Aussie-Chinese Girl Reflects on Her Med Practitioner Journey

 As the Melb Weather Goddess has finally decided to grace us w/ more summer-like temp and weather cond (here and there 😅😭), everyone I know who is not otherwise (forcibly) tied indoors (i.e. effing exam season pour moi 💀) is rushing to beaches, parks, and outdoor dining seats. But as everyone knows, Australian nature is out to get us, from the hole in our ozone layer to our deadly animals, so now is as good a time as any to raise some sun protection awareness.  A newly published study by Canadian researchers discovered a phenomenon they're dubbing the "sunscreen paradox", which is basically when people feel invincible after applying sunscreen so they are more inclined to engage in dangerous sun-exposure activities such as  going to the beaches when the UV index is dees as being extreme   not taking other sun-protective measures e.g. wearing a hat, UV outer layers only applying sunscreen once and never reapplying inadequate amount and/or covereage of sunscree...

The medical school system and healthcare system have an uncanny ability to suck the joy, aspirations, childlike curiosity, and genuine empathy from its students and healthcare workers.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not regretting my decision to return to the system, but when you've been in the hospital for 7hr+ UNPAID and just there for the experience and your own learning, then gone home and realized you still have a Mt Everest worth of lecture content to plough through, there's no way you won't ask "why am I doing this to myself?" "am I just a sucker for punishment?"  I for one am lucky enough to have personal responses to this which are "Remember that time when you saw the resus team bring someone back to life from cardiac arrest?" or "Remember when Mr B was super grateful for you spending 2hr talking to them like another human and they confided their struggles with suicidal thoughts to you first and not their treating team?" et...

 If you're from Aus, you would know my pain of waking up at 6:30am but feeling like it's only 5:30am BECAUSE IT TECHNICALLY WAS until Sun 1/10 when we skipped from 1:59am straight to 3:00am, essentially losing 1hr of much needed beauty sleep 💀 Pair that w AFL Grand Finals long weekend in Vic and you have a miserable workforce and miserable students w morning classes/lectures/placements 😓  In keeping w this awful phenomenon, I thought I would post about our body's natural circadian rhythms, certain physiological diurnal patterns, and why the 21st c. living style w overstimulation (screens, but also mental and physical) is a nightmare for our body's natural daily cycle 😑  (yes, this is now how I spend a large portion of my free time now, yes, super nerdy, but who isn't in med, and no, don't believe any health profesh when they say they aren't nerdy, they are nerdy, just not like god tier nerdy w/in nerd popln LOL)  What is the circadian rhythm? - Body's...

What better time to talk about concussion than the Footy Finals? (also, only barracking for the Pies cuz I still have pride as a Victorian LOL - open to who I barrack for the long term → only recently got into footy a bit) Also notice how we Aussies can't even be bothered to say Magpies, nope, its just Pies 😂 But back to health awareness topic of the day → CONCUSSION IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM IN HIGH- CONTACT SPORTS AND NOT TO BE JOKED ABOUT. Personally, I can no longer watch a rugby game in peace thanks to my experience as a sports medic last year and all the near misses and actual head traumas and injuries and concussions and don't even get me started w spinal cord injuries (SC inj) 💀 So what do we actually mean by concussion? - Medical def: altered mental function or level of awareness due to a head injury → considered a MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury), can be transient or more serious, +/- hosp px and admission - (My) layman's def: head knock → concerning enough for me ...

 One of the stereotypes of Aussie that’s actually true is our love for the beaches, pools and water parks - I mean who wouldn’t w our amazing WHITE SAND beaches (that was actually sold to Jeju-do from QSD 😂) and blistering summer heat. So w the summer approaching and an extremely tragic pt case seen this week, I thought I would do a post on water safety But first w the pt story:  21M engaged in a breath holding competition with brother in pool - did not resurface after 3 mins, family started to worry. Pt pulled out of pool unresponsive, CPR 10mins, O2 sat 50% when ROSC. BIBA, ICU admission. Loss of grey-white matter differentiation on MRI brain suggestive of global brain insult. Sedated ator, pupil equal, brisk reaction to light, limbs withdraw at painful stimuli. Intubated and one seizure episode day 2 of admission. Bleak prognosis.  Cannot even begin to imagine the psychological trauma currently experienced by his brother, family, and friends. Water safety tips - young...

 If you’ve read my very first post, you’ll know that I was struggling a hekking lot w life and med school in 2021 and was dx w adjustment disorder mid 2021 and took 1.5yr LOA before recommending 2nd year med this year. Well, it’s only since like mid year this year that I felt comfortable enough to explicitly say, yeah I had adjustment disorder, yeah I have a psych l, yeah I’m on escitalopram.  Apparently I’m a good “fake it til you make it” person cuz subject coord at Western clin school thought I was like totally ready and eager to come back from Feb when actually I was internally screaming, attending ward rounds just to hide in library or bathroom or anywhere else (no I’m not disclosing my secret hideout, everyone has to find their own in each hospital, and trust me everyone needs one) until last 2 weeks of Sem 1.  Also massive newly discovered pet peeve: don’t assume I’ve always been an extrovert and happy to start convo and be proactive and whatnot so I don’t struggle...

The Bureau of Meteorology has officially declared an El Nino year yesterday, but what the heck is an El Nino and what does it mean for us Aussies?  "Official" definition: El Nino is part of a natural cycle termed ENSO (El Nino-Southern Oscillation), along w El Nina and "neutral". It is one of the most influential natural phenomena that affects yearly climate variability in Australia. Dummy 101 definition: El Nino = warm spells i.e. we gonn melt more than usual this summer  Significance: El Nino years typically mean ↑ fire risk in SE Aus Reduced rainfall Warmer temp Shift in temp extremes  (n.b. some places will have both higher one-day avg temp and longer warm spells, whilst elsewhere e.g. Melb more likely to have higher one-day avg temp but shorter overall warm spells) Increased frost risk (due to reduced cloud coverage, can get colder-than-avg night-time temps) Reduced tropical cyclone numbers Later monsoon onset Decreased alpine snow depths Time to stock up on ...

 Today is Day 1 of Dementia Action Week 2023 in Aus (which J only found out about on the drive to work today from ABC News Radio 8:20am), so I thought it would be good to do a series on dementia like I did w mental health last week 😊 What is dementia? - Dementia = umbrella term used to describe a collection of signs and  sx  involving cognitive function decline (problem-solving, memory, planning, language etc.)  -  Single word descriptors include but not limited to: Degenerative ( = worsening over time)  Global ( = affects entire brain ∴ multitude of varied sx) Umbrella (term = dementia is actually used to described a variety of sx & signs that are caused by disorders/ conditions of the brain) Variable ( = b/c dementia is an umbrella term of signs & sx,  every individ dx w dementia is affected differently) Late-onset ( = most pt are dx later in life ≧ 65yo, BUT Also young-onset  (~28,000 Aussie estimated to live w young-onset d...

What is R U OK all about?  - National public health charity → National Conversation Movement  - Started by Gavin Larkin in 2009 as a why to champion just one question in honour of his father, Barry Larkin, who tragically passed from suicide in 1997 much to the shock and grief of his family, friends, and everyone else around him - Collation of resources developed from LIVED EXPERIENCE to support HELP-GIVERS in asking R U OK and having the skills, knowledge, and confidence to engage in MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION if the answer is no  - Suicide prevention is the RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL  - Campaign about building INFORMAL SUPPORT NETWORK → friends, family, colleagues, local communities, interest groups etc START THE CONVO TODAY Click here for more tips & tricks!  “Without R U OK? the landscape would look very different. There is great value in demonstrating to the whole community that they can contribute to suicide prevention and then, importantly, showing them how. ...

“A Victorian coroner is again calling for the introduction of pill testing after a man died from an MDMA pill known as the Blue Punisher at a festival last year – the fourth coroner to do so in six years.” - Opening statement from  Coroner again pushes for pill testing after ‘Blue Punisher’ death  ( The Age ).  What is “blue punisher”?   - high potency MDMA/ecstasy* - Small blue pill w Disney+ Marvel TV Show Punisher logo (skull) on it What is pill testing?   - Centre for VOLUNTARY, CONFIDENTIAL, NOT REPORTABLE pill testing - Will inform attendee composition of their drug to facilitate better informed decision making - Education and advice can also be given if desired Introduced as a drug harm reduction policy - Currently being trialled in ACT and QSD, no plan to roll out in VIC as of yet   Why is pill testing endorsed by many?  - Independent r/v conducted by Dr Anna Olsen on outcomes of pill testing at Canberra’s Groovin the Moo festival in Apr 2019 ...

Please pay doctors esp junior doctors overtime!  Also don't have ridiculous working hours like 14hrs!!!!!  US wtf are y'all doing? Avg working hours for residents are 40-80hr/wk, w some occasionally logging 136hr/wk     🤯🤯🤯😡😡😡  Ya'll know that according to the Fair Labour Standards Act (FLSA) (for USA before people get ansty at me that this is an Aus only privilege):  ANY WORK OVER 40HR/WEEK IS CONSIDERED OVERTIME and SHOULD BE APPROPRIATELY REMUNERATED!!!  Feeling really lucky that in Aus our avg working wk as junior docs is 50hrs + PAID OVERTIME. What are you doing America (follow @DGlaucomflecken )    Lemme show by example below what overworked, sleep-deprived doctor/health professional interaction can be.  This is an ACTUAL convo I had w a final year med school friend at 7pm when we’ve both been up since 5:50am  What friend actually said: “[mutual friend] dipping Ortho rounds cuz she’s not surgically orientated and is...

  In line with UMMSS' (University of Melbourne Medical Students' Society) Blue Week, I'm going to share parts (b/c let's be real, if I shared the whole story we'd still be here a year later) of my own mental health journey and debunk some myths about mental health through personal experience and current research.  Myth #1: I will never experience mental health issues / I am immune  AHAHAHAHAHA famous last words cuz that's what I truly believed before I got hit by the tornado known as the downward mental health spiral 💀 Looking back, my mental health probably started its downward descent insidiously from the beginning of undergrad back in 2017 but reached the critical threshold in MD2 2021 (first attempt) post Easter break and the descent became more like a snowball tumbling down the Alps 😓 Fact #1: According to the  2022 National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing  (Australia): -  >2 in 5  Australians between 16-85yo (43.7% or 8.6 million ppl) h...

Pretty sure I experienced a hypoglycaemic event today around 1pm --> was told by gynae to try intermittent fasting restricting intake from 10am to 6pm so only had a cup of coffee (+ disgusting TCM) at 7:30am in the morning. Ward round did not finish until 12:33pm (which is early for gen med let's be honest 😅😭) and by 1pm I experienced bilat paraesthesia down UL  to entire hand & fingers, and eyelid twitching L > R......anyways not good + sx resolved spon post-prandial 😅 Revised eating schedule --> 2 eggs (or up and go if I snoozed one too many times XD)  ← highly recommend this insta pg for daily dose of dark humour 😁😈💀 ( @momsbehavingbadly )