It’s said that the friendships that you make when you are young are often the ones that stay with us forever. The bonds that are forged through school and university are special. And even when you meet up after many years, it’s like nothing has changed at all. During school days you are often enduring subjects and teachers that you have no desire to learn and be with. And during university, there are other pressures, but when you come out the other side, it’s like you have been collectively forged together.

In medical school we all experience patients at their most basic and fundamental levels. In a sense there is not much dignity though we always aim to preserve that at all times. One day we were standing around the bed of an intensive care patient being given a tutorial on the management of tracheostomies (a breathing tube that goes directly into the trachea). The patient started wheezing and struggling and clearly had a plug of sputum stuck in the tube. Before the nurse had a chance to clear it, the patient let out a huge cough and the sputum plug came firing across the room directly at one of my friends. He jumped to safety ending up sprawled across the floor!

It’s moments like these that we reminisce upon and have a good belly laugh about.

Last night we celebrated 22 years since we left medical school. Time flies! The interesting thing in medicine, is that when we finish med school, we all end up going off in separate directions for another 3-9 years pursuing our various specialities. But we all beautifully reconnect and share our journeys somewhere along the way.

You’ve all got old friends out there. Pick up the phone and make time to catch up!

In Health and Wellness

Ranjit