I got a Prize....!!!

Yes! I got a Certificate!!!! From Shruti, who I can't thank enough for this special Prize!!

(& who I also want to kill for not giving this Certi on time!!).

Even though we'd been a pair of sulking kids after coming in Second that day (ermm...the day WAS unfair to us!!! Those who were present can testify for that!!).

Even though we kept kicking ourselves of not keeping track of one simple question- Name the only vertebrate reservoir for Polio.

[ The thing was that, it was a direct question to another team. All the other teams were supposed to write down the answer & pass them on. The

answers were to be considered only if the direct team did not answer correctly. Now I had read the question as *ahem* 'vertebrae' and decided to venture a guess as 'lumbar'..*wtf!!* & Avina didn't even bother discussing the answer, coz she thought that with such a simple question, the team to which the question was directed initially, was bound to answer!! Butttt, these guys obviously blurted the answer as 'monkey'!! Errmm.. I fumbled... what were these guys talking about.. I read the question again..and realised the blunder I'd made!! In all the hurry all that I could think after 'monkey' was...'apes'!!! *I actually wrote that answer and passed it on*. All this while Avina was looking- first at those guys for getting it wrong...and then at me for getting it wrong AGAIN!! She looked at me with disbelief when I blatantly passed on my answer.]

Even though we kept trying to go back into time to say that 'sickle cell' [For a picture of a sowllen hand & the question: The paient keeps coming back to the ED with swollen hands & fingers. What would you see on his PBF]... or 'John F Kennedy' on time [For a question that went something like this: A famous couple had a baby who died of RDS.... Name the couple. Now I had actually guessed the answer as JFK *deserve a pat on the back for that*, but ran out of time while writing it down on paper! * deserve a kick on the shin for this*].

Even though we realised later on that the quizmaster had NOT given us credit for two of the first three tie-breaker questions! Our answers were correct!! (We checked up on the internet later) [Heck! I think he'd not even read our or the other team's answers!!]

...Ermm.. these were some of the memories of the quiz I

meant to post about. I guess the Certi & Shruti's blog brought them back and made me finally do it. And it feels gooood to have it out!!!*

As for now... I'm really really happy with this Certificate!!!

I'd like to thank Shruti for the special prize!! (Biased as she was towards us :P )

:D :D

PS: I've just penned down the our mishaps of the quiz. There were a lot more highs too.

Like the first question of the day : The Father of Neonatology was not a neonatologist. He was not even a pediatrician. What was he? We were the only team to get a correct answer in that round. It was a calculated guess: Obstetrician. :).....

And there were others that I can't recall now.

:D

Ahem.. The same bit again! :D

Awwright...!! My last take on choices!!

The final draft is ready (for now atleast :P )

After my month long posting in Peds, I'm actually in love with the branch!!

I just love the little patients, their smiles, the way the parents dote over them, how they start recognising you after 2-3 days into the inpatient wards.. its all so sweet.

Then to see a kid get better by the day-- lose that wheeze in his breathing, start gaining weight again after a protracted diarrhoea, begin feeding properly, lose all that puffiness he got from nephrotic syndrome, get rid of the chest tube that had been inserted for more than 15 days. All these little bits, and the kids' reaction to them.. their parents' happiness over all of it--make my day.

Now, I've had such fun in Peds, that I can't picture my self with adults! Kids actually end up making work fun with them!

:)

To Peds or Not To Peds...

As a reply to my previous post, I got this list from Dr.Parang Mehta (who is an aluminus from MY college!! Woo)

Posting it here..

*According to this list, I am definitely NOT made for Peds!! Lol!!*

Five reasons to choose Pediatrics:

1. You like to cure patients. The child with severe pneumonia you admit in the ICU today will be sitting up and trying to pull his IV line out. On Day 2 he'll be running around the ward, destroying everything he can reach.
2. You like challenges. The challenge of diagnosing uncommunicative patients, the challenge of treating reluctant medicine-takers,the challenge of examining a patient in the cacophony created by a child crying and the parents trying to make him stop...
3. You like honest patients. When they say their tummy hurts, it's because their tummy hurts. It's not because of college exams, a tough boss at work, a difficult mother-in-law at home.
4. You like to see the gratitude in parents' eyes when their child gets well. Even if it is ephemeral.

5. You like kids.

Five reasons to not choose Pediatrics:

1. You like money. Pediatrics is the least lucrative of the specialties.
2. You like peaceful nights and undisturbed weekends.
3. You like respectful, cooperative patients.
4. You like patients that keep coming back to you. Forever.
5. You do not like kids.

:/

What next??!!??

Ah well... here I am again. And with nothing better to do than sit at home, watch TV & sleep (as though there could be anything better than this!), I decided to think over my specialization choices once again.

The list definitely needs to be refreshed.

One thing's for sure, it'll have to be a medical branch & not a surgical one.

-With my clumsy fingers, I'll manage to cut the appendix in a cholecystectomy operation.

-Then, I don't really like to care about the minor precise details. So what if I cut an artery or a nerve.

-All the blood & smell turns me off.

So for the branches:

Paediatrics: Yay for the IAP Paediatrics Quiz! I got my interest into this branch after I'd studied loads of syndromes for the quiz. & I even enjoyed it! Now that is not something that happens everyday!

I like to study about these congenital defects & all these Pediatric situations more than any other subject.

I like the small instruments thwy have for the neonates. & the li'l X-rays are nice too :)

Genetic diseases have always been in my area of interest even since the pre-med days.

Then these cute li'l kid patients tend to attract me to the field.

*Although my experiences with them in the past two exams have been slightly less than good. In the Pre-Univ prac, the kid, 3y/o male, was a happy little fellow while I got history from his mom. He had the chocolates I'd got him, played around with my steth, decided to bang around with the hammer. But the moment I touched him for examination, he decided that I was not a nice person anymore & started to cry! He wailed pretty much throughout the exam & did not allow me to examine anything more than two lung areas.

Pretty much a similar story followed in the Univ Pracs too! The kid, 2y/o male, was fine till the inspection part, but started crying the moment I touched him. Then there was no stopping him! He cried everytime I got near him or his Grandma. This one even had temper tantrums & rolled on the floor!!! Boy, I couldn't even do the anthropometry right!

So basically these two incidents have me doubting my ability of dealing with the young lot. I guess they're put off by my presence!! :( *

But still, peds is on the list. I'll finally decide on it after my intern posting in Peds.

Obs/Gyn: Since the last list, where O&G topped with a hu-uge margin, its gone down so deep, that it'll be tough to get it back on the charts.

This is all thanks to the fetal pelvis and maternal skull (..or whatever!!). I mean, it seems stupid to me to make this whole hue & cry over li'l centimetre or two. And with stubby fingers like mine (yeah! the endomorph..i knoww), it'll be hard reaching the sacral promontery in any damn pelvis! So then, all maternal pelvis-es (is that correct??) will be nice and adequate if the doctor is yours truly.

And my experiances with Obs says that however much I try learning, I'll never get my cms right. Even if I do, the I, ermm, am not that good at assessing measurements. (Those who really know me can testify for that.. :/)

Managing malpresentations & malpostions is not my cup 'f tea. Add to it, those manouvers & protocols, & hey, you lost me.

Most imprtantly, I am not made to manage emergencies. Hell, you might need a bed for me by the patient's side, if I'm asked to singularly control a haemorrhaging third trimester bleed!

Then there's this thing about Gynae. I mean after reading it all, I still think that the Gyanecs give OCPs & progesterone for any damn disease! The entire list is like 10 drugs & they keep shuffling b/w those for all pathologies. C'mon, I need more variety than that! (I know this is a stupid reason to write down, but hey, it was bothering me!)

Neurology: Ahem, its very quickly climbing up to the top of my list. The only hurdle is that I'll have to do a PG in Med to do Neuro... & that means studying Cardio!! Now those who aren't aware of my realtionship with everyone's-favourite-oh-so-good Cardio....Well... I HATE IT!!! Those tiny ECG scrawls, the similar murmurs, the lub-dub of the heart...& everyone's infatuation with cardiology, makes me dislike it even more.

Anyways, back to Neuro.

I like doing a neurological examination.

I like how precise everything is. I mean a UMN lesion...exaggerated jerks & extensor plantar. LMN....absent reflexes with flexor plantar. Add a UMN & LMN as in SACD, & u get extensor plantar with absent jerks. How calculated is that!! :) :D Its like organised clockwork.

Btw, even as I'm writing this, my interest in Neuro is increasing.

Then, those problem solving classes in Neuro were fun. I like that kind of a thing. U get facts, and u deduce an answer. No messing around with the type of sound, its pitch & quality!

I'll end halfway thru coz now I'm bored of typing.

Will write more if & when I decide to think further.

Freedom!!

Ah! So I finally finished Final Yr y'day.. & can assure you - I don't care how bad they were- I'm just glad that the exams are over!!

I've been giving exams on & off since last November!! First the medicine tutorials, then PUCs (which lasted for almost a month!!), then the whole set of Univs & finally the University decided that we did NOT deserve a break...so they lined up the practicals..!!!

Actually I've so gotten into this habit of giving an exam, enjoying for a day or two, & then getting back to the next subject; that its hard for me to believe that I don't have to study anymore!!

Anyhow.. all that's past now!!

Altho I want to give a blow by blow account of the Universities, I won't do it coz it brings back scary memories. Lets just say that, Surgery-1 was the biggest nightmare of my life *goosebumps*. If I pass that one, I'm sure I'll do well in the others.

Will just leave it at this now.

The other happy news is that I got broadband back. Must admit, it'll take time for me to adjust to this computer screen now. My eyes & hand have well become adept at typing on the miniscule mobile screen.
Still, now that I have a full Qwerty board & a speed net connection, I'll try put up lots of posts... :)

The latest from AMUL...

:)

Warning:

Dates in the calendar are closer than they appear!

*This is just to remind me to not while around, & get back to books!

4 & A Half Years... Still A Novice!

Okay! So I'm getting into that chilly zone of exams again. With Pre-Univs round the corner & Univs lined up as a Happy 2009 gift in early Jan, its high time that I start studying seriously.

But the so-called 'Final Year' that was supposed to be the toughest (yeah!I know it IS!!!) & the most exhaustive period of Med College, somehow flew by! I wonder if I actually got to learn anything new this year!

I still cannot differentiate between a bronchial & vesicular breath sound.

I still get my vertex & breeches mixed up!

I still see a nothing more than a tiny scrawl while reading an ECG. (Okay, maybe I can tell you where a ST elevation is, but that's only when I'm told beforehand that its a MI ECG)

I still don't know the the Glasgow coma scale.

I still can't get an IV line in!

I still can't auscultate & recognise a heart murmur on my own!

Although there are some things that I can do, too (tho they're really numbered):

I can tell you what a 'strawberry tongue' is.

I know a lot of things eponymous with 'Charcot' in medicine :)

I know the triad of congenital rubella syndrome.

I know what 'Battle's sign' stands for.

I might not know the exact components of Brown-Sequard syndrome, but I do know how it was discovered :P

I know what Pickwickian syndrome is.

I know the story behind Ondine's curse.

I know what a Keel operation is for. (It may be obselete, but who cares. The examiner will pop the question anyway!)

[One thing that I realised this year is that somehow, I'm good at just one thing. Eponymous syndromes & signs!! & the rarer the better. :) Of course, these aren't gonna come in use in any time during my medicine career. But then, these are about the only things I can learn with low input. Wonder if someonw would hire me where I just have to tell the components of named syndromes. Man, I would love that job! :D ]

I know for sure that however much may I love Med College, I ain't no match for "FINAL YEAR"! It calls for continuous studying, with lo-ooong hours of cramming & rote. Well, my butts aren't prepared for that kind of sitting! So then, I might face a tough time just trying to pass some of the subjects. * Do pray for me!!*

& know the final year's almost ended, with me just worrying about finishing the syllabus. With the exams at a really scary distance, I'm still not one with even the first read of books! Haven't even purchased Psychiatry & Anesthesia ki books! :(

Well at this point of time, it seems kinda stupid for me to be still sitting here moping about the epic-course & my tiny pool of knowledge, when I should be studying surgery. But hey, this was a great way to let off steam.

Right, I might as well get back to reading how to amputate a limb now. :/

*Plus one more thing on my mind right now: I HATE OBS!!!!!

The Best-est Teacher In The World!

(I’m writing this while I’m sitting in the car, on my way back home.. So got an excuse for doing this instead of studying. :))

This post is for my absolute favourite teacher in the world- My Dad!

Umm..not citing his name as the best teacher for general things you learn from parents like how to live, love & care (Yes! He’s taught all that too!) but for literally being the best teacher through the years.

My Dad’s been teaching me since I-can’t-even-remember-when. Every year as my syllabus changed, he had to (read: was forced to) read it too, coz being the lazy bum that I am, I used to do just one casual reading & consider it done (..& obviously I didn’t remember any of it an hour later!). He used to sit with me before every test & exam, & do it with me.

There’s this one incident that I remember vividly. (Shruti, you might’ve even heard this one from me before). I had my Sanskrit half-yearly exam the next day & midway through noon I was busy playing with my cousins who had come over. When my dad came back home from work, he asked about what my scenario with the preparation was, I was quick to reply with a “Papa, wo to ho gaya..”.Then when he decided to quiz me with some questions; within 5 minutes I had tears running down my face & a blank look with no answers. He then took me up to the terrace & instead of scolding, sat down with me & got me started with balak ke shabd roop (ermm..its the basic grammar in Sanskrit. I had not bothered to learn ANYTHING!). This was quite some work for him too, coz he knows zilch in Sanskrit! I can still picture us sitting there-me on a ragged old dari & him, in front of me with the book, sitting on an old piece of bedding, & both of us reciting “Balakah, Baalakau, Baalaka”!
But then, by the end of the day, I had done enough to last me that exam (& quite a few exams in the coming years too!)
....That’s the kind of teacher my Dad is. :-)

And now, that I’m in his field, I get to know more & more about his knowledge n teaching skills each day. Believe it or not, questions that he says are important have a habit of turning up on the exam the next day.
There’s this other incident that is my favourite. (You might’ve heard about this one too, Shruti)
It was right before my AIIMS pre-med entrance exam. We were standing outside the centre & I was busy doing some last moment cramming. Out of nowhere, he told me that Thalidomide, was a drug that had re-entered the market recently as it had found new use in Multiple Myeloma.
**What was a drug that had re-entered the market recently as it had found use in what!!**Seeing the blank look on my face, he said, “Just remember that the drug caused Phocomelia i.e. seal like limbs,in the fetus… So it was withdrawn from the market earlier. & is now used for MM”. Now being the stubborn ass I am, do you even think I bothered with all these new names!
But then, there I was in the Exam hall & Ha! It was right there, “Thalidomide in utero causes:..” My heart skipped a beat! I knew this! I tried to recollect, but it wouldn’t come to me…(You see, I hadn’t made any effort to learn it!) Couldn’t make out what the answer was. But in the excitement, that I at least knew the name of the drug, I marked an answer (which turned out to be wrong!!)

And then in my First year Per-Univs, one night before the Anat exam, I was studying at Ritu’s place. As I talked to Pa, he said that they had a full question on ‘Arches of the foot’ in their Pre-Univs. So that was an important topic, I ought to study it too.
I didn’t. Ritu did.
Voila. The first question, carrying 10 marks was… [No prize for guessing what that was!]

He somehow has this knack of knowing what might be there in the next day’s paper! (Last year, he even got Bhavesh a 4 mark question in the Boards!! He’d just told him the thing before leaving for the exam centre!)

Okay, not only this, he’s also an amazing teacher otherwise. Never knew about his knowledge till I started with Medicine. Clinics with him are awesome. Ask him anything off-hand & he’ll explain it to you really well. (Once taught a topic in Gynae too.. :)). Even at classes, he’s one of the good teachers. Plus, he’s always there to clear my concepts of the tracts in the spinal cord and diabetes insipidus!

He loves teaching. Even if its dud students like yours truly.
In fact, he’s the one I hold responsible for me-making-it-through into Medical! He did more Zoology than me in my pre-med days. There are some things that he told me back then (like all about Adrenals on a trip back home from Jaipur), that have been helping me till this day!

Not many can boast of a combo of an amazing dad & an awesome teacher!
Am really really lucky to have him!! I’d be screwed otherwise! Bigtime!

Learn To Live