On Tapping Back the Passion

Good afternoon sir, are you willing to spare a few minutes? I'm a 2nd year medical student in UM, literally, but we've already finished our 2nd year and are now on holidays. So basically, we're doing an elective project, and we're now looking for subjects above 40 who are normal. And by normal, we mean subjects who are not diabetic and do not have any neurological sicknesses. The high blood pressure and high cholesterol are not a problem, don't worry. So yeah, that's about it, so are you willing to spend a few minutes and let me tap on you with this, tendon hammer here?

Oh yea, the study we're doing, is basically a comparison of the reflexes amongst the normal population compared to those of stroke patients. We've had collected data of young adults in their early 20s, so we're now emphasising on elder adults. We'll only proceed to the stroke patients when we've done our analysis on the normal population. If that is fine with you? Yes, we're under Dr. L from the neurology department in the hospital.

Basically, that was what I've been doing for the whole afternoon. Woke up at 1100 hour, very late I know, but it has been such ever since the holiday started anyways. Not like we have to get up at 0700 and rush to the hospital or what not, not this week as far as I recall. Dr. L is away on a course, so we are left to collect our datas until he's back on Friday the 6th.

So yeaps, I went in to the hospital after having lunch with Brother TC at Amcorp Mall. The other 5 in the group have most probably started their tappings anyway. Am worried no doubt, we're not doing it on our coursemates this time, we're GOING OUT THERE. We're reaching the people, the community. Or specifically, the community who visited the hospital, either for outpatient clinic or just to accompany family members.

I walked to the Orthopaedic clinic just to find the other 5 bending over on their subjects. I stood there and did nothing. CH came over and passed me my 13 sheets of questionnaires, indicating that would be the lots I have to get today before calling it a day. Darn, it's not exactly as easy as I thought. For one, approaching them is... NOT easy. We're not exactly doctors, not that we're a nurse as well. Plus, I'm shy. YES, I AM SHY. SO what!?

Anyway, after clearing what Dr. L wanted by 'normal', since CH got a patient with osteoarthritis, and I'm pretty sure normal adults don't visit the clinic on a weekday afternoon, we decided to head over to the out-patient clinic at the ground floor. I'm shy I'm shy I'm shy! I let CH start his work, while I just walk around, hunting for my prey. Slowly, I picked it up. And 13 questionnaires are filled in 4 hours. Yes, it's a bit too long, but it's a good experience no doubt.

The whole reflex test is brief, it takes about 5 minutes if not lesser. Tap on the face jaw forearm biceps triceps quadriceps adductor and of course the favourite site on the knee and ankle. Plantar relex as well. For the males, there're also the pec major and abdomens. A chance to touch some men's muscular pec major, blimey! Just too bad I actually approached those who are obviously clear to be way way over 40 years old. So nope, nothing close to the bodybuilders' pecs.

Reason being, my first 2 subjects wailed saying they're not even 40! It's not exactly a good experience, what's more with me wearing a white coat and the clinic filled with so many other patients waiting for their turn.

I've spent a long time with each subjects, not all, just maybe one third if not half of them. The introduction stretched on to some other things. There's a freshly retired teacher asking how I got into the medical school here, saying her niece finished her SPM with 7A1s and 5 A2s, and didn't nailed any scholarships whatsoever. And there's Mdm Carol Yoong whom I spent talking to for about 15 minutes. It's really enjoyable. She's a bit tense, resulting in few hyperreflexia in some reflexes. But I sat around talking to her after the test is over while she waited for her number at the pharmacy. There's a pretty well built man approaching 60 who really, doesn't look his age, and we enjoyed quite some laughs as he doesn't show any reflexes at some joints. Yeaps, he was pretty humorous too, "As long as I don't need to take down my pants, that's all right." More often than not, a lot asked about their medical conditions. Hail God still, I just don't know how to explain. "I'm not even a clinical student yet."

But yes, the whole afternoon was a huge eye-opener. I guess I re-found why I was so ever interested in medicine in the first place.

Even more interesting happenings, a middle age visitor came approach me outside the clinic asking "Where is 6U?" while another one asked "How do I get to the pharmacy in East Tower?". At least I know how to get to 6U, though I'm not really familiar with the East Tower yet. And yes, they called me "Doctor, doctor!" *sniggering*

I know, housemanship is not as easy as it looked or sounded. Even clinicals can be a nightmare. So be it. Whatever it will be, there's no way out already. I'm 40% through the medical school, I'm not going to quit.

And I'm looking forward for the day when I'm addressed as Dr. Bong.


P/s: Yeah, I just found out it's not appropriate to carry out that test in the clinic. KK and KT's are shoo-ed by the nurses in the clinic for disrupting their work. So they said. That if the doctors found out, they might be penalised or something. But then again, we did ours outside the clinic. We didn't actually interfere with the staff's jobs.


Ps2: this post is a scheduled post from the day before.
Ps3: Triceps tendon reflex by disarmedboy
Ps4: Doctor by decorgirl