I like my SSC

Last term my SSC was epidemiology on various cancer cases around the world. It was kinda boring as it was just mainly research and writing.

This term my SSC was an investigational project which require us to find out the effects of general anaesthesia on cardiovascular physiology.

As part of the SSC, the students were given a chance to visit operating theatres (OT) and find out how general anaesthetic works on patient.

Today had my first trip down to the OT in St James Hospital. One word to conclude...it was fun! Hehe...

It was interesting and informative trip and the anaesthetist was very friendly and very professional. It made me really respect the doctors there. They can really talk to patients and comfort them so that they didn't have to worry. They know their stuff really well and the anaesthetist who was assigned to us explained the procedures really well. She taught us a little anatomy of the mouth too..hehe..now I remember how the epiglottis and vocal cord look like now.

We watched a very short operation on a patient. I couldn't really understand what the surgeon was trying to say as he was using lots of medical terms. But I know that he was trying to loosen the muscle on the patient's anus so that she could pass motion easily. When the doctor stuck a tube into the patient's anus, there were lots of gooey yellow stuff flowing out from it..ewwww....

I was kinda blur when the surgeon asked me and my partner to wear gloves and then he started showing us to put his index finger and turn clockwise inside the patient's anus. Only then I realised that I've to do that too..haha...my partner did it first and they asked whether she felt any scarring or not. Then it's my turn and I put in my thumb...aiyak..really blur la me...the surgeon had to tell me to use my index finger.

The feeling was eeeewwwww....kinda gross...but I guess I have to get used to that kind of feeling...haha..and there was some sort of smell wafting about in the room...

I like this SSC as there were only 2 students going to the OT each time. So we could ask questions. I finally know why during surgery, patients have their eyes cover up. Learned many things which I never knew last time. I didn't know that during surgery, the blood pressure of the patient was purposely lowered but the heart rate remains constant. So interesting...

I also got to wear the blue gown which I always see in TV. Hehe...so shiok...I tot I've graduated as a doctor already...need to keep reminding myself that I'm still a first year medic.

Anyways, I pretty glad that I was one of the students who so fortunately got selected for this topic...I wanted to put the other SSC topic which was on ECG (we get to learn some OSCE on it too) as my first topic but lucky I didn't. phew...

PS: sorry for some of the short-forms on this post...SSC stands for student selected components...it's just one of the modules which students are required to take each term. The others...ECG and OSCE...google la..sure can find one

me in blue gown..that's when camera phones come in handy :)