Have you ever heard of Clerkship?
Clerskhip...
It means the practice of medicine by medical students
finally you actually feel like a medical student..
In CMC,
" Clerks" (i mean that is what they adressed us ) usually is a third year medical student..
one thing i like about it, no lectures.no slides.no books...
Just work...just you and your patients..
nothing else
I finished up my Surgery Clerkship a while back
and thought it was about time I gave you guys a peek into the daily life of a medical student
rotating through surgery!
I was a little terrified going in,
but the residents all mostly turned out to be very down to earth (hard-working and busy, but down to earth) and helpful.
The clerkship :
1. about 3 weeks in HPB surgery...
2. overnight calls --- – Basically arrive at the hospital around 7am as per usual and leave the next day around evening .
Daily Routine :
- Usually arrive around 7am and round on your patients, be ready for morning checkout by 9:00am.
- Morning Checkout: Goes through all the patients admitted overnight and ensures all surgeries for the day are scheduled and covered by registrars and consultants
- The rest of the day : wards/OT / radiology meeting / transplant meeting/ grand rounds /casualty.
- Typically hostel between 8pm and 10pm, depending on how busy they are.
- scrubbing into surgeries..thats the fun part.. I somehow managed to do a lot.
- Holding a cautery was the first time.
What I Like :
- Working With My Hands: This field is centered greatly around the use of tactile skills. I liked that we were always doing something like taking out drains, central lines, peripheral lines, blood samples, blood culture, write history, etc.
- Night Call: I did not expect to love trauma call, but it was so fun! There’s something exciting about being able to immediately solve an awful problem with your own two hands (and by “own two hands” I mean…other people’s hands…because let’s be honest, my hands don’t solve anything other than follow behind the registrars. I love the peace and calm night in the hospital
- LAPARASCOPIC CHOLECYSTECTOMY - In HPB , you just cannot prevent theses surgeries because most of the patients come with gall stones in the gall bladder or in the CBD..Man.i am kind of expert in that now, not manually, but description of each steps.
- The staffs --They were really helpful and willing to teach us. and we went for a dinner too.
- Connection with patients-- though sometimes language was a problem for me , but it never stop me from going to talk to them, I mean they have so many stories behind them, sometimes they just need someone to LISTEN to them.
What I Dislike :
- Constantly Standing In One Place: Some surgeries are LONG – standing in one place for few hours surgeries on a regular basis makes me kinda exhausted. I just don’t have the stamina for that.
- Variety: Too less variety because its a speciality department..
- Lack of Relationships: Except in very rare circumstances, these doctors are (rightly) not focused on getting to know their patients or developing long-term relationships with them. I mean cant blame them bacause there's no time at all..especially in OPD..one patient after another.
Overall, I really enjoyed my surgery posting..
.I never thought surgery is so interesting until clerkship.
Now i might actually consider of becoming a surgeon....
I want to thank God especially that He led me through this period because music comp was happening at the same time...so intense and stressful..
next destination = Medicine department ..we 'll see how it is...
Never regret to come here...
CHEERS =D
