Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Once a winner...


Cool, I got a blog award!



This is from Becky Regalado, who blogs at Beckah-Rah. One of the rules is to share seven random facts about myself, and although I don't have that many, there is some very good news I was planning to mention.

Remember the lottery to determine who would stay in Toronto? I was so relieved at not drawing the black spot that I decided to be happy (or at least accepting) of whichever clinical site was assigned to me. Even if it was a two-hour commute away, at least I could stay in my apartment and keep my job.

I just found out that I'll be doing my clinical placement in the Hospital for Sick Children. Not only does that have an excellent reputation, it's only a forty-minute commute away and downtown as well, so most of my friends will be in other hospitals a few steps away. And of course, it's such a big hospital that they're not likely to ask me to draw blood. Performing venipuncture on adults makes me nervous enough.

But for the moment, SimClin (the simulated clinical semester) is going well. I just finished the hardest rotation, in Hematology; the grand finale of that was a test where 90% accuracy was needed to pass. One down, four to go.

6 comments:

Maria Zannini said...

I was on pins and needles, hoping you'd get the 'good' hospital. ;-)

So glad it worked out.

Anonymous said...

Hi!
This thing on drawing blood is always weird stuff. I'm a regular blood donor and I've been around needles for a while, but I still hate them. Being in the other side probably isn't very fun either...
Good luck!
- EEV

Marian Perera said...

Thanks, Maria! The lottery and the 90% accuracy test in Hematology exhausted even my usual ability to worry, so I didn't even think about the clinical placement until we got the email. Now I'm just about to email the clinical coordinator at Sick Kids to introduce myself and to ask if there's anything I should do before the start of the placement.

I'm also glad I was able to give you and everyone else good news. :) My landlady was delighted to hear I'd be staying here (and that she wcouldn't need to close the apartment for five months).

Marian Perera said...

Hi EEV,

I know technicians and technologists who are very much at ease when drawing blood, but I've never been able to do that. Making a mistake means physically hurting the person you're supposed to help, and that seems to be a mental block I just can't get over.

It's easy for me to be detached when I work with blood in little labelled tubes; not so much when it's still in the original container.

Sakhi Shah said...

Hi!
This blog looks great. I'm a fantasy fan and I'm not sure how I stumbled on this blog but I love it. Definitely on my to-follow list. :)

Ps - I'm waiting so eagerly for ADWD! :P

Marian Perera said...

Thanks very much, Sakhi!