In our very first year, we had a module called “Personal and Professional Development”, where we were taught how to deal with stress and gender equality issues, and wherein one lecturer literally went on his knees and begged us not to smoke (about half of my class smokes now). Lately, we have had a moduleContinue reading “Teaching Medical Students About Stress”
Tag Archives: Family Medicine
Disability, Impairment, Handicap: Learning from the OTs
Some doctors have a “thing” against integrative management. Me? I love working with Occupational Therapists (which one day my baby sister hopes to be), Physiotherapists (or physio terrorists as they call themselves) and the many other allied health professionals. More about them later. During our current theory rotation we have had quite a number ofContinue reading “Disability, Impairment, Handicap: Learning from the OTs”
Hart of Dixie: Bedside Manner
While trying desperately to recover from a tummy bug I picked up in the Paeds wards, I got hooked on Hart of Dixie. This so-called 24-hour bug lasted longer than expected. Below is one of the funniest parts. It’s in the first episode.
The Best Six Doctors in the World
My Wish for World TB Day
As posted yesterday, today is World Tuberculosis Day. StopTB has this really cool campaign where you can make your own stopTB poster about your goals for this disease. The theme is “Stop TB in my lifetime”, which I think is an excellent motive. This is the poster I made:
Clever Patients and Patient Education
During my two weeks in the Rural Western Cape, only two of my patients had finished high school. One was an elderly lady from a privileged background. It was shocking to see how low the literacy rates were in that little place and how that affected patient education. Medicine compliance, smoking cessation, family planning… it’sContinue reading “Clever Patients and Patient Education”
When Books Struggle
Books I started while away for family medicine:
Ode to a Great GP
Med School is tough. It makes you feel like an idiot. The consultants don’t help much. They seem to forget that we are here to learn first, and only later to be examined. So for Family Medicine, I expected to be supervised by a specialist family physician. Instead, we were one of the few groupsContinue reading “Ode to a Great GP”
Surgery in the Wild
So, here is a little secret about my horrible little third year surgery experience: I never got to assist. I never got to cut. I never got to stitch. I think it was a combination of me having a poor attitude, me being too scared to ask, and the registrar being an arse. BUT myContinue reading “Surgery in the Wild”
Have I Become an Intellectual Snob?
I love rural medicine. My whole life I have had this fantasy of doing wonderful things for people with access to little health care technology. After a week in this small town, though, I am struggling. The skills-related things are amazing. I can deal with the shortage of staff and resources. And the quiet environmentContinue reading “Have I Become an Intellectual Snob?”
Whispers Unto the Aether 