Have I got you clueless over there?
There are just so many words that end with -ogram. Kilogram, histogram, etc.
But what is a conduitogram or even an ileogram??
During a particular ward round this week, I was asked by a senior doctor to request a conduitogram for a patient. I was like, "sorry, what did you say?" The doctor repeated himself and I was still left dumbstruck. hehe. Silly me. But I have never heard of the word conduitogram, ever in my life so far. Later on during the day, the word fistulogram came up. Again, I was like, "What?!"
hehe....but fear not, I have now got the idea of the words ending with -ogram. They basically mean some form of investigative procedure, involving an x-ray and radioactive dye, to check for any holes or obstruction related to the organ or tissue. For example, a fistul-ogram. Fistul, comes from the word fistula, which is an abnormal connection between 2 organs. So, a fistulogram means investigating the fistula to check for any holes. If the dye leaks out of the fistula, hence, a hole is present within the fistula and that needs to be fixed.
Hope I did not get you ppl confused. But I surely have improved my vocabulary....keke.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Don Quixote
Heard this name before? If you haven't, let me introduce you to Don Quixote de la Mancha, a man whose aim in life is to undo evil and protect the weak. He feels that his good deeds will glorify the woman of his imagination......(he turned his faithful servant girl into the love of his dreams).
Anyway, my friends and I decided to catch a ballet performance titled "Don Quixote" during the Edinburgh Festival on Sunday. I have watched ballet in the past and I, particularly enjoyed "The Swan Lake." Unfortunately, this ballet performance made all of us clueless and sleepy. I have to admit that we all did not know what the show was about. Most of the time, after every scene, my friends and I would end up discussing and creating our own interpretation of the ballet. It was funny...we all thought that this man is abit loose in his brain....probably having a bit of dementia as well. =P
When we first entered the theatre, most seats were taken up except for the cheap ones (like the one we bought). This was the first time Don Quixote was performed in the festival. Anyway, a scene is always follwed by a short interval. By the end of the first scene, a tall guy sitting in front of my friend left the theatre for good. Guess he thought it was boring. During the 2nd interval, a group of girls who were sitting in front of us left as well. hmmm....hope you get the picture of how clueless everyone was about the performance. keke
When the show finally ended with the lead character dead, we left immediately (just can't wait to breathe the fresh air outside and see the sun). A man who was making his way out looked at us and said, "Oh, did you guys get the booklet? (refering to the programme book on Don Quixote)" I shook my head in response. And he continued, "Here you are, you can have mine. I do not need it anymore." I thanked him for the book.
I do not know what did you guys think about what happened. For me, I thought maybe it was just a convenient way for him to get rid of the book because it would be a waste to dump it into the bin. But at the same time, maybe we all looked so "blur." =D haha....whatever it is, I'm glad to say that our interpretation of the ballet was right on track except for a few scenes. But, I think I have enough of ballet for now.
Anyway, my friends and I decided to catch a ballet performance titled "Don Quixote" during the Edinburgh Festival on Sunday. I have watched ballet in the past and I, particularly enjoyed "The Swan Lake." Unfortunately, this ballet performance made all of us clueless and sleepy. I have to admit that we all did not know what the show was about. Most of the time, after every scene, my friends and I would end up discussing and creating our own interpretation of the ballet. It was funny...we all thought that this man is abit loose in his brain....probably having a bit of dementia as well. =P
When we first entered the theatre, most seats were taken up except for the cheap ones (like the one we bought). This was the first time Don Quixote was performed in the festival. Anyway, a scene is always follwed by a short interval. By the end of the first scene, a tall guy sitting in front of my friend left the theatre for good. Guess he thought it was boring. During the 2nd interval, a group of girls who were sitting in front of us left as well. hmmm....hope you get the picture of how clueless everyone was about the performance. keke
When the show finally ended with the lead character dead, we left immediately (just can't wait to breathe the fresh air outside and see the sun). A man who was making his way out looked at us and said, "Oh, did you guys get the booklet? (refering to the programme book on Don Quixote)" I shook my head in response. And he continued, "Here you are, you can have mine. I do not need it anymore." I thanked him for the book.
I do not know what did you guys think about what happened. For me, I thought maybe it was just a convenient way for him to get rid of the book because it would be a waste to dump it into the bin. But at the same time, maybe we all looked so "blur." =D haha....whatever it is, I'm glad to say that our interpretation of the ballet was right on track except for a few scenes. But, I think I have enough of ballet for now.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Bad Venflon Days
Let me first tell you what is a venflon. It is a needle-like plastic tube that sits in a vein to allow drugs to be given intravenously or to start a drip (where you get extra fluid into your body). In order to insert a venflon into a vein, a lot of skill and experience is required.
Throughout my 7 days of night shifts, I have been inserting venflons into numerous patients everyday. The minimum venflons per day was about 2, and there was one night, where there were nearly 10 venflons to be inserted! Venflons are easier to insert in those with big fat cracking veins compared to those with small veins.
You would imagine that after having so many practice over the night, I should not face much difficulty when asked to insert one in the future (unless of course the patient has really no veins palpable or visible). However, last night (which was my last night of night shift), I faced great difficulty. I had to try about 3 times in a lady before I'd finally managed to get it done. And there was a man with a big visible vein, and I failed on 2 occasions.
ARrgghhh!!
It was really frustrating. I was suffering from a Bad Venlfon Day, and this made me feel really shit because I was meant to be more experienced...I have been doing it for the whole week!! sigh...oh well, I think it was because my mind was sunconsciously smiling away because it was the last night. So there was lack of concentration? Whatever. Doesn't matter anymore....need to retire to bed early. My eyes are nearly half shut. Good night.
Throughout my 7 days of night shifts, I have been inserting venflons into numerous patients everyday. The minimum venflons per day was about 2, and there was one night, where there were nearly 10 venflons to be inserted! Venflons are easier to insert in those with big fat cracking veins compared to those with small veins.
You would imagine that after having so many practice over the night, I should not face much difficulty when asked to insert one in the future (unless of course the patient has really no veins palpable or visible). However, last night (which was my last night of night shift), I faced great difficulty. I had to try about 3 times in a lady before I'd finally managed to get it done. And there was a man with a big visible vein, and I failed on 2 occasions.
ARrgghhh!!
It was really frustrating. I was suffering from a Bad Venlfon Day, and this made me feel really shit because I was meant to be more experienced...I have been doing it for the whole week!! sigh...oh well, I think it was because my mind was sunconsciously smiling away because it was the last night. So there was lack of concentration? Whatever. Doesn't matter anymore....need to retire to bed early. My eyes are nearly half shut. Good night.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
No Sense of Urgency
My Thursday night on-call made me realise that some people just do not have the sense of urgency.
A patient developed post-ERCP pancreatitis, and she was in a lot of pain despite being prescribed with pethidine and a few more painkillers. She was mean to go down to the X-ray department at about 8 pm to check for perforation (which is when you find a hole in the abdominal organ). A clerk from the x-ray dept called back saying that there are about 20 patients in front of her. The doctor in charged told the clerk that this is urgent because the patient looks rather unwell.
However 6 hours later, I was paged by the nurse looking after that patient. The patient's blood pressure dropped quite significantly and her urine output was very low. The patient was also in a lot of pain and was feeling sick. I was like, "shit." I made my way up to the ward quickly and assessed the patient. She was quite tender at her abdomen. I asked if the x-ray was done, and guess what? The answer was NO.
I was like what?! Those 20 ppl in front of her should have all been cleared. Her condition does not seem too good and a perforation really need to be reuled out. So the nurse called the x-ray dept and they quickly made their way up to get the patient. Thank god the patient did not have any perforation.
Talk about inefficiency man. They did not realise the urgency of the x-ray. What if she really had a perforation?? Patient may die. Therefore, the moral of the story is an urgent thing really is URGENT!
A patient developed post-ERCP pancreatitis, and she was in a lot of pain despite being prescribed with pethidine and a few more painkillers. She was mean to go down to the X-ray department at about 8 pm to check for perforation (which is when you find a hole in the abdominal organ). A clerk from the x-ray dept called back saying that there are about 20 patients in front of her. The doctor in charged told the clerk that this is urgent because the patient looks rather unwell.
However 6 hours later, I was paged by the nurse looking after that patient. The patient's blood pressure dropped quite significantly and her urine output was very low. The patient was also in a lot of pain and was feeling sick. I was like, "shit." I made my way up to the ward quickly and assessed the patient. She was quite tender at her abdomen. I asked if the x-ray was done, and guess what? The answer was NO.
I was like what?! Those 20 ppl in front of her should have all been cleared. Her condition does not seem too good and a perforation really need to be reuled out. So the nurse called the x-ray dept and they quickly made their way up to get the patient. Thank god the patient did not have any perforation.
Talk about inefficiency man. They did not realise the urgency of the x-ray. What if she really had a perforation?? Patient may die. Therefore, the moral of the story is an urgent thing really is URGENT!
Thursday, August 24, 2006
The Quietest Night So Far...
My 5th night on call was, by far, the quietest night I have experienced. I was glad it was quiet. But there is a superstition which states that if you a quiet night the day before, you'll have a busy night the next day. hmmm...so I shall see what happens tonight. Hope nothing untoward takes place. *fingers crossed *toes crossed too.
The night started off quite weird. A nurse asked me to prescribe an antiepileptic drug for a patient. An oral drug has already been prescribed. However, the patient was not allowed to have anything through his mouth, so therefore, his drug have to be given in a different route other than the mouth. I looked up the drug guidebook produced by the hospital. I could not find any drug that matches the patient's oral antiepileptic. I asked if he can give the drug through the patient's rectum, and the answer I got back was, "Do you think if you were the patient , you would like to have your rectum stuck with a pill after bowel surgery?" I was speechless and just agreed that I would not like to take my medication through that method.
Another problem was some of the drugs which I thought were suitable was not stocked in the drug cabinet. sigh. There is no way the patient can miss his dose of the antiepileptic drug, because his epilepsy was never well controlled. I decided to seek help from a senior doctor on call. And she felt funny that the patient was not allowed to have his drug orally, especially when the patient is not vomiting or anything. So after much discussion, she said to just give the patient orally. I told the nurse the instruction from the senior doctor, and boy he was not too happy. I don't know about you, but I thought this whole issue was abit weird. I do not know much about prescribing antiepileptics and I was worried that the patient may go into an attack if I gave the wrong medication. haha.
Oh well, the rest of the night was filled with calls to prescribe pain relief and to look at a few patients who developed fever. I had about 1 hour of silence, in which I dozed off on the table for about 30mins and had toast with a cup of tea, prepared by a nurse. hehe.
Ok la...i'm counting down to my weekend! Just 2 more nights to go.
The night started off quite weird. A nurse asked me to prescribe an antiepileptic drug for a patient. An oral drug has already been prescribed. However, the patient was not allowed to have anything through his mouth, so therefore, his drug have to be given in a different route other than the mouth. I looked up the drug guidebook produced by the hospital. I could not find any drug that matches the patient's oral antiepileptic. I asked if he can give the drug through the patient's rectum, and the answer I got back was, "Do you think if you were the patient , you would like to have your rectum stuck with a pill after bowel surgery?" I was speechless and just agreed that I would not like to take my medication through that method.
Another problem was some of the drugs which I thought were suitable was not stocked in the drug cabinet. sigh. There is no way the patient can miss his dose of the antiepileptic drug, because his epilepsy was never well controlled. I decided to seek help from a senior doctor on call. And she felt funny that the patient was not allowed to have his drug orally, especially when the patient is not vomiting or anything. So after much discussion, she said to just give the patient orally. I told the nurse the instruction from the senior doctor, and boy he was not too happy. I don't know about you, but I thought this whole issue was abit weird. I do not know much about prescribing antiepileptics and I was worried that the patient may go into an attack if I gave the wrong medication. haha.
Oh well, the rest of the night was filled with calls to prescribe pain relief and to look at a few patients who developed fever. I had about 1 hour of silence, in which I dozed off on the table for about 30mins and had toast with a cup of tea, prepared by a nurse. hehe.
Ok la...i'm counting down to my weekend! Just 2 more nights to go.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Two Deaths in A Night
Yesterday night was an awkward day for me. When I first arrived for work, there was an elderly lady whose condition was deteriorating. I started to panic. At that point, the patient was for resuscitation. I was worried that I would be called in the event of a cardiac arrest, which will be my first real life experience as a newly grad doc....quite scary to be honest, regardless of how many times I have gone through the immediate life support algorithm during exams. However, a decision was made not to resuscitate her later on.
The lady finally did not make it till the next morning and passed away peacefully. It was such a sad occasion, as she was surrounded by a big group of family members, consisting of children and grandchildren. Everyone was in tears. I felt so sorry for them because the death was really unexpected. I was asked to certify her death.
Earlier on, before this incident, another man died as well. I was also asked to certify his death.
Approaching a dead person was quite awkward. I know what are the steps required to pronounce the person's death. But when faced with the situation I was actually rather nervous. It was really weird listening to a dead person's heart and chest. It was not totally silent. I could still hear some funny gurgling sounds. The person was also very cold to touch. And actually, while examining the patient, I was thinking, what if this person is not actually dead yet?? Would his spirit be agitated while I examine him/her?? It was really awkward. I was not really invovled in the care of these two deceased people. So I was not really upset about it.
Two deaths in a day's work....quite a sad day for those families. My condolences to them. As for me, I think I would be more comfortable touching the dead after today. Off to bed now.
The lady finally did not make it till the next morning and passed away peacefully. It was such a sad occasion, as she was surrounded by a big group of family members, consisting of children and grandchildren. Everyone was in tears. I felt so sorry for them because the death was really unexpected. I was asked to certify her death.
Earlier on, before this incident, another man died as well. I was also asked to certify his death.
Approaching a dead person was quite awkward. I know what are the steps required to pronounce the person's death. But when faced with the situation I was actually rather nervous. It was really weird listening to a dead person's heart and chest. It was not totally silent. I could still hear some funny gurgling sounds. The person was also very cold to touch. And actually, while examining the patient, I was thinking, what if this person is not actually dead yet?? Would his spirit be agitated while I examine him/her?? It was really awkward. I was not really invovled in the care of these two deceased people. So I was not really upset about it.
Two deaths in a day's work....quite a sad day for those families. My condolences to them. As for me, I think I would be more comfortable touching the dead after today. Off to bed now.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Isn't A Wonder?
Isn't a wonder when everything don't seem to go right?
I kind of give up on some issues in life at the moment. Everyone starts complaining to me, that so and so has done this, why didn't you try to stop he/she. Everyone has their side of story. Only those who were involved would know what actually happened between them. One would say he/she said abcd, while the other person would say he/she said wxyz. So all I can do is listen and stay neutral in both issues, apologise to the person who felt hurt and advice the other not to repeat the thing anymore, or vice versa. But at the same time, both parties are not happy and frustrated with the way things are. I agree that an arguement will never solve the problem. And either way, I feel both are at fault for arguing with each other.
So, I am left with a dilemma which no one would understand. Everyone thinks that I'm trying to runaway. But in actual fact, I am not. I just am clueless as to what else I can do. If the other person does not want to listen to my ideas, for f*** sake, I can't do anything about it!! Or if the other person choose to continue informing about his/her thoughts or feelings, I can't do much about it either because the situation is already as it is. There is no way of changing back whatever happened. I mean, yes, I understand that everyone is feeling rubbish about the whole thing, but can't you guys just see through my situation?? Do you think it is so simple to listen and not react emotionally to what you guys said?? Isn't a wonder why you people just can't leave me in peace?? I am human too you know.
For the past few days, I felt absolutely miserable. And no one would ever get how I feel unless they are in my shoes. Honestly, don't start advising me that I should express my feelings (which I have tried and have always ended in arguement with either parties). Everyday, I just can't stop looking back at what has happened. But, I know that only time will let me cope with all these bumps in life.
I got to leave for work soon. Isn't a wonder how the brain switches off troubled thoughts away from these things during work? I hope that would be the case, at least! Otherwise, I would not be able to function properly tonight.
I kind of give up on some issues in life at the moment. Everyone starts complaining to me, that so and so has done this, why didn't you try to stop he/she. Everyone has their side of story. Only those who were involved would know what actually happened between them. One would say he/she said abcd, while the other person would say he/she said wxyz. So all I can do is listen and stay neutral in both issues, apologise to the person who felt hurt and advice the other not to repeat the thing anymore, or vice versa. But at the same time, both parties are not happy and frustrated with the way things are. I agree that an arguement will never solve the problem. And either way, I feel both are at fault for arguing with each other.
So, I am left with a dilemma which no one would understand. Everyone thinks that I'm trying to runaway. But in actual fact, I am not. I just am clueless as to what else I can do. If the other person does not want to listen to my ideas, for f*** sake, I can't do anything about it!! Or if the other person choose to continue informing about his/her thoughts or feelings, I can't do much about it either because the situation is already as it is. There is no way of changing back whatever happened. I mean, yes, I understand that everyone is feeling rubbish about the whole thing, but can't you guys just see through my situation?? Do you think it is so simple to listen and not react emotionally to what you guys said?? Isn't a wonder why you people just can't leave me in peace?? I am human too you know.
For the past few days, I felt absolutely miserable. And no one would ever get how I feel unless they are in my shoes. Honestly, don't start advising me that I should express my feelings (which I have tried and have always ended in arguement with either parties). Everyday, I just can't stop looking back at what has happened. But, I know that only time will let me cope with all these bumps in life.
I got to leave for work soon. Isn't a wonder how the brain switches off troubled thoughts away from these things during work? I hope that would be the case, at least! Otherwise, I would not be able to function properly tonight.
Knackered
KNACKERED, is the best word to describe myself now. I am currently working night shifts for 7 days, and I am so knackered. Yet, I have only done 3 days of them. My eyes are stinging in pain and my mouth is dry because of lack of hydration. =( My shift is worth 12 hours long or more, depending on whether there were alot to do. I begin my journey to the hospital at 7.30pm to get ready for work, which starts at 8.30pm.
From 8.30 onwards, I have never had much opportunity to sit, drink or eat. The workload was just going constantly. From prescribing drugs to persuading patients to not run away from the hospital in the middle of the night, the type of jobs I faced during the night are rather funny sometimes. Just last night, I had to deal with a man who said the monitor that check the patient's vital signs is a gun?!
My pager just cant stop bleeping. It is worse especially when I'm in the ward in the middle of the night, when suddenly the pager starts to ring. The silence in the night is broken and you can hear patients grumbling in the background. *oppss...sorry!
Everyday, I only managed about 4 hours of sleep. And I just have to pull myself out of bed and stuff something down my throat, so that I wont get hungry later. But anyhow, I shall not complain too much, as I am sure there are many other people out there who are working far harder than me.
From 8.30 onwards, I have never had much opportunity to sit, drink or eat. The workload was just going constantly. From prescribing drugs to persuading patients to not run away from the hospital in the middle of the night, the type of jobs I faced during the night are rather funny sometimes. Just last night, I had to deal with a man who said the monitor that check the patient's vital signs is a gun?!
My pager just cant stop bleeping. It is worse especially when I'm in the ward in the middle of the night, when suddenly the pager starts to ring. The silence in the night is broken and you can hear patients grumbling in the background. *oppss...sorry!
Everyday, I only managed about 4 hours of sleep. And I just have to pull myself out of bed and stuff something down my throat, so that I wont get hungry later. But anyhow, I shall not complain too much, as I am sure there are many other people out there who are working far harder than me.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
*Dusting *Wiping * Vacuuming
*dusting I have not been blogging for about more than 2 weeks now. I didn't manage to get my broadband fixed till today!! =) I'm so happy that I could finally surf the internet from home whenever I want. *wiping I felt like "a frog under a coconut shell" since the last time I was connected to the internet. Imagine, I did not even know that there was a huge masterplan at the Heathrow airport till I picked up the newspaper left in the subway the other day. *vacuuming
*dusting (again, it is so dusty here)
During these few weeks, I've managed to use the computer in the library/wards to send emails. The computer in the library was alright, but I could not send any emails from my yahoo account. Moreover, the library closes at 5pm, which is when I finish work as well...so not much opportunity to use them. On the other hand, the computer in the ward was super slow! *wiping
Anyway, my broadband is finally here! So I'll keep this place as up to date as I can!
*vacuuming (finally, this site is clean and back to normal again!)
*dusting (again, it is so dusty here)
During these few weeks, I've managed to use the computer in the library/wards to send emails. The computer in the library was alright, but I could not send any emails from my yahoo account. Moreover, the library closes at 5pm, which is when I finish work as well...so not much opportunity to use them. On the other hand, the computer in the ward was super slow! *wiping
Anyway, my broadband is finally here! So I'll keep this place as up to date as I can!
*vacuuming (finally, this site is clean and back to normal again!)
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