OSCE went not too badly I think. The physical examinations went quite smoothly, though I've no idea what took me so long that I never finished the focussed abdominal exam. The vascular exam was easier than I thought. I finished quite early for that one, except that when feeling for the femoral pulses my fingers touched something that probably shouldn't have been at that spot at all! :S! The oncocology station wasn't too bad, for some reason I knew all the stuff in my head, but I wasn't very sure which information he expected me to spout. The way some of the questions were phrased were kind of odd, and occasionally I didn't manage to dig it out and phrase my words very well either. Irritating thing was a call came in midway on the examiner's cell and disrupted my line of thought. Even though he told me to just continue I couldn't simply because I doubted that he would be able to hear me talking. The gastro one was alright. I got the right diagnosis, but it was quite uncomfortable interviewing the patient with the examiner scrutinising me as well. The patient wasn't as forthcoming as I hoped but managed to ask quite a few specific things which was good. Emergency medicine was great for the airway management skills part. The scenario in which it came in wasn't as good though. Knowing that some things activated charcoal can't be used for in gastric decontamination isn't enough. Which ones? I only remembered alcohol. This foreign word Golytely came to mind but I doubt it was it and didn't mention it. Prof A then went on to fill it in for me. Metals and something else I can't remember now. Oh yes! How could I not rememeber it?! Gosh, people should stop trying to poison themselves and that would make life easier for everyone. Use some other way please. Sweat.

Today's would be the Pathology OSCE. Brain died yesterday trying to go through the the questions and the pots, which most of them look strangely unfamiliar to me. Worse of all are the histology slides I must say. Pleomorphic, hyperchromatic, granular chromatin.... err.... if you say so. They still look pretty much normal to me unless I have normal ones right next to it for comparison, which doesn't always happen. After spending most of the day trying to answer the questions without peeping at the answers we had wrote down previously we gave up for the last two tutes. And it is interesting how it's the same questions, same tutors, and yet sometimes we had totally different answers written down on our sheets. Which one is the correct one??

Lately it came on the news that the ECP would become government funded, meaning women who want it no longer have to pay for it. Despite what I hear about it being able to promote promiscuity amongst the young, I doubt it. Simply because those who are already doing it will continue to do it. Those who are not, won't simply because it's not what they are in the first place. After all, it's not as though free condoms aren't available. They could have done it anytime they want anyway without having to wait for the ECP to become free, especially when it can be obtained for free before this from health clinics. And it's not naughty kids who need it. I've seen married women come into the pharmacy asking for it. At 40 bucks a pop, not everyone can afford it, some are actually turned off by the price. I see this as a way to protect women as well. Regardless of wether the act was right or not, denying women access to the pill and making them have unwanted pregnancies would only endanger them. One, there are always cheap dangerous ways to abort a pregnancy (last year we were made to watch this horrid video about illegal abortion, and one of the women actually stuck knitting needles into herself) which would probably kill the woman. Two, having a child and being a single mother when one isn't all that willing probably would have serious effects on the mother's wellbeing and perhaps even worse for the child as well.


And today is the second day of the second strike by junior doctors nationwide. I'm not sure if in the end they'll get the pay rise they so rightly deserve but I admire their effort. Even though I do sympathise with all those whose elective surgeries may be cancelled, I do think that a pay of low 20+ per hour is not reasonable. Considering they've spent 6 years studying accumulating a debt of humongous proportion, and having to work like a dog simply because that how it works here, a pay rise doesn't seem to much to ask for. I doubt if what they are asking for is all that much, considering what the board spends on locums already anyway who earn more than double per hour of a permanent doctor. And even my good old hs has gone on strike. He was overworked the last time the others went on strike, covering his own team and another, because he had not joined the union yet and therefore had no reason to strike, but was still paid the same. That's sad.

What's it with my brain as well that it doesn't seem to come up with good comebacks until it's too late anyway? OR why haven't I been taught to be more rude and thick-skinned? Seriously, the fugly nurse just enjoys picking on students. A pox on her I say. Grrr...