Letter 414: "Situational Crisis"
I have always looked at Neurosurgery and Rural GP as two sides of a coin. Like Two-Face/Harvey Dent and his compulsive ritual of flicking his own coin to determine his victims' fates, I, too, have at times, mentally tossed this coin during certain crossroads, and praying hard it'll land heads up ;)
Lately, I find myself at such junctures again. It's that time of the year when applications for MO positions are open across the nation, spurring a sudden rush of madness and agitation in the veins of young doctors like yours truly as we scout around for referees, tidy up our CVs, rehash our Cover Letters, and prepare ourselves for interviews.
Amongst this mad flurry of events, I toss my coin again in peaceful resignation, and while I await the destiny it foretells, something else catches my eye:
It's the recent news about a life-saving emergency burr hole surgery performed by a country GP with just an ordinary household drill. Remember an episode in Grey's where Izzie-- or was it George?-- had to perform a similar procedure? It was certainly a case of art imitating life imitating art.
And so I thought perhaps this was my prognosis, but my coin had in fact landed on its rim and was pivoting to a slow stop: Something else landed in my lap today-- the diagnosis of a meningioma in one of my patients who had initially presented with severe depression, which most of us were ready to dismiss as yet another case of "situational crisis". Like all fates determined by the toss of a coin, there's always a 50/50 chance. In her case, removing the tumor may not "cure" her depression entirely, as she also has a long-standing history of unresolved PTSD stemming from childhood sexual and emotional abuse by her father (oh the vivid recollections when I interviewed her! *Shudder*). However, there would be at least some therapeutic benefit when her tumor is removed.
And thus my coin continues to spin on its axis, buzzing like a high-powered drill :D
Lately, I find myself at such junctures again. It's that time of the year when applications for MO positions are open across the nation, spurring a sudden rush of madness and agitation in the veins of young doctors like yours truly as we scout around for referees, tidy up our CVs, rehash our Cover Letters, and prepare ourselves for interviews.
Amongst this mad flurry of events, I toss my coin again in peaceful resignation, and while I await the destiny it foretells, something else catches my eye:
It's the recent news about a life-saving emergency burr hole surgery performed by a country GP with just an ordinary household drill. Remember an episode in Grey's where Izzie-- or was it George?-- had to perform a similar procedure? It was certainly a case of art imitating life imitating art.
And so I thought perhaps this was my prognosis, but my coin had in fact landed on its rim and was pivoting to a slow stop: Something else landed in my lap today-- the diagnosis of a meningioma in one of my patients who had initially presented with severe depression, which most of us were ready to dismiss as yet another case of "situational crisis". Like all fates determined by the toss of a coin, there's always a 50/50 chance. In her case, removing the tumor may not "cure" her depression entirely, as she also has a long-standing history of unresolved PTSD stemming from childhood sexual and emotional abuse by her father (oh the vivid recollections when I interviewed her! *Shudder*). However, there would be at least some therapeutic benefit when her tumor is removed.
And thus my coin continues to spin on its axis, buzzing like a high-powered drill :D
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4 Durian(s) Thrown at Jun:
I will prepare a tool box for you next time.:D
sounds like a troublesome yet exciting career eh..all the best with ur resume updating!
O.O"
hc: haha very de funny -_-
joe: trouble is sure the word!
jason: ???
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