1st *real* day of work

I started on the ward today. I dont think they call it a ward here because 'everyone has individual rooms'. We call it a ward in Sydney anyway.. just one with individual rooms. So the first real day was nice. Students are generally friendly and most seem to be visiting students. There is only one home-student on my ward. Perhaps they are all off on winter vacation or something. There are also two lady doctors from India who are here on an observership - which isn't too different from what I'm doing to be honest. I was under the impression that I would be allowed to do stuff but some doctors seem to have a MSH student-only policy. I'm not sure if this is correct because as far as I know, that's the difference between an observership and an elective - one gets to do hands on. The doctors in general are welcoming and friendlier than doctors in Sydney. Doctors in Sydney are nice but Australians usually appear disinterested and fairly unimpressed with most things.

Central lines are pretty cool because it involves a part of the body you would normally steer clear of - the neck. The patient is anaesthetised and a large needle is passed into the internal jugular vein. A wire is passed through the lumen of the needle. The needle is removed and this is followed by a nick so enlarge the entry wound. An introducer is then passed over the guide wire and other implements can subsequently be inserted through the introducer, which is now a doorway to the central venous system.

In terms of the medicine, it is largely similar but there are some differences in medical terms as well as some procedures that are performed here which I didn't actually notice in Sydney. Also, some things are potentially easier here from a trainee's perspective - central lines for example are inserted under ultrasound guidance whereas in Sydney we do it using anatomical landmarks. As it stands I think I will enjoy my time here. It is not too different to be a burden but different enough to learn some new things.