So far this fortnight has proved as full of eye-opening medical cases as the last. I have seen a couple of emergency caesarians, more strokes, much more tuberculosis and a motorcycle accident that left the rider with a broken femur and his pillion passenger with a brain contusion – the outcome of not wearing a helmet while overtaking on a blind corner. By far the most remarkable case in the last two weeks was one that resulted in brain surgery in an 85-year old. › Continue reading…

While in my last blog I rather dryly went through “A day in the life of Lady Willingdon Hospital,” in this blog I am hoping to reflect on some of the difficulties of practicing medicine in rural India. › Continue reading…

At the moment I’m halfway through a four-week placement at Lady Willingdon Hospital, a mission hospital in Manali, northern India. As a location Manali reminds me a lot of Queenstown- they are of a similar size, are heavily oriented to tourism and both have fairly spectacular mountains jutting up all around them. I’ve arrived in the off-season, between the heavy tourist flows of summer and the milder peaks of winter. › Continue reading…

I had always thought that the first hospital experience I had on my elective would be treating a patient, as opposed to being a patient. Not to be. › Continue reading…

Wednesday and Thursday saw me in Lakes Entrance, a small lakeside (funny that!) township which is bustling in the summertime but gets a bit sleepier during the winter. I worked with a couple of GP’s and the practice nurses whilst I was there. It was a busy GP practice and very similar to that of the rural clinics I have worked in back here. › Continue reading…

I cannot believe my time is over and I’ve now been home for a week!

Over my final week in the hospital, the harvest finished. Gone was any hope of having a quiet week! Now, everyone who had been unwell over the past 4 weeks converged on the hospital to get the medical treatment that had been avoided over harvest. › Continue reading…

Week one in Kalgorrlie. My first impression is that it is way colder than I thought I would be and I have to wear thermals! Outrageous for Australia I thought.

I spent the first few days in the Aboriginal Health Centre, which is an amazing free service for anyone of aboriginal descent. They don’t have appointments and people can turn up whenever they want. All the doctors and staff are amazingly compassionate and hard working and all really want to make a difference. › Continue reading…

Came back to Sale on Sunday night.  I went along to the med students tutorial on Monday.  We covered some common GP problems and  paediatrics.

Tuesday I spent another day in ED.  It was quite busy with many of the patients needing to be admitted.  At this time of the year bronchiolitis is quite common so we had a lot of babies presenting with breathing problems.  We also had a young boy who was having a migraine but had also developed a tic in his forehead which was potentially associated with the migraine, quite a new thing for everyone to see. › Continue reading…

Monday morning I was back on the general medical ward. There were still a couple of patients there from the week before so it was nice to see them improved and nearly ready for discharge. I was put in charge of putting in all the IV’s by the helpful intern (equivalent to first year house surgeon in NZ). I admitted a patient who had pyrexia of unknown origin. › Continue reading…

Day 4 – I’m in the clock tower medical center again today.  I have been able to see my own patients who are rung prior to there appointment and asked whether they mind being booked in under me.  Once I have taken a history and done the examination if message the Doctor who is supervising me and they come in and I present the patient.  It is a great learning opportunity however the subtle differences of the Australian medical system catch me out sometimes. › Continue reading…