-the only posting i surrender to drip myself-
and just like that, I reached my fifth posting - orthopaedics
5th posting dah
at this point, theoretically, dah senior la sikit :D
----
after surgery, entering ortho felt somewhat familiar
still surgical based
after surgery, entering ortho felt somewhat familiar
still surgical based
still in OT
still wounds
still emergency cases
still wounds
still emergency cases
except now - everything about bones and muscles
and xrays
A LOT of X-rays
---
welcome to ortho
the vocabulary changed again..
“open ke closed?”
“neurovascular intact?”
“dah splint?”
“check xray macamana?”
“skin condition macamana?”
“distal pulse okay?”
“plan OT bila?”
and one question that slowly became automatic whenever there was an injured limb
“NVI?”
:D
suddenly every xray became a puzzle
:D
suddenly every xray became a puzzle
ada fracture ke tak?
zoom.
zoom.
zoom lagi.
tilt phone.
tilt phone.
stare at it for five minutes.
eh, macam ada cortical break..
ask senior.
image sent.
“normal je tu.”
oh.
baiklah
:D
-----
bones are...surprisingly interesting
bones are...surprisingly interesting
before ortho, fractures were quite straightforward in my head
bone broken - put something to immobilise it.
then refer ortho.
done.
HAHA.
then you enter orthopaedics and realized - nope..not as simple
which bone?
which part of the bone?
intra-articular?
extra-articular?
displaced?
angulated?
rotated?
comminuted?
open?
closed?
stable?
unstable?
and suddenly one small line on an xray carried an entire management plan behind it
the more xrays i saw, the more interesting they became
bone broken - put something to immobilise it.
then refer ortho.
done.
HAHA.
then you enter orthopaedics and realized - nope..not as simple
which bone?
which part of the bone?
intra-articular?
extra-articular?
displaced?
angulated?
rotated?
comminuted?
open?
closed?
stable?
unstable?
and suddenly one small line on an xray carried an entire management plan behind it
the more xrays i saw, the more interesting they became
you start learning where to look.
you learn not to only stare at the obvious fracture.
you learn to look at the joint above and below.
you learn that sometimes the tiniest abnormality is actually the important one.
and slowly...
the black-and-white images started making sense.
well,,
most of the time. :D
you learn not to only stare at the obvious fracture.
you learn to look at the joint above and below.
you learn that sometimes the tiniest abnormality is actually the important one.
and slowly...
the black-and-white images started making sense.
well,,
most of the time. :D
----
then came the POP
if Surgery gave me retractors, ortho gave me POP.
backslab.
splint.
reduction.
traction.
slings.
and suddenly plaster became an art form..
at first:
macam ni ke?
--check xray
allahuu tebal umpama tembok majapahit :p
okay. :D
bukak balik.
do again.
but after doing it repeatedly, your hands slowly remember.
how much padding.
where to mould.
how to position the limb.
how tight is too tight.
and of course, after everything
check NVI again.
there was something satisfying about seeing a painful, deformed limb properly supported after reduction and immobilisation.
not necessarily fixed yet.
but safer, more comfortable
a little less chaotic than when the patient first arrived.
backslab.
splint.
reduction.
traction.
slings.
and suddenly plaster became an art form..
at first:
macam ni ke?
--check xray
allahuu tebal umpama tembok majapahit :p
okay. :D
bukak balik.
do again.
but after doing it repeatedly, your hands slowly remember.
how much padding.
where to mould.
how to position the limb.
how tight is too tight.
and of course, after everything
check NVI again.
there was something satisfying about seeing a painful, deformed limb properly supported after reduction and immobilisation.
not necessarily fixed yet.
but safer, more comfortable
a little less chaotic than when the patient first arrived.
----
ortho is not just broken bones
there were infections.
diabetic feet.
septic joints.
wounds.
dislocations.
spinal injuries.
trauma.
and patients whose lives changed completely within seconds because of one accident.
someone could wake up in the morning, go about their normal day, and by evening, they were lying in a hospital bed learning that they might not walk normally for months..
that part stayed with me.
as for us, it might be another fracture.
another xray
another case to clerk.
but for the patient - it could be the beginning of a completely different life..
there were infections.
diabetic feet.
septic joints.
wounds.
dislocations.
spinal injuries.
trauma.
and patients whose lives changed completely within seconds because of one accident.
someone could wake up in the morning, go about their normal day, and by evening, they were lying in a hospital bed learning that they might not walk normally for months..
that part stayed with me.
as for us, it might be another fracture.
another xray
another case to clerk.
but for the patient - it could be the beginning of a completely different life..
----
the physical posting :D
orthopaedics was also...so physical.
very physical.
the physical posting :D
orthopaedics was also...so physical.
very physical.
holding limbs.
reducing.
applying POP.
moving patients.
going up and down.
standing in OT.
and somehow everything in ortho felt heavy.
the patients.
the limbs.
the equipment.
even the implants looked heavy. :D
and me? trying to contribute with whatever strength my body could offer.
"boleh Dr, saya pegang"
while my soul screaming inside - berattt :p
but you adapt.
you always do.
reducing.
applying POP.
moving patients.
going up and down.
standing in OT.
and somehow everything in ortho felt heavy.
the patients.
the limbs.
the equipment.
even the implants looked heavy. :D
and me? trying to contribute with whatever strength my body could offer.
"boleh Dr, saya pegang"
while my soul screaming inside - berattt :p
but you adapt.
you always do.
----
by 5th posting, something had changed
not necessarily into someone who knew everything.
definitely not. :D
but into someone who was less afraid of not knowing.
1st posting me would panic internally when someone asked something I couldn't answer.
5th posting me?
dont know - check - ask - learn
you become faster.
not because everything becomes easy.
but because you've learnt how to function when things aren't easy.
you know who to call.
you know when something can wait.
you know when something absolutely cannot.
and perhaps most importantly, you slowly learn to trust yourself.
just a little bit more.
not necessarily into someone who knew everything.
definitely not. :D
but into someone who was less afraid of not knowing.
1st posting me would panic internally when someone asked something I couldn't answer.
5th posting me?
dont know - check - ask - learn
you become faster.
not because everything becomes easy.
but because you've learnt how to function when things aren't easy.
you know who to call.
you know when something can wait.
you know when something absolutely cannot.
and perhaps most importantly, you slowly learn to trust yourself.
just a little bit more.
and again, there were people.
helpful seniors.
friends.
nurses.
MAs.
helpful seniors.
friends.
nurses.
MAs.
people who taught me how to read an xray properly.
people who corrected my POP.
people who helped when things became too busy.
people who made jokes during exhausting days.
people who made a stressful posting somehow feel manageable.
by then i had realised something:
every posting has its difficult parts.
the workload changes.
the patients change.
the things people shout at you about change.
the patients change.
the things people shout at you about change.
but the people you meet along the way can completely change how you remember a posting.
and thankfully, ortho gave me people worth remembering.
medical taught me how much I didn't know.
O&G taught me to function amidst hormones, emotions and adrenaline.
paediatrics taught me that tiny patients carry enormous responsibility.
surgery taught me to act.
and ortho?
perhaps ortho taught me about putting broken things back together.
sometimes literally.
a reduced joint.
an aligned fracture.
a wound slowly healing.
a patient taking their first few steps again.
but perhaps, in a quieter way, housemanship was doing the same thing to me.
every posting took something.
energy.
confidence.
sleep.
sometimes a little bit of sanity. :D
but every posting also gave something back.
experience.
resilience.
people.
stories.
and a slightly different version of myself.
by the end of ortho, there was only one posting left.
five down.
one to go.
and suddenly the finish line that once felt ridiculously far away…
didn't feel that far anymore.
almost there. :D
medical taught me how much I didn't know.
O&G taught me to function amidst hormones, emotions and adrenaline.
paediatrics taught me that tiny patients carry enormous responsibility.
surgery taught me to act.
and ortho?
perhaps ortho taught me about putting broken things back together.
sometimes literally.
a reduced joint.
an aligned fracture.
a wound slowly healing.
a patient taking their first few steps again.
but perhaps, in a quieter way, housemanship was doing the same thing to me.
every posting took something.
energy.
confidence.
sleep.
sometimes a little bit of sanity. :D
but every posting also gave something back.
experience.
resilience.
people.
stories.
and a slightly different version of myself.
by the end of ortho, there was only one posting left.
five down.
one to go.
and suddenly the finish line that once felt ridiculously far away…
didn't feel that far anymore.
almost there. :D
i pernah consider ortho as one of my future
that level of comfortable <3
rate: 4.9/5
xoxo,
yanie
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