I LOVE ED

I’ve been super busy with life and uni lately so I haven’t been writing enough ARK posts (only 4 posts in the past month?! OTL)… But on the upside, I am almost finished with my epic House MD marathon (16 eps left!) and I am EXTREMELY enjoying my Emergency Medicine attachment. Like seriously, I’m set on becoming an emergency physician now.

ED has been something I’ve been interested in all year, since I liked what I was told it entails and my flatmate who’s a year above me really enjoyed it too (he thinks a bit similar to me). More recently about 2 months ago, my other friends who did the attachment told me how much they loved it, and I was thinking how it sounded like the perfect job for me! Then last Monday I started my first shift and…holy shit I think I fell in love in the first hour.

Here are some things I love about ED:

First and foremost, it’s (what I believe) the specialty that’s closest to Diagnostic Medicine from House MD. Yes, I shamelessly admit that I started doing medicine mainly because of House and I like solving diagnostic puzzles. It’s a bit ironic actually, since he disses Cameron for going into ED all the time haha. But ED involves seeing the patient acutely, taking a history, doing physical examinations, coming up with a differential diagnosis, running investigations and trying to diagnose the patient within 6 hours. Sound familiar? Of course, if the case looks like it’s gonna go on too long, it gets referred to the respective specialty. But still, it’s SO MUCH FUN rattling your brain trying to find the solution!
On a similar note, you get some really interesting cases, from all specialties. I’ve been seeing fascinating cases left, right and centre, whether it be atypical presentations of common illnesses (e.g. UTI -> vomiting) or just very rare diseases (e.g. abdominal migraine).
Oh before you get the wrong idea, I don’t literally want to be House who doesn’t talk to patients, I just admire his genius diagnostic skills and Holmesian mind. I looove listening to all the stories patients have to tell, it’s like watching a TV show every day! It’s actually another reason I wanted to medicine, and ED is a place where you hear all sorts of crazy stories.
The cool thing about ED is, you have a rapid turnover because patients are only allowed to stay 6 hours before they’re discharged or transferred. Which means we don’t have to drag on and on with continuity of care like GPs have to! I much prefer seeing acute presentations rather than managing chronic illnesses like diabetes and depression. Plus, this way I get to see much more patients and if I don’t like them, they only stay 6 hours! Before you judge, there are some horrible patients.
ED really keeps you on your feet, because you never know what’s going to come through the doors and when. It’s quite interesting seeing what happens in resus (resuscitation room) because everyone works so efficiently, and the team leader has to keep the situation under control! And it really feels like you’re saving someone’s life. I’ve seen some people go to the brink of death and get pulled back. Then there are times when you know the patient’s not gonna make it, which is quite sombre. But all in all, fascinating.
I actually LIKE shift work! Well, mainly the afternoon (4pm~12am) ones, because I can sleep in, do stuff in the day, and I’m most alert during the night time :) Not sure how much I’d like the night (12am~8am) shifts, but I’m sure I’d manage. And also… NO BLOODY WARD ROUNDS! You come to hate those as a student…

Those are just some reasons I want to be an emergency physician after med school! I’m glad I found what I want to do now, feels a lot more…secure haha. It’s interesting finding what you really want to do. There’s only been a few runs where I felt completely happy waking up and going in to hospital in the morning, and ED has been one (anaesthetics and GP were the other two). Even during the shifts, time just FLEW and I’d end up staying till 2am following up patients with my registrar and asking questions! In fact, I’m doing an extra shift (we only have to do 6 in 2 weeks) tonight. Just because I can.

Anyway, that’s what’s been happening in my life, deciding my career path and all. I’ll get on to writing some ARK posts before I have to start studying for exams hopefully! What’s the word?