We're already at the end of our first posting, and a few days away from EOPT. It's rather unnerving, because I still feel that I don't know as much about Orthopaedics as I ought to. I think it's partly due to the fact that we spend alot of time in the hospital attending clinics and clerking patients, but not as much time reading up on our content knowledge. It's like building a house; the fancy details of the house can be there, but if the foundation of the house is not strong, it's not sustainable.

We had our OSCE examination on Saturday, which was in retrospect quite alright. There were 2 stations which were rather unexpected but the rest could have been manageable if I didn't let my nerves get the better of me. I was super lucky to start off with a knee examination, and Dr Leslie, who was just so nice and encouraging that he really helped to start the rotation off on a good note. All was not too bad until I reached a post-operative management discussion station that hardly anyone anticipated, and that was just a mess. I think the examiner was trying very hard to prompt but somehow I misunderstood many of his leading questions. It's almost hilarious to think of it.

Well, I don't think Ortho is a very slack posting. It's a very specialized field, and your anatomical knowledge has to be very strong to understand most of the pathologies (which sadly, is not the case for me). It's not too bad a start to year 3 though. I think I've also learnt alot more soft skills from clinics. I guess every day is an experience if you're willing for it to be.