On the On-Calls of ENT

We were given a long list of lecture the other day by the ex-dean that we have a very bad attitude nowadays. We don't go to ward. We don't read enough. We play too much. We never carry out our duties dutifully.

And then he said we don't take the opportunities to perform the procedures in the ward or the clinic even though we were given the chance too when it's our hospital. That's our privilege he said, because we have our own university hospital, not like other medical schools having need to be attached to the government hospitals. So he asked who performed naso-gastric tube insertion, 2 out of 15 did (me included! wee!). He then asked again who performed central venous line insertion, 0 out of 15 did. He went amok and was so disappointed.

Now here comes the thing. In our ENT posting, since it's a subspeciality, we're attached to the clinic mostly for 2 weeks, but then we got on call in the ENT ward as well, where we were to go to the ward and perform some stuff, eg. drawing blood and infusing antibiotics.

We need to go like 3 times per day, first in at 7am, and last at 1030pm, and another one at 4pm. Since we also have tutorials, sometimes at 2pm and stretches beyond 4pm, the staff nurse at the ward would call those who are on call.

The question is, it's just infusio of antibiotics. The patients already have branulas set in the forearms, it's just opening the cap, and insert the antibiotics via the branula into the veins. Not that hard right? Yet they demanded that it had to be the doctors or the medical students who needed to do it. -.-" *swt*

Many of us grumbled. Being a 2 weeks posting, and needing to complete 4 case write ups and at least 4 case presentations, it was the busiest posting I've ever had! Plus! The on-calls, each of us have 4, some unlucky ones got arranged to do calls on the weekend even. And I won't deny I would crack under pressure if I couldn't finish my write ups by this Thursday! ARGH!!!!

Till I accidentally infuse the wrong antibiotics wait. >.<