Apr 4 - 18
1) The eyes are the windows of the soul. From one specialty to another, our group has moved on from radiology to ophthalmology - the branch of medicine and surgery that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the eye. Out of all the five senses, vision is undeniably the most important. We are unique in our reliance on sight as the dominant sense and this is reflected in how complicated our eyes are relative to other creatures. Also, while most of us could probably make do with a reduced sense of smell (i.e. myself as I have a congested nose most mornings), the same cannot be said for vision loss.
2) Anyway, it's two weeks of ophthalmology and two weeks of ENT (otherwise known as otorhinolaryngology) for us. Unlike the previous two rotations that we had (emergency medicine and radiology), there will actually be an end-of-rotation clinical assessment for both eye and ENT postings. For our current rotation, the clinical exam is mainly to assess our ability to properly use the direct ophthalmoscope (a handheld device that allows the doctor to look into the back of the eye at the various structures).
3) The past week has been well spent clerking patients and examining them in the wards. We noticed quite a few patients who presented with cataracts, either age-related or due to trauma (e.g. motor vehicle accidents). Other conditions included thyroid eye disease, inflammatory orbital cellulitis, intra-ocular foreign body (another way of saying "external object lodged in the eye"), and sixth nerve palsy. Suffice to say, we've learnt a lot in the short span of a week, with one more week to go before exams. Hopefully it'll be another fruitful week ahead.
4) With that, I'll end this edition of my blog here. Thanks very much for tuning in as always, and have a great week ahead. Cheers!
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