Crybaby's Lair: August 2013

Yes, it’s the exam period once again. Loyal reader would know that urge to blog of mine would always come around this time.

Books are piling up everywhere in my room. I haven’t been able to sleep well since sessional, kept having all random disconnected dreams and sometimes just wake up in the middle of the night, telling myself, “it’s not time to get up yet, you need your sleep Rachel!” Honestly, I’m not feeling stressed out nor scare for the coming final exams. I’m rather more relax than the past two study breaks back in Manipal. Somehow the feel is different.

This all will soon finish in 2 weeks’ time. Yes, 2 weeks’ time and I am officially off to 4^th year. I am seriously anticipating for it to come because, there will be more clinical hours and I aim to try link many things up that I have learn so far. I want to get more serious with my techniques, especially giving injections, avoiding cone cuts for IOPA etc. I’m still a babe in clinical work, still need to work to that confidence level. Sad to say, I have yet started any amalgam restoration on real patients, the cases I got were all indicated for tooth coloured restoration. But like what Dr. Alok once said,” you cannot just force in amalgam when the tooth itself is not fit to retained it in. Do what’s best for the patient.” And yes, Prostho, I will start to get real serious with that subject, been trying to avoid it for 3 years now. (Not that I purposely doing it, but I hardly understand the language in the prostho textbooks. Literally, an hour spent just to understand one page.)

Soon, we will be seeing this sign below placed up again.

Yes, the 3^rd batch would be starting real soon, and since I will not be back again to show them around, I thought why not give them an early introduction. (Forgot to thank them here for the warm wishes in this pack below from a year ago. I'm terrible!)

I will start off with the hostel room for ladies. There are 2 blocks for the ladies hostel. The guard will ensure that you tap your ID cards before entering each time. (The ID card will be issue by the end of 1^st week I guess) Each room has an attached bathroom. The problem is that there is no fan in the room, only AC. You will have to bring you own curtains too. It will be smaller than rooms in NIH, maybe half the size?

There is a pantry area on each floor and a common room where you can hang out or study.

The dental faculty is located in the Academic Block II; commonly refer as the dental building. The theme of the clinic will be yellow, hence the yellow chair, yellow operating gown and yellow inferior designs. The dental stuffs will be in uniforms of oranges and our lecturers usually will have their white coats on during clinical hours.

This is the main entrance to the building.

You will see the reception desk once you enter. Patients normally register themselves here first, get screen at the Out Patient Department (OPD) which is on the same floor before going to the students.

On the same floor is the Oral Radiology department where the extra-oral imagings are normally done there. Sadly, I don’t have a photo of it. And oh, the notice board for all announcements will be along the corridor next to the radiology department.

The classrooms and lecture halls are all at the 2^nd, 8^th and 9^th floors. The staff rooms are located at the 8^th floor where as the Dean’s office is on the ground floor.

Moving on, the students clinics will be on 3^rd and 4^th floor. For batch 3, the clinic will be in 4^th floor, called Polyclinic B. Here is some photo of how it will be like. There will be many cubicles, one radiology room for intra-oral imaging, sterilization rooms, one surgical room, one computer room and the patients' waiting area.

There is a DHE room right outside of Poly B where you will give oral hygiene advice to your future patients.

The dental labs will be in the 7^th floor. There is a prostho lab, phantom head lab and the oral patho lab. You are always allowed to use the prostho lab anytime between 8am-6pm, provided you are free. There will be dental lab assistants available to help you out with your work. They are like you clinical lab teachers. No more going to lecturers for small petite doubts.

There will also be monthly assembly in the hall on the first Monday of the first week of every month. Attendance will be taken too. Announcements and awards will be given during that time.

As of the protocol, the faculty will require that you check the Ab titre for Hep B virus prior to touching any patients. They will send the pathLab people over to draw blood from you, so don’t freak out.