Medcamp - Round II

A year seems like a long-time, in hind-sight, but it also seems almost as if it were yesterday.

A few weeks ago, returning back to the same place that my cohort had our Med Camp (Game of Bones) in 2015, to help run the 2016 Med Camp (Scar Wars) brought back a lot of thoughts.

Firstly, one year ago I sat next to AK on the bus to the camp site, and I found myself being carpooled with him this year. What are the chances?!

Getting my tattoo of recognition; 'MANJEKAH' in marker sprawled over my anterior forearm in a proximal-distal direction.

But most of all, thinking back on how much we've changed since then is an incredibly sobering point of thought. All in a years time we've all grown and changed so much that it makes you wonder what'll happen in the x number of years that I have left of my life.

Last year, at this point, I had absolutely no idea what the future would bring me. The medicine course was still largely a mystery to me; no idea what Hospital sessions were like, what it meant to percuss or examine a patient. Obtaining a medical history was something I hadn't heard of, and boy-oh-boy, I had yet to be absolutely washing-machined by the content of the next three teaching periods. I still didn't know for sure if medicine was what I wanted to study (which I thankfully now do), and I had yet to discover what being a medical student consisted of. Most of all, I had absolutely no idea what it meant to be a Doctor.

But a year from now, and it seems almost yesterday!

Friends to last were made on those three days. Friends that I still talk to, laugh with, and even to this day am still learning from.

There are several moments that define a period of time in your life. 2015 med camp was one of them, not because of the activities, the parties, nor the academics of it. It was the people. The bonding we all had, and the sole realisation that we are not alone in this long trip through medical school -- that was what defined it, because for once I wasn't so scared anymore. And some of the people I met were pretty great, I have to admit. 

Returning as a leader/organiser reminded me all of that, and watching the new freshers grow in a time-span of three days really made me amazed at how far we'd come in one year, and how far they would go in a year's time, too. There's something quite captivating about watching people be inspired, and it felt like many of them opened up and made the entire camp an experience to remember, both for themselves and also for me. And when they said my name correctly... I could hardly contain my excitement!

Also seeing over two hundred people wear a shirt which has something you put together printed on the front was pretty damn awesome, if I have to say so myself. 

Taken by SS; logo also has 'SCAR WARS' written under it, yassss.

Since camp, besides the extreme sleep-deprivation and exhaustion from it, I've been trying to juggle many things at once. There's a lot going on and life is growing hectic, evidently. Clearly, I haven't been able to update this very much, but I promise you I'm still around! There are many photos and posts to be written about my trip to South-East Asia, as well (and a video!), which are coming soon. Also, more planned for the near future! 

Here is me trying a rose apple. Taken by friend.

Hospital placement decisions are also coming up, which means deciding whether I'd like to stay in metropolitan Sydney or try out a rural campus for 2017. Big decisions, with big implications. 

But life sorts it out in the end, one way or another!

Till then, take care of yourselves.