There is no set timetable from the medical school, just a simple set of learning objectives, and the GP can make what they want from it. So essentially.. GP sessions are as interesting/dull or long/short as the GP in charge wants to make it... and it's simply a matter of luck if you get what you want.
I'm not going to complain about my O&G GP placement this time though, as it's been pretty good!
Smear Clinic
It's perhaps a little immature and silly to find these things awkward and scary... but I admit... that was exactly how I felt the first time I had to insert a speculum. The awkward part came from being slightly startled by the very energetic, loud and possibly too friendly patient; and the scary part owing to the fear of inflicting any pain whilst carrying out the smear.< Just look at the thing, you warn the patient it's going to be "uncomfortable", and I'm sure it probably would be just that.. if not worse!
The smear was pretty easy to perform, and particularly as I had the nurse with me to teach me step by step (Nurses tend to be awesome at teaching clinical skills).
We donned our gloves, lubed the sides of the speculum, making sure none got onto the tip, parted the labia, grabbed the speculum and pushed and rotated it, got the cervix in view, locked it open, inserted the brush thing, twisted it round in the same direction for possibly 10 times, and then just removing the whole thing, making sure the cervix doesn't get trapped! (Ouch). Quick few violent swirls of the brush in the solution, labels on and ta-da.. done!
It wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be.
...... oh yes.. I forgot the mention the bit where the cervix starts bleeding whilst i was twirling the brush around.. the nurse warned me this happens quite often... but it didn't stop me from feeling a little bad.
Vaccinating children and babys
Thankfully the children and babies were probably too young to remember me and hold a grudge against me for injecting their tiny thighs. We were taught to ask the mother's to hold their babies in a specific way, and then it was all stations go go go, trying to get the vaccinations over and done with as quickly as possible.Innocently, all the babies would beam their little smiles at you, and as soon as the first needle went in, the crying would start, and it was a matter of trying to get the other vaccination into the other thigh as quickly as possible to get the ordeal over with.
Examining Baby Bumps
I'm the youngest in my family, and I was too young to remember any of my aunts being pregnant, and having not had any friends or relatives fall pregnant in my 2x years of life.. I felt my first baby bumps this week! We had a number of pregnant ladies come in to have their checks, and we were taught how to examine.I was again a little nervous of hurting the mother, and it was made pretty obvious to me that I was pressing far too gently, when the pregnant lady herself looked up from her supine position, and told me not to worry, and that I could press harder on her! So yep... now i know they're pretty resilient, and I can put a bit of pressure on their baby bumps.
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All in all, I can't really complain about my GP week, as I've been quite lucky with the placement with lots of hands on opportunities.. and no longer can i complain about far distances to travel, as a small group of students got sent to Southend for a week of daily GP placements.. despite being attached to a London hospital!
Now for a few weeks of hospital based O&G!
