SURGEONS VS MEDICS

SpR neurosurgery: So, what do you want to specialise in in the future? It's okay if you say you want to do medicine.
Me: You won't kick me out of the room? Yea, I'm a big fan of general medicine.
SpR: I hate general medicine.
Me: Really?
SpR: No, actually I like medicine. I just hate medics.
Me: Medics? As in the people?
SpR: Yea, they're arrogant. They think they're better than everyone else.
Me: What's the matter with you? They're lovely people.
SpR: My god, you're so innocent. Let's hope in the next few years, you're gonna realize you're making a mistake.

I like this SpR, he's friendly and a very good teacher but what he said reminded me of high school.

Yes, I have to admit medics can be arrogant; they think they're cleverer than the cutters. But surgeons are no less arrogant; like they belong to the cool bunch.

What the SpR doesn't know is that one of the SHOs on the ward is calling medical students by numbers. I'm Medical Student Number 3 simply because I was the third student he came across (1. clearly, he's been watching too much television. 2. not at all creative!). He is just a few years ahead of me but already behaving like an arrogant bastard. Now, I must've made a face without realizing it because after a while, he actually gave me a speech. "I have a wife, we're expecting a child together (translated: blablabla yay I managed to impregnate a woman), I'm very busy with my work so I don't care what you think of the way I speak or the way I treat you. Understand?" Well, if you didn't care, why made a speech after all?

We have never really left high school, have we?

*groan*

HEART

The other day, I saw my first heart.

It belonged to a man who had jumped off in front of a train and ended up in A&E resus with his chest cut out wide open and an anaesthetist massaging his heart. I was on my way to theatre to see an Ommaya reservoir insertion but ended up following the trauma call. It wasn't difficult; all I did was follow the blood trail on the floor.

Have you ever seen a pink heart beating on its own in a chest cavity that has been practically cut into two? And how it speeds up after a push of adrenaline?

Given the chance, I could spend hours and hours staring at it. Forget eating and drinking, I'd just park myself right next to it and watch it pumps.

I'm doing neurosurgery rotation right now. Sure they do very impressive surgeries, but a beating heart beats all the craniotomies in the world.

But then again, if I'm lucky, there's an awake craniotomy tomorrow. As a general rule, I can't stand surgical rotations but an awake craniotomy.. I honestly can't wait to see it.

This is one of the very many perks of doing medicine. Every once in a while, something amazing will happen. So amazing that it will lift up your spirits and make you believe.