2016 is coming
to an end! What a year! It is a year filled with many strange events.
Once, I had a
conversation with an iv drug user who was recovering from an infection. It was
one of those strange moments in my life. We spent a good 30 minutes discussing
about illicit drugs and their associated risks; I was asked by the doctor to
learn from him more about illicit drugs. But, what gave me a slight uneasiness was
the amount of excitement and enthusiasm he showed as he talked me through the
process of preparing the IV drugs. He was visibly excited and went as far as
writing down the steps and drawing out diagrams to illustrate things such as how
he would remove impurities from his drugs. At one point, (as I was learning
more about venupuncture technique) I asked him how he would tell if a vein is ‘good’ for
the needle. I definitely got more than what I bargained for. I was extremely
surprised at how much he knew about arteries and veins.
Photo via Buzzfeed |
Being a medical
student is a strange privilege; we get to speak to patients and enquire about
their lives as if we were doctors. At the same time, we are protected (almost,
shielded) from the responsibilities of a healthcare professional. At times, it
can be difficult to maintain our identity as just students. We yearn to do more
and learn more as we continually ask to be a bigger part of the team. Learning
on the ward is not just limited to medical clerking where we ask patients about
their presenting complaints, medical history, and other things. Personally, I
feel that a big part of on-the-ward learning is understanding how to behave as
a professional and ultimately learning how to communicate better and be a more
empathetic doctor.
On hindsight, I
was surprised at how I approached that conversation. I would have thought that
the phrase “drugs are not good for you” would pop out sometime during the
conversation. But, it didn’t.
If it were
possible, I would want to see my own facial expression throughout that
conversation. I would want to know if my face had been somewhat judgemental,
shocked or expressionless.
Anyway, that is
going to be mylast post for 2016. And I wish everyone a very merry Christmas
and Happy new year!