Thursday, December 11, 2008

my 100th post!!! :)

time flies and it's my 100th post! :)
and sadly, it isn't anything deeply meaningful etc, instead, it's my usual whines and moans. uhhhh sorry.

i managed to kill some fat juicy caterpillars in my hostel room! they exploded with green blood. disgusting.
my room is now a lizard haunt, a caterpillar nest and an attracter of all sorts of insects. freaky.
I WANT TO MOVE OUT!!!!!

i donated a pint of blood 2 days after my run, and promptly developed symptomatic anaemia for 3 days- giddiness, tachycardia, palpitations, presyncope, exertional dyspnoea etc. NO MORE DONATING BLOOD TILL I"M FITTER!
thankfully i'm better now :D

clinical test will be next week - i'm keeping my fingers crossed that i get awfully fierce and killer examiners so i won't be so scared in the finals! rather odd maybe, but better to get slaughtered now than in the finals right? :)

must really stop making up signs in my head, i keep seeing raised jugular venous pressures when there are none, hearing murmurs when there are none, feeling hepatosplenomegaly when there is none! UH OH.
missing signs is even worse. i have missed EVERYTHING in any system you care to name. UHHHHH.

doesn't look too good now! :(
and it's only 89 days. ARGH i need a white knight in shining armour please! :(

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on #100!

In general when I find students/residents struggling with exam findings or in taking histories they often fall into the trap of over-thinking.

If you struggle to hear a murmur it's probably not there (have the patient hold their breath/change positions too--that can help sort things out). If you're not sure if the liver is enlarged it's probably not significant (can always percuss to confirm). If a patient gives you a bunch of vague non-specific symptoms they are just that--vague and non-specific.

In general significant exam findings really jump out at the examiner. Subtle findings are more often variations of normal. Don't overthink.

Hope this helps.

Anonymous said...

I know exactly what you mean about the making up signs thing!

"Yes I can see the JVP and it is raised"
"Really, where?"
*points*
"Right there"
"That's the carotid"
"But its got a double waveform"
"No, it doesnt"
"Ah.."