I haven't blogged for a while ne? I've had a vewy busy week, what's with all the exams coming one after the other. GYAaaaaaHHH!!! //pulls hair// At least I can take a breather for a while. I have no classes this Monday. University holiday. ^___^ (DEMO Misaki! Exams on Tuesday and Wednesday!! O__o)
Anyhoo, what was really the highlight of my week was yesterday's practicals in Medicine-1, our so-called "Revalida". It's one of the major exams for us second years, since this will be 1/3 of our final exam grade in Med-1. Besides, it's a test of what we've learned the whole year, and of what skills we have developed.
I was fortunately and unfortunately scheduled for the second batch. Fortunately, because I want to take my revalida early so that I could get it over already. Unfortunately, because we were loaded with exams this week! And by loaded I mean that we have at least one major exam everyday during the week except for Tuesday. So I really didn't have much time to prepare. PLUS! Because I was too tired already, I fell asleep Thursday night, when in fact I was supposed to prepare for the revalida. Ehek. So, with dread in my heart, I faced three of my professors with whatever stock knowledge I have... (do I even have knowledge stocked here!?! //points to head// LOLz!)
For the first prof, who was also in charge for my practicals (meaning, she'll grade my History Taking and Physical Examination), I answered her 3 "side questions" well. Maybe she gave a me a little deduction on the third question, since I was freaked out and shaking that I wasn't able to think straight on the third question and so she had to give me a little hint. Ehek. But anyhoo, maybe she just deducted 1 point. I also gave her a relatively good history. But I was bummed at the PE!! //cries a pailful// She made me do palpation of the abdomen and I was so nervous I forgot to position the patient properly at first (bummer!!). And then I was OK with light palpation but she made me do deep palpation and I couldn't palpate for the liver edge!!! AAaaaHHHh!!! //pulls hair// But I know the principle on how to do it so I explained it to her. And then she said, "What else can you palpate for?" and I said, "Er.. spleen and kidney.. but they are usually not palpable.." Then to my horror, she said, "DO IT. Palpate for the spleen." And then I realized.. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO!!! I racked my brains and I couldn't remember anything... my mind was a complete blank! I tried to palpate the left hypochondriac area and she asked me, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I cringed and said sheepishly, "Palpating for the spleen?" She looked at me straight and said, "NEXT!" and my other groupmate went over. //sigh// Grabeh ka-minus. I felt like a dufus. o___O
When the last of my groupmates was tasked to perform a cerebellar function test on the patient and she didn't do it well, my prof turned to me (cos I was nearest to the patient's bed) and said, "You do it!" And in my mind I was squealing in glee because I know how to do it! It was a chance to redeem myself!! So I told her confidently, "I'm going to do Finger-to-Nose Test." And so first, with the patient's eyes open, I let her touch her nose alternately with her left and right fingers. Then I let her do the same maneuver with her eyes closed. And then THIS was the joke of yesterday's revalida. I told the patient to do the same maneuver, with her eyes open, but this time touching MY NOSE! And I think for a moment I noticed my prof almost breaking into a laugh as the patient DRUMMED MY NOSE ALTERNATELY WITH HER FINGERS!! Which classmate was it who told me that the patient was supposed to touch the examiner's nose?! GYAAAaaaaaaHHH!!!! The patient was just supposed to touch her nose and then touch the examiner's FINGER! NOT NOSE! Aw goodness, I must have looked really stupid with the patient's fingers drumming on my nose. How totally embarrassing! ^^;;
Anyhoo, next I went to this other doctor and I was supposed to answer 15-points worth of question/s from her. And I was very nervous, because this doctor was the one who lectured on the chest and lungs, and I WASN'T ABLE TO FINISH STUDYING ABOUT AUSTIN FLINT MURMURS AND PULSUS ALTERNANS WHATEVER! So when I approached her to draw my question, I almost jumped in glee because the first question was way way waaaaaaaaaaaay too easy!!! ^_______^ But for the follow-up question, I totally blanked out again! And so I just stood there quiet, racking my brains. o__O After quite a long moment of silence, she asked me for my answer and I told her I blanked out. She gave me some hints and I tried to guess and make some sense of the blood flow that I was talking about. I got confused and I think I made her a little confused too. Ehek ^^;;; And then she said, "OK, let's start again. I'll give you a hint and you explain from there." And so to the best of my abilities, I tried to imagine the blood flow in a defective heart and I somehow... managed to get it right! SUGGEEEEEeeeee... Misaki! LOLz My prof said, "Oh! So given a few hints, you do know how to explain it! OK, I'll give you 14 points." WAAaaaaaaiiiiii!!! SOooooo ureshiiii!!!! ^____^
For the last doctor, I was also really worried because he was a specialist in the Head and Neck (EENT) and to be honest, I only learned to turn on an otoscope just two days ago! o__O I've never done PE on the eyes, ears and nose, because I do not have an otoscope. I just know how to do it by principle but it's never the same as when you actually do it yourself. Anyhoo, he was just supposed to ask 15-points worth questions, BUT HE MADE US DO PE ON THE HEAD AND NECK! My goodness. He made me do pneumatic otoscopy, fundoscopy and palpation of cervical lymph nodes (the third one is relatively easy). I've never done fundoscopy before so I awkwardly held the ophthalmoscope and tried to focus on the patient's dilated pupils. He asked me what I saw, I mumbled, "Blood vessels, optic disc... er, and OTHERS..." ACK! How baka could I possibly get!? o___O For the pneumatic otoscopy, I just saw lots of cerumen. But my classmates said that we should describe the eardrum, etc so I told him that I also saw the tympanic membrane, it was grayish pearl, it was intact and mobile blah blah. He asked if there was any perforations and I answered none. He said, with his usual smiling face, "OKeeeee..." We later learned that of the 12 who took the exam, everyone gave the same answer about the eardrum except for 1 classmate who said that she couldn't see it. And you know what, SHE WAS RIGHT! Because there was something not normal about the patient's ear and so it was difficult to see her eardrum! Ehek.. ^^;; Does that mean we were all bluffing? //sweatdrops// But some of my classmates admitted that they really saw the eardrum. Well, I just saw lots of cerumen. ^^;; I'd be lucky if he gave me 5 points for my awkward PE on the head and neck. Maybe 5 points for effort? ^^;;;
Anyhoo, at least I'm through with that and so it feels good to have a thorn off my chest. I don't have to worry about much about Medicine-1 till the major exams. I think that even if I was not perfect during my revalida, I think that I did pretty OK. And well, (correct) practice always makes perfect. The skills can only come from what I understand and from what I have repeatedly experienced.
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