First they came...

First they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up,because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.

- Pastor Martin Niemöller, "First they came..."

week 10 of O&G

on tuesday, something dreadful nearly happened. i was having dimsum with six of my classmates, and i suddenly wanted to know if somebody had posted something on my facebook wall. seeing simon's iphone4 (seriously though, why would you need an iphone4 if you have an iphone3 already?), i mentioned my curiosity to him. he began to load up facebook on his iphone.

stop.

here we were, sitting at a table with friends, and we were about to tune out of our immediate surroundings in order to enter the world of virtual communication. we were going to eschew human companionship for a touchscreen.

does that not seem very, very wrong? i realised this and stopped him in time. we returned to enjoy the immediate company of our companions. what a close call.

also, my group did our evidence based medicine presentation yesterday. we ended up getting some very good feedback and our first job offers (as doctors).

thank you God, for reminding me to sometimes step out of my usual social circles.

thank you God, for showing me what can come out of love.

finally, i have been addicted to this song all week. it is such a wonderful celebration of God's love. the mushy final fantasy video is definitely an added bonus!

sorry sir, your tea is on the table over there

so after some very long shifts (read: lots of half-hourly obs, pad changes, making tea and coffee for family members...) and just as many NELUSCS*, I finally got to see for myself the proverbial low-risk multiparous woman's delivery.

it was like this: i was returning from the pantry and trying to figure out how to balance my tray on one knee while shifting enough of my body weight onto the door to open it. (it's tricky when it's 0530hrs and you're half asleep). when i finally succeeded, the midwife looked up from a rather large pool of amniotic fluid and said, 'i think you should put a pair of gloves on'. so i hurriedly put down the tray, grabbed the delivery trolley and some sterile gloves, removed my stethoscope from around my neck and placed it on the table (it promptly fell into the dustbin), and had my hands ready.

earlier last night (~0100hrs) i'd scrubbed in for a CS complicated by uterine rupture. so all in all, it was a very interesting night.

now i feel like my O&G rotation is complete, and i can move on. which is just as well, since there's only 1.5 weeks of it left.

random MSN conversation
陈佩珊 says:
i enjoyed O&G
it was fun
dont love it like i loved surg tho
James says:
you like it, but you dont love it
in a way
you might say
that you've friendzoned it

*non-elective lower uterine segment caesaerean section

thoughts for a time capsule

For some reason, everybody keeps reminding me that graduation is sooner than I think. Well I still have ages to go, but I guess their point is that I ought to be preparing for internship. Maybe study harder, start thinking like an intern, practice putting in thousands of cannulas..?

When I was in junior and middle school, we used to write letters addressed to our future selves. The teachers would then keep them and return them to us at a later, designated date. It was always interesting reading about the goals that our younger selves had made, and to see whether we'd accomplished them or not. Plus, those letters always came as a surprise because we'd forgotten we'd ever written the letters. If I were to really think about the future, here are some things that I hope I will remember:

- Compassion; that the same patients who are unbelievably rude, demanding, and selfish, may also be feeling frustrated, helpless, confused, and hurt
- When I knew absolutely nothing, strangers took the time to talk to me about life, to teach me about disease, to put a needle holder and forceps in my hands
- God is the big picture. As Joe said to me, "that's why, God must be in the training"
- The encouragement and value of a well meant compliment
- That if I remember a patient's white cell count, I should remember their name
- To cherish those relationships with friends and family; to always make time

Finally, who work in O&G seem to be very wise. Perhaps it's because they see so much of "Birth, copulation, and death" (T.S. Eliot). Here are some of my favourite quotations from lecturers this term:

"Never lose your humility. Once you lose your humility, you become a danger to yourself, and to others around you." -JN

"Always be pragmatic in life. Just think about where you want to be, not where you are." -IH

"I can't teach you compassion, but I expect you to find it for yourselves." -BJ

jogging milestone

today, my brother and i jogged along the foreshore from my house to matilda bay! we went quite slowly, but i did have only four hours' sleep this morning. last night was the first (and hopefully, the worst) night shift of my life.

i'm not good enough to bring a camera along, but i wish i could somehow share how beautiful the view is. i'd thought myself quite familiar with the view of perth from the foreshore, but it's different again at night. maybe one day i'll try to express it. and do you know, i think these night jogs are the only time i've really paid attention to the cyclical phases of the moon. i mean, i've always known, but i've never needed to see for myself.