It finally happened. I'm surprised it took 6 weeks, especially in a cancer hospital. My first patient has died. Nothing to do with me (i think), but still this is a landmark in my career.
As for other patient's i've been insulted left right and centre. One patient complained about my british "speech impediment" accent after I said vitamin instead of vite-a-min and brocolli instead of broc-o-lie. And another patient described me to others as the short male dietitian (im 5ft 11 for god's sake)
I hope no more of my patients die cos that means I get new ones and initial assessments are such a pain!
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Sydney...Work
Its been a while since my last blog and for once its not because i've been doing nothing. I have been so busy that I've been working non-stop. Its 11pm and i've just finished writing a draft of a presentation I have to do at work. Its crap but i really dont care any more. I thought i'd squeeze out a quick blog update before I head to bed anyway. Im very tired so excuse any spelling mistakes/general shit that I say.
I went to Sydney for the weekend and had a surprisingly good time. The weather was so good, comparable to a mild (but sunny) British Summer....and it's their winter!!!!! Somehow we were offered to stay at a random family's house right on the beach. It was the house of my friend's brother's girlfriend's parent's. That probably doesn't make sense but basically none of us had ever met before yet they were willing to let us stay at their house over the weekend. The house was amazing - right on the beach (literally backing onto it) and I had my own double bed with ensuite. They also cooked for us, bought all the food, bought us takeway on the following night and treated us to a restaurant meal by the beach on the following lunchtime. I couldn't believe how friendly and generous they were (it helped that they were absolutely loaded). Sydney is an amazing city too...im affraid to say a little better than Melbourne!
It was so difficult to go back to work on Monday. Especially with the work load they are giving me. I officially have my own case load of patients to review and follow up and i'm getting new referrals every day. I'm thinking of putting in a request to actually get paid for all the bloody work im doing.
Next weekend looks like a write off too in terms of catching up on paper work. We are finally going to rent a car and do the Great Ocean Road. Which also means I get to drive for the first time in Australia. I'm looking forward to driving for hours without seeing anything by the occasional wallabie (which i'll try to dodge).
D
I went to Sydney for the weekend and had a surprisingly good time. The weather was so good, comparable to a mild (but sunny) British Summer....and it's their winter!!!!! Somehow we were offered to stay at a random family's house right on the beach. It was the house of my friend's brother's girlfriend's parent's. That probably doesn't make sense but basically none of us had ever met before yet they were willing to let us stay at their house over the weekend. The house was amazing - right on the beach (literally backing onto it) and I had my own double bed with ensuite. They also cooked for us, bought all the food, bought us takeway on the following night and treated us to a restaurant meal by the beach on the following lunchtime. I couldn't believe how friendly and generous they were (it helped that they were absolutely loaded). Sydney is an amazing city too...im affraid to say a little better than Melbourne!
It was so difficult to go back to work on Monday. Especially with the work load they are giving me. I officially have my own case load of patients to review and follow up and i'm getting new referrals every day. I'm thinking of putting in a request to actually get paid for all the bloody work im doing.
Next weekend looks like a write off too in terms of catching up on paper work. We are finally going to rent a car and do the Great Ocean Road. Which also means I get to drive for the first time in Australia. I'm looking forward to driving for hours without seeing anything by the occasional wallabie (which i'll try to dodge).
D
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Olympics
GB are 3rd in the medals table. What is going on? One thing I do know is that this is seriously pissing off all Australians. They are massively passionate about the Olympics here its unbelievable. Plus they have a thing for bullying all Pommie Bastards (English) they meet. So Great Britain actually doing better than them is a big deal. I even found myself boasting to a aussie nurse about the two silvers GB won in the 10km swim (possibly the most boring and insignificant spectator sport to ever be shown on tv).
I was trying to find a Quantas Beijing advert they have been showing over here to post but can't. It is the most over-patriotic ad you have ever seen...it even has a woman crying at the end because she is so proud (just a little over the top).
I was trying to find a Quantas Beijing advert they have been showing over here to post but can't. It is the most over-patriotic ad you have ever seen...it even has a woman crying at the end because she is so proud (just a little over the top).
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Double dose
Just back from another meal out. This one was a bit strange as it was with my lecturer from the UK who has flown over to see how we are getting on. And she paid for the meal! We all did the standard "oh no u can't do that" but it was pretty obvious that no-one was reaching for their wallets in a hurry.
I just realised that i'll be doing the double winter this year and i'm really not looking forward to it. I can see myself looking very pale and depressed by the time January comes around. I'm really tempted to splash out and fly up to the great barrier reef in Queensland on the 5 days at the end of my placement...there is a good chance i'll be travelling on my own because the girl i am travelling back with is claiming poverty....but I think a couple days doing fuck all on my own, on the beach might do me good. Who knows.
Back to some more of that great aussie olympic coverage now...
I just realised that i'll be doing the double winter this year and i'm really not looking forward to it. I can see myself looking very pale and depressed by the time January comes around. I'm really tempted to splash out and fly up to the great barrier reef in Queensland on the 5 days at the end of my placement...there is a good chance i'll be travelling on my own because the girl i am travelling back with is claiming poverty....but I think a couple days doing fuck all on my own, on the beach might do me good. Who knows.
Back to some more of that great aussie olympic coverage now...
Monday, 18 August 2008
To my fellow bloggers...
I just thought i'd post a brief message to all my Lowlands bloggers. I just had a quick catch up all of your blogs and I am very impressed with the standard. High quality bent and even higher quality blogging. Good stuff and keep up the good work.
DJ
DJ
Imax
Forgot to mention in my last blog that I went to the I Max cinema here to see the new batman film. It was amazing, both the film and the cinema - the huge screen really does add to the experience. I walk past the I Max cinema in Waterloo every day on my way into uni but never bothered to go...its defintely worth it if you it's showing a good film. Heath Ledger was great as the Joker too.
I was so tired at work today I just couldn't be bothered to see any more patients. So i carefully chose the ones I did see to ensure I got all the sweet old ladies who like to chat. With one of them I managed to watch the Olympics and eat toffee sweets for 50 minutes (It should have taken me about 5 minutes). I felt a little guilty when one of the resident doctors came back 3 times but politely gave me more time to "educate" my patient. I think i'll head back tomorrow.
Also went to lunch today with all the dietitians as it was the bosses birthday. It's funny going to a restaurant with a big group of "foodies". As a group we don't actually order that healthily (I definitely don't). One thing I do notice is how some of the female dietitians eat....hardly making a dent on their meals while I sit there eyeing up every last bit that isn't eaten.
Anyway, i'm off to watch a bit more of the 24/7 coverage of the Olympics on 4 out of 9 available channels on my tv. I guess you don't realise it when its your own country, but the exclusive coverage of australian atheltes gets a little boring after a while.
D
I was so tired at work today I just couldn't be bothered to see any more patients. So i carefully chose the ones I did see to ensure I got all the sweet old ladies who like to chat. With one of them I managed to watch the Olympics and eat toffee sweets for 50 minutes (It should have taken me about 5 minutes). I felt a little guilty when one of the resident doctors came back 3 times but politely gave me more time to "educate" my patient. I think i'll head back tomorrow.
Also went to lunch today with all the dietitians as it was the bosses birthday. It's funny going to a restaurant with a big group of "foodies". As a group we don't actually order that healthily (I definitely don't). One thing I do notice is how some of the female dietitians eat....hardly making a dent on their meals while I sit there eyeing up every last bit that isn't eaten.
Anyway, i'm off to watch a bit more of the 24/7 coverage of the Olympics on 4 out of 9 available channels on my tv. I guess you don't realise it when its your own country, but the exclusive coverage of australian atheltes gets a little boring after a while.
D
Sunday, 17 August 2008
Shoot, shag or marry?
Hey! sorry for the shortage of blogs, i've had messages from angry fans complaining so thought I would squeeze in a quick blog before I head off to bed.
Its been a busy weekend! Finally the girls i'm here with are wanting to go out and drink. I think they have all realised how quickly the weeks are flying by and we want to make the most of our weekends. So we started by booking tickets to Sydney next weekend. They weren't exactly cheap but we all really wanted to go. It's meant to be completely different to Melbourne apparently, more comparable to London...we'll see!
I'm trying to think of some "critical moments" which I can reflect on in a blog but i'm really struggling.
I managed to really piss off one of the girls last night during a game of shoot, shag or marry. Just in case you aren't familiar with the game - you get given a choice of 3 people who you have to then say who you would shoot, shag or marry...simple. So, this girl isn't exactly my type so when her name came up in one of the rounds and I was a bit too quick at saying I would shoot her and shag/marry two other undesirables (I think one of the options was a man, lol). She took it a little too personally and I ended up with red wine on my trousers. It was ok as one of the other girls had white wine and was quick enough to splash a bit of that on my jeans too to "neutralize" the stain. By the way that doesn't work.
Anyway...i'm dreading this week at work. My lecturer is flying over from the UK with the sole purpose of assessing us to see how we are going! It's good to see my uni doesn't listen to all that shit about carbon footprints.
Its been a busy weekend! Finally the girls i'm here with are wanting to go out and drink. I think they have all realised how quickly the weeks are flying by and we want to make the most of our weekends. So we started by booking tickets to Sydney next weekend. They weren't exactly cheap but we all really wanted to go. It's meant to be completely different to Melbourne apparently, more comparable to London...we'll see!
I'm trying to think of some "critical moments" which I can reflect on in a blog but i'm really struggling.
I managed to really piss off one of the girls last night during a game of shoot, shag or marry. Just in case you aren't familiar with the game - you get given a choice of 3 people who you have to then say who you would shoot, shag or marry...simple. So, this girl isn't exactly my type so when her name came up in one of the rounds and I was a bit too quick at saying I would shoot her and shag/marry two other undesirables (I think one of the options was a man, lol). She took it a little too personally and I ended up with red wine on my trousers. It was ok as one of the other girls had white wine and was quick enough to splash a bit of that on my jeans too to "neutralize" the stain. By the way that doesn't work.
Anyway...i'm dreading this week at work. My lecturer is flying over from the UK with the sole purpose of assessing us to see how we are going! It's good to see my uni doesn't listen to all that shit about carbon footprints.
Saturday, 9 August 2008
Restaurant Reps
I've just heard that the weather back home is awful. Even though i'm not in the country, it still pisses me off. What is wrong with England? (that's not a rhetorical question)
This year I am missing a lads holiday to Tenerife, which is pretty crap to be honest. They provide stories which we all talk about for the entire year that follows and probably longer. Anyway, what made me think of this was my night out last night. We decided to go to Lygon street which is a massive street in Melbourne that is completely dominated by Italian restaurants and cafes.
What shocked me was that all the restaurants had "Reps" outside trying to get you into the restaurants by offering free drinks and bread! Just like the strip in any one of the generic spanish island resorts. Even worse is that they were just as rude. When I asked one of the to skip the bread and give us a third free drink she barked at me "Don't try and bargain with me honey". I thought that was the idea!
The next one tried a similar line with the 2 free drinks. We wanted to walk on a bit down the street and said we'd come back. As soon as we turn our backs he shouts at us to "never come back". Great customer service I thought. Turns out by that point we had reached the end of the strip and actually wanted to go back, lol.
Managed to find a restaurant eventually. Cheap too. Eating out is one of the cheapest things to do in Melbourne.
We kept putting off leaving the restaurant because we didn't want to walk through all the reps again. Eventually we built up the courage. They were just as agressive in their tatics. Even if I said I had eaten some of them even said I should eat again! The strange thing is I really don't think they were joking.
This year I am missing a lads holiday to Tenerife, which is pretty crap to be honest. They provide stories which we all talk about for the entire year that follows and probably longer. Anyway, what made me think of this was my night out last night. We decided to go to Lygon street which is a massive street in Melbourne that is completely dominated by Italian restaurants and cafes.
What shocked me was that all the restaurants had "Reps" outside trying to get you into the restaurants by offering free drinks and bread! Just like the strip in any one of the generic spanish island resorts. Even worse is that they were just as rude. When I asked one of the to skip the bread and give us a third free drink she barked at me "Don't try and bargain with me honey". I thought that was the idea!
The next one tried a similar line with the 2 free drinks. We wanted to walk on a bit down the street and said we'd come back. As soon as we turn our backs he shouts at us to "never come back". Great customer service I thought. Turns out by that point we had reached the end of the strip and actually wanted to go back, lol.
Managed to find a restaurant eventually. Cheap too. Eating out is one of the cheapest things to do in Melbourne.
We kept putting off leaving the restaurant because we didn't want to walk through all the reps again. Eventually we built up the courage. They were just as agressive in their tatics. Even if I said I had eaten some of them even said I should eat again! The strange thing is I really don't think they were joking.
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Cream Pie
Long time no blog. Not sure why I haven't been blogging it up like I intended. Been really busy with work and trying to do all the touristy things on the weekend.
To be honest, i'm not a fan of doing all of this cultural stuff around the city...once you've seen one art gallery you've pretty much seen them all. Many people would probably disagree I know, but its boring!
We went to the zoo last weekend which was ok. The highlight had to be when one of the baboons literally raped another baboon right in front of us. You're probably thinking that's nothing I haven't seen on the BBC half a dozen times before (maybe?). It was until the recipient baboon/victim turned around that I and the 4 young families around me got the shock of their lives. Lets just say it gives a new meaning to the phrase "cream pie", and it wasn't pleasant. And it only took the rapist baboon about 3 seconds too!!
Anyway. Work. Been seeing a lot of patients. Most of them making my life a living hell. So far i've had to try taking a diet history on a patient with short term memory loss (it didn't last long!) , talk to a guy who, reported in the notes, "dislikes" dietitians.......and probably worst of all I said to a terminally ill patient imminent to death "get well soon". I felt bloody stupid and the patient didn't look too happy either.
On a lighter note i thought i'd share a link to an advert i've seen about 100 times on the tv over here and it annoys the f**k out of me every time I see it. Its for Australian Idol and goes to show that they have just as many freaks over here too. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkrPc_FZHbA
The ones that get me most are: The guy at 12 seconds, 25 seconds, 27 seconds, 36 seconds, 39 seconds and 46 seconds...oh and of course the woman at 50 seconds. Take your pick, I know which one annoys me most (25 seconds ginger guy, lol. what a dick!)
To be honest, i'm not a fan of doing all of this cultural stuff around the city...once you've seen one art gallery you've pretty much seen them all. Many people would probably disagree I know, but its boring!
We went to the zoo last weekend which was ok. The highlight had to be when one of the baboons literally raped another baboon right in front of us. You're probably thinking that's nothing I haven't seen on the BBC half a dozen times before (maybe?). It was until the recipient baboon/victim turned around that I and the 4 young families around me got the shock of their lives. Lets just say it gives a new meaning to the phrase "cream pie", and it wasn't pleasant. And it only took the rapist baboon about 3 seconds too!!
Anyway. Work. Been seeing a lot of patients. Most of them making my life a living hell. So far i've had to try taking a diet history on a patient with short term memory loss (it didn't last long!) , talk to a guy who, reported in the notes, "dislikes" dietitians.......and probably worst of all I said to a terminally ill patient imminent to death "get well soon". I felt bloody stupid and the patient didn't look too happy either.
On a lighter note i thought i'd share a link to an advert i've seen about 100 times on the tv over here and it annoys the f**k out of me every time I see it. Its for Australian Idol and goes to show that they have just as many freaks over here too. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkrPc_FZHbA
The ones that get me most are: The guy at 12 seconds, 25 seconds, 27 seconds, 36 seconds, 39 seconds and 46 seconds...oh and of course the woman at 50 seconds. Take your pick, I know which one annoys me most (25 seconds ginger guy, lol. what a dick!)
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