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09 September 2008
Sonal's Web Diary
On the 26th of August my summer holidays officially ended as all 3rd year medics restarted their hospital placements. 3 weeks in Doncaster have passed and there is one more week left till I start my next 8 week rotation in the Northern General Hospital.
The summer holidays already seem like a distant memory but what a wonderful holiday it was! I went to stay with my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins in Bangalore, India. There I also met up with my mum and brother, so it was almost a whole family reunion. It was nice to return to Bangalore after 4 years and see how much everything had changed. I love Bangalore, but I still always have that sense that no matter where I go I am a foreigner; I have yet to find my niche in the world. Besides all the catching up, shopping and eating I did do something productive in Bangalore. For 2 weeks I got a mini-placement in Medical ICU in a cardiac hospital close to our house called Wockhardt Hospital.
It was interesting to see how although the treatment and management of conditions was similar to what I have seen in the NHS the actual structure of health care differs entirely. In India individuals need health insurance in order to get hospital treatment or pay the amount themselves. That is the basic idea although I’m sure there is much more to it than just that.
The doctors in Wockhardt were just as sweet and accommodating as those I have met in Doncaster and for several days a junior doctor taught me the principles of ECG’s from the basics. I found it really touching that these doctors who had no obligation to me whatsoever took time out of their busy day to teach me and show me interesting cases. I had not come on any official rotation and was just a student there out of my own interest.
All in all I had a very nice and busy summer and yet it feels like I never had a holiday in many ways. It is amazing to see how quickly an individual can adapt to a routine and how soon that becomes the norm again.
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