Physio blogging

Wow half way through my musculo placement and it feels like I just started yesterday. Every prac seem to go by fast but this is going by especially fast. I think it's because we don't have a school supervisor that comes in every week to evaluate us. This time we only have the facility supervisor evaluating us all the time. It's good because she spends a lot more time with us and can base her evaluation on multiple occasions as opposed to the 4 hours of week we get with the usual school supervisor. There's not as much pressure to shine during that small amount of time or else.

Other than going to prac full time, we also have to create a blog and reflect each week on an ethical issue or whatever problem you are having during prac. Each blog has about 8-10 people authors and we are required to post an original post once a week and two comments a week. It's quite interesting reading through the blog entries. It's just kind of funny that blogging is part of our program.

For anyone who is interested, here is my group's blog site:

www.physioconfessions.blogspot.com

Placement 2

The past week and a half have been quite the experience. I flew back from Asia and felt ill. Initially I thought it was just from the lack of sleep so thank goodness my research tutorial group did not have class that morning because there was no way I could've sat through it. I decided to immediately get some sleep and it just got worse from there. Just two hours from having to leave for my first day at a new placement, I somehow developed a high fever and was vomiting after trying to get some food in my stomach. Just sitting up was making me nauseous. All I could think about was how bad this was going to look, missing the first day of a new placement.

Well I ended up calling in sick and other than being thrown in the deep end the next day, without a life jacket, the placement has been good so far. After a full week of consuming only soup, my stomach has settled down but there are still some really bad moments.

Placement has been challenging thus far. I feel as though I know enough to make myself sound confident and effectiv but not enough to be fully comfortable. The details of everything we learnt is slowly coming back. We have these tutorials every morning and every morning you realize how wrong you were prior to that tutorial. It almost feels as though this placement needs to be additional four weeks before I feel confident with my abilities.

I love getting new patients because it is my sole responsibility to ask the right questions and solve the mystery. It's like an episode of CSI, where I have to first find all the clues and put the puzzle back together, except with a time limit. Sometimes I get leaded down a dead end and have to turn around. Other times it seems like I just stubble my way through to the answers. Hopefully the road is becoming smoother. I'm not really sure yet. I have to wait and turn the corner before I can see the road clearly.

Xmas Break

Happy New Year everyone!!! It's been quite the past two weeks. I went to HK to meet my mom there, went to China, then met my bro and sister in law in Taipei. It was really good to see them and my other relatives, some of whom I haven't seen in about 12 years. We spent most of the time walking around checking out the markets and eating, lots of eating. I don't think I ever felt hungry the entire time I was there.

The first and only other time I've ever been to HK, I did not like it that much. I was young and was not use to congestion of people in such a small space and could not comprehend why people where always in such a rush. It felt like I was going to get plowed over if I didn't keep up.

This time around, my legs are a little longer and was able to rush with the best of them. I don't think I would ever be able to live there permanently but I have more respect for the people and the country this time around. They work so hard for their money. We didn't really do a lot of what I usually would've done when travelling but it was good. It was actually quite nice being around people, lots of people. The best part was seeing my relatives and some of my mom's friends. You take for granted how important family is and what a big difference it is when you have family around.

I met two of my neices, the first two of the next generation. One was already 3 years old and the other only 1.5 years old. They were both really cute. The older one was like your typical child at that age. She was quite possessive and did not want to share anything. However she gave me one of her stuffed animal at the end. That was quite the gesture for a little kid. She wouldn't let me give it back to her and said that if someone give you something, you can't give it back. Haha, a 3 year old giving me a lecture. She's such a typical HK child, strong, firm personality.

My other niece is such a cutey. I would've spent all day, everyday with her if I could've. She's just starting to talk so she'll say a few words here and there. She's got so much energy and just wants to run around. She'll be an athlete, I can just see it.

This may be due to the fact that I haven't been around family for two years but I hope to visit HK more frequently in the future. It's to get more acquainted with my relatives and learn more about where my parents grew up. My mom and her friends would tell me about stories of when they where growing up and where they lived. That was always interesting.

One of my favourite moments were when we stayed with my Auntie 3. Every morning I would get up early and her and I would sit on the couch and work on the daily Sudoku from a local newspaper. Occasionally we would also share strategies and methods. It was quite nice, to be spending time together in silence. She was always one of my favourite Aunties.