Anesthesia

Today marks the end of my anesthesia roatation. During the past month, I was always at the operating room helping administer Bupivacaine and Midazolam to patients who were about to undergo herniorraphy or C-section. I experienced tapping the subarachnoid space several times (although some were traummatic, hehe) and delivering the anesthetic agent. I also experienced intubating for the first time but I must admit I still lack the suave moves in doing so. I guess the past month was a productive one because I learned a lot!

Yes, during the past month I'm a full-pledged "anesth" (short for anesthesia) intern. But aside from the technical stuffs, I'm also reminded during my stay at the anesthesia department of the little things a doctor like me should learn.

I learned how to be more humane and talk nicely to a nervous patient who's about to go under the knife, especially to an elderly or a child. To try to understand their intense anxiety and make them feel comfortable as much as possible before their procedure.

I saw the value of being nice to the OR staff (or any hospital staff for that matter), because they are the ones who will make your life easy as a doctor.

And, finally, being an "anesth" intern reminded me to be an honest doctor. Being in a position of authority requires one to keep his integrity intact. It's pretty hard to do, but not impossible.

Wounded Healers

Since yesterday I was having moderately-grade fever, cough, and body malaise. Well, it's been a while since the last time I got sick. Surely, going to the hospital almost everday would expose one to a lot of illnesses.

It just shows that we, doctors, are not superhuman beings.

I know of a medical intern who has cerebral palsy since birth. He's about to take the medical board exam in the near future. (And he is even married with one kid).

I had a doctor-professor, a pediatrician hematologist-oncologist, who suffered from poliomyelitis. She has difficulty in standing for a long time that's why she lectured to us sitting down. She's always with a cane.

I met a medical internist who is one of the best in his field. He's probably between 65-70 years old and he is undergoing dialysis due to failing kidneys. He still continues to attend small lectures and conferences to impart his knowledge though he had to be brought in with a wheelchair.

And there are many others who may not be suffering from physical ailments but is battling emotional, financial, spiritual sickness.

Again, we are not superhuman beings. We are very much susceptible to the many adversities of life, just like any other people.

But we continue to take part in the healing process. This is our commitment, no matter what.

Toxic

Toxic!

My favorite word for the day!

Translation: lots of work to do, less time to play!

Sometimes I wonder why I am in this career? Why become a doctor when doctors train to become nurses?

This is insane, to punish yourself with several hours of duty. To burden yourself with responsibilities. To eat your lunch at 3 p.m. and have little sleep, if any.

But then suddenly I envision my future patients. This is my calling. I owe it to them.

Cataract

A cataract is a condition of the eye wherein there is opacity of the lens which causes blurring of vision. Cataracts may be congenital, metabolic (e.g. secondary to diabetes melitus), injury to the lens (either direct or indirect), prolonged exposure to ionizing radiation or infrared rays, or may be due to old age (i.e. senile cataract) which is the most common. It has different types such as nuclear sclerotic cataract, posterior subcapsular cataract, Brunescent cataract, and cortical cataract. Treatment is surgical, which is done either by phacoemulsification (using an ultrasound probe in breaking up the cataract) or extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE).


There were times I get annoyed by difficult people in my workplace - unreasonable resident doctors, demanding nurses, inneficient co-interns. When I encounter such persons I tend to harness some sort of hostility towards them.

But little did I know that, sometimes, other people also felt the same way towards me.

There were times I'm the one being unreasonable.

There were occasions I demanded a lot from other people.

There were a lot of times I'm guilty of being inneficient.

I easily see the fault in other people but I don't recognize my own shortcomings. Now I realize before I try to correct other people, I have to address my own mistakes first.



"Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but pay no attention to the log in your own eye."
Luke 6:41, TEV

Lesson from the E.R.

I remember an incident when I was having a duty in the Emergency Room of Fatima Medical Center. There were no single patient during that time which was around 4 o' clock in the morning. Some of my colleagues were just hanging around while some were trying to get some sleep.

Suddenly a patient was brought in, unconscious. He was a male patient, probably on his early 60's, accompanied by his daughter who was crying hard. The whole E.R. rushed to the patient and we tried to resuscitate him. As we were attending to the patient, the daughter was really crying aloud, talking to her father and telling him how much she loves him. She kept on crying and talking, asking her father to wake up. She told him that she loves him very much, but to no avail, since her father was already dead upon arrival at the hospital.

Even after doing post-mortem care, the woman just keep on saying how much she loves her dad and was even praying at the side of his cadaver.

It just struck me at that instant, why just now say those words of affection when the person cannot hear you anymore. Since then, I tried to kiss my mom every morning. I tried to hug my dad every now and then. I use "sorry" and "thank you" as often as I could because I don't want to come to a point when it will be all too late because those words are being addressed to a lifeless person.

iSTETHOSCOPE

"Sumus nihil nisi instrumenti salubres*."

Hello!My Name is Jan Edward Sayco, M.D. I recently graduated from the college of medicine of Our Lady of Fatima University, a medical school in the Philippines, and currently undergoing a 1-year training as a post-graduate intern at Fatima University Medical Center before I can take my licensure exam.

I'm glad you (somehow) stumbled upon my blog. Join me here as I share to you my different adventures (and misadventures) while living the life of an up-and-coming physician.

I will share to you my triumphs and victories.

I will bare to you my down-moments and defeats.

I will relay significant milestones and mundane moments of my everyday life.

All of these in my hope that, in one way or another, I'll share to you something that you can treasure and so fulfill my life's greatest dream - to be an instrument of healing.

P.S. I'll also share some significant, exciting, interesting facts about health, medicine and other related topics so please watch out for that.

* "I am nothing but an instrument of healing."