Phileosophie

It's hard not knowing who you can trust. It's hard not having someone who'll be there for you. Who you can be yourself with, without fear of judgement or repercusion. Who will look out for you, as you would them. Who will laugh with you, and sit with you when you cry. It's hard not having all of those things. Especially not in a small town like this one. I should get out of here soon.

Henry Frederick Harlow was an American psychologist who taught us about baby monkeys in a cage - the babies who were allowed to be raised by their protective mothers grew up with a normal temperament, while those who were reared in isolation chambers emerged severely disturbed, reclusive, with definite social deficits. These studies led to the understanding that mothers provide much more than food to an infant. She provides a unique bond that positively influences the child's development and mental health. She provides love.

I haven't spoken with Dr Fuster for ages and I really do miss him. I think I will get in touch soon.

Had a sense of disappointment today. Disappointment at how life has turned out. I don't really know how to explain it because from the outside there's nothing to really justify how I feel. Anyway, I hope the weekend will be okay... good even. May your peace rest upon me May your hand be with me May your strength go before me May your wisdom guide me.

I heard that some of the other local interns were bitching about 'Sydney interns' today. I had no words to respond because I know without a doubt that I have done nothing wrong in this particular instance. I simply love medicine, I love research, I love cardiology to no end. But there is tall poppy syndrome here in Australia, and we've entered (intruded almost) on a very tightly knitted group of interns. People do not like it when others come out 'on top'... not that I feel particularly victorious since I was never in competition with them - I was simply living my life, doing my thing. I can't help being in love with medicine. "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16

I had a thought today about a possible research/public health project that could be pursued in some form here in Launceston. I was recalling the days in New York where I noticed that a certain patient group was so different from that normally seen in a clinic. This was not just because they were incredibly wealthy, but notably, because their doctor provided such excellent preventative care that they were so much healthier than other patient groups. I wondered if we could create some sort of a 'model city' here in terms of preventative care which perhaps could be duplicated elsewhere if it works here. after all, this is a small city (seems much more like a town) with the hospital being the largest employer in the vicinity. There are not too many GPs, so we would probably be able to coordinate/standardise care or interventions through these GPs and then at the end of the project we could have a look at pre-determined parameters to see if the inhabitants of this city ar...

It has been a smooth transition for me, from being a student to working as a doctor. There is not too much work to be done on the Stroke Unit, unlike the other units which have the interns flying around and coming in over an hour before they need to and clocking way more hours than they are paid to do. I think it is testament to how well the multidisciplinary team works in this setting. The Stroke NUM, physios, speech pathologist, occupational therapists and dieticians spend most, and sometimes all of their time working on our patients. We have a pharmacist, who covers all of this ward (so not just the stroke patients) and then there are the doctors. The allied health people, coordinated mainly by the dedicated Stroke NUM communicate every morning about our limited number of patients. By the time the doctors are in from our morning handovers the NUM is able to update us and let us know about any pressing issues. Then there are admissions, and tests to be ordered, but when ev...