A Quick Summary of My Academic Life Thus Far

Alright it's time to update about my academic life here.

My 4th year starts off with 2 weeks of campus learning, i.e. lectures and labs discussions. I have to admit that I'm not used to the lecture time of 8 to 5 really, after having only 2 hours of lectures back in IMU daily. I'm still having difficulties communicating with my caucasian batchmates, compared to the asian counterparts. The weird accent and the figure of speech they used are sometimes just too different for me to comprehend.

1st run after the lecture weeks was 2 weeks of Anaesthetic in Middlemore. A really relaxing and enjoyable run on retrospect. Since the anaesthetist have plenty of free time to teach during surgery, I get to learn a lot from them as well as watch plenty of different surgeries. Unfortunately this run requires a lot of knowledge on pharmacology though, one of my weakest subject. But I'm glad I started off with this, as I have refreshed most of my pharmaco knowledge by the time of my next run.

4 weeks of Locomotor (Orthopaedics and Rheumatology) in Auckland comes next. Well, it was a BAAAAAAAADDDDD run for me. The consultants and registrars were much too busy to bother teaching anything to me, and most of what I learn during this period was self-directed. Ward rounds were so boring and useless I skipped it after suffering for 1 and a half week. But I did learn something in both orthopaedic and rheumatology clinics though. By the end of the run, joints examinations weren't as difficult as I thought it to be after all.

Next comes 4 weeks of General Practise posting: 2 weeks urban practise with Dr John Tseung in Epsom, 2 weeks rural practise at Dargaville. This was definitely the best run I have so far. Seen plenty of different cases and even learn a bit of simple suturing techniques. It was also fascinating to observe how closely primary care is linked to secondary & tertiary care in NZ. All healthcare records are keyed into a system that can be accessible by all of the patient's healthcare provider, making patient's medical background easily obtained. It's also interesting to experience how much more warm & friendlier rural practise are in comparison to Auckland.

2 weeks in the Emergency Department at Auckland came finally before my holiday. Being the field I'm currently most interested in, I have lots of anticipation in this run. Well it turns out that the ED in Auckland is much more quieter than I thought. In the 6 days I was attached there, I only get to see 3 potentially life-threatening admission. Others mostly concerns of fractures, sudden collapse & a long list of silly GP cases. I do like the work environment though, as the doctors here mostly work independently unless there's a real emergency, and when in doubt you can always consult the consultant in duty. Otherwise you don't have to tolerate any form of bossing around by your superiors as you work mostly on your own.

Holidays came next, and 14 of us IMU ppl (+ one outside boyfriend lol) went to Rotorua. But that's another post for another time! XD

The Secret Garden

I was walking back to my flats during my rural general practice posting in Dargaville when I encounter this unbelievably beautiful view. I snapped like a dozen shots of it, and this is my favourite among the series. I call it "The Secret Garden".

Like hearing the voice of God...

Probably the most moving description of Mozart's music ever. The following scene is taken from the 1984 movie Amadeus, directed by Milos Forman, where Mozart's jealous rival Salieri described the piece in a flashback scene. The piece is Serenade For Winds K. 361: 3rd Movement (Gran Partita).

And yes, that single oboe note near the beginning of the piece is probably the most rapturous note I've ever heard in my life.

College Saga

To all ye Final Fantasy lovers! XD