Fam Med's the best!

How am i coping 2 weeks into Sem6?

well, thank God so much that I'm starting with Family Medicine. Its scope covers what clinics normally serve the public for. Unlike Internal Medicine where it covers more ward work in hospital and Surgery which involves the Operating Theatre, to say it really simply.

My typical day: Leave the house at 7.30am to be at the Klinik Kesihatan (clinic) Seremban by 8am. 8.30am to 12.30pm we have our learning sessions. It'll either be at the family medicine specialist clinic where 7 of us will be attached to an IMU lecturer while he/she sees some patients; or at the treatment room, the most happening place- where we perform ECGs, visual accuity test, wound dressing, sutures, nebulizers, injections, etc; or at the physiotherapy; the lab; xray dept; diabetic clinic; or follow the nurses for a school health visit (remember those days when healthcare providers come to our school for talks/immunizations/education...?)
1pm-2pm will be lunch break. 2pm, back to IMU for class. By 4pm, we are officially dismissed.
Sounds good? well, it is! our timetable is considered so relax...what more our study scope is much, much lighter than Internal Med or suregery.

The other 2 posting require the students to be at the hospital before 8am, prepared for case presentations- means to know the history of all the patients in the ward they are in. They have class in the afternoon too. But in the evening, some of them are on-call (basically to stay on longer in the ward and do what they do in the morning) form 5pm -10pm. Where they find time to study?!!

So we fam med people are always the more cheery looking people. Besides the less stress from clinical teaching, the patients we meet are healthier. Imagine talking to really sick people whole day! Wallking around the wards can really be draining too, not to mention climbing up and down 8 flight of stairs! But my time is to come..so better enjoy kao kao while in Fam Med..haha.