I was busy when I was doing my elective that I didn't have the chance to write about the good times I had in plastic surgery...well I was busy with those endless presentations & worrying...yeah, I think I spent more time worrying that the surgeon will ask questions that I have no answer for than actually studying..but anyway, at least I can understand plastic surgery...u have a cleft, u close them, u have skin lesions, u remove them, u have a hypospadia (an abnormally placed urinary opening), u make a new tract with a new opening..it requires creativity but it does make a lot more sense than blood tests or drugs or organ failure (yes, I'm that dumb!..I can't comprehend heart failure, renal failure, liver failure etc)..
Ok enough complaining about my stupidity...I'll talk about my elective - about my plastic surgery placement..there's not much interesting thing happening in my orthopaedics placement..although it still was OK..at least it makes more sense than medicine...
I had a very anal surgeon when I did my plastic surgery placement...but who cares as long as she's passionate with teaching...she made me learn plastic surgery by asking me to do presentations...although I find them rather overwhelming at times, but I did learn something even if it's not examinable in MBBS exams...she let me scrub in all surgeries, made me stand next to her and quizzes me in theatre and would accept it if I don't know the answer, so long as I look it up later...She accepted it when I made mistake while assisting her in theatre with a remark, "medical students xpe, masters student x boleh"...
If I hadn't had the chance to get to know her I would be in the same boat with everyone else who thinks that she's just one of those snobbish surgeons who wants to be served like a king...but from my 3 weeks with her, I could tell that she really cares about her patients, she thinks of them as a person, not just as a cleft lip/palate, a hypospadia, a haemangioma, a pressure ulcer...
Most importantly, she wants me to be a good doctor...she made me a list of lessons in plastic surgery:
1) Courtesy i.e notify people of your absences, make proper investigations before referring your patient to someone else
2) Always do full examination
3) Study about the anatomy of the structure involved in the surgery beforehand
4) Study about the surgery you're gonna be assisting so that you would be able to anticipate what the surgeon's next step
Aiyyaaa...there were 7 on the list....I have forgotten 3 of them..dang!should have written that up!
On a scarier note, this surgeon warned me that if I don't turn out being a good doctor, she'll haunt me from her grave...
Why I like plastic surgery:
1. It makes sense
2. In most public hospital cases, it's not purely cosmetic, but it adds aesthetic value while correcting something that's defective or dysfunctional
3. It rarely involves saving life but it makes a huge difference to someone's life, hence their quality of life
4. A significant proportion of the patients are children (in a public hospital)
5. It is artistry
Ok enough complaining about my stupidity...I'll talk about my elective - about my plastic surgery placement..there's not much interesting thing happening in my orthopaedics placement..although it still was OK..at least it makes more sense than medicine...
I had a very anal surgeon when I did my plastic surgery placement...but who cares as long as she's passionate with teaching...she made me learn plastic surgery by asking me to do presentations...although I find them rather overwhelming at times, but I did learn something even if it's not examinable in MBBS exams...she let me scrub in all surgeries, made me stand next to her and quizzes me in theatre and would accept it if I don't know the answer, so long as I look it up later...She accepted it when I made mistake while assisting her in theatre with a remark, "medical students xpe, masters student x boleh"...
If I hadn't had the chance to get to know her I would be in the same boat with everyone else who thinks that she's just one of those snobbish surgeons who wants to be served like a king...but from my 3 weeks with her, I could tell that she really cares about her patients, she thinks of them as a person, not just as a cleft lip/palate, a hypospadia, a haemangioma, a pressure ulcer...
Most importantly, she wants me to be a good doctor...she made me a list of lessons in plastic surgery:
1) Courtesy i.e notify people of your absences, make proper investigations before referring your patient to someone else
2) Always do full examination
3) Study about the anatomy of the structure involved in the surgery beforehand
4) Study about the surgery you're gonna be assisting so that you would be able to anticipate what the surgeon's next step
Aiyyaaa...there were 7 on the list....I have forgotten 3 of them..dang!should have written that up!
On a scarier note, this surgeon warned me that if I don't turn out being a good doctor, she'll haunt me from her grave...
Why I like plastic surgery:
1. It makes sense
2. In most public hospital cases, it's not purely cosmetic, but it adds aesthetic value while correcting something that's defective or dysfunctional
3. It rarely involves saving life but it makes a huge difference to someone's life, hence their quality of life
4. A significant proportion of the patients are children (in a public hospital)
5. It is artistry
Some of the people who've made my elective a great one. Picture taken on my last day at HSNZKT.
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