On A Messed Up Morning

It's the 3rd day we're here, and we will be presenting a long case to our doctor on Thursday, which is like, erm, TOMORROW!!! So, everyone was busy with their own clerking of patients just to prepare, in case we might get picked all so randomly. It was a class of 40, comprises of 2 big groups, which was actually subdivided into 4 subgroups. But so far, since I always sit in front during the classroom teaching before we go to ward, I was asked to answer questions once everyday. Group-mate was saying it was prolly because I have a big face. Darn.

Anyways, while going to the ward looking for a possible patient that we could clerk, I came across a bed at which the house doctor was doing intubation. Respiratory collapse maybe. I walked over and was hoping to see the procedure, after all it's a teaching hospital, we're supposed to make full use of the facilities and everything happening in the hospital. Patient was an Indian man, surrounded by so many nurses that it was actually, very crowded. So naturally, even when we're doing physical examination, we'd draw the curtains, what more it's a emergency procedure like this. But frustratingly, the nurse asked me to leave. Blardy hell. We learnt, or rather, I was being busybody to ask our doctor back in UMMC to teach us intubation before. So I was hoping to see how it's done on a real patient.

But anyways, I left the cubicle anyways. We had our one hour of bedside teaching.

So after our class, me and the Angel (my partner) went to another ward to clerk patient. It's not the first time, but we just found out a lot of the patients were pretty scared of us medical students already. How could it not be? 80 students are assigned to medical posting for 8 weeks, while 40 are covering the other wings, there are 40 of us covering this other wing. And like I mentioned, among the 40, there are 2 groups, which are again subdivided into 4 smaller subgroups. Problem is, all of the 4 subgroups are doing the same thing, dividing the beds according to cubicles. So each cubicles would be covered by one pair of medical students from each of the subgroup. And by that, it means each patient will be clerked by 4 pairs of medical students, not including the Housemans.

Of course, I'm not happy. Patients are not happy, they refuse to be clerked once more. We don't get to clerk the patients, we're not happy. And when we don't have a case to present tomorrow, the doctor is not going to be happy. Why all these tortures? Naturally I was really unhappy and unsatisfied. The one patient we're clerking will be discharged by noon. And all the others were sleeping. What am I supposed to do!?!?! We talked to the leaders of the 4 subgroups, and demand for a rearrangement. To make sure everyone gets their own beds, and not to have such a horrible overlapping. So I hope things will work out fine by this afternoon. We'll need our bed by tonight or tomorrow we're going to be in hot soup...

Anyways, the patient with the respiratory collapse passed away. We heard a really sad wailing from the wife after he was pronounced dead. I really feel for her. I was standing not far from her when her daughter came. The moment she saw her daughter, her tears started to stream again. I couldn't bear the pain, I really wished I could do something. But I walked away.

For if I stayed any longer, I fear I might cry as well.



p/s: Intubation, ward, woman crying.