The Pensieve

Seeing how there are just merely weeks of student life left for us, I thought an entry that summarised medical students would be warranted.

So how can a member of the public spot a medical student not in his/her labcoat?

1. (This point applies mainly to the guys.) Usually attired in work wear (long sleeves and ties) but carrying such casual/sporty bags like deuter, outdoors and crumplers so that as a result, they look quite oh biang.

2. Unlike the real working class which carries tiny pretty handbags, and sleek folios, medical students are often burdened with huge bulky bags (which sometimes keep jingling)

3. They reek of caffeine (or for a certain someone, of redbull).

4. They almost always look zonked out and can sleep anywhere. (or at least I can. heheh)

5. You hear them talking about tendons, clots and naming muscles next to your table at one of those famous Chicken rice stalls in Balestier.

6. They’re the only young (compared to the rest of the hospital population), happy people hanging out at hospitals islandwide.

7. They talk in weird abbreviations. Eg. Hey I’m going to PU/BO.

8. In fact, some also enjoy going into great detail about their bowel habits and consistency of their stools at the lunch table. *bleah*

9. They are forever complaining about not studying or not having enough time to study, or that there’s so much to study… Most times, you find their noses in a book.

10. Their leisure activities include: going back to the hospital on weekends to clerk more patients, hanging out at hospital lounges, scouting for more eating places near to the hospital, watching House/ER/Grey’s Anatomy/Scrubs, drowning their livers (some do), visiting the GP/UHS for ?frothy urine (like hypoC), or reading a copy of Harrison’s - just for fun. -_-

‘Break No Bones’ is the latest novel featuring Dr Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist! (I had to prowl the library for a month before the book became available and all those who’d reserved it had their turns!) This time round the story focuses on her stint at South Carolina, in a sleepy town of beaches… An articulated skeleton was found amongst ancient burial remains with an interesting groove along the inner left surface of the 6th cervical vertebrae, as well as other nicks along the inner side of the lumbar vertebrae… Initially, flumoxed, the doctor grew increasingly worried as more remains turned up, with similar nicks along the vertebrae…

Anyway, now for the spoilers… heh heh heh…

The book focusses on an illegal trade of organs… more like robbings actually, organs were taken from street people ie. the homeless who were drugged and killed at one of the free clinics established just for them; then their organs were flown over to Mexico side and sold at exorbitant prices to those who could afford the ’specially tailored therapy’ at a ’spa’… And the weird consistent nick along the side of the 6th vertebrae? And always on the left? It was created by the murderer (crooked doctor) who would use a loop of wire to garrot the victims, and he was left-handed (actually I can’t really figure out how that explained it, shouldn’t it be R sided nicks then? anyway…) And the other tiny nicks, were actually made by scapel, as they removed the victims’ kidneys… (retroperitoneal mah)