There were five rotations to be done within the first three months, each was shorten to three weeks instead of four during third year. During the rotations, I realised that there were not much time to learn new knowledge. Instead, the three weeks were actually being used to solidify what I have already learnt previously. It was also stressful at times because at the end of the rotations, there would be in course exams.

After the six rotations, I did another three blocks of specialties namely, AnE, Orthopaedics and Internal Medicine, each with 6 weeks period. The blocks were not as intense as it comprised of mainly clerkship in the hospitals most of the time. In short, I was assigned to the departments to help the doctors and learn as much as I could. Of course, I had to prepare for the final examination as well while which consisted of all the things that I have learned during medical school. Oh and I have forgotten to mention about the drug prescription exam as well as the documentation exam which was in early of the year and couple of days before the written exam.

Talking about final exam, there were written and practical exam. Honestly speaking, the written was by far easier compared to practical exam. I know once I have said the former was 200 single best answer questions, people will start saying "oh that's easy" sort of phrases. Indeed, because the latter was eight stations with random patients and all sorts of medical conditions. It can be as simple as common cold or even menopause to much more complex cases such as stroke with heart attack and underlying diabetes and high blood pressure. In addition, I was only assigned 14 minutes to consult the patient and conduct a physical examination before presenting and answering questions from examiners.

After going through the ordeal, I have to wait one week for the results to be announced. Oh god, I have to admit that that was the longest week I have to endure in my life. There were restless nights, lost of appetite and lost of interest to do anything for that entire seven days. I was having zero confidence to pass this exam that I prepared myself to receive the bad news of failing and needing to meet the dean. Even on the day itself, I woke up early in the morning and prayed at the temple for quite some time to calm myself before the results were out. Instead of nine in the morning like usual, the results were released at eight. When my friends told me that I have passed the year, I thought that they were pulling my leg.

After viewing the results with my own eyeballs, I was literally beyond relieved. One can even say I was on top of the world at the moment after knowing that most of my closest friends passed together. #thankguanyinma There would be no repeating the year, no unnecessary payment and stress-free! Nonetheless, there were couple of my friends who unfortunately did not make it. I have nothing but the best wishes for them, hoping that they could stay strong and brave through another year before becoming a doctor. #pray

After four months of inactivity in managing my blog, I am finally back to with updates! I have been enjoying myself in the UK for a bit, travelling and meeting as many places and people as I could throughout the four months. Having said that, I did not have time to come up with a post at all (or I was rather lazy and procrastinating all day every day). Let's get back to the topic. What have I done for the medical electives in the UK?

I have chosen to do two separate electives where each of them consisted of four weeks in the Royal Sunderland Hospital (which is about 40 minutes away from Newcastle via the metro). True that, I lived in Newcastle instead of Sunderland itself after listening to the advice given by my seniors that there was not much going on in Sunderland during weekends. I literally dug a hole for myself as I had to endure almost two hours of journey  every single day. Nonetheless I did not regret my choice at all because I found myself living comfortably and I managed to explore most of the places in Newcastle during my leisure time.

Elective 1

Under the supervision of Mr Michael Potts who is a brilliant Accident and Emergency consultant, I worked in the A&E department for the first four weeks. Other than staying in the Adult A&E, I also managed to spend couple of days in Child A&E, and the Pallion (outpatient clinic). Interesting enough, Mr Potts also dealt with hand surgeries as he went for training and courses for it. With a bit of luck, I got to assist him in the operation theatres for several surgeries such as carpal tunnel syndrome as well as Dupuytren's contracture. Mr Potts would meet me once or twice a week to check on my progress and answered my queries. Through his guidance, I understood the way NHS system and the local protocols used in the hospital.

Elective 2

After the A&E, I did a four-week elective in the Orthopaedic department with Mr Balaji Purushothaman. He is perhaps one of the most skillful spinal surgeons I have ever seen ( not that I have met a lot of them). Through the four weeks, I attended his clinic sessions, surgeries and talked to the post operation patients to check on their well being. I have to say that I experienced much better exposure while I was in the UK compared to Malaysia as I was given the opportunity to assist my consultant while he was doing the surgeries! Apart from spine surgeries, I also got to observe other orthopedic cases ranging from neck down to the toes.

Overall, it was quite an amazing experience for me to get a first-hand experience on the healthcare system in the UK after reading their curriculum for the past four years! Aside from doing my electives, I also got the opportunity to travel around UK and few European countries before I head back to Malaysia to start my final year in medical school! I will save the travel part for next time. Till then, bye! :)