Morning surgical lists start at 0815. I arrive most mornings at 0810 and there are only 2 people in the theatre department. Both Brits, both anaesthetists, both drinking coffee and eating muffins and both wondering where all the surgeons are.

Most of the hospital staff have also done some form of physical exercise before arriving to work - ranging from dog walking to a swim and run!

Surgeries generally kick off about 0845, so already running 30 mins late. The lists generally have a couple of "small" things squeezed on them which, 9 times out of 10, take a lot longer than predicted and you know right from the start of the day, you can kiss goodbye to lunchtime.

The only bits of learning I generally do are when we're sending a patient off to sleep or waking them up again. This involves them teaching me some physiology or the mechanism of action of various drugs or me practising intubating someone or drawing up and mixing various drugs. Also, unless you get a very small cannula in your hand for your drip, you get local anaesthetic first to numb the hand. This is something we definitely don't practice at home. In England, I will jab practically any size needle into you, going with whichever size is most appropriate for the job. Luckily the biggies are saved for when you're almost dying and at that point I guess you don't care what size needle is being stuck in you.

The rest of my time is spent discussing where to go for food and drink in Nelson, where to visit/stay at weekends, how to improve my running times and technique and the weather.

I've been told that they won't sign me off if I go into work when the sun is shining :D Sweeeeeeet!

I also have to "enjoy my elective." By this they mean, don't work too hard!

Some other funny things I've come across are:

• My consultant skateboarding past me on his way home
• Dropping various suction tubes, oxygen masks, pillows on the floor and going with the "5 second rule" and picking them up and using them on the patient
• A daily competition to see who has the coolest scrub hat in theatre (I lose this most days)
• The recovery nurses routinely asking if a paediatric patient is "normal" or "mentally off"
• EVERY doctor has worked in England at some point in their life
• They employ porters to take patients across the corridor from the theatre to the recovery
• Every anaesthetist has good biceps and triceps no matter what their age
• Drinking wine is very much encouraged - especially on wine tour
• Anaesthetists work 3 days a week to allow time for private work on the other 2 days
• Everybody knows EVERYBODY!

And my favourite so far:

· The ortho surgeon who flies himself in his own plane to a clinic on the west coast, because the road route takes you massively out the way!!

So apart from the early starts, I'm having a pretty chilled out time of it and putting far more energy into keeping fit and tramping round than actually studying....

xxx