orthopaedics
so my first term's orthopaedics (bones). not a very popular term. most ppl i told, would either give me a =( look or a pat on the back & "you're tough, you'll be fine." i don't mind it too much. if that's what i'm given then that's what i will do.in fact, i really liked ortho in 4th yr. even thought of doing it in the future, although knew at the same time that it's totally unrealistic. too competitive a subspecialty. competitive both in training positions as well as consultant position. Another thing i realised is that i'm just NOT BIG enough to do ortho. even with all the gyming, i'm never gonna be able to manoevour say the hip joint of a "regular-sized" patient who's lying paralyzed on the operating table. Sometimes, even find it hard to examine the knee joint in a non-paralyzed patient. Most of the orthopods are big. the more petite ones do the hands or the ankle and i'm not too knee on either.
What i love about ortho is that it's so mechanical. If it's broken, you fix it. If it's crocked, you straighten it. love all the hammering and drilling.
For example, the inner part of the knee joint is worn, so that the lower leg bone bends in more than usual. you just cut out a wedge shaped bone from somewhere on the outer part of the lower bone, so that when you oppose the 2 new surfaces, the bone will actually now bend out. How cool is that!?!?!
it all sounds just wonderful, however, being an orthopaedic intern doesn't involve doing any surgery, even if we do get called to theatre, we'll only be asked to hold the retractors or suck blood (with suction device, of course).
posted by zhinger @ 9:47 pm
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