There's nothing like a patient to make you realize the inadequacies in your training. I wish they would have taught us how to run codes and advance life support during ICC year so we won't be so lost and be such a burden during the early parts of clerkship. Sure, they teach us about compressions and protecting the airway but they don't really teach us the specific steps and roles we as medical students can play during codes and resuscitation efforts. I hate the feeling of being a burden to my service team. And if I must act as a runner, I should at least be taught what materials we need rather than learning on the spot and being scolded for it.


OTOH, I do not like the inadequacy of materials in this hospital. Why should the medical students provide the basic needs like tape, scissors, syringes and gastric tubes? Why should we be forced to do a scavenger hunt in the hospital for necessary medicine for our patients? Shouldn't there be a stock supply of these things? I do not like the role we are put in to: walking supply cabinets. Sure we can opt not to provide these materials but you'd still have to produce them somehow. Frankly, it's much easier (and it looks better to your seniors) if you just have these materials on hand rather than run back-and-forth between wards and supply rooms. It teaches students to be resourceful and sneaky but is it really good to be proud of being resourceful if you work in a broken system?

Objective for the week: mastery over the fountain technique.

I dread the Pedia ER duty tomorrow. Monitoring at 4AM after a night of no sleep is probably one of the worst experiences a person can ever have in his lifetime.

I don't know which is worse: getting assigned a patient where it would be difficult to perform procedures on (e.g. psych patient needing restraints, leukemic patient with very weak veins) or getting the vital signs of patients in the ER every hour.

I'm just relieved that the pedia ER week is almost over and I have just only one duty left. I don't think my wallet can take any more abuse. I had to go to Bambang in order to replenish my stash after one lengthy ER duty.