After a long time away I’m back to it.  Both here and elsewhere.  The last month has been full of studying, feeling helpless and going nowhere, exam writing, time off, trying to rest and trying to make sense of it all.  The exam was a gong show, with almost everyone doing poorly.  I did hear a rumour of someone getting a grade in the 80s but it has yet to be confirmed.  My colleagues around me were surprised when the person mentioned that “they knew someone” who scored like that.  That gives you an idea of how the class did.

While studying I didn’t feel like writing much, as each day seemed the same for so long.  Then I kinda dropped off the habit and here we are!   I am back into class now, even tho the rest of the students at UQ are now on break.  It’s great, cause like in January, we have the campus nearly to ourselves.  We are doing the nervous system these weeks, which are pretty packed sessions.  I’m glad we didn’t have a long break like last time, as it was very hard to get back into it after being away.

Tags: Australia, Medicine, UQ by David Graff
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This is my 500th day in Medicine.  It feels like every other day, except that it’s noon and I haven’t left the house.  I got out of bed, put on a hoodie, made a coffee, and sat down to my desk.

My life is exciting.  That’s why I’ve been writing so much about it lately.

Tags: Australia, Life, Medicine by David Graff
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This year we are seeing a lot more actual patients.  It is really interesting, and when you see, touch, smell and talk to a person with a condition, it seems to be much more memorable.

I thought I would just take a few notes of when I see these patients, to help me remember, and to plot my development in understanding the massive field of medicine.

Some of the conditions I have seen this year include atopic dermatitis, bullous pemphigoid, Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia-1, Pityriasis Rubra Pilaris and mycosis fungoides.   You may or not be able to tell from that list that my clinical coach for this block is a dermatologist.  We have put much effort into elucidating the subtleties in the differential diagnosis for erythroderma.

This past week we saw a patient with Hidradenitis Suppurativa.  This is such a horrible disease of the skin in which it is so badly chronically inflamed by a form of acne that over time, scars, tracts and comedoes form such a disfiguration of the skin that it looks like someone had recovered from massive burns.  Often the skin remains ulcerated and open.  The chronic inflammation often precedes development of cancer.  This patient was 43 but it looked like he was in his 60s.  It is so severe it destroyed his life.

I won’t be able to forget that for quite some time.  Hopefully I never will.   If I do, I can maybe look back at this to remember.

Tags: Australia, Life, Medicine, UQ by David Graff
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He was 24. He looked just like one of us. He took too much heroin that time.

Tags: Life, Medicine by David Graff
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This is a list of the people I will be spending exorbitant amounts of time with this year, in the Princess Alexandra Hospital:

I only know a few of them, and they are good, so I hope the rest are just as good.  Jacinda and I were in the same group last year!  I understand they try put pairs of people from old groups in the new ones, so there’s a little bit of carry over from before, and a lot of new.  I will sit in a room with these peeps for about 5 hours each week working on problems, sort of set up like this Small Group.  Also, half of them will be in my Clinical Coaching group which also meets for maybe two or three hours a week to learn practical skills.  Then after that, if we haven’t seen enough of each other, there’s “Practicals” which to me really means labs, including Anatomy, Pathology and various Physiology Pracs.  Also, there are one-off things to do like Clinical Skills… intubating, injections or life support.  Needless to say, you get to know your PBL group fairly well.

Hopefully it’s a good one!

Tags: Australia, Life, Medicine, UQ by David Graff
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Here it is!  2009…  Hopefully people are having a good new year, whish has already started in the City of Brisbane, but not here yet.

Each year the date always sounds so futuristic, and the old one sounds so commonplace.  It’s that weird feeling that the furniture finance companies take advantage of to make a date that is actually 13 months away, sound like forever away.  January, 2010.  Sounds far, but it’s really only 13 months.  November 2011 sounds a lot further still… it’s 35 months, but will be a good 35 months, that I’m looking forward to.

It’s not long now till I’m back in Vancouver, then on to Brisbane once again.  But until then, it’s good Alberta fun and family!

Tags: Canada, Life, Medicine by David Graff
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I am done my elective here in Vancouver, and have been for over a week already. The time has flown by leaving me feeling like I am getting nothing done. I am doing things really, and it’s good to get around a bit here and see everyone.

I think I’m trying to squeeze a month’s worth of social expectations into a week and a half, since there was practically no time for socialness during the elective.
I’m leaving Vancity on Wednesday, and am Alberta bound to see the rest of my family in the town where I grew up, which I’m looking forward to.

I hopefully will be able to grab some time to describe what my elective was like, since I haven’t had the time to write all month. For now I’m just running from one thing to the next!

Tags: Canada, Life, Medicine by David Graff
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I saw a lot on Friday. It was a fairly busy day and included ward rounds, which I found really fun. I know it wasn’t actually that exciting, but it just was for me.
I’m not certain what I should or shouldn’t write on here, so I won’t write anything for now. I keep a list of procedures I have observed though.

Tags: Canada, Life, Medicine by David Graff
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Things are getting better here, I’m now familiar with my bus routes so I can get where I want.  I think I have my elective stuff sorted out, I have really enjoyed seeing my friends and family, and I am just about psychologically ready to let go of the Bell Mobility fiasco.  The looming unknown of elective and VGH life is giving way to nice people and neat experiences slowly.  I am still kinda caught in administrative hell, but I think I’m getting out soon… I’m like a hopeful day-parole applicant (cause I know it’s not actually over… there will be more in my life).

The rain is just what I remember.  I’m just going to try ignore it, but it does really change the way I feel… I know most people think that’s weird.

Tags: Canada, Life, Medicine by David Graff
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All done.  Happy, nervous, surprised.

Goin home.

Tags: Australia, Medicine, UQ by David Graff
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