July 17th

Today we had lecture with a professor who enjoys picking on students. Each class he picks a few students and bombards them with questions throughout the entire class period. Somehow, he managed to learn my name, so I had the unfortunate pleasure of being one of the few who was put on the spot the whole class. I was sitting in the back row and then just as class was starting I heard someone calling my name from the front of the room. I perked my head up and that's when it all started. I didn't even know this professor knew my name because I hadn't introduced myself to him yet. I think he enjoys calling on people who don't know the answer, because we were talking all about South African legislature and the National Health Act of 1977, both of which I know next to nothing about. He was friendly enough, but I really don't like being called on when I don't know the answer, so I didn't very well like this particular lecture. I did end up learning a lot though, so I guess it all worked out in the end. The next lecture we had was about trauma. We went over the process of treating trauma patients, and the proper way to assess a new patient. We learned the mnemonic ABCDE to help us remember what to look for first: airway, breathing, circulation, disability, and exposure/environment. After class we had a little while to relax and then we met for dinner at the festival and I got another ostrich burger because they're delicious. This weekend we plan on seeing some wildlife and maybe do some shopping, and then Monday we're going back to the hospital to begin our rotations!