Benny's Diary

Coming up: The Joy of Fatherhood

2012-01-23T21:41:00.000Z

Behold! world. We are expecting an offspring! Whilst anything adverse may happen in the months to come, i feel i must get the most out of anticipating the most incredible thing in any man's life: the joy of fatherhood. Throughout my childhood, my father was a figure of authority, one who holds the special power of putting everything right. Indeed, i had no insight into his true feelings about

The pursuit of Happiness

2011-12-11T20:43:00.000Z

If you were as much a pessimist as me, looking for joy in life, look no further. If i was an author of a book advising people on how to find happiness i would most certainly be a disasterous failure. It is because I, albeit struggling to ever be happy, despise unhappy people, including myself. Since men set foot on this Earth, we spread like a disease and have either directed or indirected

Her Diary

2011-12-11T16:12:00.000Z

She has been rather unwell for almost 2 months, so i think i must start reporting news about her sickness. 2 months on, she has been nauseated 24/7, but not yet vomitting once; her taste varies day by day and whilst she may crave on something one day, she may just throw up at the thought of it on the next day. Food intake has remained small, but frequent. Because of the nausea, she has lost

Call on the Poop-deck

2011-11-25T05:31:00.000Z

With my wife struck down by an ongoing illness (long story, only to be told later) like the shaft of an old man's manlihood; fragile and unable to erect herself, i have resorted to my old culinary way with student's concepts - by blindly opening the fridge in search for anything seemingly edible and make a meal out of a handful of ingredients. I happened to find this half opened can of sardines,

Social Ethics: Should Smoking be Banned for Motorists?

2011-11-18T12:19:00.000Z

I am ever so amused by the fact that this question of whether smoking should be banned in private vehicles has taken so much consultation and publicity - Drivers shouldn't be smoking whilst driving in the first place anyway! My first driving instructor who had taken me through 7 failed attempted over a decade was a very motivated smoker/front seat passenger when taking me on a lesson. Whilst i

Dog Walker Wanted: Pay and hours negotiable

2011-11-13T18:19:00.000Z

Location: Plymstock, Devon. Should you be interested in taking my Border Collie on a walk once or twice a day for 9 days across Feburary and March, please send me an SMS on 07519546925. Your time will be compensated with monetary reward, currently set at £55 for 9 days, negotiable, depending on travel arrangement. Preferably someone familiar, reasonably acquainted.

MRCP PACES: 'Noodle-some' NODOSUM (Station 5)

2011-11-13T16:57:00.000Z

Station 5 You happen to be the medical SHO oncall, seeing a young oriental lady aged 25, presenting with fever with cough. She has found skin lesion over her lower limbs and mentioned to you about it. She is worried. Your task is to assess the patients problems and address any questions or concerns raised by the patient Discussion: First, set out to examine the rash. The diagnosis should be

MRCP PACES: Muscle Weakness

2011-11-12T20:17:00.000Z

When approaching a patient with a high steppage gait or waddling gait, think MYOPATHY. Myopathy may be proximal or distal. Let's start with distal: typically a high steppage gait, because naturally one would expect taking high steps may prove too daunting for proximal muscle weakness*. Commonly due to peripheral neuropathy, most commonly if congenital Charcot Marie Tooth disease, and rarely

The frequent clash of events on your diary

2011-11-11T21:11:00.000Z

Perhaps im a little supersititious, but i feel that everytime an invite has come through the door or sent to me on facebook, in 8 out of 10 times will i find the words 'oncalls', 'weekend oncalls', and 'nights' tagging along the dates concerned. I have had this 3 weeks in january next year to book a 4 day revision course for my MRCP PACES, intended to keep away from any on-call shifts that i

Medical Mnemonics: Respiratory: Lung Fibrosis: Causes

2011-11-11T10:26:00.000Z

Upon days leading up to my MRCP PACES exam, i wish to fortify my memory for useful information by forging them into my blog. We will start with a light bite, mnemonics for causes of Apical and Basal Lung Fibrosis respectively: Dx of Apical Lung Fibrosis inhalants (predominantly apical)/rheumatoid dx (predominantly basal)/* exceptions Berylliosis Radiation Extrinsic Allergic Alveolitis (EAA)

To My Wife: Thankyou.

2011-11-07T16:45:00.000Z

For my wife, on our forthcoming 2nd anniversay, here's a little message i want you to have. For the 12 months we have been together, our life has its ups and downs. Indeed, it has not been easy for me to accomodate another person in my life 24/7 but your patience has given me enough time to reflect on the wrongs and with a little support from you i feel i have adapted very well to sharing a

5 Days in Iceland - From West to East.

2011-10-25T19:08:00.000+01:00

Day 1: Arrived in Keflavik, explored Reykjavik on foot, and stayed one night in Hotel Cabin. Weather: Sunny, with clouds. From hotel cabin it took a short walk along the seafront, onto the main road leading into the city centre. At the Hallgrim-skirkja view point a gothic'ly looking cathedral set before our eyes. As we headed down onto Hverfisgata, one buzzling commercial main street in city

Bilingual Infants are evidently more cognitively flexible

2011-10-14T15:34:00.000+01:00

I am not yet a parent, but have always been fascinated by how infants brought up in a bi- to multilingual family develop their skills to understand the different languages. Up to 2011, a lot of studies and time on research by groups worldwide have given some explanations for HOW BABIES SORT OUT LANGUAGES. In one study, where babies, aged 6-9months and 10-12 months respectively, were subjected to

DIAGNOSIS continues

2011-10-07T13:26:00.000+01:00

Dr Lisa Sanders (M.D.), admired by me (a massive House fan!) for her role as medical technical advisor of the US Medical Drama series House M.D., has been publishing the New York Times Article Diagnosis for nine years and recently the editors have come up with a novel challenge presented to readers on the New York Times Well blog, where readers are encouraged to try to figure out what was wrong

The Joy of Being a Physician

2011-10-06T22:38:00.000+01:00

Speaking from the perspective of a physician in the making, i admit up to now i have not totally lost my love for internal medicine. In contrast to Surgery, the beauty of it surrounds the art of diagnostics; i see surgeons are often more interested in fixing anomalies. On the other side of the same coin, internal medicine inflicts more emotional pain to healthcare providers often from knowing the

My Weekend Stress Relief

2011-10-02T20:59:00.000+01:00

Before you cynical people make the assumption that i have slacked all day at work on a weekend i would like to testify against it, by telling you 'bollocks, im writing this blog in my only 20 minute lunch break (its now almost 7 in the evenin!) of the day, 10 minutes on this might end any moment soon if any one of the patients become sick or the nursing staff missing me too much on the ward, both

Will Hong Kong ever sink as a result of mass immigration & over-crowding?

2011-09-30T18:20:00.001+01:00

Yes, one day. A recent high court ruling of an immigrant Philipino maid to be granted permanent residency in Hong Kong has become a land mark case set to open up a further 100,000 immigrant maids to apply for the residency. This, combined with the thousands of immigrants coming down from the mainland of China every day, and the relative ethnic minorities already settled in Hong Kong, will only

Approaching the Cross-Road of Career Choice

2011-09-29T14:04:00.000+01:00

With 2 years ahead of me, to allow for passing the final part of MRCP (UK), and the concomitant end of my 10 year Return of Service with the British Army, i am now in the position of making choices on: 1. the medical speciality to pursue 2. whether medicine is the right choice for me if clause 1. reaches a dead-end 3. whether to extend my service with the Army 4. upon extension of Service,

Ebi's ultimate antic

2011-09-20T22:28:00.000+01:00

Dear Diary, I have had such an eventful day with my dog Ebi. To set the scene, the weather today has been aweful, raining pouring down like god on diuresis, and i have oncall all day, working from 8am to 10pm. At 1500hrs i received a phonecall in distress from someone living in our neighbourhood, a few house down the road on our street. 'hello? we have your dog and found this number on her

Of Dogs and Men: The History of K9

2011-09-11T00:37:00.000+01:00

*Article originated from Whiteley05, Whitley from Georgia* Whitney is a college student, studying political science. She has a passion for writing and animals and is an avid internet surfer and researcher. The history of man's association with the dog is a pretty interesting one that extends into the past at least 70 centuries and involves the early Stone Age men. Dogs are technically a member

Where do i find myself in 3 years time?

2011-09-05T15:12:00.000+01:00

Since i married to a Hong Kong national i have become very much destined to be naturalised back to Hong Kong at some point in my career, practicing medicine in Hong Kong. This has been a major conflict with goals towards which i have spent years of hard work and investments in going through the hassle of exams and training periods, along with the tremendous pride i have certainly developed over

Dog Walking Buddies: Wanted

2011-08-28T18:35:00.000+01:00

As I have previously described my loving man's best friend, as an absolutely loyal, beautiful small-sized Collie, Ebi has since been analysed by the second canine behaviourist from whom we sought advise. She has regretably, yet expectedly, said her fear for other dogs is not just a habit to kick; rather its her innate behaviour that needs to be managed in the correct manner, to avoid any

A layman's perspective into politics

2011-08-25T09:51:00.000+01:00

This is my blog so ill make no apologies for airing my rather biased view on whats recently been going on in Libya. When i watched the news coverage over Rebel's victory over Col Gaddafi's forces by overrunning the Bad al-Aziziya compound yesterday, i was appalled by the scene of rebel fighters cheering and celebrating by firing rounds into the air. As far as i know, a sensible, responsible and

Our Latest News

2011-08-23T18:24:00.000+01:00

Despite months of trying everything to ease her aggressive towards other dogs getting into her proximity, Ebi remains quite aggressive to other dogs, especially when there is only me keeping her the company. I guess i have been too soft a Daddy and haven't really put too much of an immediate action in halting her reaction, because i believed that aggression would only encourage even more

Take side with the Protectors, not the Perpetrators of Crime

2011-08-08T19:51:00.001+01:00

When i woke up this evening (im working nights this week - joy!), to hear on the news that the hoodies have once again reigned the streets of London amidst all the accusations made by the politicians and media against the met police, i feel i should really write something to make justice for the world. Let me talk and take you down a tangent in exploring the basis of a social unrest situation I

Happy Birthday, Mum!

2011-08-03T12:29:00.000+01:00

Whilst at work forgetting to call you and everything else, i wish you a happy birthday, mother.

A Nullistic Approach to My own Life

2011-07-13T12:01:00.000+01:00

I have amused myself by putting Summer in making a reference to the time of the year; 2 months on, thinking Summer would have come, temperature remains below 15C and downpours of rain a regular occurrence. Water is still a bit too cold to tackle with our newly purchased body-board. Work remains unrelenting, with 80% of my shifts set on Nights i haven't been able to pick up my social capacity

An Idiot's Guide to Tourism in Hong Kong (Courtesy of Tommy's Blog)

2011-07-07T20:59:00.000+01:00

20 Must Visit Hong Kong Attractions Posted by Tommy on 2/25/10 • Categorized as Top 20 Attractions 1. Victoria Peak Perching on The Peak at 396 metres above sea level, The Peak Tower is one of the most stylish architectural icons in Hong Kong. Inside The Peak Tower, there is a dazzling array of restaurants, shops and entertainment venues set against the beautiful backdrop of the city. Moreover,

The World Rally Championship (An Idiots guide to Democracy)

2011-07-03T09:13:00.000+01:00

Following one successful pro-democratic movement vs dictatorship in one country world wide there are at least 6 countries rocked by the mass pro-democratic movement vs their current ruler(s), few of which i feel have paid any intellectual regards to the suitability of rallying for something potentially damaging for themselves as components of a big society. I know too little about the policies

Ebi is...

2011-05-21T16:15:00.000+01:00

Officially the sexiest bitch in town! Winner of Gables Farm Dog Show, Class of The Most Beautiful Bitch, 2011.

An Inspiring Moment from others - another food for thought, scene from a marriage, etc

2011-04-27T23:07:00.000+01:00

I got truely inspired by the Finals of MasterChef 2011. All three finalists were exceptionally great contestants, good cook, and first class human beings by virtue of motivation, passion, and dedication into achieving something they have wanted so bad. As a TV audience the passion they had shown in this competition was so overpowering that i had almost broken tears with joy over seeing how

An Easter Monday Stroll in Bantham

2011-04-25T21:14:00.000+01:00

Having finished another set of night shifts feeling absolutely drained and anhedonic, i set out to take my wife and our gorgeous bitch on a short walk over the coastal path from Bantham to Thurlestone. Start point: The Sloop Inn, Bantham. alternatively there is: Private carpark at Bantham beach (Postcode for Sat-navs: TQ7 3AJ) headed West to the Coast, we passed the Bantham Beach, which

Alternative Voting Destroys the foundation of Democracy

2011-04-20T23:45:00.000+01:00

The Alternative Voting system, first suggested by the New Labour years ago but got put off for years because it proved to be unpopular amongst the peers, and now, ever since this coalition government has taken form, one that has made lots of promises but because the government is made up of a body made up of two parties with different policies they had promised their voters for the election,

Food for Thought: April 3, 2011

2011-04-03T11:51:00.000+01:00

(Quoted) Never take someone for granted. Hold everyone close to your heart because you might wake up one day and realise that you have lost a diamond whilst you were too busy collecting stones. . . The trees are always greener on the other side of the fence....

Ground Rules for Being Friends With an Ex

2011-04-01T23:16:00.000+01:00

As citizens we played by rules; when people play by rules a functional system takes foundation and prosper. The same applies for ex's: boys and girls alike. Further to my previous entry A beautiful X-gender friendship doesn't have to end when a perfect relationship comes along in 2010, i would like to add to that things that a person in a X gender relationship can do, especially when it comes to

A Walking Holiday in Tenerife

2011-04-01T19:24:00.001+01:00

Guajara is the highest mountain within the "Cañadas border range", which surrounds the Cañadas del Teide and Teide itself. It provides a fantastic view to all Tenerife mountains, the coast line, the ocean and the neighbouring islands. The summit can be rather crowded since a lot of tour groups climb it together. It was expected to be our second best option to climbing the summit of Mt Teide

A Junior Doctor's Tips on Avoiding Stretch Marks during Pregnancy

2011-03-25T05:52:00.000Z

This is going to be the shortest entry on the popular topic every posted online; im going to keep this short because all one needs to understands is how stretch marks occur in the first place and with some reasonable IQ may come up with a solution herself. Therefore, due to popular demand from my wife's close friends who have recently been knocked-up, i would like to describe the causation of

Ben-ya-Minger!

2011-03-25T03:43:00.000Z

It has struck me one day sitting in the back row at a medical conference that, with a rough count of 28 out of 30 heads in sight that appeared bald in a somewhat male-pattern hair loss concentric around the occiput, consultant physicians when compared to consultant surgeons are simply less aesthetically appealing. I could embrace myself and accept that i was going to be less and less attractive

Here come the Sun and HOT Dresses

2011-03-23T08:09:00.001Z

Ooo la la, with several important friends' weddings in the Summer coming, there is just one thing im looking forward to; that is to find my dear wife a beautiful dress to attend each occasion in. I love women... and therefore i married the best of all women; i adore everything about them including the detailed conversations about other people and how they live their lives, aka gossiping, the

Rationalising The Fear of Doctors

2011-03-18T11:34:00.000Z

I am all for an intermediate level of media control by the State to ensure the media broadcasts do not end up a tool for the minority of people with strong views, albeit extreme and false, about facts. The whole purpose of news report is merely to convey facts from the site of incident, to the eyes and ears of the public - unfortunately these days we hear far more of the opinions of editors than

Work Ethics

2011-03-08T20:55:00.000Z

At work i sometimes find it unacceptable that certain members of the Multi-disciplinary Team would rather take time dwelling on taking opportunity to exercise authority over other members of the Team, than showing mutual respect for other medical staff for they are also working hard towards achieving the same goal - that is, getting the sick better and out of hospital. I have some not-so-funny

A Sunday Stroll in South Brent

2011-03-06T16:43:00.000Z

Members: Ebi, myself Level: Easy Duration of Hike: 3 hours, with 30 minutes 'fetch play' on Brockhill Mire Equipment/Kit: minimal - Berghaus Yeti gaitors, a dog frisby, water for the dog, and water for myself, a map and compass, a lightweight rug sack, a camera without its god dam battery, a camera stand without a functional camera. From Shipley Bridge where i parked my car Ebi and I set off

I love my job, my life, everything

2011-03-04T20:11:00.000Z

This week i have had a painful experience of getting no break from start to finish of work, getting almost torn apart by the shear mental exhaustion of having to meet the endless deadlines of every test request and therapy to give to patient, with almost everyone of the them being urgent, having to be done immediately. There had been simply no time for a water break at the worst of times. Yet i

Prisoners should be given the vote...?

2011-02-13T15:35:00.000Z

.. argued one Lib Dem MP during a Commons debate a few days ago, on whether the government should end the blanket ban on prisoners voting for general elections. Mr Blake said "It was time for government... to do the right thing" He told MPs: "Prisoners have committed a crime, their punishment is to lose their liberty - that is fair and just. What is then gained by seeking to inflict civil death

Ebi's Diary

2011-02-12T17:24:00.000Z

6 Days of life without Mrs Lee the mistress in the house: Day 2 I left home for work on Wednesday and came home at 8pm to find Ebi having mutilated and made a handcrafted camel of the size of a lady's foot disappeared, probably by ingestion, pending processing and excretion from the rearend. Our lovely neighbour Dawn came to my rescue and gave me a handful of dog's chewy toy and suggested

A Doctor's Confession

2011-02-12T17:13:00.000Z

2 months ago i arrived at work, hit with a multitude of patients needing immediate medical attention. Amidst all the forementioned i was asked to meet and reassure a family related to a dying patient with pancreatic cancer (on palliative care). Patient had literally only just arrived in our ward and been on morphine to keep comfortable. As you may have guessed morphine is a drug not to be dished

A Tourist's Survival Guide to Marrakech: one final advise

2010-12-17T14:51:00.000Z

1. People in Marrakech are friendly, although some are more than happy to rip you off. Smile; you smile to the world and the world will smile back at you :-) NB: do that to local men only; I trust that its to do with most people having faith in their life and people generally have some degree of moral fibres, only taking the meaning of 'Charity' to the next level; 2. Mella, a ghetto to the East

A Tourist's Survival Guide to Marrakech: Day 2 revisited

2010-12-17T14:25:00.000Z

Today we will be visiting the Souks in Medina. Bring a compass with you. Starting point is Cafe de France located in the North East Corner of Dejemaa El-Fna, entering the souks from the entrance directly opposite to the Cafe, within 100m at the start of your journey you will find SOuk el Henna to the left. The route is simple; following Souk Semmarne directed into the North, keepign right upon

a Tourist's Survival Guide to Marrakech: Day 1 revisited

2010-12-17T00:33:00.000Z

This is based experience out of 3 days, so far in our 5 day trip in Marrakech, Morocco. Day 1 Arrived at Menara Airport; i was a little unprepared for haggling with the taxi service so i ended up getting ripped off upon arrival by getting on a 'taxi grande' bound for city centre at 150 Dm. Later i asked other people in the hotel what i should have paid - as a guide, 150Dm is the set price for

Students who are too stupid to deserve a higher education

2010-12-10T02:32:00.000Z

I sympathise with the cause of concerns by the students over the risen university tuition fees; even now im still aching over the £12000 i have owed in loan to the Student Load company, from the £3000 i had borrowed initially for the first 2 years in med school. What i denounce is the way some protesters are taking their angers towards innocent public properties - whilst they are protesting

Asking the Experts: Ebi's behaviour towards other Dogs

2010-12-09T03:41:00.000Z

Ebi has been the perfect dog for me except for a little glitch; she loves attacking other dogs, mostly the smaller and the cuter kinds. She tends to get nervous, with her tail tugged up when being sniffed or finding herself in proximity to another canine species. But during a walk in the park should she come across with any dog walking up to her into her 'zone', the intruder is in for some nasty

Ebi - a mid-term appraisal

2010-12-04T18:08:00.000Z

2 weeks on after adopting the 1 year old Sheltie x Collie Ebi we have decided that she is indeed a tremendously intelligent dog. On the second time we left her home alone for a couple of hours she managed to pull open the drawer sitting opposite to our dinner table with her paw (the methology of which was later witnessed by my sister in law), delicately took out the carton box of treats, into her

Reverse Sneezing, or not?

2010-11-04T20:24:00.000Z

Ebi's Diary: The Beginning

2010-11-02T20:08:00.000Z

name: Ebi date of birth: unknownestimated age: 1 yearbackground: a stray, found tied to a tree. Rescued by charity dog's home and later adopted/rehomed by us the lucky couple in 24 hours. The adoption process didn't exactly go smoothly; following the inspection by a volunteer from the Dog's Home some investment was made on the erection of high fences in our back garden. Ebi was one we picked out

Scenes from a marriage: The benefit of talking before thinking

2010-10-30T15:17:00.000+01:00

Being a graduate from Barts and the London School of medicine i may not know much about human anatomy or much of pharmacology but i have learnt the power and the means of pursuasion, and more importantly how to make another person accept my critical views about the person his/herself. It is a core skill to have for a physician because without compliance from the patients there isn't really much

Honesty is ever so under-rated

2010-10-27T22:40:00.000+01:00

Oops i've done it again. This time its over an exchange between myself and some other doctor with whom i wanted to swap my Xmas weekend away with his oncall, intended to make everyone happy. But in the end the serial swaps turned out a bit too complex and without someone to cover one outstanding weekend oncall in Februrary that original swap has become a little, somewhat purposeless. My remarks "

DIAGNOSIS: an atypical presentation of haemangioma

2010-10-23T20:05:00.000+01:00

Lisa Sanders M.D. returnspublished on Sept 12, 2010 The Heat of the Night ''I'm still having those fevers,'' the voice over the telephone reported casually. ''It's been a month. Should I be worried?'' Dr. John Henning Schumann, an internist and a close friend of the caller, was worried. His college friend often asked him medical questions and had mentioned a viral illness a

A note to self... the reflection on my own life

2010-10-07T05:50:00.000+01:00

Thought i could squeeze a blog in a 10 minute block of IT break whilst working in hospital at night... The popluation in South of England is largely made up of the old and frail, quite well off elderly people in their 80s and more; some approaching their first century of life. As a result within the hospital it is not surprising that the elderly patients make up the bigger proportion of

A Loving Note to my Wife: Get well Soon x

2010-10-03T20:25:00.001+01:00

My wife has been sick for almost a week, with complaints of vague bodily pain, irritability, and intolerance to almost anything that doesn't go her way, which has proved rather inconsistent and unpredictable. 2 years ago this illness would have meant a major put off with my relationship with my other half as i just couldn't make sense of how her irritability towards a normally timid me came

Confessions of a New Husband: Finding the Right Dress

2010-09-23T16:49:00.000+01:00

Finding the Right Outfit (for men only) for your other half is like going back to school taking an exam that you hadn't prepared for, or if you ever felt you had prepared for it, that you knew you still wouldn't stand any chance of passing. I have encountered one of the biggest cerebral and social challenges for a husband in all time - finding the PERFECT dress to go with the perfect accessories

Confessions of a Grumpy physician

2010-09-20T20:14:00.000+01:00

Happy Belated birthday to myself! I have worked 0800-2200 from Friday to Sunday, which happened to be my 28th birthday to my disappointment, on-call admitting the sickest and the finest patients from the South West region over the weekend. Whilst it was a pain not having celebrated my birthday the way i wanted to, i felt content with the work i had done; stabilising any life threatening condition

Another Load off my Mind

2010-09-17T08:42:00.000+01:00

When i first bought my Hotpoint washing machine it ceased to function rationally after 3 days; its replacement was a Bosch washing machine, which has up to yesterday lasted 2 wks before i felt we had had enough with the immense rocking from within, quite literally walking out of the kitchen as it spins - we have a walking washing machine. Anyway engineer has been called once again and if things

Burnt out

2010-09-11T23:29:00.000+01:00

Before i even begin i must make it clear that im genuinely not feeling any discontent over the quality of life im currently having. Nonetheless, i can't help feeling absolutely emotionally drained following the busiest week at work with another weekend coming promising to be a living hell, with days starting from 0830, dealing with the hopelessly terminally ill during the day, and when it

Google Fights - Watch my blog fight for popularity vs Other self-proclaimed 'popular' Blogs

2010-08-29T08:04:00.000+01:00

Discover GoogleFight http://www.googlefight.com/ Round 1: Benny's Diary vs Dr Marky Mark's Blog I LOSE Round 2: Benny's Diary vs Kailyn's blog I LOSE AGAIN, but frankily had i put the entire name for Kailyn's blog on the screen.. . . I WIN So i guess i dont e-gob as much as i wish to think i did, when a total stranger turned around to me at a social function one evening and asked 'aren't you

Home Sweet Home; Wife Sweet Wife

2010-08-29T04:18:00.001+01:00

Our new home is 80% complete, following days of still ongoing clearing of random carton boxes and spiderwebs, arrangement for the replacement of our 2 day old Hotpoint Washing Machine, pending delivery in 3 days, a king size bed pending delivery in 2 weeks, and basically lots of work done by my beloved other half Janice whilst im away at work. Wifey has been fantastic; she has been tidying,

A New Approach to Seeing sick patients on Hospital at Night duty

2010-08-28T02:25:00.001+01:00

2 years of not working in hospital was enough for me to be confused by the new way of looking after wards for the lone doctor in hospital at night. A handheld device, known to most as the PDA, tells the doc what jobs are in hand across the hospital and as the night goes along jobs keep popping up, and the doc's feet keep moving. I guess my high efficiency at work had earned me a narrow window

How it feels to return to Practicing Proper Hospital Medicine Again

2010-08-26T22:24:00.000+01:00

Exhausting. I finish work overtime feeling my head pounding like having a pneumatic drill left on in my brain each evening. But all is worthwhile as i come home each day feeling i have done good to other people, despite lots of tedious tasks, namely fixing the badly maintained computer hardware in order to get on with making progress with the management of patients. I also have this one thing

Some people like Life Complicated

2010-08-22T18:06:00.000+01:00

I dislike all levels of conflict with other people. Time to time i try and try to stay low but everywhere i go i have always ended up creating dramas - my life just seems an endless saga of Jackie Chan's movies. This time, finding it frustrating that when working out of hours reviewing patients blood samples have to be labelled with a computerised ordering system, that 7 out of 10 times would not

Dear Diary: Ready, Steady, Cook!

2010-08-08T19:38:00.000+01:00

Dear readers, Today i got up at sun rise, too early on a Sunday morning, got downstairs and picked up a muffin and spicy chirizo in the fridge (Yes! i am now a proud owner of freezer fridge combo) and improvised in making a aesthetically challenged sausage muffin. After that i decided to go outside on a morning jog. Getting out of the house, take a right turn, and then left, and as i looked over

Jokes of the day: staff parking in Hospital

2010-08-06T22:41:00.000+01:00

This is what every worker in any average NHS hospital has to face on the first day of driving into work. First, obtain an application form for the authorisation to obtain a staff carpark permit, then have the form stamped by the authority prior to handing the complete form to the car park management, who will accordingly provide with the required staff carpark permit. Now signs scattered all

At the end of my first week back in productivity at work brings a sense of job satisfaction

2010-08-06T22:15:00.000+01:00

A mesmerising recall of my first Friday working on routine in the typical 'hospital working hours', less of oncall duties today: 0800hrs turning up in the ward, starting on updating a list of patients, every patient on the ward, coupled with their outstanding investigations, processes of referral, and management plan. 0845hrs all team members less of our hospital consultant gather commence ward

Starting another brandnew facet of life with a BANG

2010-08-04T23:01:00.000+01:00

Whiz-bang! First day of work with an 12 hour induction that has brought no induction to how to work in the hospital at all. 0730 arrived in hospital, queued up for a photograph to be taken for ID 0800hrs the IT processing begins; computer system log-ins 1000hrs til 1730hrs death by powerpoints on random topics thought to be relevant to new doctors starting their jobs in Plymouth Hospital We

Grandmothers know Best... about what men want

2010-07-23T16:07:00.000+01:00

With me moving back into hospital medicine again, i feel i must start studying more medical books and less romantic novels, like my current passion for Nicholas Sparks. Just finished The Notebook, and now i am on At First Sight, which i have so far hugely enjoyed as the stroy has reached its climax; so much so that i could almost cry aloud in joy seeing so much resemblance of the story to my life

The Weak, the Depressed, and the Single Men... men?

2010-07-18T17:17:00.002+01:00

Prologue: Lately i am simply appalled by the relatively intense coverage of the steroid-pumped psychopathic murderer R. Moate (name of whom is not important, because he is just not important), compared to those died hard serving for our country who at best had only earned a page inside the newspapers; footballers and golfers with their affairs and one-night stands have very much taken over

Benny's Diary: How to Look good in Summer (part 2)

2010-07-05T23:42:00.000+01:00