Western Hospital & long case

Yesterday we started a new block, ortho/rheum/plastics/anaesthetics at a new hospital, the Western Hospital in Footscray. Am adjusting to the new environment and starting to find my way around, not getting lost continually as I was on Monday. I'm also driving some days now (when I have early starts), so that's another change for me.

Yesterday I was really unmotivated and had some more thoughts about what else I could do besides med, etc... but today is a bit better. Most of the doctors and patients I have met here have been really nice, and people seem to be generally a bit less busy here than people at RMH. I guess I have good days and bad days, but I'm not sure what actually makes my mood go up and down.

Perhaps one reason I have to be more motivated today is that I have to do a 'long case' presentation this afternoon in front of fifty-odd students and a couple of doctors/lecturers - 10 minutes in which we give a summary of all the patient's problems, and then a case discussion ensues led by the lecturers. It's to practise for the exams, when we get 1 hour to spend with the patient to take a history and do an examination and then spend time presenting and discussing the case with two examiners. It's hard to get all the information you need in 1 hour - I've gone back to see the patient a couple of times to ask stuff I originally forgot to ask! Long cases can be interesting if the patient is interesting and cooperative; but frustrating and stressful if the patient is, say, rambly or grumpy... anyway, I'd better go organise my notes and write up my presentation after this blog.

Regarding the question of whether to continue with med, I guess there are several options, each with pros and cons, some of which have been suggested by other people. Perhaps I'll collate them all here:
1) Discontinue med and do something else after this semester.
- In 2 years time, when I would graduate from med, I would have half of another degree anyway (Rachel, friend from church)
- A career in medicine requires you to make a big sacrifice in terms of time spent with family and friends, which might not be worth it for a career you're not passionate about (Rachel; she would know, she's married to a doctor)
- A con is obviously 'wasting' the last four-and-a-half years I've put in towards a degree; tho Ivan tried to argue that it's not wasting if I don't want to do med, and rather it's wasting the next 2-3 years if I go on to the end of my internship and then change...
- I think it would be good to have a degree though... even if I do something else after

2) Finish the course, work for a couple of

-- oops, will finish later