IM in the Media....

A&E unit: Dealing with unexpected everyday




Doing the impossible: Professor Colin Robertson (L) and Dr Zaw Wint, programme coordinator for the lecture at UBD yesterday. Picture: BT/Hana RoslanBRUNEI-MUARA



Thursday, February 26, 2009


AS PART of the Institute of Medicine Medical lecture series, students and teachers at Universiti Brunei Darussalam attended a lecture on specialisation in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) unit yesterday.

Held at the Senate Room of the Chancellor hall,the lecture was entitled "The Best Specialty in the World" and was given by Professor Colin Robertson who hails from the University of Edinburgh and also serves as a Consultant at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Dubbing A&E as emergency medicine, Professor Robertson covered important areas which aspiring students in emergency medicine should know.

"The great thing about emergency medicine is that it has a number of areas within it that you would not see anywhere else in other areas of medicine," he said.

He said that the unpredictability of this specialty can be seen in a sense that it was not impossible for him to die from a cardiac arrest at any minute.

"And that is what emergency medicine is all about. Everything is unexpected. The fact that you can go to work and see something everyday different and unexpected everyday is exciting and there are not many jobs that can do that," he said.

He also said that working in emergency medicine was not for students who wish to have a quiet and predictable life.

He added that if students want to be constantly stimulated and save lives, then emergency medicine is more than the best specialty in the world.

He added that the unit serves as frontliner when it comes to treating patients.

"Our department will see more patients than most put together. We see them very close to the time they are acutely unwell for example, when you have a heart attack or are bitten by a snake, the first contact is the emergency department. We are uniquely placed to see these patients," he said. In an age where technology in medicine is constantly evolving, Professor Robertson also advised the students to not get carried away with the extraordinary advancements by conducting series of tests to find the diagnosis for patients for fear that it might cause harm.

Basic skills of history taking and clinical examination are paramount, he said and added that the need to accept humility in this career was imperative.

"I think we need to have a lot of humility in what we are doing. When I was a medical student, half of what I was taught was wrong because of the current advances and it will be true for you too," he said.

In this regard, he urged students to challenge what they are being taught as well as defy the conventional dogma.

"Many textbooks from years and years have been written by those who do not see patients. Always challenge what you are being taught. Maintain a questioning mind all throughout the medical practice and what is evident specific," he said.

He also emphasised other priorities such as patient care that is linked with two important strands such as a unique ability for students both young and old to do constant training and the ability to conduct cutting-edge research.

Adding that teamwork is crucial in taking up this career, he also added that it is important for doctors who work in the A&E unit to work in other areas as well.

With courtesy, The Brunei Times