My Experience as A Plastics House Officer | Housemanship Diaries
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When I entered the Surgical Posting, we initially did not have the privilege of experiencing subspecialities like other batches.
This was due to the fact that there were lack of house officers.
However, mid-Nov, there was redirection of House Officer allocation and suddenly, the posting was overflowed with House Officers.
Hence, subspecialities were reintroduced. The subspecialities reintroduced are neurosurgical, plastics and urology.
Ever since my first posting in Orthopeaedics, I’ve always wanted to experience being in Plastics after assisting my medical officer at that time with SSG.
Thus, during my final weeks, I was given the priviledge.
The Burn Ward is located at Level 3 of the Main Building, and is able to host at most, 10 patients, with each patient having their own room/cubicle.
Usually the burnt patients are kept at Burn Ward whereas other patients who are admitted for AVF creation or SSG are placed at Surgical Ward.
The timing for us House Officers is from 7am till 6pm, Sunday till Friday with an off day on Saturday.
During my time in Plastics, I would usually arrive on time at 7am and proceed to trace the bloods first. After all the bloods have been traced, I would proceed to help out with morning reviews.
Morning reviews are usually done by the postcall medical officer. This is then followed by rounds with the surgeons, usually starting with the acute or rather, the intubated patients followed by the rest.
Rounds at Burn Ward is only once daily. After morning rounds, we would gather at the “Handover Room” whereby the patients who are not in the Burn Ward but is being seen by Plastics as another team or as a primary team are being handed over in terms of case and progress as well as the newly admitted ones.
Next, we will proceed to follow the “Peri rounds” and change dressings if needed. Usually after the Peri rounds is when us House Officers go about our joblists in terms of posting case, referrals or bloodtakings or imaging request.
The rest of the day could be pretty chill if there is nothing going on but usually, there would be new patients to be transferred in, take blood or any post-op patients to be reviewed.
Sometimes there are cases being called and we are more than welcome to join the operation. In between, there are arterial blood gases (ABGs) to be take in between or bloods to be sent.
Finally, in the evening, prior to leaving at the end of our shift, we would prep the coming mornings and leave them nearby before informing in our Surgical House Officer’s group in regards to the “coming mornings”.
My time in Plastics was rather short-lived and I felt that there was so much more to be learnt. But my time spent there was extremely wonderful and the medical officers and surgeons were more than helpful and welcoming towards the new people into their team.
Definitely, a department that I would want to return to.
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