I am studying most nights, trying my best to understand what is going on, and yet I am getting no where. There are lectures and tutorials on all the time, and I go to them all, but I still feel like I have gained little ground. I'm not complaining that I don't understand the coursework, or at least I don't mean to be; it's more that I can feel the pressure of the upcoming placement getting more and more intense as it looms ever-nearer, yet I still feel as unprepared for it today as I did last year.
The CP1 class is doing little but to exacerbate my paranoia. And the abbreviations are going to kill me. MRSA, VRE, GIT, URT, UTI, STI, LRT, GOR, FBI - fucking bite me.
God I'm so whiney. And repetitive.
Bleh. I was watching tv tonight and caught the end of the 7pm Project. I still can't believe that for a 110-odd kilometre stretch, there are 2 doctors. And 1800 odd vacancies for doctors in rural Australia. This isn't even beginning to factor in the amount of nurses, midwives and allied health professionals that are needed.
I am seriously in awe of the doctor they had on the show; seeing 70 odd patients a day, delivering babies, he is doing the lot. He's a friggen superman, is what he is.
Aside from the whole people-not-wanting-to-go-bush thing, I think the main problem is that there are so many people who train up in one of the major cities and then go overseas. While I think it's a great idea to get out there and travel the world, and to help those in developing nations ... we have to help ourselves first, don't we?
One of the first things I was taught at university is that, as a nurse, the most important thing I can do is to take care of myself first. Because a sick nurse is a useless nurse. And I believe it to be similar with countries; what good is it if all of the nurses and doctors who train up in Australia go over to Africa to save the people there, if the deficit of trained medical personnel is going to leave Australia struggling as a country to maintain its quality of life?
I have no idea if this is coming out right and I'm too tired and too grouchy to really care. I just think that, while helping the developing countries is vital ... we need people to care about the people living in our country as well.
There are people living in our country who struggle for clean water, sanitary living conditions and nutrition. It's a very real part of Australia, it's not just something you find in India or Zimbabwe. And it shouldn't be ignored in favour of focusing on the rest of the world.
Bah. There are so many different kinds of professions that rural Australia is desperately devoid of, and I just wish I could somehow fill each and every role.
I feel so incredibly useless, sitting here and reading my books. Sure, I donate blood and whatever. That's a good start. But it somehow seems so futile when you consider just how much work needs to be done.
And it's so. bloody. frustrating.
The world needs too much help. I don't even believe the 6 billion of us could give enough to satisfy everyone. It is also selfishness that prevents people from doing anything. Not blatant selfishness... just the subconscious selfishness we don't realise until under pressure; you know "Kill your lover or kill yourself." There shouldn't be a battle in our heads if we weren't selfish. I mean, I wouldn't want to go bush. Every occupation should be stationed out there for at least a year, like the police and teachers. The only way to get charity and caring out of people is to make it the only option. Pretty lame.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that is true. I somehow always manage to forget selfishness as a causal factor. It's kind of innate though, don't you think? In the beginning it was all 'hunt or be hunted', 'get food or die'. No one cared whether anyone else got fed, so long as they did. We haven't progressed any. We just have more toys that make it less overt.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great to make rural nursing and medicine compulsory. Too bad it'd never happen.