Exam Forthnight.

It's the final week of the semester. Had my written exam that I had been worrying about. It went well I must say. All the hard work simply paid off I reckon. Perhaps right now, I'd like to think that way. Only result time will tell. Battling against limited time was the toughest thing to do. Thank God, I managed to scribble and quicken up towards the last question. I probably had good time management as I kept on looking at the time. I was already 10mins over with the first question, so I knew I had to attempt other questions quicker. I couldn't afford to jeopardise other questions that carry 20-30 marks each!

The questions were pretty much expected but not entirely. In terms of my preparation, yes I could attempt the questions. Again the problem was, directing the specific questions. The questions were mostly on assessments and the pathology itself rather than management. Posterior tibial tendon dysfunction and lesser toe deformities definitely came out. Was I comfortable? Well not entirely. I probably had the knowledge but, have I answered the question correctly? That's a big big question!!

Clinical exam is another hurdled I've had so far, and a poster presentation yet to be done. The clinical exam wasn't difficult as I had thought. Perhaps it all falls into what kind of patients and sort of problems you get. My patient was thankfully a very cooperative 82 year old man. On top of that, I was meant to be examined by an examiner who scares anyone in my group or any cohort for that matter. However, my prayers were granted on the right time! Instead, I had the examiner who I had wished for. How? Well, the reason was the rest of the group that I was with didn't turn up. One had an accident and 2 called sick. What a miracle? I'm not sure to call that a coincident? So rather than wasting resources, the examiner thought of me joining the rest of the group which made 6 of us altogether, and having different patients.

One of my colleagues had a difficult patient. Not only she was hard to manage, she also had to be referred to A&E that instant! ahhaa As for myself, I wouldn't call my patient an easy one. I had difficult time in my own way as well. The patients were meant to "act" to some point and they were instructed prior to the exam such as taking their medication list. I thought I was being lucky for being a nurse at the same time as I have prior knowledge in hand. This patient, did not have any clue to what specific condition he had as well as vaguely remembered the medications that he was taking. So I had to give him some prompts like, could you explain to me what was the problem to your lung? And i asked if it was asthma, COPD, etc until he agreed with joy when I mentioned the word "emphysema". It went on like that to other problems as well. I guess that really challenged my ability in thorough history taking. If only the examiners were there to witness. I carried on with other assessments and testings, it went well. I thought that was my very best clinical experience ever. I felt so clever!! ahahah Never I had done a thorough history and clinical assessment to a patient like that before. It was even evident in the notes as I ran out of space to write.

Oh, funny thing was, his phone kept on ringing form his wife until one point he said "could you stop calling me, I'm at the hospital and I'm with the doctor sitting infront of me now!" Hahhahah I thought... Dr? ahha I did enjoy myself throughout the session I must say. Convincing words of assurance from the examiners and other lecturers boost my self-esteem further. Excellent, great and "it went well" were all fed into my ears.

Now, I'm preparing for my poster presentation which I had underestimated the challenge. I thought it was an easy task. Diabetes, how could I have underestimated it!!! Silly Sani, if it was easy, it won't be as an option at Postgraduate level! But yes, thankfully it's a very interesting subject. By doing this also, it stimulates my learning towards the subject even more and this is one of the most significant condition in clinic. Brunei medical scene is no exception to see diabetics, infact, the biggest slice of the pie! The more I read around, the more information overload I tend to get. Like the saying of my colleague, Dr Liz - "we are in a condition of intellectual bulimia". Intellectual bulimic indeed is a good way to describe it. Ingesting as much information as we could, but somehow lost untraced!

To feed my brains, I need glucose. That is something I picked up regarding the link between glucose and brain activity. Hence, my supply of sugar in addition to my stash (which I haven't touched much).

Here's such a comforting dessert I had today prior to working on my poster - marble cake with vanilla ice cream!




And here's my crowd of books, which are mostly pharmacology and pathology.