Welcome to Ophthalmology

I started my new rotation in Ophthalmology this week and it will only be going until Friday and then it's back to the main departments of surgery. It was refreshing being in another hospital for this rotation; the hospital I am assigned doesn't have an Ophthalmology department and that did frustrate me until I started.

Equipment was plentiful in this clinic - abundant with technology and more than a simple variety of tools for many complex assessments of the eye. It was bewildering to see that such a tiny organ be so very complicated to assess. Truth be told - it is beyond complex.

The clinic was huge and it didn't take long for the waiting room to fill with patients. This waiting room was particularly unique; it easily seated fifty people and every time I walked out of a consulting room, everyone was fixated on you. It was very uncomfortable.

I was one of three students starting today for a week. Not being a fan of one of the students there made me feel awkward before we started. Luckily we were split into different groups and the embarrassment was only temporary. I know that sounds arrogant, but there are some people you just know rub off on you and when you're standing beside them on one end of the room while the consultant is on the other, that room suddenly gets small, stuffy and I'm suffocating really quickly, first of embarrassment, then of humiliation.

Dr. SF took me under her wing and she was unique. My colleagues had the pleasure of attending with registrars - I was with the Staff Specialist. Some things were meant to happen. She was very polite to her patients and taught me consistently with each patient. There was such a variety of people coming in to see the doctors, orthoptists, optometrists and nurses for evaluation. It came as quite a surprise - I didn't appreciate the gravity of how common eye disease really was until this morning.

After spending the morning seeing patients, it was off to theatre. We only saw about ten patients and there were so many more waiting outside. One of the nurses was telling me about how common it was for patients to wait 3-4 hours easily to see one of the doctors and abuse the other staff about waiting times. We are constantly reminded of our inadequacies - even if they are beyond our control as medical staff.

I watched a cataract extraction and insertion of a synthetic lens - a very common procedure. There were only four booked in the afternoon and I decided that I would give myself an early mark. I spoke to Dr. SF and she was happy for me to go, which was pleasant. Coming home during daylight hours is definitely a luxury for most of us.

Driving home was a hassle but it gives me a good amount of time to reflect on some of the things that I saw today. The good thing was that I decided to catch the train in from my parents' place this week so that I can spend more time with them. That should be good and the distractions plentiful!

Something did hit me on my way home: I spent the whole day with Ophthalmologists. These are people who have all studied relentlessly through undergraduate and or postgraduate medicine, honours or masters and definitely a PhD. It didn't actually click for me how unbelievably smart these people were when I was walking with them the whole time today. What a privilege it is to be in their company. I was happy that I didn't feel the intimidation of being in their presence on my first day, though I'm sure my nervousness was obvious.

As a society, we decided that our vision is in fact the most important sense above all others. Of course, such a valuable organ, a crucial component of everyday living, should clearly be looked after by the most precise of surgeons; the most dedicated. I can only hope that this is the rationale behind the justification behind endless research, competition and cut-throat medicine in Ophthalmology.

In my eyes, all organs are important. We are a whole and God willing, one day we can all treat our patients that way.