Surgical SIP

it has been a really indescribable week.

Surgical SIP has started, and lo and behold!!! i am one of the "lucky" ones to join the infamous vascular surg team!!!

my heart really sank like a stone when i knew about it. though of course i was prepared mentally to accept the cold hard truth, a part of me still wished and wished that somehow i would end up in another team.

But alas, it was not meant to be.

the hours are horrendously long, i think my entire system is in shock. my bodyclock is haywired and panicking away! imagine, we have to reach SGH at 6am to start rounds and usually go home at around 8.30pm. OMG. That means waking up at 5am!!!

i remembered the first day i woke up at that unearthly hour:
i developed an ataxic gait. couldn't walk straight the moment i got out of bed.
and the ataxia felt so REAL, i was really scared witless! i was falling right and left and having to hold on to the walls to make my way to the loo! and as i pondered upon my state of health as i sat on the toilet, i checked to see if i had dysdiadochokinesia. whew. negative.

so began my first brush with the syndrome Early Morning Ataxia.

oh well.

Despite the terrible hours, i must say i had a relatively enjoyable week. It was pretty fun working alongside familiar ppl (xtine n wes were in the same team), and my HO was really nice! yippee! i guess i am lucky despite my bad luck. hah! and so i befriended my boss's Boss, who happened to be xtine's "angel" in JC!

heehee. Sui An is so funny, i shall not embarass him by stating his erhmm mid-day habit. But it did provide a constant source of amusement to the three of us (we v bad lor, laugh at our ho! aha). Our other HO Shang Yee was on MC for 2 days! Poor girl. Was having so much GERD that one day out of the blue, the older drs in the team sprang a gigantic surprise on her and sent her to do an OGD without any prior notice! so scary!!! i would have freaked out i think. But it was lucky that she went, since there really was an ulcer sitting comfortably in the esophagus. nasty.
(and i proceeded to rack my brains to see how i can possibly get an ulcer too so that i can become slim like SY).

Ward rounds with the team is like a whirlwind. i can feel my hypertrophied calf muscles already. Imagine running around in heels! I have actually become quite adept at that! Due to the fact that my flat shoes were all killers, i can only wear my old comfortable heels. And there were days when I really felt like kicking them off and going barefoot! My toes are now in the good company of many calluses who are happily colonising my feet. URGH.

And the nurses in my ward think i am a thief. haha. the famed santa claus bag that liqi often mentioned has gone missing by the time we started out SIP. In order to keep the royal family happy during ward rounds, i took a totally ugly and unglam reusable bag from home to replace the santa claus bag. on the day i brought it with me, i happily went into the prep room to stock up.

*starts flinging dressing towels, gloves and normal saline into my bag*

a staff nurse came in with a suspicious look and said: excuse me, what are you doing?

i launched into a lengthy explanation about the need for a santa bag, but i think i have a thieving look, because she looked even more suspicious.

"You no need gloves one you know, it's outside every cubicle!"

It's hard to explain to them the expectations of royalty. alas.

by the time i emerged from the prep room, the nurses were huddled together, probably whispering about the bold thieving medical student who is probably stealing towels to use in her own house. HAIYO.

and from then on, i have to endure jibes about my less-than glam bag, otherwise known as the auntie bag. and yes, my lovely team-mates xtine and sui an love to discuss about whether i shop more at ntuc or shop-&-save. *roll eyes* tsk!

HOs are changing rotations next week, what a scary thought! With our MOs having been around for less than a week, we SIPs have become the "oldest" juniors in the team! shucks. so stressful! shall miss the old team very much.

let's see how many more 6am days i can tolerate.... *breathes in deeply*

call on sunday. argh.