The ENT Week

The week passed pretty fast. We are done with our ENT rotation. Ward round started quarter past 7 in the morning. That means, I have to start walking at 6.20 in the morning to the Mater hospital in the northern side of Dublin's city centre, because around this time, no bus is running on the street yet. I only did it once because joining the ENT ward round is just an option, not a compulsary task.

Then the team would proceed with surgery at the operation theatre everyday, except on Wednesday, where they would straight away go to the ENT clinic. Otherwise, the clinic will start in the afternoon until 5 p.m.

Having nine people in the group, we have to split ourselves, because they could not entertain all in one time i.e. only two are allowed to be in the theatre at one time. So the rest...would do the rest i.e. chit-chatting outside the theatre (or in the eating room)! Going up to the ward again is another option, where we meet the patients, get their history, and present them to any doctors in our team.

We were lucky that we could see a 'face off' operation just now- a frontal sinus mucoceles case, where it causes proptosis to the patient. So they cut the upper frontal skin and pull it all the way down to the orbital area, then drilled the frontal bone etc. The doctors were also excited as most have never seen a case like such.

I enjoyed myself most during the clinic hours, because that was the time our senior registrar, Gwan would spend time teaching us with cases that were right in front of your eyes. Also with the fact that he is a Malaysian too, so we talked about our Malaysian foods (including the D24 Durian!), until my Irish friends know what Nasi Lemak is (and that they are so eager to try its taste now), because Gwan kept mentioning how he loves Nasi Lemak so much!

We enjoyed doing the ENT in the Mater because we had fun and attractive doctors, as my friend Muirean said it. And with our abundant appearance, one week is just not enough to know more of the ENT cases. Nevertheless, that was how we were arranged...and I look forward for next week's surgical rotation, still here in the Mater.