MY CLINICAL ROTATION DIARY
FINAL EPISODE
Hello! Thanks for joining me thus far. I’m glad we made it to the final episode. Woohoo!
Internal Medicine Department
This department is another I really enjoyed joining. I got to choose my unit (Infectious diseases), and was grateful I did. I’ll begin from the really cool consultant we had. He was respectful even to his subordinates, good with his patients, explained to his team, listened to the suggestions of his SR (Senior Registrars) and Registrars. He was considerate to both his patients and colleagues. He taught and counselled us too! He just did his job well.
I looked forward to our rotations.
The SR and Registrars were also good. One thing that was remarkable in this department was that I did pretty well with the “drilling”, which was mostly from the SR and Registrars. I answered most of the questions I was asked correctly (that’s an important thing in the system), I had an idea of what was going on and I contributed as much as my med. student knowledge could cover. I asked questions for clarification, which were readily answered most times. I kinda knew my stuff in this department coupled with the experiences I garnered from the previous departments (three at this time). I also had a good rapport with my seniors. They were pretty friendly; moreover, I refused to be intimidated this time.
The highlight for me was when the SR asked me a question which I answered correctly, then she asked to know the name of my university (remember you always introduced yourself including your universitywhen you joined a unit, so this time was for emphasis). Oh my, I knew I had hit gold! I proudly told her the name. Even though she found it difficultto pronounce the name, I knew she couldn’t say anything un-nice about my university or the country where I studied (like the others), because she was impressed, and maybe surprised that ‘something good could come from Nazareth’.
It felt like I was given a recompense for all the name-calling and shaming of students from the country where I studied. I felt like I did every NigerianMedical student from Ukraine proud.
It sure was a great way to complete my six weeks clinical rotation.
THE END
If you studied in “the abroad” and intend going for clinical rotation as a medical student or even housemanship in Nigeria, here are some tips I’d like to share, on how to make your experience worthwhile. ANY OTHER MEDICAL STUDENT MAY FIND IT HELPFUL TOO.
Show the outward sign of respect, especially to your seniors. They like it and it’s a cultural thing. Well if your dad is a “big man” I guess you don’t have to worry (pun intended).
NO DOCTOR KNOWS IT ALL.
YOUR SENIORS KNOW MORE BECAUSE OF EXPERIENCE NOT BECAUSE YOU’RE STUPID!
Cheers to greater heights!
Dr Nwaeke D.C.
You may send your questions toa
I look forward to hearing from you.