HouseJob Chronicles: 12 Weeks of Paediatrics.

Long before I started housejob, I dreaded Paediatric Posting.

How on earth was I supposed to successfully manage those tiny, weeny, crying, sick babies?

ImageCredit: Dr. S

Thankfully, it wasn’t an entirely terrible experience.

I had some cool days, but there were some really exhausting ones too, that I couldn’t wait for the posting to be over.

So I started with the least busy of the four units in the paediatrics department- Gastroenterology, where I spent the first 4 weeks.

During my last weekend in the unit, I was on a 48 hour call, where I barely shut my eyes. 

To make matters worse, I resumed the Special Care Baby (SCBU) the next morning. It wasn’t a funny experience at all. 

Thank God for correct chiefs and my amazing work-partner, Dr. Vicky, who I worked with for 3 weeks. It was quite a stress-free ride.

SCBU memoirs with Dr. Vicky.

With SCBU babies being so delicate, we had to take extra caution while working, and pay close attention to basic things like handwashing. 

Babies with Severe Perinatal Asphyxia, Prematurity, and Neonatal Jaundice made up the bulk of our admissions.

We also had our share of interesting cases like Noonan’s syndrome, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, Choanal Atresia and Dextrocardia.

One of my worst SCBU memories was the day we lost a 25 week old preemie. One moment he was alive, the next moment he was gone. No apnea monitoring! 

After my SCBU posting, I resumed Emergency Pediatric Unit (EPU) where I spent 2 weeks. 

I was glad to take a break from daily ward rounds and scheduled clinics. 

EPU Memoirs

EPU was quite interesting, we had some busy days and some not so busy ones.

My final posting in the department was Haemato-oncology/Neurology unit, where I spent 3 weeks. 

That was my worst nightmare, because I experienced the Father of all stress. 

It was so demanding that I felt as though I was repeating my surgery posting all over.

From having two separate clinics weekly, to preparing for Consultant and SR rounds, unit presentations, and taking routine calls, my energy levels were depleted on a daily basis. 

My chiefs were super meticulous and expected 100% efficiency, so I worked like a zombie. 

I’d never felt so out of sync in my entire housejob experience. 

I’ll forever be grateful to SPO and other friends, who served as a support network during those hard times. Those memories will remain a treasure.

Pediatrics is a great field to specialize in and I admire the courage of my senior colleagues who have chosen that path.

For me, it’s a No, No! 

And that brings me to the end of my housejob sojourn.

I still have a few more posts to wrap up the Housejob Chronicles, so please watch this space.

Long live the Hippocratic Oath!

Long live F.M.C Lokoja!!

Long live Nigeria!!!

-To God Be The Glory-

:::Requ1ne:::

HouseJob Chronicles: ObGyn Adventures.

I started my ObGyn posting on the first of May.

It was a public holiday (Workers’ day) but a Caesarean section had been booked for a senior colleague’s wife.

The Consultant, the only Female Obstetrician in our Centre, performed the surgery and was assisted by one of the senior residents.

The procedure lasted about an hour but I did not enjoy one bit of it. I told myself right then to keep away from the perineum by all means. 

Also Read: Chronicles of a Student-doctor (ObGyn Posting)

The first few weeks of my posting were strictly spent attending to antenatal cases, thanks to the ongoing JOHESU strike. 

The booking clinic (where a pregnant woman visits the doctor for the first time) runs once a week, while follow-up visits are scheduled based on how far gone the pregnancy is:

GA 12-28 weeks every month

GA 28-36 weeks every 2 weeks

GA 36-40 weeks every week

After the strike was called off, normal activities resumed in the department. 

I started with LABOR WARD Posting and had my first call on a Thursday evening. 

Though it wasn’t too busy, still I worked my butts off, and that became the pattern throughout my stay in the department. 

Every labor ward call I did was a hit from back to back, and it was rare to find the time to catch a nap even for a few hours. 

There were some calls where I had dinner right at my work desk.

I recall a couple of crazy calls where I actually dozed off while clerking patients 😂😂😂

And how can I ever forget the characteristic odor of liquor?

I hated that smell with a passion. 

It was in ObGyn I discovered my hatred for blood too – especially perineal blood. The smell and sight both made me queasy.

Thankfully most of my calls were uneventful as per mortality. 

 I got to assist in a number of Caesarean sections, which weren’t too exciting, because I lacked the “ginger” and the stamina. 

My best call was with Dr. Ochalla- the most “stressless” chief I worked with. That particular call was a bloody one, and he was very sympathetic with me.

I did my share of (accurate) Vaginal Examinations and attempted a couple of perineal tear repairs. I didn’t get to do an episiorrhaphy per se, as many of the cases I saw were actually bad (with multiple lacerations and PPH) and senior colleagues had to intervene.

Last, last, I didn’t take any delivery by myself. Perhaps the only regret I have in that department.

The other aspect of my ObGyn posting was Gynecology. 

It was a more enjoyable experience for me.
Many of the patients that presented during my posting and call hours were outpatient cases, so there was minimal stress for me.

One of the traumatic cases I saw was the delivery of a set of previable twins to a severely Ecclamptic woman and watching the second twin die (the first twin was somewhat deformed and had died inutero).

There were a few procedures I assisted with or performed- MVAs, taking Pap smear or ECS. 

In all my ObGyn posting was a fairly enjoyable one but I was glad when it was over. 

*GA– Gestational Age

*JOHESU– Joint Health Sector Unions

*Ginger– Interest

* ECS– Endocervical Swab

* MVA– Manual Vacuum Aspiration

*All images are from the web.

Also read: HouseJob Chronicles|| The Journey So Far.

And read: HouseJob Chronicles|| PROGRESS.

Musings 1.9|| MOOD

Maybe I’m not in the mood to write,

Maybe I’m not in the mood to rant,

Maybe I’m just here to whine,

So that I can have words that rhyme.

Sometimes my mind goes on a break,

The creative part of me hibernates,

Sometimes it’s so hard to try,

And a part of me wants to resign.

Maybe it’s okay not to write,

Maybe it’s okay not to rant,

Maybe I just have to unwind,

And allow my creative side to decide.

COPYRIGHT.

@Requ1ne (2018)

Musings 1.8|| Farewell.

I’ll be lying to say I’m not attracted to a certain somebody,

Or that I’m not excited at the thought of a lifetime together;

But my heart and I know that is NOT the direction we’re headed.

To the sweetheart that will never be-

It’ll be foolishness to promise you my undying love,

And wickedness to hold on to that which belongs to someone else.

So I let go,

Of the sweetdreams that dwell in my heart,

And the mushy feelings I’ve allowed to linger.

For I belong to mine.

And you belong to yours.

Whoever and Wherever they may be.

Farewell.

COPYRIGHT 

@Requ1ne (2018).