Sunday, August 05, 2007

Stranger in A New Place

I have finished my year as a houseman or better known here as "Foundation Year 1" doc on the 31st of July. It has been a year full of bitter and sweet memories. I do not think that I would ever forget the feeling of stepping into a ward as a fresh graduate. It was SCARY. But, as time past by, I have learnt many things, learnt to work more efficiently, learnt to be a "paper work" machine, learnt to act as a "good vampire,"(I cannulated many patients and took their blood for tests), learnt to treat patients...etc..

There are times that I dreaded to go to work, times when I wished that I had a different job, and times when I wished that I had more time to sort out my chores. It was a year filled with cold sweats (when I do not know what to do), tears (when I was really angry with that bloody SHO), and laughter (as I enjoyed working with patients and my fellow colleagues). I felt really sad to leave my hospital, my comfort zone.

On 1st August, I started work in a brand new hospital as a "Foundation Year 2" or SHO in paediatrics. It was equally scary, but in a different way. This time I do have some experience, except that I have not done Paediatrics since I was a medical student, and it really intimidates me when someone calls me a SHO. I felt totally incompetent over the past few days. I do not know how to prescribe medications for the children, how to manage their conditions...etc...I was kinda starting of scratch again. sigh. I didn't know how to work the computer system either. I felt like a total Stranger! sigh.

Hopefully, with time, I would be able to build more confidence in myself. But I can say that I would surely not do paediatrics as a career.

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