Tempus Fugit

Well.

Was supposed to leave TPLT No. 1 last Wednesday.  Alas, however, the powers that be decided that as the permanent doctor had called in sick (to stay in Brisbane a few more days) I was to stay until the following Saturday….Easter Saturday.

Not so much of a problem in itself – the staff are great and it’s not overly taxing. 

Problem is, first of all, I had my mind all keyed up to move on so it took a little mental adjusting to stay, and secondly, there were an awful lot of patients booked into the GP clinic fully expecting to see their regular doctor.

For the most part that was okay – they didn’t mind.  I did get a few people reschedule.  I was however having minor conniptions over some of the patients whom I’d seen the previous week and felt that they were a little beyond my ability and had asked them to rebook the following week (fully expecting them to be seen by a ‘real’ GP)… effectively buffing and turfing (read the House of God by Samuel Shem).  That of course had now backfired which mean I actually had to put my thinking cap on and make several phone calls (and skype calls) to various medically trained people around the globe seeking advice on the best course of management for some of these more complicated cases.

I think I managed. 

Karma of course came and bit me on the arse though – in the form of a stream of sick kids.  Paediatrics is not my forte.  In fact, the last time I did any paeds was in medical school – and in another country.  That meant several more phone calls, MSN messages and skype calls around the globe for more advice.

Thank fuck for the internet.  It has made it so much easier to provide a minimum level of health care to people who live beyond the reaches of the southeast corner and coastal areas.

Easter Thursday I actually ended up with a bonafide inpatient.  Kind of weird actually having an inpatient that I am totally responsible for (as opposed to being papermonkey for a registrar).  I am surprised at actually how much stuff I remembered when I had to and how much things became suddenly clear that I had never really quite understood up until I was forced to be making decisions on my own….without a pathology service or even a teeny weeny iStat(TM) to assist with decision making.

So with Saturday arriving, so ends my time in TPLT No. 1.

TPLT 1 Day 2 

So much for quaint little village.  (I’m not superstitious but I am not going to mention that other Q word because it’s been bad enough already).

Monday….(cue Pier Gynt Morning Suite)….beautiful sunny day, birds singing, clear blue skies, I sit down to enjoy my porridge and scrambled eggs (kindly prepared by the kitchen)…enjoying my plunged Merlo coffee (I bought the stovetop espresso maker but forgot the basket that holds the coffee) when the phone rings.

Fear the phone. (cue William Tell Overture)

Cow vs Girl…. on a cattle property…..1.5 hour drive from TPLT 1.

Funky, bumpy ride in the 4wd ambulance out to the station along very bad dirt roads.  Lucky me sitting in the front seat was on gate duty…..opening and closing the innumerable gates that we had to traverse to get to where we were going.

Girl in pain. 

Very slow ride back to TPLT 1 hospital…bumps and pain don’t go well.

Patient was tranferred eventually to NBH (Nearby Big Hospital) by private vehicle.

That took all day.  All GP patients had to be cancelled.

TPLT 1 Day 3

Busy Busy Busy day in GP clinic (cue theme from Benny Hill) – fully booked out because of yesterday’s cancellations and also not having had a GP for weeks.

Thank goodness for prior knowledge.  Would never have made it through the day and the multitude of patients without the stuff I’d learnt whilst a pharmacist.

Only saving grace is the Moo-Lah. 

TPLT 1 Day 4

Alledgedly a half day of GP stuff for me.  Allegedly.  Still totally booked out for that session.  Then a few more patients to see in the hospital OPD.

Much sleepage had in the afternoon.

TPLT 1 Day 5 (With a visit to TCLT*)

TCLT has a clinic on Fridays.  Was driven half way.  Picked up by Bush Nurse in ambulance.  Very enjoyable clinic.  Very brief tour of the town.  A few bizzarre tourist attractions.

Very nice lunch put on by Bush Nurse and Receptionist.

Driven back to TPLT. Fell asleep very early.

TPLT Day 6

Woke by phone (fear the phone).  Didn’t remember actually falling asleep.  Must have needed sleep.  Luckily phone only required a phone order.

Wouldn’t you believe it.  This weekend would be the weekend for the TPLT 1 Camp Draft.

Camp Draft = Cattle vs People = Work for me.

Fractured tib/fib required flying out.

Busy GP clinic in the AM.

Bloke on Motorbike vs Ant Hill

Ant Hill 1, Bloke on Bike 0.

Cringeworthy displaced humeral head (humerously[sic] not funny).

Second aeromedical retrieval for the day…and it’s only early afternoon.  Things come in threes…and there’s still another day and a half of Camp Drafting.

I think I need a Becks and a good lie down (double entendre intended).

Was muchly impressed to find that my washing was not only washed, but ironed and foldeded.  Could get used to this.

*TCLT = Tin Cup Little Town (i.e. much smaller than TPLT).

Ever been in the situation where you have so many different possible twists and turns you could take that you are just so paralysed with indecision that you end up doing nothing because it’s too hard to decide?

I’ll be fucked if I know what to do.

What’s more my indecision is driving me around the twist. Crazy in the coconut.

Life was never meant to be easy… alledgedly… but geeze I wish I knew.

There was a time where it was all clear cut. I knew where I was, where I was going and how I was going to get there.

Now I’m swimming in the darkness.

In circles.

Level five water restrictions.

Another reason to consider that perhaps it’s time to move on from Brisbane for a while.

I remember the good old days when you could shower for as long as you liked (aside from the occasional maternal unit having conniptions about the hot water bill).  When you could wash the car, hose the concrete, use your sprinklers in the middle of the day (even if the theory that it would burn your grass was true).