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 […]
Shining
I.IV.IV SHINING My time in ortho was practically a blur. There was this unspoken camaraderie between us junior doctors, while the seniors mostly kept to themselves, tied up in outpatient clinics and theatre all day long. As always, I’d go in early to do my pre-rounds and check up on our patients. Then I’d brief Emily, and when our seniors […]
Stability
I.IV.III STABILITY In a study carried out in 2019 by Ridout et al, it was suggested that a doctor’s biological age may accelerate dramatically during their first year of practice – in some measures, by several years within a single calendar year. You’d think that’s an excellent excuse to celebrate a few birthdays at once, only you quickly realise you’re […]
Trial By Fire
I.I.III TRIAL BY FIRE I was one of the lucky few to have my first on-call shift at the end of the week. This way, I had a glimpse of what I could expect from fellow colleagues who recounted their tales. Judging from what I had heard, I should’ve been scared crapless before my first one. Some had to deal […]
Emergency Surgery – First Day
I.I.I FIRST DAY Emergency surgery… my first rotation ever. Ah, what a time that was. One of the best and worst periods of my life, I gotta say. After two weeks of shadowing the other house officers and trying to learn as much as possible about how the hospital works, it was finally time for them to move on and […]