[update] ED shifts!

As you may know from reading my previous posts, right now I am in the ambulatory/ED rotation. I have completed most of my ED shifts now, with one more to go in just under a week.

ED has been an amazing experience! It has been very fast paced at times. However, it is not overwhelming so, at least at the hospital I am in. There are some quiet times in between.

I enjoyed putting in IV cannulas and doing some suturing for closing wounds. I am getting better at both of these as time goes by.

Putting in cannulas successfully in one go is very satisfying. However, there have been a few frustrating instances, even apart from missing the vein completely.

One time, I put in the needle for the cannula and there was flashback initially, but it stopped abruptly - it looks like I went straight through to the other side of the vein.

Even more frustrating, I once put in the cannula and bung covering it successfully. But then when I wanted to take bloods, I accidentally took out the cannula from the vein! Not only did I need to reinsert another cannula, I also had to change the pillowcase of the patient's pillow.

On the bright side however, on the same day, there was a patient who needed a relatively large cannula inserted quickly for blood tests and fluids due to hematemesis, and I did manage to get that one in on the first go without pulling it out. So I feel like I redeemed myself.

The other thing which can be frustrating is when you successfully puncture the vein but the venous flow is bad when using a vacutainer to collect blood. That has happened to me a few times. I feel as if I should try using a syringe to see if it works better like I see some of the doctors and nurses doing.

I would like to thank all the readers of my blog who have allowed students to practice their skills, including taking bloods, putting in cannulas, and suturing. It is greatly appreciated.

All in all though, ED has been quite a refreshing experience. It is now one of the specialties which I am considering for the future. Now for the rest of the ambulatory/ED term which consists of hematology/oncology/dermatology...

Subscription feed link (Atom) fixed

Today I had the late realization that due to the policies of Google changing at the end of last year, my news feed site did not work and update as it should anymore. Now this is very annoying! I should have kept a closer eye on it, and the thought should have crossed my mind when the update occurred.

Anyway, I have updated the link to it now, so using the new link there should be no problem with subscribing to my blog. The new atom link is here: http://additionelimination.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Sorry for any inconvenience!

GAMSAT SIII 100: Win The Day (Team SIII parody)

For some reason, today I've decided to make a subtitled video regarding GAMSAT SIII.

GAMSAT SIII 100: Win The Day (Team SIII parody)

I will most likely resume GAMSAT tutoring after my exams in November. For more info, visit http://additionelimination.blogspot.com.au/p/blog-page_8.html

Ace Physics free iOS app‏

One of my friends in the Melbourne MD program has made a new iOS app called Ace Physics (Android app not yet available). I have tried a few of the questions and had a look at this app myself. This is a question bank app with questions of varying difficulty and random number generation, together with very detailed, comprehensive worked solutions for each question. It is an excellent way to consolidate physics knowledge on the go.

This app has trial questions which are free to try, with extra topics able to be downloaded with additional charge of 0.99 c (notation parody intended) if you are satisfied with the trial questions and solutions.

Download the free trial version at http://www.acephysics.com/ and send any feedback to the form on that site at http://www.acephysics.com/contact.php.

There may be instances when the numbers do not make sense. If this happens, then an app reset or phone/tablet restart is required.

New Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Kevin Rudd resigns as Labor leader.

Today, Tony Abbott was elected as the new Prime Minister of Australia. As a result of this, the former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has resigned as the leader of the federal Labor Party to allow for renewal within the Labor Party.

Whilst I disagree with several of the Liberal Party's key policies, most notably their position of "direct action" being more cost-effective than a price on carbon in reducing emissions (which is at odds with most current economic thinking), I note on the medical front that the Liberal Party have maintained a commitment in funding medical research, particularly for Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimer's Disease has been quite a "black hole" in terms of finding effective disease modifying treatments of late, although a few agents are currently in the clinical trial stage. Let's hope we can get something better than Souvenaid out of this research, which we were talking about for EBM.

I realize that some or even many of you may not want to say anything at all positive with regard to Prime Minister Abbott. However, while I disagree with several of his main policies, there are a few which are commendable. Furthermore, we will be spending at least three years under his government; which will be a long time; unless of course he miscalculates on a double dissolution election repealing the carbon tax. If you really feel strongly about it, then maybe you could join the ALP. I don't know if there is any waiting period, but given the new rules, you may even get a say in who the new leader is. Otherwise, it may be prudent to wait a while for the dust to settle and see if they have ended their bitter infighting and see what their new team and policies are first.

[update] St Vincent's ED simulation

Yesterday and today, I was in a group doing simulations for various situations in ED, with a mannequin which had a pulse, pupilliary responses and various other responses; with a monitor and facilitator giving speech as a patient. We were asked to pretend we were doctors and initiate the management of the patient in front of us. We were also video recorded and they played back some portions of our performance to show us, although it is not part of our assessment.

It was very fun! Unfortunately, due to confidentiality agreements, I am not able to say what the situations were. This was not a university wide thing for medical school though. It was just at St Vincent's. So the ED simulations are another reason to come to St Vincent's, apart from the rigorous teaching. And of course the table tennis.