Hospitals and hospitals

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks, which marks the mid-way of the prac here at Toowoomba Hospital. I'm definitely losing my initial enthusiasm, but I'm still enjoying nonetheless. I suppose what has been most discouraging is that in the acute setting, most of the patients end up dying or being under palliative care anyways, it made me feel redundant in some ways. But the important thing is this:

Even if someone is dying, or is predicted to never ever improve and just slowly waste away, it's still our job as a health professional to provide the best that we can to them, albeit their time here being so limited. I've had 4 patients die over the span of 1.5 weeks,  (I had naively predicted 4 to die throughout the entire prac and my clinical educator said I was being way too conservative, haha). I don't feel devastated or emotionally rocked by deaths (so far) mainly because it is a circle of life which we need to accept:

Look at the words below. What do they describe?

BALD TOOTHLESS INCONTINENT DEPENDENT RELIANT FRAIL HELPLESS  DIAPERED NON-VERBAL 

Much like any other old person? Yep. And guess what, much like a baby too. When I saw a couple of patients curled in foetal position, wearing mittens so that they don't pull their naso-gastric tubes out, and of course, wearing diapers, it just reminded me of how life truly becomes one full circle at the end. We enter as a baby, we leave as 'bigger' babies. 

The Ciiirrcle of lifffeee.

Now I just have the most increased fear of aging! 

It's the WEEKEND!!

It's the weekend! I've never been SO happy, elated and carefree ever! This week at the hospital was my first week of placement, it's a fantastic experience here in Toowoomba and I would never trade it for anything else. Here's what I love so much about it:

1) Toowoomba is elevated on a 'mountain' (I'm sure there's a better term for it), which means that it is colder than Brisbane, the average temperature now feels somewhat like winter, but the heating systems everywhere are so efficient that it's comfortable most times. (I still can sweat sometimes in the hospital)

2) This elevation also means that the air is EVEN fresher! When I came to Brisbane, my first thought was - WOW the air is so fresh!. Then I went to visit Mark in Gatton, and I thought - Omg the air's EVEN better here! And when I stepped out of my car last Sunday in Toowoomba, I couldn't believe the freshness of the 'mountain'air! You can smell that nice misty feel, and it just freshens you each day!

3) Being on that 'mountain'might mean that I burn more petrol driving home, but,  I can make up for it by leaving my car in Neutral the ENTIRE way down. Yesterday I did it for a good 5km (about 6 minute drive) as I went down the slopes and even reaching 100km/hr without even pressing the accelerator. (don't worry, that was at the end when the speed limit was that and the slope wasn't as steep)

4) Staying at the nurses quarters is fantastic (besides the zilch internet), Rooms are cleaned weekly for you, toilets are cleaned daily and heaiting is on 24/7. It also takes me LESS THAN 5 MINUTES to get to work.. Muhahahahhaa.. (ok I feel bad for the rest who are posted far far away in Brisbane)

5) The town centre is so close and compact, which gives me this nice feeling of togetherness. BUt this isn't really accurate considering I haven't actually been there shopping yet. (Yes, biased, I know)

6) I get to see so many different kinds of caseloads! I haven't been able to see paeds yet, but I've gotten to see cancer care patients, acute ward patients, rehab patients, language, swallowing, communication etc. This probably doesn't make any sense to you guys who aren't in a health work setting, but it does actually make a difference what kind of patients you see.

7) I'm only 40km away from Mark in Gatton (Which was my main reason for choosing Toowoomba actually, hahah...) and the drive takes about half an hour, which is way better than coming from Brisbane.

And so ends my promotion of completing a clinical practical at Toowoomba hospital. Trust me, it's fantastic =)