Day of the Doctor

Yesterday was day of the doctor for all first year medical students at UofT. This means shadowing a doctor of your choice for an entire day. I followed an excellent Anesthetist/internist/intensive care doctor from 9am to about 4pm and it was FANTASTIC!

At first I was worried because I thought anesthesia would not be my cup of tea, and in fact I am sure it is not. But the cool part was sitting in on three surgical procedures. I was even directly involved in one of them!

The first operation I saw was a decompression of an ulnar nerve (a nerve in your arm). It was a great thing to see just to get me warmed up for what was to come because it was a very routine procedure with very few complications. The surgeon was also really considerate; when he opened the arm, he showed me the nerve and pointed out where it was swollen etc. It was fascinating!

The second procedure I saw was by far the coolest of the day. I was in the Burn Unit and this man arrived with extreme electrical burns which required a plastic surgeon to open both his arms because they were suffering from compartment syndrome (and I know what that is from class! Yay! The idea that the information I learned in class was applicable in real life just makes all this studying worthwhile!) Basically compartment syndrome is when the muscles get very swollen inside their compartments and so it hurts a lot and you get decreased blood flow to the muscles etc. The plastic surgeon involved in this case was just super super awesome. His name is Joel Fish and I could just tell that he knew exactly what he was doing. If I ever need a face lift- you know who I will call! He also guided me through the procedure telling me about the anatomy of the arm which was really great.

The last procedure was the most exciting for two reasons: first, he almost died on us and second I got to "bag" him, which means to pump air into him using this big balloon type pump. I felt like I was part of the team! It was truly exhilirating. What happened was this man needed a tube put in his throat, but in order to do this there is a limited amount of time where you can actually insert the tube because at this time, he can not get any oxygen in. What happened to us was that the tube refused to go in for the first time so he was severely in need of air. Machines started beeping, the doctors started yelling at each other and the man's face even started to turn blue! Luckily we got everything under control, but it was very intense. To think something as routine as a breathing tube could turn out to be a life and death situation! Nothing is ever boring in the OR!

So that was my brief glimpse into the real world and what awaits me after these four years. It could not have come at a better time as well because I now have the bigger picture to look at and to inspire me to keep chugging along no matter how many exams (grumble, grumble) and assignments they throw my way.

Season's first snow!

It is snowing as I write this, much to my glee. Toronto just gets so much more beautiful as winter/fall progress. The trees change colour, freshly baked pumpkin pies are in shop windows. It is a wonderful time of the year.

I have officially become a University of Toronto medical student. I know I have been in the program for a little over a month now, but the real right of passage was writing my first exam. Not only that, but I also passed! With honours! I am quite pleased and am feeling ever more inspired to study even harder for the exams to come. But from past experience I know not to take this for granted because success is not guaranteed ever, even when you work hard.

In other news, I am playing in the school symphonic band and am having a good time. It has really improved my sense of rhythm and I also just appreciate doing something different for an evening. On Mondays, I also take a dance class that is really a lot of fun. It doesn't teach technical dance skills but it sure is a good way to loosen up! This dance class is called "Club Groove" and is basically for students who need help club dancing. I do not think of myself as this type of student, which makes it all the more fun. To stereotype, this class is full of nerds who are really willing to put their all into the gyrating, breakdancing moves that we have learned. It is fantastic. Everyone's enthusiasm makes the whole (intially embarrassing) experience worth it.

Thanksgiving was at Uncle Alex and Auntie Elaine's house. There we ate, ate, ate and ...sang? It started off innocently enough, the younger set of twins singing their cute church songs that they had learned...it soon turned ugly however as it became more of a dare and each set of siblings had to perform as well. It was really just fantastic. Another family tradition started perhaps?

Lastly, I am missing Simon very much as he has left us in Toronto to fend for himself in Vancouver. It was nice reverting back to our old habits: me making lunches for him and having late night conversations. I sure hope he finds what he is looking for where ever he goes!