Another 6 weeks have past - and so is the orthopaedics posting. Was it just me, or did anybody else felt the same? That for each posting that we've been through, they were just too short, too packed and too hectic. Especially for this posting. Well, at least for me.
I was assigned to the spine unit for this orthopaedics posting. It was quite alright, except that it could be quite exhausting at times (I think I'd skip the details). Otherwise, it was an interesting posting. We started off with our coordinator telling us that we should just be thinking of becoming an orthopaedic surgeon, for at least these six weeks - yeah, he probably tells that to every batch. The posting was quite organised. We're susceptible to getting lost in this vast medical sea, so a little pinch of organization is always a good thing for us medical students.
One of the few notable incidents that I had during this posting happened during an on-call session. A patient came in to the casualty with multiple fractures of the upper and lower limbs, apparently a hit-and-run case. We were able to observe closed manual reduction of the fracture as well as assist in plaster application. The doctors were very willing to teach, and we're always grateful for that. Next, came in another patient with anterior shoulder dislocation. Apparently, he was doing some training at a gym and he weight-lifted a little too much. Again, the doctor discussed the case with us and we were able to see the reduction of the dislocation. It was a rather quick procedure. The patient was on sedation and when he woke up (about 15 mins later), he kept exclaiming "wow", and he said he felt like he was dreaming, as if he was in 'Stargate' (something like that). And he repeated it so many times. Yeah, the drug was taking its time to wear off.
So, that was it. Nothing much for me to say. It was quite a busy posting for me. Some time to relax is definitely good.
i know the details :)