Thursday, December 06, 2007

Intensivist dilemna

I am back in ICU , few would dread , few wouldn't mind , few can't wait for the chance. As for me , I am OK lah with the ICU rotation because :
1) you don't have to do pre-med.
2) you are not confined to one theatre for the day
3) If you are not on call , departure from work is predictable.
4) you get to polish your line insertion procedure skills.
5) You get to go to the wards and A&E

Not that i enjoy it so much but it is not that bad. It is one of the subspecialities in Anaesthesia and not many people are fond of it. Few that i knew are really cool and you know they were born to do it. I guess experience would contribute a huge bulk of current decision makings. Its not easy to decide on who should be admitted , who should not. The tough part being to withdraw support ; having to consider patient , family and resources factors. Its a big responsibility.
We are under a different Prof now as the Consultant of ICU. Her management is certainly different from the previous Prof I worked with during my first year. Both have different style of management that are controversial at times ; especially with the doctrine in HKL. I'm here to learn and I guess by being under different heads will ascertain my decision making in the future. These individuals are qualified Intensivists and having Fellowship recognition from overseas anaesthesia body must surely mean something !!

3 comments:

mad22 said...

We post primary ppl r serving our term in General ICU too in HKL. My first call was absolutely lousy with marathon work from 9am to 430am, and my consultant said I will get used to it.

Shah said...

The ICU team at HKL is still the best I've worked with anywhere. Never met a more dedicated and hardworking team of consultants anywhere else. Where else can you find consultants who arrive much earlier and leave much later than the MOs?

mafeitz said...

I must agree with Shah. If one wants to learn about what intensive care is all about ; its HKLs. I learnt a lot and I hope to be attached to that unit sometime in the future. Its hell but its worth it ! Haks.. kalau kena marah pun , its justifiable !