Training Day

Ethan Hawke plays the part of the rookie cop who gets partnered up with the veteran and highly corrupt cop played by Denzel Washington and........  Hang on a minute.  That is the wrong training day.  Mine has far less guns and is not nearly as violent.  In fact the most violent thing that happened was when I was tapped on the knee by that rubber thingy (yes, I believe that is the technical name;)) when they tested my reflexes.

So on a cold sunday morning I caught a cab to St Vincent's hospital where I was greeted with a warm cup of tea before being shown to an examination room where I would be poked and prodded by a bunch of medical students.  I always seem to be a little off the mark when giving my opinion of the students.  I guess I never quite know what the examiners are looking for but I recon two out of three did a fairly good job.  The third one knew his neurology, but fell short by having a poor understanding of his anatomy which made correct diagnosis almost impossible.

One thing I find really weird about the process is you are not allowed to converse with the students.  They  are allowed to give instruction and ask simple questions that barely require no more than a yes no answer, but that is it.

In a way I think it is a little unfair.  For example, my craniotomy scar.  In a clinical setting the doctor would simply ask "why do you have a craniotomy scar?"  But they have to guess and it just adds an element that can mislead them.  Unfairly in my opinion.  Seeing as I am still suffering from chemo baldness the most common conclusion was that I had a tumour surgically removed.  It just does not seem accurate.  Just ask me.  You'll have your answer in less than 30 seconds and they can move on to diagnosing the problem at hand.

But, I'm glad I did it and if asked I will do it again.  It makes me feel good to give a little back to medicine from who I owe so much.  Even with my whinges and complaints about the health care system they have done a great job looking after me over the years.  To all the med students I saw I wish you all good luck in your upcoming exams.  If I fronted up at emergency tomorrow I wouldn't mind being treated by any of you.  And to all my readers, until next time, stay well:)