Post call entry

Last night was my first time to be "on call" as a houseman. I was a nervouswreck during the day, not knowing what to expect since it was the ward's active day and usually on those days we'd be very very busy with new admissions. Plus, I'll be the only doctor in the ward with the other 4 nurses. Fortunately for me, the MO on call with me was the super nice Dr. E. Dr. E knew that I'm a first poster and first time being on call so he pretty much spent a longer time in Ward 26 compared to the other wards. He stayed until 2am to monitor the acute beds. Soooo nice of him, ok. Usually MOs will only come after dinner at about 830pm and won't come back/stay in the ward unless there's emergency. Thank you, God for giving a great boss...hehe...
Anyway, it was (again, thank you, God) an uneventful night. Only 4 new admissions and just one emergency case (the patient's BP dropped to 50/30mmHg regardless the 2 pints of gelafundin I ordered!). The rest of those 50 patients behaved well last night...no funny funny vital signs or collapsed patients =)
I was doubting myself about working 40 hours straight before this...never in a million years I would've thought I could actually do it. My daya ketahanan is not that bad after all, huh? Hehe..My next call will be this Sunday! =(

I love Ward 26

Tomorrow would be my 5th day in HKL. So far so good. I am still very dizzy and berjalan-jalan di awang awangan...working as a doctor is definitely different from being a medical student. Your patients are YOUR patients. You are in charge and everything has to be at your fingertips. Lucky for me, I've been placed to a ward which is well known for it's super nice Consultant, Specialists, MOs, and nurses. Thank God also for the other amazingly awesome HOs - Dr. K, Dr. S, Dr. S and Dr. U who tirelessly answer all my doubts and confusions...I'm slowly but surely (or so I think) adapting to the working life.
Ask me again in a week's time and we shall see what I have to say. =) Maybe I'll say something different since I'll start to be on-calls by then.

Alive and kickin'

I've been away from home for the past 3 weeks for BTN and Induction as mention previously. I was reluctant and nervous since from what I heard, BTN is so rigid and strict with their rules, military like, and a programme to brainwash you to love the government. To my surprise, it was nothing like that! It was actually really fun. I was placed in some isolated place in Maran, Pahang along with another 100 medical graduates. Sure, we have to wake up as early as 5am, sleep in dorms, share one big toilet, march every morning, and even wear uniforms but we were also fed 6 times a day, eat like a horse, great food, and they were not as strict as some people said. We had discussions about the country, politics, etc and the great thing was, our facilitators were not just some government servants but most of them are diplomats. With their experience and ability to make us discuss and see things from different angles, I think most, if not all of us now understand better about our history (I learn more here than in secondary school), the racial issues (heavy stuff, man), and about the nation as a whole. Bagus sekali.
Induction was held in Mayangsari Resort, Port Dickson for 2 weeks. It was ok. Lectures 4 times a day, eat 5 times a day, swimming, walk along the (not so dirty) beach, sunsets, etc. Pretty much a paid vacation sponsored by KKM...=)
Anyway, as many of you might have heard, the goverment has placed me in Hospital Kuala Lumpur for the next 2 years to do my housemanship. I did not apply for HKL but alhamdulillah I got somewhere near my home, my family and my friends. I am excited to start working but at the same time I am nervous and pretty damn scared. HKL is known for centre of excellence, centre for refferals, centre of no parking, centre of everything lah. I don't know what to expect... but I do know that I'll be extremely busy, I'll be yelled at by my bosses and also nurses, and I'll be losing weight (this is a plus point la actually).
Am I ready? I don't know. Let's find out tomorrow as tomorrow morning I'll be reporting for duty in HKL.

It is not because my bum is getting bigger.

I've changed my mind. I'm going to the induction afterall...the letter arrived yesterday and after heavy and loooong discussion with my parents, and also numerous phone calls to discuss about this with my friends (or rather, colleagues now), I've decided to end my holiday next week. The pros definitely, tremendously outweight the cons of going.
I've been sent to Maran, Pahang for BTN..that will be from 4th til 8th of May and will then go to Mayang Sari Resort in Port Dickson for the next 2 weeks for the Induction Course. They gave me a whole lot of list of things to bring and most of them ends up in my "things to buy" list. I now need white baju kurung, a few track bottoms (I need to get the one that makes a lot of noise...the one that makes "whoosh whoosh" noise when you walk because it is essentially water resistant), long sleeves t-shirts, black covered shoes and a few other things.
I have 3 more days left and tons of things to do.
Let's not call it a holiday anymore.

One more month

Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam (SPA) called me at 4.30pm today and they asked me if I can go for the induction programme (read: mula bekerja) on the 4th of May. I was so shocked that they would call me THIS early. I asked her (the person who called me) if she could give me time to think about it and confirm with her later, she said ok and I hung up. After 5 blardy minutes she called me back if I have made my decision. Wahhh...bila nak hantar orang kerja cepat aje...nak buat SPM certificate baru kene tunggu one month.
According to her, the places for this month is limited and it is ok for me to postpone my induction until June. Of course I would postpone it! Hello? It has only been 3 weeks after my finals! I deserve to be at home until my brain bleeds out of boredom, no?

**
Note: For those who does not know...
Induction is something like BTN and it is for 2 weeks. Going for induction means you've agreed to work immediately and as for housemen, on the last day of that 2 weeks, you'll get a letter saying which hospital you have been posted and you need to report yourself there within a day or two. If you don't go, you are basically is on "Cuti Tanpa Kebenaran". =) Pandai tak Kementerian Kesihatan? Pergi induction baru tau dapat hospital mana...

Finally! A Night Out With The Girls

The Bachelorettes =)
(Credit to: Zaza)

Every girl would agree that it is always awesome to go on a night out with your girl friends regardless where the place is and what event were being held.
It was our compulsary once a month get-together and thanks to Zaza's cousin, Aush (the one who gives us the traffic updates in fly fm) we went to Zouk last night for Cleo's 50 most eligible bachelor. It was a themed event and the theme was Ghetto Chic. I wore a LBD with gold accessories thinking that it was "sheek" as oppose to "chick". Inilah angkara banyak sangat tengok TV seperti ANTM and Project Runway...kan dah salah...
Henywayyyy...sadly the event was a drag. The place was rather small to accomodate the guests...we couldn't see what was going on as everybody was standing and the "stage" did not look much like a stage at all..it was placed in the middle, at the same level as the floor. Plus, they were playing too many games. It was more suited to be held in a mall or somewhere else. We sat there for about an hour, chat a bit, drank revive (free) and the new twisties (also free..haha) and finally decided to leave and have supper in Changkat.
We had our supper at The Social. and we talked, talked, took pictures and experiment with the cameras (goyang goyang...funny sight), talked some more, took more pictures, all that lah.
A girls' night out with them never fails to be anything but awesome. Faratiya has been assigned to organize the next one...haha..let's see what she will plan (or has planned?) or us...=)

The Hippocrates Oath Day

I know it's a bittttt lambat...sorry for the delay..hopefully it's not THAT basi yet....hehe...Henyways, here are the pictures taken during the Oath taking ceremony which was held in Dewan Ungku Aziz, Dental Faculty, UM..Some of you might have seen it in one of my FB albums. An amazing, amazing day it was. I can't believe I'm finally a graduate..and I actually have a license to practice medicine (temporary license that is; the real convo is in August and that's when we'll receive our permanent license...but still...). It was so surreal to be in the same hall as with the other 200 new doctors, and even more surreal when they called up my name to the stage.
It was truly an unbelievable day, but really, that day, I dedicated it to my parents. It was their day. It's them whom we were really celebrating. Without them, their prayers and blessing, I would not be here.
I can't thank you enough, Mama and Baba. Heart you both. A lot.

Me, receiving the temporary license from Toh Puan Aishah Ong.

Us with the proud parents

WE DID IT!!! =)
MBBS 2004/09

How many boxes do I need?

I'm currently back in Ipoh...back in the place I've been calling home away from home. Back in the oh-so-familiar room. I know I have this love-hate thing with Ipoh for the past 5 years but I'll miss this place for sure. The memories, the experiences and the ups and downs will ALL be cherished. I know I'll be back whenever I have the time just to have some Wange wange, Moven Peak's black pepper sizzling chicken chop and Hollywood's Kuey Tiaw...ye, nama kedai makan tu Hollywood.
I'll be here for the next 2 days to pack up my things and also to see all my lecturers before I leave for good.
Btw, Maria blogged about what went down on that scary nerve wrecking results day. Click here to read about it.
Mar, I wasn't there because I was being a blardy chicken. There you go. =p Hehehe..

5 years gone so fast..

Syukur Alhamdulillah...
I am overwhelmed by everything that happened today and also yesterday. There should be a word to describe exactly how relieved, thankful and happy I am right now...=))

Saturday come quick

I am mentally and physically exhausted. Drained.
The final exam has taken it's toll on me and I still have another clinical exam to go this Saturday. I just want to finish everything, get it done and over with.
After those CPC, SAT, OSCE and long case, I have absolutely no confidence at all that I can get through this. It would be a total miracle if I do. Not that I'm being pessimist or anything...it is just that I know where I'm standing at this point of time.
I've worked hard for the past one year. I've studied my ass off for the past one year.
Stupid luck.