II.I.VI JOURNAL ENTRIES Journal entries from my rotation in general surgery: Mr Kill-Me-Now is this pompous, arrogant, hateful, insufferable, spoiled seventy-year-old gnome. I talked him through his bowel resection in infinitesimal detail, knowing he’s as meticulous as they come. I go out of my way to provide the best care possible, from the occasional cup of tea to propping up […]
D-Day
II.I.V D-DAY As relaxed as my time in Gozo was, I still had my plate full at work and back home. But somehow, I was managing to juggle everything without so much as a hitch. I would sign up for two or three on-call shifts every week. Whilst I’d officially be working one-hundred-hour weeks, there’d be so little work to […]
Heaven
II.I.IV HEAVEN 2021 was quite the dark and grim year for me. Apart from the countless dead bodies I had certified on the job, entire branches of our family tree seemed to be dropping at any point in time. And somehow, throughout my three months in Gozo, this only seemed to escalate. Over the previous year, we had lost our […]
Freedom
II.I.III FREEDOM I expected to be overwhelmed once I was finally out of quarantine. And in a way, I kinda was. Turns out, Mr Vladimir had taken a week off and we barely had any patients. Of course, that meant we wouldn’t have any endoscopies or surgeries either. This proved to be the perfect way to transition back to normal […]
COVID Diaries
II.I.II COVID DIARIES Over the next week, I was somewhat busier. I’d have days where I’d be assigned to do pre-ops (the boring same old, same old), others where I’d be expected to assist in surgeries (jackpot!), and I’d have on-call shifts every four days. Only I didn’t quite get to do any of that. Just when I had started […]
General Surgery – First Day
II.I.I FIRST DAY The beginning of my second foundation year felt a bit like a fresh start. I’d be working in general surgery once again, but this time round I’d be doing it in a different hospital, on the island of Gozo. Gozo happens to be Malta’s quieter, greener, and more introspective sibling – an island that moves at its […]