You didn’t think we were done, did you?

The offsite clerkships conclude with Ophthalmology (10 weeks), Anaesthesia (5 weeks) and Orthopaedics (5 weeks).

Ophthalmology

Goals:

1. See/do every last thing on your procedure card. Seriously. They will send you back to the clinic to see/do things.
2. Learn when to refer (all the time).

Opthalmology at KPH was a fair experience (I’d give it a 5/10. Anaes gets an 8). There are a lot of patients but you don’t really get much guidance. The lectures are good but the consultants disappear right after and the residents are always too busy to teach. Bonus: they will tell you which patients have pathologies that you can see.

Ophthalmology at Cornwall was my saving grace. The consultant takes you around the clinic on your scheduled day, looking for interesting conditions, and she teaches ophthalmoscopy technique at the same time.

The bonus of UHWI is that the clinic is more organized with specific patients attending at specific times (eg. retina clinic) but the residents are not as . . . easy-going as those elsewhere.

Penultimately. . .

Anaesthesia

Goals:

1. Read all the time so you can present your topics to the residents (the only way to learn)
2. Learn how to manage an airway
3. Know Basic Life Support like the back of your hand. Know it better than the lyrics to your favourite guilty pleasure song.

I did Anaesthesia at KPH and liked it. Everybody was willing to listen (on Anaes they don’t teach, you have to read up a topic and talk about it) and the consultants were nice. Probably because there were a lot of them so no one felt too pressured (take notes, every other specialty). There is a wealth of OT experience because KPH is basically surgery central. As long as the elevator is working. Seriously, can we get some foreign investors working on our hospitals instead of our roads? At least if accidents happen on the bad roads the victims will have somewhere to go.

And lastly:

Orthopaedics/Ophthalmology

Goals:

1. Learn the theory behind the common orthopaedic problems
2. Learn the practical management of the same i.e. reducing, casting, splinting fractures etc.

I did Orthopaedics at (can you guess?) Cornwall. It was a half-and-half experience for me because despite getting good lectures and clinical teaching, there wasn’t a wide variety of patients presenting during our stint. That and you have to remember to go looking for procedures. Nobody’s sitting around waiting for you to come put a plaster on them. Unfortunately. But the residents and consultants were more than willing to teach and grill you to death and talk you out of ears.

Bonus: Orthopods, as a hazard of the trade, are really, really good looking. That is total objectification, but I’m just saying – if you’re a girl (or guy, no judgement) who’s into shoulders and arms this clerkship is the ultimate viewing experience.

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Hope you liked the mini-series. (See Part One). If you found it useful (or amusing), please (do me a favour and) leave a comment saying so. Feedback makes one feel so appreciated.

We’ll do this again when I graduate med school. :)