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Chapter 3.6: Joining the Covid club
I couldn’t taste my morning coffee. Covid-19 has officially gone too far. I’ve previously written about the benefits (and drawbacks) of being a patient and a doctor/healthcare professional/student and now, as the lingering symptoms of my body’s battle continue to frustrate me, I can appreciate a fraction of the burden many patients face on a…
Chapter 3.5: The extremes of modern medicine
There was once a time where a headache was treated by drilling into the skull and a cure for jaundice was swallowing nine lice mixed with ale (aka a Wetherspoon’s IPA). Since then, medicine has come a long way. We can now stop a beating heart, operate, and then bring the patient back from technically…
Chapter 3.4: Match your agendas!
Unfortunately, we aren’t taught telepathy in medicine. I think it would make history taking much quicker, but may also lead to some unfortunate home-truths about our patient’s opinions on us. Also how would consent work? And how much control would we have over which aspects of the brain we can access? And if it went…
Chapter 3.3: Dot the i
When a patient’s lungs are hooked up to a machine, it pays to be detail-oriented. It might sound obvious, but I think it summarises my time on ICU. It’s a bustling hub of numbers, machines, tubes and drugs and provides a very different challenge to the less-critical ward environment. ICU staff- be it doctors, nurses…
Chapter 3.2: Where the **** have I been?
It’s been a challenging few weeks. But then, when is it not? After completing a round of exams, taking a break from some projects and letting a few aspects of my life get a little out of hand, it’s time to get back on track. If anything, this was a much-needed reminder that medicine is…
Chapter 3.1: Discomfort zone
So I’m now in my final year, around 9 months from qualifying as a doctor in the NHS, and yesterday I had a tummy ache after eating too many cookies. Growing up is weird, but I promise I have a good life lesson from this. Final year so far can be very succinctly summarised by…
Chapter 2.6: The end is in sight
In two weeks I’ll be starting my final year of Cambridge medicine. The scariest thing? It doesn’t scare me! While you ponder that paradox, I’d like to insert a disclaimer: I’m very much aware that things will probably change and as I approach the final exams, apprenticeship and my first shift, I’ll probably have as…
Chapter 2.5: foetus to “feed us!”
It’s been a busy period trying to juggle multiple projects whilst slaloming around Covid-19. If I had a tragic backstory, I’d try out for Britain’s Got Talent. I had the pleasure of experiencing my Maternal and Child health block. To be honest, I wasn’t too excited about this at the start of the year. It’s…
Reducing male suicides: “Man up” to man down
Content warning: this piece explores issues of mental health disorders and suicidality. It goes without saying that if you’re struggling to cope, please seek help. Useful resources can be found on https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/suicide/ and NHS 111 option 2 can help in a mental health crisis. —– In 2019, over four thousand men took their own lives…
Chapter 2.4: Last throw of the dice
It’s been a while! The outpouring of celebrities clamouring for my return has weighed too heavy on my mind, so I’m back with more reflections. In all seriousness, I’ve had a bit of a social media cleanse (there may be a post coming up on that) and took a little step back from my peripheral…
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Hardeep Lotay 