The doc in the top gear !!

Something is seriously wrong with me. I havent slept properly in days. Its not like I dont feel sleepy, I feel sleepy to the point I have to slam my book shut and go slump in the bed, but then I lost control, its like an avalanche of thoughts comes tumbling down from all directions. I try to focus and concentrate on sleeping but I fail at blocking those utterly random, bizarre thoughts and imaginary converations out of my head. It drives me nuts, tossing and tumbling with the bedsheets all night tired and desperate to fall asleep. It takes me atleast 2 and a half to 3 hours before dear sleep finally sets in.

On a lighter note, we had our ward test today.Our ward tests are designed to evaluate our clinical skills that we learn through our monthly rotation in each ward. We're supposed to spend a fixed time (5-10mins) on each patient performing a task that we're told to do by a doctor who stands by observes us and grades us. There are usually 5 - 7 patients that we're supposed to deal with.The test we had today was for the Medical ward we had attended  in August under Dr.M. This test was scheduled to take place in the end of August but the doctors who had to take our test had left for medical camps in the flooded areas so the test had been postponed. But this is nt the end of story , another group pf medical students who attended this ward in June, couldnt take their test either, and then there was another group which is currently posted there and was taking the test too. So what we had in the medical ward today was a huge crowd of almost 60 medical students and a bunch of flabbergasted patients. The inviligators responsible for organizing our test seemed baffled and bewildred trying to work out a plan to test all of us at once on the limited number of patients within a limited time of 2 hours !!...

And so the result was a hopscotch of a test !! The time we were supposed to spend on one patient was reduced to around two minutes. As soon as the test began there were stethoscopes flying in the air, falling files, whining patients, amused attendants, and lab coats whizzing by as poor us medical students ran wildly from one patient to another bumping into each other and everything that came in our way.I had to fumble with the blood pressure apparatus as I tried to wrap it around a patient's arm with trembling hands (there was too little time for god sake !) The doctors who were examining us seemed distressed and perturbed too. There was a doctor with one of the patients today, who asked me to palpate the liver, and then answer his questions, when I was done palpating the liver, he began his question, the poor guy was just half way through his own question when the time got over,  I paused to look at the inviligator in the distance gesturing me to move and then turned to see the doctor who still had his mouth open but speechless, "should I go ?" I asked him and all he could utter was "thats the best thing to do". I was done with all 5 patients within 10 minutes and was standing outside the ward , still figuring out what had happened inside and whether I had just taken a test or had been in reality show like Top Chef, or Fear factor ! It sure would be amsuing to have reality show based on doctors and having them do stuff on cam in limited time !! (Gives me the shivers)

Whats it gonna be ?

The last ward we had was the Medical ward. And it was the ward I enjoyed the most at. There was so much to learn and see. The credit goes to Dr.M ( our incharge), she was such a considerate and soft spoken lady unlike Dr.Dragon in the gynae ward who kept us running around on our toes and searching for shelter whenever she appeared. Dr. M always made an extra effort to make us understand what she taught and I could sense the patients liked her too ( her timely smiles and simple kind gestures must have meant a lot to them).

So I think I'm gonna re-write my liking priority for specialisation

1 - Neurology ( This first hasn't changed in 5 years !)
2- Internal Medicine
3 - Radiology
4- Opthalmology ( even though I really like the theoretical part of Opthalmology, I dont think I'll be able to find the guts to operate on eye, so that renders it pretty much useless ).

and the last on the list shall be Gynaecology ! Its dirty business I tell ya !!

Thats Huzair and Hunain making the best pretense of being serious in the Opthalmology ward ! :p

So its like the 7th day after Eid today. And I'm still not over the Eid mood. Perhaps its because I still have a little Mehndi (henna) left on my hands to remind me of it. This Eid was fun. The heavy showers on Eid day didnt affect my high spirits at all. We went to visit the elders of our family and I could also fortunately make a visit to my best friends home with my parents !. We had a looot of guests over at our place on the second day and the third too but we did go out in the evening. Eid is typically celebrated for three days and everyone makes the most out of it !

The Henna

This is after I peeled it off ! It was a little darker than it seems here

A part and parcel of Eid is all that wonderful food !! The Eid cakes, the mithai (traditional sweets) and the Saiwayyan (vermicilli cooked in milk and dry fruits)..yumm yumm yumm. I better go search the refrigerator if there's any left :) :)

Just before Eid !

Eid is just around the corner and the one thing I've learned over the years in Pakistan is that last minute Eid shopping is a very BAD idea. And I advise everyone to refrain from doing it, well unless you like over priced items, busy to  the point of un co-operative shopkeepers, no space to park your car, the panic of not finding the right thing, or a gazillion blaring shop announcements that a child in red/pink/green with a huge nose and a lollipop stuck in his mouth is at the control desk, wailing for his mom/dad/grandparents and wont tell his/her name because Mommy said not to tell your name to strangers !

I start my Eid prep before Ramadan, and I'm through and over with it by the mid of Ramadan, well except for a few minute things like getting my dopatta hemmed , or finding the right scarf to go with the dress, well you see I wouldnt be Najwa if I did everything exactly on time. But its usually no big deal because even if my family  is done with shopping, we do go out very frequently in Ramdan just to window shop and enjoy the hustle n bustle, the lightings etc etc..

This time Eid will be a sombre affair because of all the grief the nations going through, most of us haven't really shopped for Eid as we used to, and the shopkeepers agree that their sales are lower as compared to last years. But nevertheless, Eid is a gift from Allah and every muslim deserves to be happy on this day, albeit with simplicity. I hope we all get to share our happiness with the flood victims too, may God grant them a happy Eid too.

We had an iftaar party at Shirin's home a few days back. Now this was something Shirin had been planning for us before Ramadan even started. It was special because a large group pf friends was invited and above all, -  Shirin did all the cooking  ! Preparing 13 dishes, all by yourself for so many friends sure takes a lot of effort. I was wondering whether I have the capability of cooking something on that magnitude..now thats a lesson deriving thought I better do something about ;)

Here's what I wore (this pic is specially for you Jana )The patch of black embroidrery that's visible under the neck line is actually long pieces of lace that I had stitched horizontally one after the other, with two strands of red ribbon on either side.

 

 

 

 

well the food just kept rolling in, she'd bring dishes after dishes, here's the first episode of the food session :)

just another view