lovely, and I was soon in scrubs (having taken the classic selfie) channelling my inner Meredith Grey (ok, let’s face it, I am more of a JD than anything!). I was introduced to the surgical team of who I was going to be shadowing and was luckily enough to watch the entire patient journey from them being put to sleep to waking up. I watched a hip replacement and for someone who has only seen Neurosurgery before, orthopaedics is definitely another world away. There is more protective gear to be worn so the surgeons walked in dressed in their normal gear plus these sci-fi type masks which gave them the resemblance of aliens on another planet. I also liked being able to see more of the operation and understand what was going on. Block 4 last year was not my best friend but I was still trying to drag up some memory of anatomy. I could remember the nervous supply, which for a neuro I suspect is good ! I was also chatting to the scrub nurse before asking about all the equipment. They had (for want of a better word) cheese grater like drills to drill into the hip socket. When they were eventually used , I decided that grated cheese was not on the menu for dinner this week. It was incredible to see the power behind this surgery and I really enjoyed my morning. I also got to see someone have spinal anaesthetic which was a slight “fan student” moment as we had learnt the theory behind these in a lecture the week previously.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay in the theatre all day as I was pulled away for bedside teaching, but the following week brought another love of mine. Paediatrics. I got to spend the morning with children who were going to have surgery. This meant I spent most of my morning blowing bubbles for children to play with. I even got a health examination by a four-year-old who decided my elbow was broken and preceded to fix it with a toy drill. I’m pretty convinced this is not NICE guideline approved but I’ll let them off this time. I’m not sure who was having more fun with bubbles and make-believe games on the ward that morning, me or the kids.

Outside of medicine I have also just been made the NANSIG rep for Warwick which was a huge moment for me. NANSIG is The Neurology and Neurosurgery Student Interest Group in the UK. They are huge so I was shocked they picked me, there are so many other people here who would have been amazing! I am going to be helping on their studies over the year which I am excited about. It is also going to give me more experience in research which I believe I desperately need! Revue has also started rehearsals for the 9^thof November. I loved this last year and it became a much-needed break from medicine. The script is just as amazing this year and I can’t wait to show it to everyone. It is one of the highlights of the calendar where everyone joins together for a comedy evening but we also raise money for a local charity so in the end, it’s all for a good cause !

That’s it for now, join me in November when I will be even more nervous about transitioning to clinical medicine!

(If you don't know who Meredith grey is or JD - then you need to watch Scrubs and Grey’s Anatomy)

Eden Villiers : 23 Oct 2019 08:48 |  Tags: Abbie Mbchb Patients Student Wards Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem