The End of My Time in GP

Officially rotated to Psychiatry this week and it is quite a change from life in General Practice. I really enjoyed my time in GP though- even more convinced that it’s definitely a possibility for me in the future, exciting times!

So here are some of the highlights from my GP rotation:

What was I good at? – Managing to keep within time constraints of my consultations. I started off with half an hour allocated for appointments, and by the end of November I was seeing patients in 10 minutes and having full clinics like the actual GPs, so that was quite a huge improvement in my history taking and assessment skills.

What made me nervous? – Seeing babies and children. Everytime I saw a child on my clinic list I got a bit shook, because I was worried I didn’t know enough to assess/diagnose correctly, as well as nervous about dealing with anxious parents. I ended up bringing most children in to see in person just in case, and they ended up being some of my most memorable appointments because little kids are so cute and hilarious.

Useful thing I’ve learnt? – How to do smears and vaginal swabs! My gynae confidence has really improved because I’m now much more experienced with vaginal examinations and managing gynaecological conditions.

The last time I cried at work was? – About two weeks ago, when a patient kept shouting at me because I didn’t prescribe what she’d read about online. She accused me of not caring about her condition, threatened to kill herself, saying I would be to blame for this, and then hung up on me. It was AWFUL. My supervisor had to get involved and the patient eventually apologised but my gosh, I was very upset by it all.

My happiest work moment so far was? – When I followed my gut and fought for a patient to have an urgent scan- he’d had a fall a month prior and I was calling to review his hand. It was only towards the end of the call that he mentioned in passing that he’d been having headaches since the fall, and this rang alarm bells for me. Anyway, he sent this to the practice after the scan confirmed he’d had a subdural bleed; my first patient thank you letter 😊 We thank God!

A memorable non-med related thing I have done: Got back into baking my signature banana breads in lockdown, but Boss bakes so much better than me and my efforts really pale in comparison to his. Sigh.

Elective in Cambodia- Second Week of Placement

This week brought an end to my time in the maternity department, and it was also my last week at the Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital.

I had the opportunity to get more involved in drug ward rounds (IV infusions and IM injections), and I attempted more cannulations, with a bit more success this time, yay!

The highlight of my week was definitely the morning I spent doing baby baths. The midwives showed me how to do it, and then I had a go myself. So. Many. Babies. And they just kept coming! The patients were super keen to have me bathe their babies, as black people are rare here, so seeing them rush to give their babies to me was quite something.

I was very sad to leave the midwives and the maternity team. My final day with them was Wednesday, and I was reluctant to leave because they’d made me feel so welcome and part of the team.

There were selfies and group photos galore, and it was all super cute. I invited them to our house barbecue on Thursday, as we’re encouraged to invite staff from the hospital, so I was really glad that they came!

They’ve all added me on Facebook, so I know that this isn’t really goodbye- more of a ‘See You Later’ ❤ .

My two days in the gynaecology department were much quieter in comparison- very similar to placement back home where I was mainly ignored on ward rounds/got in the way, so I guess not much difference there!

Whilst observing a lymphocele drainage after a mastectomy, the doctor explained to me that normally the patients would be given local anaesthetic, and that there would be a drape over the breast getting drained. However due to limited resources, they have to ration who gets these, and only save them for ‘big’ procedures.

Again, this drummed into me how much we take our resources back home for granted, and how great the healthcare professionals here are at making the most of what they have. I mean, using vinegar in place of acetic acid in colposcopy? It does the job I guess!