Journal Entry 1 – 25/9/11 Obs and Gynae / Sunday, September 25, 2011
Journal Entry 1 – 25/9/11
So ended my second week of my Obstetrics and Gynaecology (Obs and Gyn) Attachment, and it was once again a brand new experience for me, and as normal, one I felt was completely out of my scope of comfort. I was initially uncomfortable about this attachment, as women’s health is an area that I have had no prior experience with, but one I reassured myself that will provide another perspective in providing proper medical care to patients.
I was attached with my partner H.P to Team C for the past two weeks, and have since seen, assisted and delivered my first deliveries and witnessed more caesarean sections than I had thought I would see in my short time during Obs and Gyn. It was such a tremendous experience! Having come from my Paediatrics attachment, it was invaluable for me to see the continuity of care of expectant mums in antenatal care to their post-partum care in maternity and nursery wards.
On the clinical front, I had opportunities to practice procedural skills such as urinary catheterisations and already have had two great tutorials given by CMOs and midwives. From what I’ve seen thus far, it was clearly evident that much of the focus of this attachment is designed to be ‘hands-on’ interaction with the patients, and I can distinctly recall during my first day of delivery last week my shock at seeing how miraculous birth actually was. In the minutes after baby was delivered, the midwife had wrapped the tiny baby up and had me hold onto baby “just so you know what it’s like”, as the midwife put it. It was just an incredible moment for me in realising that only moments ago baby was still inside Mum and it was only through months and months of integrated care with a plethora of different allied health services did little baby manage to see light of day.
As a result of that experience, I spent the remaining days of the week mainly in the Antenatal Clinic (ANC) taking histories from expectant mums, and gained a sense of the sacrifices they have and are willing to make to enable their baby to have the best opportunities to health and survival. Reflecting back, I believe it has deepened my respect and appreciation for these mums in a medical field I presently know so little about. I will be counting on my ability to engage with these parents and my willingness to learn more obstetric theory to fill in gaps in my knowledge so I can participate more as a team member of their care. I just need to ensure that I continue to be wary of the sensitive needs for both partners to continue their trust that the medical system will provide the best care for their child. The midwives have been a tremendous help so far to new students, and their obvious experience in patient care is something that I would like to work towards to achieving.
My goals for the coming week is to learn and understand more about planning proper ANC care for patients, and discuss my findings with either my registrar/consultant or one of the midwives. If possible, I would like to seek feedback from patients to see if they have any opinions for improvement in my professionalism and conduct.
Cambridge Wong 16540789
Labels: medicine, obgyn
/because of my high tolerance.
9:18:00 PM
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