Monday, July 7, 2008

internship, day 1

it's so bloody tiring. it's 1030 pm here, and i'm going to sleep.
i have to wake up at 5 (freaking) am to take public transport down the hospital which is all they way across the city, damnit.

internship is not hectic, for me at least. but it's so tiring because i'm still in the holiday mood. make that very much in the holiday mood! i kept nodding off today in the teaching session, and when the resident was giving us instructions.
what a way to make a good impression, huh.

i'm on the neuro stroke team, and our patients are located all over the hospitals, and there are so many many patients!!!! goodness me. the attendings lead the charge and it's like being on a surgical team all over again, they walk so fast, they write so fast, and they talk so fast! amazing. so much for medical rounds being relaxed affairs.

i haven't learnt much today except that there ARE reversible cause of dementia - to which my reaction was: is there such a thing? my attending promptly glared at me. NOT GOOD.

and i've done my first ever discharge summary! which took me a painstakingly slow hour. but my intern said it was not bad! :D so i'll be happy with small things :)

i'm not looking forward to tomorrow, least of all thurday, when i go on call for the first time. someone save me!!!!

4 comments:

The Shrink said...

Reversible dementia?

Technically, dementia is a term that typically is used to describe an aquired progressive neurodegenerative process (affecting cognition, personality and brain function) arising in clear consciousness.

Clinically, presentations of an aquired progressive condition (affecting cognition, personality and brain function) arising in clear consciousness aren't all dementia.

As such, you're both right.

I'd say that dementia isn't curable. But that presentations of dementia are. The evidence base is that 1 in 12 patients presenting with dementia in fact have a different (and treatable) underlying medical cause for their presentation, thus can be cured.

Huzzah! :-)

XE said...

Perhaps you mean delirium Ditzy? I was always taught that dementia-like symptoms with a medical cause (delirium) is treatable and reversible, but that dementia itself isn't. (I think that's what Shrink is saying too)

Unknown said...

Don't worry, those discharge summaries get easier to do.

Dragonfly said...

DIscharge summaries get easier to do...some can be started before the day of discharge as well...