Of all the fields of medicine that I have been involved so far, mental health is, by a large margin, where I hear the phrase “more resources” most.  If we had more resources, problems would go away…  It seems a bit odd, because I feel like I have observed a bunch of time wasting, also more than I have in any other field.  Now, it’s true, nothing happens fast in psychiatry, and I suppose that is good.  We can’t have a bunch of snappy decisions guiding treatment that is going to end up taking years and then wonder later on if we did the right thing (diagnostic uncertainty, etc.).  But at the same time, sometimes it feels like the mental health machine just pushes in the clutch and sits there and revs the engine.  I have been party to meetings that literally cost thousands of dollars in the wages of those around me (lots of people) that really do nothing (eg. How we are going to get everyone’s signature on the fire safety sheet if everyone hasn’t done fire safety).  It’s frustrating to be in the paradox of health care, where nothing happens without money, but money alone doesn’t make something happen.  Trying to make something happen with money is sometimes exactly like pushing a rope.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any brilliant solution.  I just see part of the problem.

Tags: Uncategorized by David Graff
No Comments »

A patient gave me a bit of a tip today in an interview.  He said if I ever needed a bigger brain, laughing makes your brain go bigger.  It was just one of the many disordered thoughts he relayed to me.  I have been involved in some pretty incredible conversations in the last six weeks.  Some of the thoughts are even so disordered it’s practically impossible to remember them.  Something about a string of unrelated words that is really tricky to recall.  Some of them end up being funny and some of them end up being really sad, but I think the thing is that the patient is just trying to make sense of their world as much as you are.

I am finding making sense of it all really taxing.  Maybe I should put less stock in the things they say.  Maybe I just need to see more so that I am more used to it.  I think either way, I’ll end up doing both.

Tags: Uncategorized by David Graff
1 Comment »

So it has been many months now since I have had a proper internet connection.  I have been wandering the desert for 40 days… among other things.  But as of a few days ago I am back online with a proper internet connection at home.

I have had a lot happen that I haven’t been able to record, which is a bit sad, but I will try recap it a little bit… except not right now cause I’m supposed to be studying.  Other than internet at home, my big steps forward also include the purchase of a vehicle, and I have heard from my cell carrier that they intend to activate a data plan for me, which they have been refusing to do.  They say it will take a week…  As long as it happens I will be happy.

Tags: Uncategorized by David Graff
No Comments »

I am trying to use the internet… except it is really slow…  dial up speed.  We have internet on one of Shaun’s phones, sometimes.

PS… this is an old post from when the internet was too slow to even bother finishing it!

Tags: Uncategorized by David Graff
No Comments »

Back in Maroochydore!  My final exam was this morning, and I just need to wrap up an assignment, and then I will be free.  The exam was fair and on topic, which is a rarity I have found.  Usually there is some oddity or curve ball that nobody sees coming… maybe there was and we just missed it.  It was a bit of a strange exam, in that there were only three of us writing it at the location here.  Everyone else either wrote it at their home clinical schools or in Brisbane.  We actually wrote the exam in a house that the university owns close to the hospital in Nambour, so that made it a bit more different… it seems like lots of the rotations were examining in the house at different times, so I guess I’ll get used to it!  My phone is back to kinda working, just trying to get data set up on it, my home doesn’t have internet and my room is just a pile of stuff, but it’s good to be home.  I can’t wait to have everything done and be finally free.  Free to set up my bed, so I’m not just on a mattress on the floor.  Free to go grocery shopping and do a bit of laundry.  Free to see if I can drag a fish out of the water nearby.  I’ll have to do some writing about what my Barcaldine experience was like, but now is probably not the best time.  I’ll get on that soon, maybe this weekend.  The sad thing is, I didn’t take any pictures.  I’m rarely good with that and this time seemed to last forever and to fly by all at once. 

Tags: Uncategorized by David Graff
No Comments »

With the end of rotation coming up, I am starting to get a little frazzled… There has been a lot happen in the last few weeks, and it has been a trying but good experience.  I am looking forward to completing this whole thing and hopefully doing ok.  I have a few projects that I need to complete that are kinda weighing me down, but the work of the rotation has been good.

I also am getting antsy for being home.  I have been on the road for many months now and just want to have a place of my own.  I had a taste of it a few weeks ago when I moved in, and I think being so close to it has made me less patient with living without it.  Just over a week from now I’m writing my exam and will be in Maroochydore, but right now, I’m in the middle of the state, listening to the bugs and the fans.  There are a lot of both.  My preceptor and I went out for dinner tonight, at 2130h.  After finishing work.  There were bugs everywhere, crawling all over us.  I thought to myself… how can you even describe what it’s like to just have grasshoppers and beetles all over you at a restaurant, and just think it’s normal… cause that’s what it is out here.  Crazy place.  Anyways, time for bed, lots of things to do in a short amount of time coming up.

Tags: Uncategorized by David Graff
No Comments »

On Thursday and Friday my preceptor and I drive 1.5 hours east to a small town called Alpha, to work at the hospital and clinic there.  We have done so for the last five weeks.  this time however, I sutured a lady’s leg.  The other day I did cut someone, but didn’t need to stitch up.  Anyways, it was pretty great to do something like that to help someone… I am looking forward to seeing the pathology results to see what it was that we ended up removing.  Since the first one I have done a few others, and am looking forward to doing more.

Tags: Uncategorized by David Graff
No Comments »

So the first week of rural is over, and it was a pretty neat experience.  As I mentioned earlier that on Monday we spent some time excising and chatting.  Tuesday and Wednesday were a mix of hospital and clinic (which Aussies call “surgery”, very confusing).  Thursday and Friday were spent in a smaller town 1.5 hours from here called Alpha.  I guess there’s a new mine getting set up in Alpha for coal or coal seam gas (nobody has told me for sure) and so the town is set to grow.  The hospital there reminded me of the old hopsital in Olds, where I was born… it was ll wooden walls and the age was about the same.  The only difference was that the hallways were half open on one side.

Getting back up to speed with med, if only in the sense that I am reading about it again.  This town is pretty fun, and it definitely feels small, as I am starting to see people I know already, only having been here for a few days.  Looking forward to getting to know it better.

Tags: Uncategorized by David Graff
No Comments »

I am in Barcaldine, Qld, and it seems like it’s going to be great.  The town is tiny, as predicted and the people are very friendly.  It has rained nearly 140 mm over the last 36 hours, and the town is officially shut off from the outside by the police.  There is water covering the roads out of here.  The town was on the state news last night for the rain and flooding.  The humidity here is sickening and condensing on everything in sight.  The table top is wet.  My laptop is wet too.  I hope it’s ok.  I think the air conditioner is designed to pump water vapour into the house because it is usually so dry out here.

I don’t have internet here, I am currently borrowing from the student who is also here who has a wireless modem.  The school handed out modems to other students who they said had no internet, but said I would have it.  I don’t want to use it too much but I am happy to at least have a little bit of a link with the world, since my cell phone doesn’t work here.  I have made some changes that will let it work again in a little bit, but those are wheels that take a while to turn. (I need to change mobile carriers)

I had my first half day today with my preceptor, who seems like he’s going to be great.  All we did was cut out skin cancers (4) and talk about emergency procedures and food in Canada (two separate things).  It seems like it’s going to be great.  I really need to get up to speed on things though.  I know the world doesn’t revolve around me, and that means that not everyone knows this is the first day of my first rotation and I am barely out of second year.  So when someone expects more than I have ever done before I want to be ready.

Tags: Uncategorized by David Graff
2 Comments »

This will be one of my longest chain of flights yet… I am still in Christchurch, NZ. I am on my way to Sydney, then LA and then finally Vancouver. It will be about 36 h in total. Dear Canada, see you soon.

Tags: Uncategorized by David Graff
1 Comment »