Work Experience: Monday
Work experience has begun! It's not been as bad as I thought it might be; the weather has been worse (torrential rain during the half-hour walk to and from the surgery, anyone?) but I haven't been shuffled off to reception like I feared - I can do admin anyday, thank-you-very-much.
So far, I have managed to:
a) shadow the healthcare assistant and take people's blood pressures. Feel slightly faint while watching her take just blood. Assist while she is taking blood! Watch a skin graft be redressed without feeling faint. (bonus)
b) shadow the nurse, but only for a little while. Learn about asthma checkups. (as imagined - how do you feel? how often do you use your inhaler? blow into this. bye!) See small child complaining of earwax, and learn that olive oil works to get rid of hard wax... nice. Especially the bit where it dribbles out your ear. Cost-effective, though.
c) make Tiny Paper Arms and Tiny Paper Shirt for Tiny Paper Sweden. (unrelated)
d) shadow the GP for the afternoon. Success! I have achieved the holy grail of medical work experience! How, you ask? I knocked on his door and went in. They are not as terrifying as you think they are. Whole host of cases. People are more worried than you'd expect, mainly due to the internet. Oh, and the cutest kids EVER. I managed to distract a toddler by clapping my hands. We then evolved the distraction system to include the reflex hammer. That boy WILL be growing up to become really good at hitting things. Mainly the desk and his mother.
e) commission the surgery for a whole half-hour between the regular shift and the OOH team. I am the Royalty of the Reception! Empress of the Examination room! Queen of the Consultation! And wheely-chaired Scourge Of The Corridors.
p.s. no-one has got a strimmer in their eye. Does this make it a good day or a bad day?
So far, I have managed to:
a) shadow the healthcare assistant and take people's blood pressures. Feel slightly faint while watching her take just blood. Assist while she is taking blood! Watch a skin graft be redressed without feeling faint. (bonus)
b) shadow the nurse, but only for a little while. Learn about asthma checkups. (as imagined - how do you feel? how often do you use your inhaler? blow into this. bye!) See small child complaining of earwax, and learn that olive oil works to get rid of hard wax... nice. Especially the bit where it dribbles out your ear. Cost-effective, though.
c) make Tiny Paper Arms and Tiny Paper Shirt for Tiny Paper Sweden. (unrelated)
d) shadow the GP for the afternoon. Success! I have achieved the holy grail of medical work experience! How, you ask? I knocked on his door and went in. They are not as terrifying as you think they are. Whole host of cases. People are more worried than you'd expect, mainly due to the internet. Oh, and the cutest kids EVER. I managed to distract a toddler by clapping my hands. We then evolved the distraction system to include the reflex hammer. That boy WILL be growing up to become really good at hitting things. Mainly the desk and his mother.
e) commission the surgery for a whole half-hour between the regular shift and the OOH team. I am the Royalty of the Reception! Empress of the Examination room! Queen of the Consultation! And wheely-chaired Scourge Of The Corridors.
p.s. no-one has got a strimmer in their eye. Does this make it a good day or a bad day?