As part of block D, we are starting our second year of ScotGEM in Dumfries and Galloway! It’s been a bit of a rainy start, but on the 24th of August we visited Loch Arthur Camphill Community farm shop and café for a morning coffee and bacon roll, before making our way to Loch Arthur for a refreshing morning swim.
After taking in the amazing views during our swim, we made our way back to our accommodation to warm up and shower before heading down to the Nithraid River Festival. Even though the actual sailing event itself was cancelled due to strong currents, we still had a lovely time wandering around the stalls and had the best stone baked pizzas. Nithraid River Festival celebrates Dumfries’ relationship with the River Nith and brings the community together to reflect on its history.
We managed to witness the symbolic journey of the festival mascot ‘Salty Coo’ down the river, with everyone else standing at the edge of the riverbank throwing salt at it as it passed. This tradition symbolises the historic journey made by the farmers’ cattle across the river, highlighting the important role trade played in Dumfries. It is also where the fresh water turns to salt water during the change of the tide. If anyone is in Dumfries at the end of August next year, I thoroughly recommend going, as it is a lovely afternoon out!
Now that we are in year 2, we have started our hospital placements. We have 7/8 placements for each case-based learning block. During this first learning block, my placements include a gastroenterology clinic, diabetes ward round, critical care unit (CCU), acute medical unit (AMU) clerking, in-patient psychiatry, community mental health team and surgical clerking. I’m just over a week into the block and have already seen some interesting clinical conditions, with different signs and symptoms.
For example, during my placement on the ward round, I saw podagra, a symptom for gout, which presents as a painful swelling that affects the first metatarsophalangeal joint. We’ve also had our first Clinical Interactions (CLIC) session, which involved learning how to do simple interrupted sutures and how to administer local anaesthetic. Overall, I’m super excited for my forthcoming placements, our GCM days and to see what the rest of the year has to offer!
Olivia is a second-year ScotGEM student currently based in Highlands