Self-Care Is Hard

As my first year as an adult (sort-of maybe I guess?) draws to an end, I find myself reflecting a lot on what has happened. Incoming interns ask for advice and I wanted to write a really cool and inspirational post but I find myself not knowing what to say. Almost as if I haven’t

Working the Festive Season

Christmas and New Year’s is such a fun time in South Africa. It’s the middle of Summer. The weather is gorgeous, perfect for swimming and braaing, spending time with family, and reading. It’s my first festive season of working full-time.

Sometimes I Don’t Want To Know

I didn’t want to know that the man with the compound skull fracture had fallen into a sewer drain while being chased by the police because he was the man that had been scamming poor people out of their grant money for months. I didn’t want to know that the man with the gangrenous arm

Tips For New Doctors: Things To Do During Your Last Summer Before Internship

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of finding out that I had passed my final year of med school; and on Friday a new group of young doctors was born. I’m so excited to welcome them as my colleagues! As I write this, I’m sure that most of them are in a deep slumber trying to

A Sadder Stabbed Heart

When I got a call one morning at 06h00 to notify me of a stabbed heart in Trauma, I was not filled with trepidation like the last time I received such a call. I thought, “I’ve done this before. I know what to do.” But I did also get the call while I was busy crushing

Under Thy Fingers*

My phone rings while I am taking ward round.

“Doctor, you must come quickly,” says the ER nurse, “We have a stab-heart in casualty.”

And I run, like they tell you in med school to run for stabbed hearts.

Being On Call Is Like Running A Marathon

… and none of that pseudo-philosophical “you have to pace yourself” bullshit.

Geeking Out About Lungs

I stood transfixed, with my finger deep in the girl’s chest. She was breathing easier now. With every breath, I felt soft, spongy lung tissue expand against my finger. How incredible is that, I thought. Perfect lungs doing their job. Almost ruined by the knife of a callous boyfriend. I had been slow on the

Weekly Whine: Small Luxuries

We have learned to adjust to these circumstances, because being angry every day makes the working environment unpleasant. But sometimes it is the small things, the absence of tiny luxuries, that plunges one into despair.

Auf Wiedersehen, Orthopaedics

How hard were these past two months? Together with one other intern, I looked after a firm of up to eighty patients. We did ward rounds with our senior colleagues only once a week. The rest of the time it was up to us to manage our patients and keep them alive (and know when to call for help).