Midweek Madness

I have never been satisfied with only a medical student who fills their free time with just studying. I needed more. I wanted to contribute to the community I lived in. I had this burning desire to be a student leader. I joined as many extracurriculars as I could manage. I became an International Student Ambassador for the University of Pécs, a member of the English-German Student Council (EGSC), and a member of ESN Pécs. While I love every single one of these roles and organisations, sometimes I overdo it and double book myself. 

Today was one of those days. I bit off a little more than I could chew.

The morning started with me taking over the EGSC Instagram account. The plan was for me, the EGSC Treasurer, to share my day as a sixth-year medical student completing a rotation in London. Before I even left home, I was sharing tidbits about my morning routine on the account. I logged my journey on the tube and my arrival at the hospital. 

First, I had to take my weekly COVID-19 PCR test. Of course, I posted about that too.I spent the morning in the Acute Brain Injury Unit (ABIU)/Neurorehabilitation ward. I shared that too. I went with one of my doctors to take the blood of patients. I didn't miss out on the chance to snap a quick shot of the materials we used before taking the samples. It was my first time drawing blood since before the COVID pandemic started and I must admit felt good to be back in the saddle. 

I sat at a nearby coffee shop to have lunch and added another post before returning to the hospital for my weekly bedside teaching. Our doctor asked that we meet on the Josh Young Ward. Upon arrival, the other student and I found the doctor leading the session examining a patient who had just been transferred to the ward. We put on aprons and gloves and observed as our doctor continued performing a neurological examination. 

Dressed in apron and gloves ready to enter a patient room.

In the end, we thanked the patient, removed our aprons and gloves, and exited the room. We met with some colleagues in the doctor's office on the ward to discuss the examination findings and patient history. Before making a diagnosis, the doctor wanted to run more tests and ended our session here to do just that.

The day wasn't over so fast. I rushed back down to the ABIU/Neurorehab ward to watch a lumbar puncture scheduled for 3 pm. I returned just in the nick of time. The doctors were preparing all the materials they needed.

At 4 pm, I left the hospital to meet up with a friend I went to school with 13 years ago. The last time we saw each other was in 2019 and there was so much to catch up on. They say, "a true friend is one you can go extended periods without seeing or talking to, yet the moment that you are back in contact, it's like no time has passed at all." She is one of those rare people.

During the day, I juggled completing my duties as a medical student and posting stories. There were a few hours after lunch where I was just too busy to post so when I got home around 8:30 pm I decided to do a Q&A to make up for it and conclude my takeover.

There seems to have been an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from the students and messages asking EGSC to share more of this kind of stuff in the future. The plan has always been that every member on the board would do a takeover to share what it's like to be a medical student in the second year, third year, and fourth year of studies. I simply started things because it was my last week in London and we all believed that sharing the day of rotational year student abroad would be a great way to kick off the series.

Even though I may have slightly overstretched myself today, I am really happy I agreed to participate in this series. I didn't get any studying done tonight, but tomorrow is a new day and I’m off to get some well needed rest.