Placement: Day 1

Placement today began at 12.30pm, because I had to meet with Human Resources before starting anything clinical. I was SO excited to start - it's cardiac surgery, and something I think I'd be really interested in.

After the administration work was done, I went up to the cardiac surgery ward, and met the SHO with whom I would be working this week. The registrar was also there, and it seemed like such a lovely team. A consultant I'd worked with before was also there, remembered me, and we talked about things that had happened since I was last attached to that hospital. He invited me to examine one of his patients with HPOA (hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy), who was due to have a lobectomy tomorrow morning. He said that the HPOA would be greatly improved, if not disappear post-operatively. It was amazing how the osteoarthropathy disappears after having the lung cancer removed.

It's so fascinating to see how things I'd learnt in theory were true and applied in practice. Today was a short day, but tomorrow begins at 7.30am, which means I must wake up at 5am, to get there in time. I'll be meeting the other doctors in the Intensive Care Unit, and beginning with the rounds, before heading to surgery. I can't wait!