first week of surgery has gone by just like that. i can hardly believe that i was in medicine last week! there's been so much to see and learn, here at the chalet hospital. my tutor has so far been very amiable and approachable, and is willing to teach. i'm on the hepato-biliary team, so there's been lots of pancreatitis (ranson's blah blah blah) and gallstones and colon CAs. several drug addicts too, especially since there's been a clamp down on subutex. one patient had injected the drug near his groin and now there's a bilateral thickening of his inguinal region which feels like a tube under the skin. he also has the same thickening in the armpit area. we asked him about other possible sites and he told us that he once sent the drug up his neck! there's also the top of the ankle site (above the part where you'd expect to feel the dorsalis pedis pulse) and anywhere in the arm. this patient also talked about how expensive the pill has become on the black market (from $20 per pill in 2002 to $80 for half a pill now) and how badly he wants to quit. he's got a young kid and he hasn't been able to hold down a job recently. let's hope he never will turn to drugs again.

haven't had a chance to scrub in yet (seems that others got their chance during e clinics but i didn't) but i do suppose there'll be plenty of opportunities in the weeks ahead. the team is an interesting mix of characters, and counts the chief of surgery as a member. he's the stereotypical chief - tall, stout, with a deep, booming voice to boot. heh. btw, surgery morning rounds are the best way to wake up because we're forever running after them and flitting from patient to patient.

i was walking along city link mall the other day when i overheard an ang moh excitedly telling his girlfriend, "hey they've got square over here!" i hope he wasn't too disappointed.

anyway i was at city link cuz i was on my way to bs. had to go alone as no one else could make it and i had something planned for friday evening. when you walk alone in a busy shopping mall like suntec, you become acutely aware of things, of people, of the atmosphere. because a large part of the day is spent with people it's quite a refreshing feeling to be in a crowd by oneself.

the minister's talk was...well, more or less as i expected it to be. the questions raised were relevant and i applaud the four brave souls who stood up. this coming tuesday will be the dean's talk. hope there won't be any surprises in store for us. ha.