Halfway there

I've just finished my 4th rotation for the year - geriatrics. We get one week off (so generous!) and then it's back for the other 4 one-month rotations (gastroenterology, cardiology, thoracic oncology, Shoalhaven), then exams, then a slightly longer holiday, and then 4th year starts in October. It's a very busy year.

Geriatrics at a suburban hospital was soooooo cruisy. I arrived at 9am most days, and the registrar and intern told me to make the most of my cruisy term, and leave after lunch! I did that a few times, but otherwise I stuck around a little longer to do long cases and help with admissions and discharge summaries. I learnt a lot about all the paperwork an intern has to do. Can't say I learnt that much medical stuff - the main aim with geriatrics is to get patients mobilised and home or to a hostel/nursing home. I did learn what SIADH is though. One patient died while I was there. It was sad - the family asked how long he had left, and the consultant said, "It could be tomorrow, it could be next week". It was "tomorrow". And the death occurred in a 4-bed room, so the other 3 patients were quite traumatised.

It's been an interesting and busy month for me, apart from geriatrics.

We're on holidays from 8 December 2008 to 23 March 2009, and during that time we have to do 8 weeks of "elective", which basically means something medical, somewhere in the world. People tend to go overseas, although financially that wasn't really viable for me. So I applied for a scholarship to do my elective in Vietnam, and I won it! It's a brilliant scholarship through the Học Mãi Foundation. It covers airfares, accommodation, and living expenses. 6 of us are going for 8 weeks, and one for 4 weeks. I'm really excited - I loved Vietnam when I was there last year, and can't wait to go back. I'm going to do 4 weeks in Hanoi and 4 weeks in Danang. We also have to do some fundraising as part of receiving the scholarship, which should be fun. (Hope my friends and family have deep pockets...)

Let's see, what else has happened this past month? I farewelled a very close friend, who left Australia for good to travel the world and ultimately return to the USA. It was an emotional and lovely farewell. Hopefully I'll get a chance to visit him in the States someday.

I've also made a foray into the world of Internet dating! More on this in a separate post sometime, but so far I've chatted to several nice blokes, have been on one date (was OK), and am going on another first date this weekend, which I'm really really looking forward to. It's fun meeting new people!

And I started boot camp last week! I did it last year and loved it. So far it's been great this year too. I have a cold at the moment, so I'm struggling with breathing - it'll be interesting to see how I go on a 7km run at tonight's session...

So now we have one week off, during which I plan to study. A lot. A hell of a lot. And I need to keep studying consistently, because I must avoid a repeat of last year's Barrier-failure nightmare. *shudder*