CGH Day 1
First taste of life in A & E department brought about mixed feelings. Being at home, school or camp most of the time has, probably to a large extent, insulated me from various happenings of life out on the street. But at least i have a rare chance now to sample what i've been missing.
I was first assigned to the Treatment Room, together with my buddy for the day, CJL. Patiently, we waited for our first patient to arrive. Meanwhile, we explored the room to familiarise ourselves with the layout of various medical stores in the room, and we simply sat aside. The first patient who came in the Treatment Room was a Chinese male in his early 30s, who had skid his motorcycle. There was slight bleeding on his right elbow, left lower leg as well as right feet. Being our first "live" case, we simply observed how Nurse A cleansed the wound and applied dressings. Then came a 13-year old NPCC boy, who had a minor cut on his scalp. He was a brave young boy, believe me. At first, i wasn't aware that he had bleeding from his head. After all, Nurse B had just motioned my buddy and i over to demonstrate to us how to attach a 12-lead ECG. It was after the boy left the bed did i notice blood stains on the pillow covering!
Nurse A was confident that we could assist this time. So we tried, under her supervision, and carefully cleared the blood stains off the wound using gauzes soaked with normal saline solution. Hair on the head was always a hindrance. Though the cut was less than 1cm deep, this was nevertheless the deepest cut on the head that i've ever seen. After furthur decontamination of the wound, we then saw how the nurse manager used a "glue" to close the wound. Throughout the process, the boy showed signs of pain, but he endured it anyway. Way to go kid! Frankly, i'm not sure if i had that same level of pain tolerance at that age...
Observation Room was the next stop. Here patients were either waiting to be admitted into the Wards, or were just here for temporary observations. At such times in the morning, there was not many patients here yet. A patient who complained of hyperventilation had just been sent here. She looked stressed and frightened at first. Luckily her husband/boyfriend managed to console her a little, and her condition seemed to be under control. Later, a woman in her late 40s was warded. Her daughter and son were with her, and so was a policeman, who was taking down her statement. Probably a criminal case. Finally, not forgetting an elderly woman who was lying at the corner. I did not see her next-of-kin.
Triage Room was expectedly the place where i came into contact with the most patients. After all, this is where all ambulatory patients had to go through. Cases of SOB, chest pain, rashes and itch, back pain, dislocations, ear pain etc.. Real patients presenting a whole range of signs and symtoms! A truly busy area-possible choke point. Luckily, the two terminals were able to cope the demands.
Resuscitation Room is where all patients sent by ambulance have to go to. Interestingly, there was a patient with drug overdose who tried to fool my friend into giving him his drug, a drunkard who obviously didn't cooperate with us, a hyperglycaemic patient with fever, and a year one Victorian from S16 who had SOB. Even only i saw my tutors there... Ah reunion........
Overall, the first day was an eye-opener. Though tiring, at least the exposure was made. Perhaps to a greenhorn like me, all these may seem interesting, but to the permanent staff here, things may be getting dull for them.....
I was first assigned to the Treatment Room, together with my buddy for the day, CJL. Patiently, we waited for our first patient to arrive. Meanwhile, we explored the room to familiarise ourselves with the layout of various medical stores in the room, and we simply sat aside. The first patient who came in the Treatment Room was a Chinese male in his early 30s, who had skid his motorcycle. There was slight bleeding on his right elbow, left lower leg as well as right feet. Being our first "live" case, we simply observed how Nurse A cleansed the wound and applied dressings. Then came a 13-year old NPCC boy, who had a minor cut on his scalp. He was a brave young boy, believe me. At first, i wasn't aware that he had bleeding from his head. After all, Nurse B had just motioned my buddy and i over to demonstrate to us how to attach a 12-lead ECG. It was after the boy left the bed did i notice blood stains on the pillow covering!
Nurse A was confident that we could assist this time. So we tried, under her supervision, and carefully cleared the blood stains off the wound using gauzes soaked with normal saline solution. Hair on the head was always a hindrance. Though the cut was less than 1cm deep, this was nevertheless the deepest cut on the head that i've ever seen. After furthur decontamination of the wound, we then saw how the nurse manager used a "glue" to close the wound. Throughout the process, the boy showed signs of pain, but he endured it anyway. Way to go kid! Frankly, i'm not sure if i had that same level of pain tolerance at that age...
Observation Room was the next stop. Here patients were either waiting to be admitted into the Wards, or were just here for temporary observations. At such times in the morning, there was not many patients here yet. A patient who complained of hyperventilation had just been sent here. She looked stressed and frightened at first. Luckily her husband/boyfriend managed to console her a little, and her condition seemed to be under control. Later, a woman in her late 40s was warded. Her daughter and son were with her, and so was a policeman, who was taking down her statement. Probably a criminal case. Finally, not forgetting an elderly woman who was lying at the corner. I did not see her next-of-kin.
Triage Room was expectedly the place where i came into contact with the most patients. After all, this is where all ambulatory patients had to go through. Cases of SOB, chest pain, rashes and itch, back pain, dislocations, ear pain etc.. Real patients presenting a whole range of signs and symtoms! A truly busy area-possible choke point. Luckily, the two terminals were able to cope the demands.
Resuscitation Room is where all patients sent by ambulance have to go to. Interestingly, there was a patient with drug overdose who tried to fool my friend into giving him his drug, a drunkard who obviously didn't cooperate with us, a hyperglycaemic patient with fever, and a year one Victorian from S16 who had SOB. Even only i saw my tutors there... Ah reunion........
Overall, the first day was an eye-opener. Though tiring, at least the exposure was made. Perhaps to a greenhorn like me, all these may seem interesting, but to the permanent staff here, things may be getting dull for them.....
posted by Zhane at 9:19 PM
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