picture in my mind

Started on neurosurgery job attachment today.

Surgeons are such busy people. They walk around very fast, surveying their patients. Seem like very decisive and confident people too.

Went into the operating theatre (abbv: OT) today. Was quite amusing at first because we had no idea of the correct procedure. We simply wore the blue robes over our uniform. And when we appeared outside the OT, the nurses were horrified at our attire. "Are those your own shoes?" And we went, "Ya..." Apparently, we needed to take of all our normal clothes and shoes. So we had to go back all the way to the changing room and adorn the attire correctly.

In the theatre, there was this 50 stg old man, lying front down on the table. Only the back of his head was visible. It had already been cut open when we came. The sight wasn't stomach-turning... but it was eewy. The cut was about the length of my palm and half as deep. They kept sucking up blood (the poor guy was bleeding so much), then they drilled part of the skull, so they could get to the brain. Then I saw the brain. It was white with blood all over it. Much like tofu in red... liquid. And it was throbbing... with the beat of the heart. Really fascinating. Then the surgeon kept probing and scraping the brain tissue, with the aid of a microscope. There was a television screen for us to watch. And we saw the tumours. Though I really wondered how he could tell for sure they were tumours and not more brain tissue. We were standing there for approximately 2 and a half hours, being quiet and watching. We couldn't see much most of the time. Or didn't understand. Feet were aching! And, boy, was it cold. The robes were loose... and the aircon was on full blast. Freezing.

Later on, went to the clinic to observe consultation with patients. Interesting ailments...

Realise that I shall have to learn a number of languages in order to be an effective doctor since most of the patients don't speak english or malay.

Languages I have/wish to learn:

1. Mandarin
2. Hokkien
3. Cantonese
4. Hindi
5. Tamil
6. French
7. Spanish
8. Arabic

Later, Dr James Tan said that, other than the fact that patients can sue you for post-surgical problems, taking up medicine is fantastic.

How encouraging.