July 27, 2008

A Week in A&E

Finally, i've finished my 4-week posting in Sarawak General Hospital. And i spent my last week there in the Accident and Emergency Department.

Before that, i went to few departments in the hospital. Got to see a lot of patients, a lot of signs and symptoms, heard a lot of complaints, scolding, crying, sobbing... DId a few resuscitation but all of them failed. Went to a few talks sponsored by pharmaceuticals, they turned out great, especially when they come with a free meal!! They are really rich companies!!

1st day in A&E, we got some introductory seminar. We were 'toured' around the department with a few medical assistant students and some offshore medic who were here for training. That took the whole morning!

fracture on the acromion of the scapula

Seen a few fracture cases. There're 2 little boys, with fracture of the forearm, and the bones are really out of shape!

I went out with the ambulance once at night to attend a road traffic accident. A drunk motorist knocked down another motorist. The drunk one was lying on the floor dozing off i think, and the other motorist was sitting on the floor moaning. Not much blood was seen. There were so many flashlights around (i suppose they were reporters) and also so many ppl around watching the 'show'. I also took out my cam and shot a few photos.. hehe

After night shift, it's supper time!

No one can really resist food here, especially after 10 months not at home, not going to coffee shops, not eating local food and drinks. Hehe..

Accident Scene 2

Accident Scene

Supper at Jln SongSupper at Jln Song          Supper at Jln Song

There is a Japanese Neurosurgeon in A&E. I dunno his name. He looks japanese, he speaks english japanesely and speaks a bit of malay too! and he's nice and friendly. ONce, there was a head trauma case that was 'helicoptered' from sibu i think. We tried sitting outside to wait for the helicopter to arrive, but then due to some technical problem, we missed that. And the helicopter arrived without us knowing. The patient was then rushed to the Red Zone, his head is really badly hurt, with black eyes, anisocoria, lotsa blood and patient unconscious. There's a huge epidural hematoma seen in the CT. This NihonJin was so excited and animated and rushed to the red zone when the patient is sent in, the first thing he did was taking out his camera and started flashing, taking photos, exclaiming that this is a good case and we must see it! Fine! really interesting one. He showed us the signs and explained the mechanisms and gave us a short lecture with lots of information, slides and photos!

Waiting in front of the helipad for the helicopter to land. Ambulance standing by. Photo taking!! The doctor holding the torch light, i assume is a malaysian, speaks fluent japanese!                                         Photo taking again

At the end of the week, i got to do cannulation of the vein, did a few ECGs, got my papers signed and stamped (that's the most important part)! Much thanks to the friendly nurses and doctors in A&E! I also got to see the record breaking Batman show. It was superb!!! really worth watching! STRONGLY RECOMMENDED! Why so serious?

                             The Dark Knight Why So Serious??

Looking forward to watching Mummy: Tomb of the  Dragon Emperor.

 

Happy HoLidayS!