being a medical student...

i slept for 10 hrs!!! ahh!!! i'm soo not medical student material. sigh.

i remember the old days when htin aung would drum into my mind - "you shld only sleep 4-5 hrs a day. 2 hrs for eating/basic hygiene. the rest shld be used to study! and then he continues with the i've read gray's anatomy 42 times etc etc."

i took the day off today :) cos it's memory unit clinic today and the consultant isn't arnd so clinic's cancelled. while i'm happy that i got the day off (finally!), when i woke up this morning, i found myself missing being in the wards. i miss my patients! especially the old ones. they are sooo cute!

there's one that keeps falling asleep while you talk to him. he's always wrapped up in a blankie cos he's cold. and there's another old man who's a little deaf in his ears but always so obliging, keeps nodding his head and smiling although (i bet) he can't hear a thing we're saying! haha.. and when we ask him a question he'd just smile :) now i speak loudly into his left ear! that makes a huge difference! and there this little italian lady, who keeps asking me to stay with her.. cos she can't cope at home and doesn't want to live in a nursing home.. she even claims to have a bedroom prepared for me. aww..

tmr's gonna be my last day at neuro. while i felt i didn't learn much in theory (i still find neuro too complicated a topic, since imu days), i'm beginning to love old people more (not that i didn't before, the keyword here is MORE). maybe it's a transference thingy, cos i can't be close to my grandma while she's in hospital. but yeah..

i've also come to appreciate the extent of the healthcare system here in aust. respite care, ACAT, meals on wheels, nursing services, hospital at home etc. the list goes on and on and on. even if you do have a very sick family member, they've got all these lined up for you, the support given by the govt is tremendous.

tmr! i'm giving 2 presentations and that will end my stint @ the neurology unit. i'll do some brushing up today and hopefully give a good one tmr!

just want some of your thoughts, if you had a family member, close to 90, suffered a major stroke, drowsy, confused, demented, immobile.. but alive. very much alive. would you:
a) nurse him back to his premorbid state
b) give him comfort care (only pain relief, and tranquilizers)

and if you decide on b) and in a few days, he actually becomes more alert because all the medication is withdrawn, food and water is held -> less drowsy, dries up his effusion and stuff.. what would you do now? you'd wonder whether u've done the right thing? would you reverse it?

i think it really makes a difference what your belief system is. although it's logical that, he's not having a good quality of life, he can't move, can't talk, can't recognise anyone. there's no point in living. but at the same time, this life belongs to God. who are we to determine if he lives or he dies?

i would go for a). how abt you?