Memoirs of Medical School

The End of Med School

2012-01-15T03:17:00.000-08:00

The end of my medical school years is just round the corner. Five years of study and I'm receiving my MBBS. This is a point of self reflection. What have I done in the last 5 years? Have I used my time efficiently? Could I have done much more than I have done? Food for thought.

Gynaecology Portfolio for Semester 10

2011-12-23T04:11:00.001-08:00

Just completed my Gynae portfolio. Emailed it to Dr Su for review and assessment. It feels inadequate and I know it can be improved further. However, I am having difficulties organizing my thoughts into words. At the moment it feels disorganised and the level of discussion is just mediocre. sigh. Hopefully I wont disappoint her too much.

Eve of Kampung Angkat

2011-12-16T07:55:00.000-08:00

One day to Kampung Angkat. The last two months have seen us busy with the planning and preparation for Kampung Angkat. The 12 of us in the core committee have been working on different aspects with the same goal of a successful day. Today, we spent almost the entire day at the kampung, unloading the goody bags, health screening tools, setting up the canopy, wiping the chairs, filling the goody bags, rehearsal for KAP and etc. It was a tiring day. The T shirts have been distributed to our batch-mates. We managed to get a short time off watching TV at the student lounge and a decent dinner. Most of the preparation is complete. Now for the moment of truth. All the hard work, planning and preparation leads to one day. Tomorrow will be our D-Day. May tomorrow be a great success. Good luck C209!

MBBS- 97.5% Complete

2011-12-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

Today marks the end of my 2nd last posting for MBBS. We have completer 97.5% of our course. Just one more five week posting and we will be done! Finally, the end of our five year has arrived. How time flew by. Tis five years will always be my most treasured moments. The time we spend through clinical school, all the friends, the company, the house-mates. The joy, the laughter, the tears, the sweat, the blood, the anger, the frustration and the wisdom. To all my batch-mates of C209. May we meet again one day. C209 ROCKS!!

Wisdom Tooth

2011-12-10T02:30:00.000-08:00

Removed my right wisdom tooth today. It has been giving me some problem with food getting stuck and the gums getting inflamed. Two hours has passed, so far so good.

1/72 F-117A

2011-12-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

I picked up a new model over the weekend. A 1/72 Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk. It was the first airplane utilizing stealth technology, used by the US until its retirement in 2008. This shall be the 2nd plane in my collection.

With some experience from my last aircraft, I have picked up a few more tools including thinner for thin layers of paint compared to the thick ones i used previously. I will also experiment with spray can for the larger part of this airplane. I foresee this will be slightly easier than the last plane as it is completely in black and has less parts.

I also intend to fix another model which has been sitting on my table for quite some time. bought this when I was 9, but only assembled it 2 years ago. I could not figure out how to apply the decals and made the wise decision to leave it for later. It will need applications of its 15 year old decals and repair of its tires which has fell off. Hopefully with the right tools it will work out this time.

Its a 1/20 Jordan 191. Purchased by mum when we were in Australia. The Jordan 191 was designed by the Jordan Grand Prix and participated in the 1991 Formula One session. Michael Schumacher debuted in F1 with this car.

1:72 Soviet Fighter Mig-3 by Revell

2011-11-26T23:39:00.000-08:00

This weekend I embarked on a new activity. Scaled Model Aircraft. This is a 1:72 scaled model of a Soviet Fighter Mig-3 produced by Revell. Skill Level 3. It was given to me by a close friend, Mezhen who bought it in the UK during her electives last year. It has been sitting in my cupboard for a year, so I decided to fix it.

My workspace with basic equipments

Components fresh from the box

Pilots seat assembled and painted

Dry fitting the wings and fuselage

Glued and waiting to dry

Landing gears

Landing gears in place

Windshield installed and painted

Adding the camo.

Painting the bottom of the plane. I don't have light blue paint, so I compromised with a greener option instead

Front view half painted

Green paint added

Completed model with decals

I think the hardest part is applying the paint due to my lack of equipment. It would have turned out much nicer if I had a airbrush or at least better brushes. Applying the tiny decals was a great test of my hand eye coordination and my patience. Could have been better, but I'm happy with my production. Thanks Mezhen.

Research on Breast Cancer Awareness

2011-11-25T01:48:00.000-08:00

After much paperwork and red tape, I have submitted my proposal to the hospital director for approval. Next will be to run a small pilot study and then the main study itself. I hope I will have enough time to collect adequate sample before I finish Semester 10. I only have 8 more weeks in Batu Pahat, and the next two postings do not provide much luxury of free time.

Another portfolio weekend

2011-11-25T01:42:00.000-08:00

The weekend is here again. However, I am doubtful there will be much rest this weekend. I have 2 portfolio to complete and still need to identify a case for my Psychiatry portfolio. After I have accomplished that, there is a whole pile of things to revise and study. That's the life of a Semester 10 medical student.

I was rather pissed off earlier at how poor some people's attitude can be. There are those who looks so highly on themselves, thinks they are so smart and that they can go around insulting and looking down on us. How childish. We should realize that we are never the best and we are never better that others. Everyone is good at something. You may think you are better, but trust me when I say you are not. Do not think so highly of yourself, do not look down on others and do not think you are all mighty. You have no idea what the future holds. Remember this.

Lesson of the day

2011-10-16T05:44:00.000-07:00

Examine your patient every time you do your rounds. Especially if the patient is acutely ill. They may deteriorate at any moment, and a good repeated physical examination is the only way to catch it early.

Just for laughs

2011-10-13T06:28:00.000-07:00

Another old video for those who appreciate British Comedy. Eggs-Box 3.60? haha

Another Step Closer

2011-10-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

Five weeks of Surgery Posting in Semester 10 is over and we are one step closer to graduation. We have completed 92.5% of our MBBS. 7.5% more to go. Almost there. It's so close, I can almost grasp it already.

It's amazing how quickly we have (almost) passed through medical school. Five years has passed. I went back to the Bukit Jalil campus on Friday, and it felt like it has been ages since we were last there. Two years in Seremban has changed us so much. We grew, we matured, we became doctors. It is funny to think how our mindset and goals were when we were back in Phase 1. The way we placed emphasis on all the wrong things, the way I played too much and studied too little. There is a saying, "Don't teach a person who is not ready. When he is ready, he will learn even when no one wants to teach him" which I think is very true.

20 more weeks to go. Let's make the most out of it.

I Phone 4S

2011-10-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

The new iPhone 4 has been released. As predicted, it is called the iPhone 4S. It looks like an iPhone 4, but has faster processors, better camera and etc. I think the coolest new feature is the what they call Siri. It allows you to give voice commands to your phone and it will interact with you as if it was artificial intelligence. The promotional video looks impressive. You can ask about the weather, traffic, send text messages all just by speaking to your iPhone. If this works out as smooth as the video, the new iPhone will surely sell like hot cakes. I WANT AN IPHONE!!!! hahaha

The Passing of Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T23:32:00.000-07:00

Steve Jobs have changed our lives in more ways than we know. Iphones, Ipods, Ipads, Mac Books. It seems everyone is carrying at least one of his creations these days. Let's all celebrate the life that he has lived. The changes that he has brought to our lives. They way we live, communicate and work will never be the same again.

Steven Paul Jobs

1955-2011

The past, present and future of surgery

2011-10-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

For those who love surgery. The evolution of surgery from the stone age, the era of the barber surgeon, surgery in the present day and the future.

A video worth watching

2011-10-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

My lecturer shared this video with us. This is a good video highlighting many important but forgotten point. The doctor's touch, caring for our patients and examining our patients. That's what being a doctor is about. It is not about technologies, computer screens, radiology films or laboratory results. Enjoy and Reflect.

Portfolio Done.

2011-09-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

Finished my portfolio. It feels good to finish work earlier than the deadline. I started early, so I didn't have to rush towards the end. The best part is I can have a free weekend to work on some side projects (and do some revision). hehehe

Ok. It is not completely finished. I still need to do some corrections and all but the burden is off my shoulder.

Meeting a Deaf Patient

2011-09-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Followed a Deaf patient to the OT today. I realized two things.

1. I need to upgrade my level of Sign Language
2. I really should use it more often. I have forgotten so many signs I cant have a proper conversation any more. sigh.

What Mutant Powers Do You Want?

2011-09-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

I actually saw this video a long time ago but decided to share it. So, say you have 50k and you want mutant powers. What would you choose? Please don't choose Ardamantium claws without mutant healing. I do not recommend this unless you want to end up like the two in the video.

My choice would be Telepathy (like Prof X). Then I will mind control that lab guy for Ardamantium claws and Mutant healing for free. I can get all the powers, without paying.. hahaha Great idea huh..

Research and SPSS

2011-09-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

It is time I started work on my research write up. It has been delayed for many months now, due to exams and other issues. I cannot afford to push this aside any longer as I only have a few more months in IMU.

I decided to invest some time (though I still have my Ortho portfolio to complete) last night to look through our previous research write up and SPSS data. I realised that we have made many mistakes the previous time.

I now understand what Dr S meant when she said our discussion was too superficial and etc. And I do agree as well on her comments. I guess I have learnt a lot in the last couple of months from writing experimental Case Reports. I can say that I have gained much important experience and maturity. I am now more apt at finding data, citing, preparing manuscript, phrasing of sentences and deciding what is (and what is not) important in a write up. Hopefully this time around, I will be able to prepare a better write up.

We had many errors in our methodology and sampling no doubt. As mentioned, we were all green horns trying out a new task. I obtained my own copy of SPSS yesterday (thank you Ding) and tried to perform some analysis. It turns out that SPSS is not as enigmatic as I thought it was. I guess when you have no choice, you just got to figure it out. After this, I will need to print out all our references and run through them before preparing our discussion and editing our previous write up. I hope I will be able to produce something more substantial this time.

Outcomes of procrastination

2011-09-19T06:12:00.000-07:00

Submitted a review for publishing in a journal and received the following respond.

"Thank you for sending us your paper. We read it with interest but I regret to say that we have decided not to publish it in the BMJ.

Unfortuntaely, I just accepted a paper on this exact topic, that is due to be published in December. I think it would be too soon to accept another article on pre-eclampsia as it covers alot of the same content. Apologiesm it was a matter of timing."

Sigh. Perhaps I should have sent it earlier and not waited till now to submit it. The effects of procrastination...

Diablo 3

2011-09-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

First heard of the upcoming release of Diablo 3 since Semester 4. The beta version has just been released. D3 will probably be released in a year or so. I played D2 a lot and naturally I just cant wait for D3 to be released. Saw the game play trailer, and it looks good. They have improved it in game play, interface and storyline. Feels more realistic and less game-like now.

There will be 5 character classes. Demon Hunter, Wizard, Monk, Witch Doctor and my favourite Barbarian. Used Barbarian in D 2, will probably use Barbarian again in D3. Many of the new character classes have some attributes from the characters of D2. Demon hunter is somewhat like Amazon+ Assassin of D2. Monk - Paladin, Wizard- Sorceress, With Doctor- Necromancer. But they have been modified to have more specialized characteristic.

Man, I cant wait for this. I'm just worried my PC may not be able to support. I barely have the minimum requirement for RAM, my processor is lacking and my video card is not up to par with the minimum level. Damn it. What should I do? Should I get a new desktop for this? Is it worth it? Checked out the prices. It would set me back approximately RM1600.

Minimum PC Requirements
OS: Windows® XP/Windows Vista® / Windows® 7 (Latest Service Packs) with DirectX® 9.0c
CPU: Intel Pentium® D 2.8 GHz / AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 4400+
GFX: NVIDIA® GeForce® 7800 GT or ATI Radeon™ X1950 Pro or better
HDD: 12 GB available Hard Drive Space
RAM: 1 GB RAM (1.5 GB required for Windows Vista® / Windows® 7 users, 2 GB for Mac® users)
Other: Broadband Internet connection and 1024x768 minimum display resolution

(Note: Be advised that some wireless connections do not meet the minimums required to be a true Broadband Internet connecton. Wireless results may vary.)

Diablo 3 Recommended System Requirements

PC Requirements

OS: Windows Vista®/Windows® 7 (Latest Service Packs)

CPU: Intel® Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz / AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 5600+ 2.8 GHz

RAM: 2 GB

GFX: NVIDIA® GeForce® 260 / ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 or better

My System
Windows Vista
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz
Ram 1GB
NVDIA GeForce Go 7200

Official Cinematic Trailer

Monk Gameplay Video

Barbarian Game play

Demon Hunter Trailer Video

Hospital Kluang

2011-09-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

For the first time in two weeks, I'm spending a weekday evening at home. No on call tonight. haha Finally have some time to catch up on my ever growing list of learning issues. Right now, it's somewhere around 20-30 items and I'm tackling item nunber ONE.

We went to Hospital Kluang today. It's a district hospital. Going to the hospital felt like going back to the 60's. The hospital ground was huge. It was not a block or two blocks like how hospitals are now. Its a bunch of "houses" clumped together within a wall which forms a hospital. As I was saying this morning, it feels like a "health Village". haha I used the word house because there were multiple small buildings that looked like houses to me. Each unit/ department/ ward occupies one of this house. So radiology takes one, female surgical takes one, male surgical takes one, labour room another, HDW one and so on. As far as I know, that's how our hospitals used to be built. Maybe not the 60's but pre independence. The wards itself felt the same too. Imagine a long corridor, with two rows of beds on the side. That's how it is.

Nevertheless, we managed to discuss a few cases. The visit was alright. There were very few patients there though. I don't want to end up in a hospital like this next time. A hospital like Batu Pahat I don't mind. Kluang? Not really.

Source: wikipedia.
This is UM in the 20's. Tha's how the wards looked like. Don't see wards like this anymore these days.

The Time For Change

2011-09-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

"Semester 10 is a time for change." Dato K said so today during our VC. I see what he means by that statement. Semester 10 to IMU is a time where we stop thinking (and behaving) like medical students and start being a doctor. It is a transition period between two very different chapters of our lives. It may not be easy but it is a change we must make. The sooner the better. The time for change has arrived. Make the chance. Take charge of you patients, be responsible and start becoming a doctor.

Today I scrubbed in for OT for the 3rd time. The first was in semester 6 for an appendicetomy, second was during semester 8 electives for a laparoscopic salphingectomy and today was for a loop colostomy. Scrubbing in is always better for learning than just standing around. You get a 1st class view and play a role (small but nevertheless still a role) in the surgery. I must admit that Batu Pahat is much more conducive for students. Perhaps there is much less students here, hence the staff are more receptive of us. It was very easy to get permission to scrub in. Perhaps we should really consider smaller hospitals for housemanship. Food for thought.

Swimming pool at Batu Pahat

2011-09-07T04:01:00.000-07:00

It appears that there are no swimming pool in or around Batu Pahat. Tried to Google for it, and the only results I found was hotels with swimming pool. Even that was a handful only. Apparently there is a public pool near Minyak Beku but the review was that it is small, dirty and poorly maintained. There goes my plan to be healthy and swim during the weekend. Anyone knows a place where I can swim in Batu Pahat?

Surgery in BP Day 2

2011-09-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

It has been two days since we started our surgery posting in BP hospital. I still keep saying HTJS when I refer to the hospital. hahaha The hospital is great. Something like other district hospitals we have been to ( Kuala Pilah, Miri) but much bigger especially with the new ward block almost ready for use. The staff here are very friendly. Patients are not (yet) scared away by us. hahaha Most patients here speak Mandarin and Hokkien. It will be a good opportunity for me to brush up on my Hokkien. hehe

So far we have been rather busy with ward work and looking for portfolio cases. I have identified my case for Orthopedic and Surgery. Hopefully I will be able to use it in the end. Surgery in Sem 10 incorporated orthopedic. That means we need to cover both wards and attend to both discipline. Plus we have 3 on calls per week plus one weekend call. That's a grand total of 16 calls in 5 weeks. I think (hope) other postings wont be as hectic/ bust as surgery.

BP town itself seems ok. Have not had the leisure of time to look around. So far went to a few shops near my area. Food here is definitely better than in Seremban. Less salty too. And a big glass of fruit juice is only RM4. That's the best. The last time I had RM 4 large juice in KL was in 2002. hahaha

Internet

2011-09-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

We finally have internet at our Batu Pahat house. Took a one week trial of Pi Wimax while waiting for our Streamyx tranfer. TM needs to work faster. Sorry P1 for abusing your kind free trial services. We just cannot live without internet in this world we live in.

Batu Pahat

2011-09-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

Finally moved to Batu Pahat. Took me 3 hours ( perhaps more) to drive here from KL. Car was loaded till the roof, resembling a mover's van. I hope BP will be a good experience. Six more months to graduation. I have started feeling the anxiety of starting work already.

Now Everyone Can Fly

2011-08-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

Air Asia's motto has been chosen very appropriately. In today's world, everyone can indeed fly. No more was the time when flying included making trips to tour agency to buy air tickets and holidays= join a tour group. Now you can plan, purchase and confirm everything from your room with an internet connection, a PC and a credit card.

It also means that flying is no longer as exclusive and glamorous as it used to be. I remember when I was young, flying by plane was something you really look forward to. We still look forward for the trip, but those days the whole experience of flying was awesome enough. There used to be a cool airport, nicely built and nicely furnished. The staff were friendly and the airport was spacious. Today, flying (especially with a budget airline) is like taking a bus. The terminal is crowded, minimally built, minimal facility (I was sweating in the waiting area), the staff less friendly, the place looks nothing like what it used to be. Seriously, flying now is rather..... boring.

Nevertheless, I guess we cant complain much can we. Budget airlines has after all enables students like us to travel around. If we really want the awesome services we used to get, just go book a flight on a better airlines. And pay more.. hahaha

Hong Kong Orthopedic Forum

2011-08-21T08:47:00.001-07:00

I have accomplished the official objectives of my trip to Hong Kong. The Orthopedic Forum held at the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine concluded today. I must say I was very impressed by the overall organization of the event. For one, it was very well organized. All lectures were well prepared and presented by speakers who are more than competent in their fields. The standards that doctors in HK has set for themselves is way higher from any that I have seen before. Indeed, I can see the difference from where we come from and a first world country.

The forum was divided to different sections to cover topics focusing on spine, rehabilitation, trauma, pediatrics and etc. During breaks, we are free to walk around to "patronize" the many companies who have set up booths at the event. As usual, they will also bring in a lot of freebies, mostly pens though. haha There were many new technologies, surgical equipment and laparoscopic equipment showed at the event. I'm not sure if they are new, but I have not seen them. It also seemed that most of the doctors there are sub-specialist. This goes to show that the world has come to a point that everyone s going into sub speciality and we who are to join in the cohort soon should learn so too. Start planning for your subspeciality (After you get into a masters programme) =P

*pictures coming soon*

The Anticipation

2011-08-19T00:52:00.000-07:00

The worse part of any exam is probably not during the exam but the long wait for your results. The anticipation, anxiety and the entire feeling of waiting for the one result that will determine everything is just overwhelming. No words to describe. So 12 hours after completing our OSCE yesterday, we gathered again in JBLT for our results day. The atmosphere was tense. Everyone was hoping for the best but also expecting the worse. Secretly in our hearts we were consoling ourselves that we have done fairly well enough. And openly we try to console each other as well. Four hour past. Probably the longest four in our lives. And the results was announced.

100% Passed!! Congratulations C2/09. We have done it again. We will now all move on to Batu Pahat. Hurray!!!

*pictures pending* hahaha

At this very moment, I am at LCCT, waiting for my flight to Hong Kong. It will be a small post exam holiday as I attend an Orthopedic Forum and present a poster on behalf of IMU. I will also be spending a few days with relatives and travelling around at Hong Kong and Shenzen. First time flying on my own. So far so good. hahaha May this trip go well. See you Malaysia in a week. Cheers.

Post OSCE

2011-08-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

Four hours post OSCE. Today went okay i suppose. Some stations were okay, some were not so okay. Hopefully it will all add up to at least 50% which translates to "I passed Semester 9 and I'm going to Batu Pahat for Semester 10 Huray!!"

Haha Wish me all the best, will be getting the results tomorrow morning. Now to pack my bags for my post exam Hong Kong trip. ;)

Ranting

2011-08-17T06:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder. My dad managed to put me through medical school. Will I be able to afford my children through medical school as well? With the influx of doctors and a finite opportunities, it will only get harder to make a living.

Comments and upkeeping

2011-08-17T03:35:00.000-07:00

I just saw read a comment left here more than a year ago. hahaha I think I need to check on this page much more often. hahaha

It's unfortunate that I made this blog with the intentions of logging down my experiences in medical school but have placed so little in it. I guess I have failed to live up to the objectives and title of it. Maybe I could still resuscitate it during my last 6 months as a medical student. Unlikely, very optimistic but no harm trying.

Final Days at Seremban Clinical School

2011-08-17T03:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight will be my last night in Seremban. It's amazing how the last 2 years has passed by so quickly. I still remember not long ago, when it was time to leave the Bukit Jalil campus and venture to a whole new campus and experience. Two years have quickly passed since then and today, we are preparing to move yet again to another campus.

Two years seemed like a long time. It seemed like many months in a small town with no entertainment and none of the comforts of KL. Looking back today, I guess we had a rather good time here didn't we. We have made many new friendships, strengthen existing ones and unfortunately lost some as well. We learned a lot both about life and about medicine. We grew up and we matured. We had our share of ups and downs. We probably played a little too much and studied a little too little ( or vice versa). Nevertheless, two years can bring big changes to a persons life. I wonder how much will change in the next two years of my life.

Tomorrow we will sit for OSCE. It is the final exam in Seremban Clinical School which is also the final paper of our Final Professional Examinations Part 1. May we all ace through tomorrows exam and move on to Batu Pahat together. My dear batch mates of C2/09. I'll be seeing you in Semester 10.

Batu Pahat, here we come!!

WhatBerry

2011-01-02T04:52:00.001-08:00

1st Failure in Clinical School

2010-07-29T03:18:00.000-07:00

I have just received my 1st failure in Clinical School. Or should I say my 1st and 2nd failure.. sigh.

Results of our last MCQ paper was released today. I collected it and i found out that I failed both my Obstetrics and Pediatrics MCQ paper. How was this possible? I was really sure I passed my Obstetrics and I was sure I would probably pass my Pediatrics. Even if i didn pass my pediatrics, I didn expect myself to do so badly. i got a C- for Obstetrics and a D+ for Pediatrics. (Passing mark is a C)

Sigh. This is sad. I think its because of the True-False section. It always pulls down our marks and causes us to do badly. the good news is, True-False questions will be completely replaced with One Best Answer next semester. I hope this change would include us in Semester 8 and not just the juniors in Semester 6. I really really really hope so. And I speak for most of my batch mates too. Get rid of true false questions please.

Obstetrics

2010-07-16T07:20:00.000-07:00

Obstetric posting started out highly stressed, (augmented even more by EOS stress) highly intense and alot of pissed off moments. Nevertheless, I can confidently say that Obstetrics is one of the best and my best loved clinical posting so far. =)

A friend asked me why I like Obs. Honestly speaking, I don't know. Its just something that attracts me. Something that catched my interest. It's something that I know I should be doing. Like a calling. The same reason I'm in med school. hahaha

Perhaps this will be what I will be doing in the future after all. As MZ said, I am going to "marry" all the woman in the Obstetric Ward. hahaha

MRCOG. Keeping my fingers crossed. May this work out well.

Idiotic Days

2010-06-14T04:06:00.000-07:00

There are days that can really make you feel like a complete brainless, idiotic retarded idiot. That would be the day you feel small and useless. You will feel like giving up. It feels like there's no hope and no point. At times you are belittled by yr own actions. But most of the time its what others do. I'm definitely having one of this moment right now.

But i cannot give up. I'm tougher than this. I'm better than this. Yet I wonder. How? How do I pull through this? I really feel like dropping everything and just give up. But I cannot do so. I cannot give up now. If I give up now, I will be screwed forever. So how does one survive? I'm about to explode. Or breakdown. Or throw a kid out the window (hypothetically not literally). I wish I knew the answer................

Do I try to read the 3000 word book, fail to complete it and fail or should I stick to my thinner books and also fail? Either way, I don't see the difference. The end result is a failure. I am so gonna fail my Paediatric Posting. Clinical and Theory. Damn.

Pediatric

2010-05-19T03:51:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of Pediatric Posting.

Currently still in the blur and lost phase of a new posting. Children are not small adults. Thats absolutely true. Everything is new and since we have never had any paediatric topics before, this whole posting is new. I need to pick up my momentum fast. There isn't much time to waste. Five weeks passes very fast. But how do I pick up speed when I fall asleep every 3 paragraph? I don even know which books suits me. Damn.. This aint good..

Revision for Internal Medicine

2010-05-13T02:16:00.000-07:00

Having holidays does not mean time to rest and play. Holidays are time to catch up on studies and do revision. Such is the life of a medical student. A bit sad huh.After spending the last 5 days of my holidays in relative rest, it is now time to revise for EOS. Urrggh. This proves much harder than I expected. Firstly since its holidays and more importantly, Internal Medicine simply shuts my brain off. Sigh. Maybe I do prefer Surgery over Int Med. Nevertheless, I still need to revise Int Med. But how do I make it more interesting? How do I contain the vast amount of informations in my brain? If only I could download them in like how Neo does in Matrix. Would be nice. ;)

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T05:01:00.000-07:00

Today is Mother's Day. To all mothers (especially mine), Happy Mother's Day. =)

Mothers are the most selfless people in the world. They can sacrifice anything for their children. Nothing is too much to ask for. They never complain, they never whine and they are always ready to give. Starting from the 9 months we were conceived in her womb till the very end of our lives, our mother will always be there for us. Perhaps we should do more for our mother's in return.

How did you celebrate your mother today? Whatever you did, I'm sure it your mother will be happy. Mother's are easily contented. All they wish is for their children to be safe, grow up and show love and care for them. It is not hard at all. The important thing is to do this everyday, 365 days a year and not just on Mother's Day.

Love your mother everyday. Do not wait till May to do so because Everyday Is Mother's Day.

Love you always mum. =)

Ortho Long Case

2010-05-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

I can finally put my Ortho books away for awhile. Long case today turned out okay, apart from the fact that I waited 4 hours to present my case. The case assigned to me was a Femoral Neck Fracture. Mr Naik didn't ask me that many question. Perhaps because it was late or perhaps because I'm the 8th or 9th student under him. hahaha He ended the session by saying I did okay. Let's see how this would translate to in grades. =P

Reflecting back on how I used to study during year 1 as compared to how I am now, I can see a tremendous change. Perhaps if I studied as hard as I do now 3 years ago, I would have gotten better grades. Perhaps I would have a much stronger foundation than what I have now. Perhaps if I have a time machine, I would advice my younger self to avoid these mistakes (along with some others) and do much better. I guess I have grown wiser over the years. Have I? =)

Of True False and OBA

2010-05-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

Coming to the end of my 5 week in Orthopedics, we face the inevitable. Exams! Today we sat for our Psychiatry and Orthopedic MCQ paper.

The paper consists of the usual True False, OBA and EMQ. And as usual, the dilemma throughout most of the paper was not about the right answer but rather to "answer or not to answer". Why? Negative marking of course. We don't want to loose our hard earned marks do we? haha

Orthopaedic MCQ was ok. It was do-able. Not that I'm gonna score in it, but I can safely say I passed that paper. Psychiatry on the other hand was different. Our course coordinator, Dr Rajan was right. The paper was tough. Sigh. Hopefully I have enough correct answer to pass that paper.

Tomorrow will be my long case. After that, my long awaited 1 week break. Oh, break has never felt this good. After spending 3 weeks consecutive weeks in Seremban, I really do need a break.

(Posted 1 day late due to Internet glitch)

A time of reflections

2010-04-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

Week 4 of Orthopaedics.

I guess there are times when we need to sit in one corner, look deeply inside and reflect on ourselves. Reflect on what has been happening lately, how have things been turning out, what we have done lately. Self reflection. Indeed, i need to find my corner.

Things have not been going on well. I wonder, what have I done wrong? Perhaps I should have been studying harder. Perhaps I should have been studying "smarter". Perhaps I should have been nicer. Perhaps less critical. Perhaps I should have been less annoying. perhaps I should just SHUT MY BLARDY MOUTH! Perhaps things would have been better. Perhaps perhaps perhaps.

What is wrong with me? How did I go from someone that is likable to someone obnoxious with symptoms of Mania? I talk too much. I Bullsh*t too much. That's for sure. I don't study enough. My circle of friends is diminishing till the extend i wonder if i even have any friends. Have i been loosing friends or have everyone started becoming tired of my nonsense? Perhaps they have had enough of tolerating me. Is that it? Its depressing to see that everyone has a circle of friends. People they study with, go to wards with, do stuff with. And then i look at myself and Im a damn loner. I don have friends to study with, i study alone. I don't have anyone to go to wards with. I tag along with groups who somehow give me the feeling they just don want to chase me away because I'm from their batch.

Are people just tolerating me because they pity me? Is that it? It feels like Im being included because no one wants to be with me., Because i don't have any friends. Because im a screwed up person. What is happening? How did things turn out this way? I want to be my old self. I want to be what i was. I want to be how things were before. How did it change? I wish someone would tell me.

Am i being too harsh on myself? Am i being delusional? Am i over judging myself? Really? I hope so. I truly hope all this are just made up by my mind. But how would i know? I have had this thought before. I have asked myself this before. I have been through this. Yet i never got the answers to my questions. Could someone tell me? Please. Tell me. I need to know the truth.

Total Hip Replacement

2010-04-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

The surgery I'm not meant to see.. Total Hip Replacement. Went into the OT today hoping to witness a Total Hip Replacement by Mr Naveed, but was chased away by OT Sister. No reason given. Just a "You can't be here". O well, OT sister, being OT sister if u know what I mean.. sigh.

Asked a senior about it, apparently its to maintain sterility. That seems to be the reason to chase us out of OT, bar us from going in as well as a darn good reason to screw us early in the morning for no apparent reason. The things we medical student go through just to learn. Perhaps its much easier to be lazy. I'm sure some people (look above) will be happy if we are lazy and just stay at hope rather than be in the OT.

I'm extremely backed up on my studies and its already the middle of week 3. Looks like I need to stay in Seremban the next 2 weekends just to catch up on my studies and to revise for EOP and MCQs... :(

Ortho Week 2

2010-04-13T06:26:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of my 2nd week in Orthopedics posting.

There seem to be a tonne of things I need to complete. I need to study for TBL, Seminars, examination, anatomy and I cant remember the things that I have covered (which means I need to go through them again rite?). I also need to go to OT to see all the procedures, go for A&E calls to observe acute management of fractures and etc. Not to forget clerk patients!! I have not been clerking enough patients. Clerking meaning actually sitting down and taking a proper history. Damn. Im so packed I dont have time to breath.

Unfortunately, I am also starting to feel burnt out. I cannot burn out. I don have the time to burn out. I need to chill abit, but I cant afford it. If i chill, i will be lagging behind and work will pile up. Man. Why does it have to be this tough. Sigh.

Maybe its because of the hectic schedule today. Started my day with CP at 7.30am. Ankle Examination class at 10am. Lecture on amputee rehab at 2pm and then Seminar at 4pm. All back to back the whole day. After class, I had to clerk patient for tomorrow's TBL. By the time I reached the ward, even opening the case file was an uphill challenge. I feel tired, bored and abit of anhedonia (lack of interest). Depression perhaps?

I hope its just a temporary thing. An acute feeling after a hectic day. Perhaps tomorrow will be a better day. I hope it will be. It better be. It has to.......

Psychiatry, Orthopedics and all the books in between

2010-04-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

This blog is really really pulseless.. hahaha i guess im not the blogger kind of person huh.

O well. I made it through Sem 6 in one piece. Passed all my exams. Barely made it, but i passed them all so that matters most. hahaha

Entering Orthopedic, I can feel the difference in me. I went through Psychiatry using the 2 thinnest books i can find. First Aid for Psychiatry Clerkship (great book btw) and Oxford Core Text.

But now that I'm in Ortho, i suddenly felt extremely hardworking and went and get myself the 800 pages Apley's System of Orthopedics. Crazy huh.. I also have 2 Examination books plus another Orthopedics Illustrated.. I must have gone mad in Psychiatry or something. Inflated self confidence that i can finish all these books perhaps? Mania? hahaha =P

I also started camping in library again after 1 semester away from the library. habits are hard to die huh. ;) Hopefully my hard work will pay off. Looking forward to Obstetrics at the end of Semester 7. Hopefully I dont get too excited and kill myself in the process.. very likely to happen hahahaha

Really? Do we?

2010-01-28T06:26:00.000-08:00

Do we really need to extend our compulsory service to 5 or 10 years? Thats a looooooong time. We will be old uncle by that time.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/1/27/nation/20100127132105&sec=nation

Time

2009-10-24T02:30:00.001-07:00

Everyone wishes for more time. Yet its how we make use of the time we have in hand that really matters. Make your day meaningful. Get the most out of it.

A taste of things to come.

2009-10-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

For the 1st time in my life today, I was allowed to scrub in at the OT and assisted in an operation. A patient came in for an emergency open appendectomy and the operating doctor allowed me to assist her.

I expected the surgery to end 90 minutes but things got complicated. A surgeon had to be called in and the surgery prolonged to slightly more than 3 hours.

Yet the experience was priceless. From scrubbing in, fumbling around trying to wear my sterile gloves with the "closed" method, to assisting an operating MO and finally a surgeon, it was indeed worth staying up till 3am in the OT. Being only in my 6th week of Clinical School and my 1st ever posting, i do consider myself lucky to be given this opportunity.

I did not have any major role. I was basically an extra pair of hands to hold retractors and pass instruments as well as an extra pair of hands to get in the surgeons way. hahaha Nonetheless, it was a great experience. Its like an introduction course to the life of a HO on OT call, somethings that I hope I will be doing in the not too far distant future. After the 6 weeks i spent in surgery, I am considering Surgery as my pathway in the future. I rank it 2nd to ObGyn which has been top of my list for many years.

To the doctors who granted me this opportunity, Mr Loo, Dr Tiong and Dr Jan Jan, thank you very much. Cheers.

The truth about life.

2009-10-20T06:03:00.000-07:00

Death. It is something that none of us can run from. We will all face it sooner or later.

Yesterday I experienced loosing a patient for the 1st time. A young man in his 30s came in with signs of MI and was in Ventricular Fibrillation. The MO and HO tried really hard to rescue him but was unsuccessful. We medical student help by doing chest compressions. Unfortunately. all available resources are eventually used up and the bad news has to be broken to the patients wife.

It was an emotionally intense moment. Of course it is. Imagine waking up one morning, all things well and suddenly you lost a loved one. One with no known medical illness. The truth would be hard to accept. When faced with this situation, I am reminded how fragile our lives are. In a second or two, we could lose everything we have, everything we are, everyone we love. That's the frangibility of life.

Don't take things for granted. Never waste any moment of our lives. Make the most of what we have and give every day our best we ever have.

To the patients wife, friends and family members. I wish you my deepest condolence. May you be blessed with the strength, love and support to get through this difficult time in your life. May you overcome this obstacle and may you be well and happy.

Class starts at WHAT??

2009-09-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

7.30am. That's how early we're expected to in wards every morning. The timetable says we only start at 8am, but there are many unwritten rules in clinical school. One of which is that we need to be in the ward for ward rounds. And since ward round starts at 7.30, that means we are to be at the wards by 7.30 every morning. Man, this ain't gonna be easy. O well, for the sake of my education, I guess a little bit of sacrifice is not too much asked for.

PD

2009-09-15T05:12:00.001-07:00

Im going to Hospital PD tomorrow for SOPD session. I wonder if there will be any sem 2 juniors there. hmmmmm...

Week 2

2009-09-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

Week 2 of Clinical School has official ended. It sure was tiring. This week is more beneficial than last week for sure. We spent most of out time at the hospital in wards. Most of this week is clerking patients with 1 SOPD(Surgical Outpatient Dept) where we stood for hours and 1 OT session where we yet again stood for hours.

Some of my batch mates took turns to draw blood from each other. Count me out of that. As it is, I am not fond of needles. In the hands of inexperienced 3rd year medic students is a NO NO for sure.

Today was my 1st A&E on call session. Just like the rest of the week, I felt out of place and clueless of what was going on, what I can do and how to do it. The MO asked us to do something something something (ie I had no clue what he said) and the thing I kept doing was call for Leong (my sem 8 senior). I did help out in plugging in the ECG leads though. That I could do, though Im sure a 8 year old who can differentiate red, yellow, green, black, brown and purple can do as well. hahaha

Then came in a case where I could actively assist. A patient was brought in to the A&E in cardiac arrest. We were summoned by the doctors to assist in chest compressions (CPR). It was my 1st time doing CPR on a real person (ie not on a modal) and it is way harder than it was during practices. We had to take turns among the 6 of us present and thankfully, the patient gained back his pulse. He is still in danger though due to the long transit to the hospital post cardiac arrest and have been moved to the ICU. Nevertheless, it was nice to have made myself useful and not just a moving obstruction in other people's way. hahaha

I like being in hospital. To me the way to learn medicine is by being wit patients and doing things hands on. If only there was no theory test, I would be spending my entire day and night at the hospital. =D Speaking of, I need to get past year papers from seniors. Still quite lost on what the ICA will be like. Cheers.

Clinical School Begins

2009-09-08T02:22:00.000-07:00

After a long 3 months break, class has started again. This time, I no longer report in at Bkt Jalil but rather IMU Clinical School Seremban.

It has been 1 week since I went from senior in Phase 1 to super noob junior in Phase 2. 1st week was orientation aka briefing briefing briefing and more briefing mostly about ethics and professionalism.

Then yesterday, class proper started. Day 1 consists of clerking patients in wards. Today we spent some time at the Surgical Outpatient Dept (SOPD) where we saw a Tru Cut Biopsy and FNAC. Since the SOPD focuses on breast and neck today, I had the opportunity to palpate breast lumps and neck lumps.

After that it was back to wards again to clerk patients. I guess that's how Clinical School will be. Spending a lot time in wards and with patients. I'm not saying its bad. It's good to spend time with the people we will be serving and doing what we joined this course for.

Yet a question lingers behind my mind. Everything here is self independent. We even get to choose when and what topics we want to do for CSU and TBL (the Clinical version of PBL) as well as the lecturer. My question is, How Do I Know What I Need To Know??? I'm lost and confused. Not to mentioned other things like CFCS (Community and Family Case Study), Research and a few more other things that is running con currently.

Hopefully things will settle down soon and I will get a grip of things. Or else......

On a lighter note, I finally got my Internet connection in Seremban. hahaha Life was tough last week without it. ;)

Holidays.

2009-07-23T08:07:00.001-07:00

Ever since the 23rd of May, I have been enjoying the luxury of holiday. After almost 2 months, I have another month more to enjoy. A very long break indeed. haha Well, since med school is on break, there have not been much updates but I have a feeling there will be some coming soon. Come back in September. That's when the new term starts. The start of a whole new beginning. Cheers.

SSD

2009-07-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

Well, to those who do not know, I have been working at IMU's Student Service Department for about 2 weeks now. Im at Admission Office to be exact. Work has been rewarding yet tiring. More tiring that studying actually. haha Like what JG said, we're not part time staff, we're temporary full time staff. Nice one. ;)

O well, I guess this is how things is going to be from now on. Sremban, then HO, MO. haha It will be rewarding nevertheless. Rewarding.

Happy Birthday Dad

2009-06-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

Today is my dad's birthday. We went bought a small cake and had Thai food for dinner. =)

Happy Birthday Dad!!

2012

2009-06-21T07:40:00.001-07:00

Here's another movie to look out for. 2012. I just saw the trailer and it looks potentially good. It is by Roland Emmerich, who gave us Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow - 2 great end of world movie in my opinion. It is due in November this year. =)

So what's the deal with 1012 you say. I watched a documentary on History Channel last year. It was on Nostradamus and the book of and his many prophecies. Those who believed in his prophecies interpreted from his writings that the end of the world will be in 2012. According to what I read on wikipedia, the Mayan Calendar or Mesoamerican Long Count calendar ends on 12/21/12. Some have came to believe that this is because the Mayan believed that's when the world will end. There are other theory as well which you could google 2012 or click these links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_doomsday_prediction

http://www.whowillsurvive2012.com/

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/2012-roland-emmerich.html

Do you believe that the world will end in 2012? I sure hope not. I'm still too young. I would be 25 then and it will be my 1st year working as a doctor (I'm due to graduate with MBBS early 2012). Yes the world has been seeing a number of natural disasters but don't you think it's a little too soon for something catastrophic to occur? These things takes decades not years to happen. Anyhow, 2012 looks like something we could look forward to. It is potentially a good movie. Owh, perhaps we should start preparing for 2012. Can food anyone? Survival classes? Flying classes? =)

Target Acquired

2009-06-18T01:50:00.000-07:00

I have in my hands something that will soon become almost priceless. 8 tickets to watch Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen. Hahahahaha

Yupe. That's right. I bought my tickets 1 week in advance. I anticipate demand to be sky high and all tickets to be sold out next week. Not wanting to wait any longer than I have already waited, I bought the tickets today. 7 days... 7 days... 7 days... hehehe

Pizza for everyone. =)

2009-06-09T07:11:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago, I made a promise to myself. Actually it's more like a vow. If I do pass my EOS 5, I would buy some kids lunch as a treat. And that is the exact thing I did today.

I bought 10 boxes of pizza, 5 boxes of ice cream and dropped them off at Agathians Shelter, an orphanage at Section 8 PJ. Why did I do that? Well, I believe that when something good happens to me, I would like to share it with someone else. I will share my happiness with the les fortunate. As I have mentioned sometimes back, the joy of making another happy is much more than the joy of self indulgence. You know what to now. Go out and spread some happiness. =)

Gym. (Finally =p)

2009-06-08T08:51:00.001-07:00

After months and months of inactivity, I finally went to the gym today. Not wanting to pay gym fees, I wnt to the one gym that I paid but hardly used, IMU Gym. haha Yupe. i finally got my lazy butt moving.

I also got a new pair of running shoes. Finally I got myself a proper pair of shoe. Not that my previous pair was bad, it costs RM60 and served me through semester 1-5. But, it is kinda old and does not support my legs well. i don't wanna injure myself and pay heavier consequences hence the new shoes. =)

I also watched X-Men Origins today. Yes its more than a month since its release. I was preparing for exams then and watching movie was way off my to do list. Moments ago, I finished watching Confessions of A Shopaholic. My sister asked me to watch with her. It's quite a good show. The evil truth behind credit cards.

By the way, what is the most powerful word in English. 4 alphabet. S-A-L-E. Don't you think so? It stands out, catches your attention regardless of what your doing and even have the power of making many people buy things they do not need. Impressive what 4 alphabets can do. Don't you think?

Around KL

2009-06-07T08:41:00.000-07:00

I had some relatives from Sungai Petani who came over to Kl over the weekend. We took them around to some of the iconic landmarks of KL. I too tagged along visiting places I live nearby but never truly put much thought into.

Tugu Negara (National Monument)

It has ben at least a decade since I last went to the National Monument.

Galery Sri Perdana
The former residence of our PM Dr M, it has been converted into a archive. It's like a mini museum of the residence with some pictures and gifts he recieved as a PM. My 1st time there. Didn't even knew it exists. =p

The great view of KL from the residence

Some of his vehicles.

Thean Hou Temple

Door Gods - Protects the house from evil spirits

Zodiac animals. A favourite of young children

Palace

I have never been to the palace. I have countless times drove pass it but never stopped. It's ironic since I have visited the palace at England and China. =)

Changing of Guards

Petaling Street (Chinatown)

Steam Boat June 09

2009-06-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

We had a steam boat gathering at my place today. Just a small one with sime close friends and lots of food. Scrumptious aren't they? Enjoy! hehe =)

Phacoemulsification

2009-06-03T06:42:00.000-07:00

My dad went for an eye surgery yesterday. He had cataract in his left eye and the doctor performed a Phacoemulsification to remove the cataract as well as replace a new artificial lens. (My dad was tested today morning and now have almost perfect vision, better than mine. Damn)

Me being a harworking and enthusiastic (=p) medical student requested to watch the procedure. My dad's Opthomologist Dr Hardeep Singh agreed to allow me in. IIt was a long wait and a short procedure. There were many other patients waiting and my dad was the 2nd last patient for the day. What I noticed while waiting at the waiting area was the average age of the other patients was 20 years more senior than my dad. haha I guess my dad's considered the junior huh. =p

I changed into scrub suit and as always I stood beside the doctor careful not to touch anything as he went through the procedure. Everything was done under a microscope. I only saw his gross movements and only had a slight idea of what he was doing. The procedure is conducted under topical anaesthesia. The lens is broken into smaller pieces (emulsified) with vibration and then aspirated via suction. An intraocular lens implant is then placed into the remaining lens capsule. This is a modern method of removing cataract. An older method would require a large incision in the sclera or cornea. It is still indicated for patients with hard cataract.

As I was sitting in the waiting area before and after the procedure, I realised that many of the patients were Chinese who speak little English or Bahasa Melayu. One might wonder, how does this doctor communicate with his patient? Why do so many Chinese speaking uncle and aunty choose to see a Singh doctor? I found out that Dr Hardeep speaks Chinese. Well, that sure is an advantage don't you think? Many Chinese cant even speak Chinese and we have here a Singh who can. Remarkable isn't it. In fact this is not the 1st time I met a Chinese speaking non-Chinese doctor. I met a MO during my clinic visit to Jinjang Community Clinic as well as an ENT specialist in Jln Kuching (I can't recall his name) who also speaks Chinese. And by speak I mean fluent, not just being able to scold foul words.

Then it occurred to me. Hey, I need to learn more languages. Our country consists of a multi racial community. We have Malays, Chinese and Indians comprising the top 3 races. I spent 11 years in a Malay school so my BM is quite fluent. English is my 1st language, no problem with that. Chinese. hmmmm... I consider myself fluent in Cantonese, okay in Mandarin and able to communicate sufficiently in Hokkien and Hakka so that's quite okay for now. Still need to work on that though. haha

Quite a linguistic huh? Nope. I don't think so. I'm still missing out 2 major groups. The Indians and the Deaf. Thus, I decided I will expand my spoken language to cater for the major groups in Malaysia. Starting June 13th I will be taking a 10 week course in Sign Language. I have always been fascinated by the ability to communicate with facial expression and hand signs. I hope I will be able to communicate and hold a proper conversation with Sign Language. Perhaps this will work to my benefit in the future as I will be able to communicate with deaf patients as well as help intemperate for the Deaf.

Next, I plan to learn Tamil. If all goes well, I would like to learn Tamil. There are more than 2 million Indians in Malaysia. I believe the main spoken dialect is Tamil (please correct me if I'm wrong). As a future doctor, I will be seeing quite a number of Indian patients and there will be some who would prefer to speak in their mother tongue. Knowing their language would therefore improve communication as well as build patient rapport.

That would be my plan. Hopefully I would have the time in Clinical School to fulfil my plans. =)

Movie Mania

2009-06-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

With EOS done and over with, it seems like I have caught myself a nasty condition. I call it Post EOS Syndrome. Cardinal signs of this syndrome is the feeling of boredom, nothing better to do, watching tonnes of movie and occasionally appearing in university despite being on holidays. Anyone else suffering from these symptoms? haha

In the past few weeks I have watched the following movies:

Angels & Demons

ICAC - I Corrupt All Cops

Monster vs Aliens

Terminator Salvation - watched it on the 1st day. =)

Star Trek

Only 5? hmmm.. It felt like alot more. haha Looks like I need to watch more movies then. haha

Im still waiting for the release of Transformers Revenge of the Fallen. I predict and know that it will be an awesome movie. =)

Tranformers - Revenge of The Fallen

I need to watch X-Men Origins as well. It released near my exams and I have yet to watch it. Is there anyone out there who have not watched it or wanna watch it again? Anyone? Call me if interested. ;)

I'm officially a 50% doctor

2009-06-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been late on alot of update. The most important thing that happened to me the past week was that I experienced my wort moment in IMU- collecting my EOS 5 results. (2nd worse is collecting EOS 3 results and 3rd worse is collecting EOS 2 results. hehe =p)

The good news is I PASSED!!! =D

My passport to Clinical School Seremban

The even better news is I did better than I expected. I actually got a B for EOS 5. That would my best ever result in IMU and to get it for EOS 5 is a big bonus for me.

It was rather surprising for me as the exam did not go as well as I would have hoped it to. OBA was extremely tough and tricky. I had to interpret every question as though it was written in french, understand what it meant and read between the lines for hidden message. Next I had to repeat the same process with the answers. As usual IMU examination standards means that at least 2 answers are very close with only ONE being the BEST answer. Thankfully OSPE and MEQ was better. Evidently I did (slightly) better in these 2 paper. OSPE still remains my favourite theory paper in IMU. Probably because I always get a B+ for OSPE. hahaha

OSCE was good and bad. The 1st day was a total disaster. I felt like crying after the exam. I fumbled in almost all my station, made mistake in stations that I have done a million times before, mixed up left and right (stroke question), stared at the patient for 2 minutes without a clue what to ask (irregular period HT), had no clue how to read an ECG in the SS station and didn't finish one CE station (pleural effusion). Day 2 went smoothly. Thank God! I managed to gain back my momentum and keep myself calm and collected through out the entire 12 stations. My final result - B-. Perhaps if I did well on both days I would have gotten a B+. Hmmm.. Shouldn't be greedy. B- is good enough. hehe

My result slip also told me something. As one might notice, it consists of As and Bs only. That means no more C. I'm no longer a C student!! haha I guess all the mugging I have done in the library is worth it. It pays off to study hard and be consistent with my work. I amaze myself how much I did in the past 1 year and even more how much I managed to revise in a short 16 days between CNS/MSK ICA and EOS5. Even more amazing is how relaxed I was through out the study break. I guess that's another benefit of being consistent. I can afford to be relaxed and take time off for breaks and thus avoid burnouts.

I have learnt my lesson. Be consistent, study hard, prioritize and all shall be well. If only I realised this in semester 1. hmmmm ;)

Oh well. It looks like my days in IMU Bkt Jalil has come to an end. I have foreseen this day coming. Its the end of the old and the beginning of the new. September 1st. A new campus, a new phase of medical school, a new environment and a totally new experience. Come what may, I'm ready.

ps. For the millionth time. Im OFFICIALLY a 50% doctor!! hahahahahahahahahahaha =D

The past is gone, there's nothing to we can do about it. The future is not here yet, we have no idea what's coming. All we have is the present. Make full use of it. Have no regrets.

Random Pictures

2009-06-02T05:59:00.000-07:00

Den keeps saying this blog is too bare and too empty and it needs more pictures. Alrite. I agree. Here's some pcitures. (Im still missing alot of pictures. Could I have my pictures pls... =>)

Evidence of the coldness in IMU Library

Peripheral Cyanosis

All covered up. Notice the exam induced puffy eyes?

Christy

Ek Guan

Port Dickson May 09

2009-05-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

These are the pictures from our Port Dickson trip last week. We drove 3 cars down to PD and had BBQ on the beach near Sri Malaysia (can't remember the name of the beach). More pictures on the way.

Susan Boyle

2009-05-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of Susan Boyle? No? Neither have I until 10 minutes ago. I'm not a big fan of talent shows and generally do not follow American Idol, Malaysian Idol and the other dozens of talent shows.

However, any1 who watches Britain's Got Talent would definately remember Susan Boyle. Just like Simon Cowell, her appeareance did not impress me at 1st, but when she sang. Now thats what you call talent. She had a standing ovation and all the judges were amazed by her talent. Indeed, she lived up to her nickname " The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deRF9oEbRso
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SncyQKe6CnQ

Its Over!!

2009-05-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

This post is probably a couple of days late. I was celebrating my freedom. hahaha EOS is finally over. Finally, I do not have an exam shadowing me, lecture notes to study, PBL to research on and no more long hours in the library. It sure feels good.

The night after our final OSCE paper we went to watch a movie and have dinner at Midvalley. It felt like ages since i last went there. We watched Angels and Demons and ate at Carl's Jr. After that, we went to Luna Bar. The 2nd day i went to the gym, which I have abandoned for more study time and also L4D with Ek Guan.

Results will be out this Friday and if all goes well (ie. I pass) I will be having 3 months break before starting Phase 2 at Seremban Clinical School.

I always compare studying medicine as a sailor going to sea. Up till now, I have been a sailor learning how to go to sea. In August, I will finally be able to go to sea. To see real patients in a real hospital scene, that's what we have all been waiting for.

To study the phenomena of disease without book is to sail and uncharted sea, while to study books without patients is not to go to sea at all.
Sir William Osler (1849-1919)

Tick Tick Tick

2009-04-22T08:47:00.001-07:00

Did you hear that? That's the sound of the seconds passing by. Every second passed brings me much closer to 18th May 2009 - EOS5. Only 24 days to go.

After the CNS/MSK summative assessment next Thursday, I will be starting my final revision before EOS. This will be the last preparation before I face the big question. Am I worthy of entering Phase 2?

I will have 16 days. 1 day per system for CVS, Respi, GIT and Hemato. 2 days each for Repro, Renal, Endo, MSK and CNS. That leave another 2 days for OSCE which I can also use if I fail to complete my revision in the expected time. This is going to be a race against a bullet train.
Each note shall sound very much like this.
*flip flip flip*
"next!"
*flip flip flip*
"next!"
*flip flip flip*
"next!"

Random pictures of 2009

2009-04-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

A random collection of uni pictures of Jan - April 2009. =)

The beginning of 2009 - New Year's Day

Gene's 22nd Birthday - Sri Petaling Secret Reciepe

Awwww... so sweet >.<

Household Survey for Community Health Project

Ally, Xi Yan and Joanne

Xi Yan and Ally

Practising PAP Smear for OSCE.

I cropped out my "patient" for privacy and confidentiality. =p

Gene and Den

Last CSU Session at IMU Bkt Jalil

Khang Ning, Siew May, Jana and Xi Yan

Final rotation at IMU Seremban in Phase 1

The next time I'm at Seremban will be Clinical. ;)

Randomness in LT3

IMU Ball 2009.

It's on tomorrow. Suit up.

Batch Picture

2009-04-14T08:40:00.001-07:00

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls. May I present to you.... "drum rolls"

M107!! weeee!! haha =p

Ok. Seriously. This is my Batch. Almost all of us are here. I truly respect Yuan Liang, Joe and the entire Convo Mag Committee for getting these pictures.
It sure was no easy feat getting our batch to get together for a picture. =)

M107

MBBS

International Medical University

IMU Ball Ideas

2009-04-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

I had a crazy random idea today. For the upcoming IMU Ball, I am going to wear a white shirt, a black suit and a red tie. Quite normal rite? Wait, that's not all. To make things more interesting I will wear a pair of leather gloves, shave my head bald and tattoo a bar code on the occipital (back) region of my head. The "Hitman" look. hahahaha

I think its a really cool idea. If it didn require me to shave my head, I would definitely be doing that. Guess I'll just be myself then. =p Anyone wanna adopt my idea? hehe

Here's some pictures for reference. I know you wanna do it. ;)

Matching Results

2009-03-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

The results for PMS Matching for M107 was out today. The tension could be felt from early morning itself. Im sure anyone would feel the pressure. The thought of not knowing what lies in your future, or in this case where you will be headed to can really do "wonders" to a person.

At 5pm, the gruesome wait finally ended. Results was released. As usual, we "Seremban People" who have only one choice which is to go to Seremban was there to support, share the excitement and mostly busybody. haha

Just as the batches before us, some were delighted to get their 1st choice and some were happy to get their top few choices. Inevitably, some were unfortunately sad as they didn't get their university of choice. of course, there were those who got their 1st choice but were still sad because they will be separating from their other half.

I guess that's just how life is. Not everyone will get what they want. We need to make full use of what we have. Moreover, you will never know what is the best choice after all. Your 2nd or 3rd choice might actually be the best choice for you. We can only plan, its the Big Boss up there who decides. Only he will know what's the best choice for us.

To all my friends of M107, regardless of where you will be for the next few years, I wish you all the best. Remember our days at IMU and may we keep each other dear at heart. =)

Earth Hour 2009

2009-03-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

To those who have not heard about Earth Hour, where have you been? It has been on the Internet, on television and radio for weeks.

Earth Hour as we all know, is when a city/nation/world switches their lights for 1 hour. It is a way for us to show that we are concerned about global warming.

Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia in 2007 when 2.2 million homes and business switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 Earth Hour went global with 50 million people switching off their lights. Many cities participated. Iconic landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome's Colosseum and Sydney's Opera House switched off their lights and stood in the darkness for one hour.

This year a target of 1 billion people has been set. It is expected that Earth Hour 2009 will be much global than the previous 2 years. Earth Hour has transformed into a worldwide global elections. Earth vs Global Warming. Election rules are simple. Switch off your lights if you vote for Earth, leave them on if you vote for Global Warming. Not a tough choice if you ask me. I vote Earth. =)

I found out that over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday. What will you be doing this Saturday?

There is a whole list of things you could do in the dark. Admire the night sky, look for stars normally hidden by artificial lights, share ghost stories, camp out in the dark, enjoy darkness not caused by a TNB blackout, go somewhere high and watch your city vote Earth, organise a pro-Earth party with your friends and the list goes on. Seriously, when was the last time you looked up at a dark starry night and enjoyed the beautiful star lit sky? 5 years? 10 years? Too long to remember? In our hectic lives today, we fail to enjoy the beauty that is around us. Take this opportunity to enjoy what we have taken for granted. Feast your soul on the beauty that we have for so long masked with our man-made "light".

I will be going up to Gasing Hill with my family to watch PJ go "black". haha Hopefully there will be enough people voting Earth to see the effect. Even if there isn't. it will still be a good opportunity to spend some time with my family. =)

So do the right thing. This Saturday, shut off your light and join in a worldwide call for the preservation of our mother planet. Earth Hour 2009 in Malaysia will be from 8.30-9.30 pm on Satyrday 28th March 2009. Vote Earth. Want to know more? Just search Earth Hour 2009. It's all over the Internet.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=100637&id=752639125&ref=nf#/group.php?gid=54175421409&ref=ts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Hour
http://www.earthhour.org/news/my:en
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CRs-7lRlPo

Nervous System - The Final Conquest

2009-03-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

The title's lame. I know. haha =p

It has been 4 days since we started Nervous System. This will be our last system before we go into Phase 2. Do i feel competent enough? Not at all. =(

Anyway, I guess it was appropriate to put Nervous System as the final system. Seriously, if this was our 1st system instead, I believe many won't make it to 3rd year. I know I would have been dropped out for sure.

Its only the 1st week into the system, but I tell you. Its way much more intense than anything we have had before. Never have I ever walked out of 8 consecutive lectures blur and totally zoned out. Gosh. I know my brain's higher function has not been very functional lately, but this is way too much for me to handle. If this is the way the rest of the system is gonna be, I am starting to have a bad feeling. I even heard that it gets worse later on. Oh please save me!! =s

On the brighter side, I finally finished my Com Health Survey report. Almost finish actually. Just need to print it out in uni tmr and proof read it. hehe I sacrificed 3 days of study time and piled up 8 CNS lecture notes just to complete it. They had better give me my 4% =)

Report

2009-03-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

I finally started on my Community Health Survey Report today. Some people started last week, a few started earlier than that. I instead chose to spend my one week break catching up on studies. I think its worth the time more than doing this report.

Anyway, I spent the whole of today evening, from 5pm after PBL til 10pm on it. I probably finished 10%. The easy 10% or the report that is. I have completed my cover page, a bit of the introduction and my reflection. I have yet to start on the report proper. That would probably take another 2 solid days?

Damn. That's 2 days i cannot afford. EOS is round the corner. Why doesn't the lecturers realise that? They were once medical students too. They would surely know how we feel like at this point of time. So why make us do this? To make things worse, the report only constitutes 2% of our EOS marks. 2%!!! YES! TWO! DUA! Can u imagine. The amount of time we will need to spend on this report just for 2%! They better give us all the full 2%. Nothing less than that shall be enough to compensate all the time lost on this insignificant report. It's not like any of it will appear on MMJ. It wont even appear in a student journal for crying out loud. Give us a break please.

Countdown

2009-03-22T06:15:00.000-07:00

Something occurred to me today. As I am counting my days to EOS 5, I am in fact also counting down to something else. I am counting the days I have left in IMU Bukit Jalil. In 8 weeks, M107 will be leaving IMU Bukit Jalil. Some will be heading for PMS, some will be heading for Seremban and a handful will spend another year in IMU doing their BMed.

It feels like it was just yesterday, we began our 1st day as a medical student. I can vividly remember walking into IMU on the morning of 26th February 2007, and taking the 1st step in my journey to be a doctor.

2 and 1/2 years has passed since that day. Many things have happened during this time. Some bonds were forged while some were sadly broken. There has been good times and there has been bad times. IMU Ball, IMU Cup, Orientations, EOS, camping in the library, sleeping in lectures. These are some memories I will forever treasure. Not to forget all my friends in IMU. We all came as individuals. In 8 weeks, we shall leave as a family. A brotherhood. We shall leave as members of M107.

As I count my days remaining in IMU, I shall also reminisce all the memories and I shall treasure all that i have gone through.

To all my friends, lets make the most of this remaining 8 weeks. I know it will be memorable. After all, we have CNS to help us make it "unforgettable". hahaha

62 Days Mark

2009-03-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

I had a reality check earlier today. EOS 5 is 8 weeks or roughly 62 days from today. Damn. that's not good. The deadline has been drawing close faster than ever.

To make things worse, I have been loosing my push to study. Lately, I have been having problem concentrating. i just can't sit down and focus on what i need to do. I keep getting distracted. I need the strength. I need the concentration. I need the discipline. I need the push. Someone, please help me!

A Case of Medical Malpractise

2009-03-14T07:28:00.000-07:00

I have a case for you to ponder on. A 37 year old woman is undergoing a surgery to remove an ectopic pregnancy in her colon. During the bleeding, she starts bleeding out of control. Her attending doctor is paged multiple times. However, he chose to ignore the calls and went home instead. My question is, Is this considered malpractice? Seriously. Think about it and tell me. Is that malpractice? I'll bet all my money that it is.

Okay. This is not a real case. I just watched it on House MD. Yes, its just a drama (a dumb one if you ask me. I'll get back to that later) If a REAL doctor were to do this in real life, would that cause him to be sued for malpractice? If you ask me, I say he's in a very hot soup.

Since its "Dr" House, he obviously does not get malpractice suits. How nice it is to be a doctor like House. Just be an asshole and never get sued. Come on, I don get it how people can watch this series. I can't take his nonsense anymore, and I only watched a handful of episodes. If i were to be one of his patient, there's 2 things I will do to him. I will either sue him or I will just blow up his big-fat-egoistic-head with a dynamite.

Regrets of The Past

2009-03-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

As I look back at the past 21 years of my life, there are certain things that I wish I didn't do and some that I wish I did. Many are trivial issues that I can live with or can still do them in the future. However, there is 2 things that I regret most and can never achieve them anymore. They are but a permenant dark spot in my life.

The 1st is that I missed my chance to attend a World Scout Jamboree. This a get together camp for scouts from all over the world held every 4 years. It has been held for the past 80 years or so, every 4/5 years without fail except once in the 1940s probably due to WW2. I missed the Thai Jamboree which was held in 2003 (the year i was in Form 4) and again missed the London Jamboree held in 2007. The London Jamboree also marks the 100th year of scouting which adds on to the pain.

Why did I missed it? It somehow slipped my mind. I always remember it 3 years before the jamboree but forget it by the time it came. Aiding the slipping of the jamboree of my mind are the demands of my "over-enthusiastic" Scout Master, Mr S. In 2003, I was taking over the troop from Geoffrey Wong as Troop Leader (President). The amount of work and expectations bestowed upon me was crazy. Let me make this clear, My SM is way way way harder to please than any other SM. In fact, I think it is easier to please the District/State/National Commissioners than my SM.

I was practically the Barack Obama of my troop. I had to account to everything that occurs to my members, even when they skipped class. Yes, that's the job of a Troop Leader/President and I'm not complaining. Its the craziness of my SM that I cant take.

Im trying to find some consolation by attending the next World Jamboree at Sweeden in 2011. It will not be the same, but it's better than nothing. ;) I seriously hope it wont clash with any major exams as I will be in the final semester of medical school then.

The 2nd and more important as well as my biggest regret so far is not able to complete my King Scout Pentarafan and acquire my King Scout Badge. This is equivalent to a PhD in Scouts, an easy explanation to non scouts member.

As I mentioned earlier, my SM is "over-enthusiastic". This does not only apply to his expectations and demands but also on his syllabus for badges and tests. He had an impression that in order to receive even the most basic badge in Scouts, a Usaha badge we had to be "Super Scout" If King Scout was a PhD, I would liken Usaha as a High School gradation certificate only higher than a Tenderfoot badge or a basic membership badge.

You see, my SM felt that in order to become a king Scout, we had to be a Super Scout. He wanted us to be something like a Universal Soldier, a NAVY SEAL, a Delta Force, a SWAT team of scouting and that sort of thing. However, what was required from us was actually merely that of a National Service trainee. Do you see the extremely huge and colossus drift between the demands of the two?

And that was the start of all my badges problem. I regret to say that I only have 2 badges in scouts, not including my appointed rank badges.

1) Tenderfoot

2) Usaha

I'm such a sad case right. For all my enthusiasm and spirit of scouting plus the years I spent in scouts, I only have 2 badges. Don't judge me just yet. Have a look at my syllabus. Even a certified King Scout would freak out. I'm sure the commissioners would too. haha There's an insider joke to this statemtent. ;)

Back to my story. The syllabus was successfully in scaring me and inhibited any thought of taking, what more pass any of these tests. It's crazy and we all felt that achieving an Usaha was already considered a extremely successful feat. And this is indeed true as our Usaha test is almost the Level of a Jaya badge, 2 levels up.

Then in the year 2004(when I was in form 5) I decided to challenge myself with the impossible and take the tests. By then, I was already having problems with the date line for tests (we must pass King Scout by 18 1/2), trying to cope with SPM and then A levels and not to forget trying to pass the test under the "grand" and "majestic" syllabus f my SM. Just to be clear, my SM feels that the syllabus set by Scouts HQ of Malaysia is too easy and decided to add stuff into it and increasing the requirement.

After a year plus of trying, I decided to give up. Maybe I shouldn't have. But at that time, I felt that King Scout was already way pass my time. It's like an old man chasing his long gone youth. Maybe I was also sick of the discrimination i received from my SM. When I told him I was interested to take the tests, his only respond was a chuckle, a smirk and "You? You cannot pass the test." How demoralizing. Thank God for my Assistant SM such as Ganesh, Book Aik, Prakash and Foo Hoe ( who has left us due to a dispute with my SM- doesn't it seem like Mr S is the root of all our misery and problems? I sure think so) It is these ASM that gave us a true sense of belonging and a sense that we belong to a family. They made us felt respected, cared and taken care of like an elder brother rather than a crazy "Drill Seargent". It is also because of them that I still wear my uniform every Saturday morning and return to my troop, 6 years after I passed on the troop my the next generation.

At that moment when I gave up on my dreams of obtaining my king Scout Badge, I made a vow to myself. I will help my juniors achieve what i could not. And that is what i have been trying to do. I somewhat to certain extend convinced my ASM to stop using our "Super Scout" syllabus and returned to a more sensible one set by the HQ. Of course, we still do alter the syllabus a little but only to make it more relevant to our troop. We even removed some parts which we felt was not suitable or required.

Next, I made it easier for them to take tests. All it takes is an sms and I will be there to take whatever tests they wish to take. I also encourage them to take tests and sometimes offer rewards (from my own pocket) to encourage them to pass their badges. And most importantly, I lowered the requirement to pass any particular tests. I went through the hardship, there's no reason my juniors should go through it too. In fact, it is relatively easier to pass tests under me than other ASM, as said by one of the juniors. To me it does not matter. We're not training them to be Universal Soldiers. We're training them to be disciplined men with integrity and honour and most importantly, we are teaching them to have fun. Fun is the key to scouting if you ask me, not some senseless tests. Having badges on yr sleeves would also boost self confidence and a sense of achievement.

What instigated me to write this long post about test taking and badges is the syllabus book printed by HQ. We call it the "Skim Latihan" book. As i flipped through the pages trying to prepare for a tests that my juniors have requested, I come to realise that I could have received many badges even without preparing for it. I have the required skills to pass many badges, including some of the 5 Senior badges. A set of 5 badges just before obtaining King Scout. This brought back memories of my years in scouts as well as a sense of regret for the things I have not achieved. It has brought out a sense of failure. Yet, it has also strengthen my vows to help my juniors pass their tests. It has given me a new breath of spirit and encouragement to help them achieve what I failed to achieve.

I know I have used a lot of Scouting Jargon throughout this post. To make it easier to understand the big picture, I shall include a flow chart of the route to King Scout as well as the appropriate badges required. (only the main ones though. We have hundreds of smaller "Proficiency Badges or skill badges in scouts.) =)

Anugerah Pengakap Raja = King Scout Badge/ Award

The sleeve of my uniform. Member of 5th Petaling Scout Troop

Today's Saturday? =p

2009-03-06T22:05:00.000-08:00

Today's Saturday? haha My days are so similar that i have started loosing track of what day it is. hahaha

Today I'm gonna take a short break and go play Left 4 Dead with some friends. Blasting zombies into pieces with a shot gun is a great stress relief i tell you. ;)

Tonight, I shall drop back to uni for Finale Night.l The MEDT109 Orientation Committee have been preparing since 10am, so I bet it will be awesome. Last night's Variety night went well. The performance was really good. i didn't get to see all the performances, but among those i saw I really liked Group 9 performance as well as the group with Amos in it.

"It is legen...... wait for it.... dary!!" -Barney Stinson-

Community health Survey - Day 1

2009-03-04T07:26:00.000-08:00

After the 1st day of community survey, I can conclude certain things.
1) The Malaysian sun is crazy
2) Tan people like myself can still get sun burn
3) Malaysian are not very friendly, especially when someone knocks on their door to do survey
4) It is not a smart idea to do survey door to door
5) It does not make sense to make 3rd year medical students do survey door to door
6) There are Malaysians who are nice and hospitable but they are very rare. most are just cold and unfriendly. It's surprising that the hot weather here has not warmed their heart yet.

Alrite. Today was the 1st day of our Community Health Survey. From the start i didn't think highly about the whole thing and my experiences today only confirms my speculations. First, the bus driver didn't know the way. He drove round and round the same road, taking us on a tour of Cheras, up hill down hill, in and out many lorongs as well as demonstrate how to make a 3 point turn with a bus several times. What was suppose to be a 20minute journey became 1 hour and 20 minute. I really wanted to just drive the bus away when he went down to find directions several time.

Next, we walked around Cheras Baru and Cheras Utama from 9am- 3pm. Yes. We walked like complete dungu for 6HOURS!!! We went from house to house shouting Hello!! Uncle!! Aunty!! Selamat Pagi!! and anything we could to get the residence attention. The results?

For every 10 house we asked, 6 responded 4 didn't on average. 50% of responds we got was only from a barking dog. That leaves 3/10 human responses. 2/3 of the people we spoke to said Don;t want, Not Free. No one at Home?!?!? or Don't Want to Buy!! Do we look like salesman to you? Damn it. We're 3rd year medical student ok!!!!! Right. so for every 10 houses we only get to interview 1 person. That's on average. We completed 92 surveys today. That means we knocked on at least 920 houses. Waliau!! No wonder they don want to open door for us. We were like idiots going from house to house leh!!

We have a quota of 200 completed surveys. So tomorrow we have to hunt down another 1000 houses. Shit. This sucks man.

The only nice things we had today was that lunch was in a shady place and there was one man who was hospitable to us. At first he looked like he was unfriendly. But he invited us into his house and asked us to sit. He even offered us guava juice. We nicely declined but he insisted so we (Me, Xi Yan and Joanne) accepted half cup each. hehe He even showed us his family picture, allowed us to use his toilet and switched on the fan for us to rest awhile. haha what a nice old man. He's about 70 years old with a big family.

I was quite cautious at first since we were in the house of a complete stranger and I had 2 girls with me. Lucky he was not trying to spike our drink or something. haha. Then I was thinking, "This guy is not afraid we harm him meh?" Maybe he was more relaxed because he saw the 2 girls.. haha Moral of story: Always partner girls for survey. People treat you nicer. hahaha

Tomorrow will be another long day. Better sleep earlier tonight. I shall be better armed tomorrow. Shades, sun block and umbrella. Bring it on!

SPSS

2009-03-03T06:04:00.000-08:00

Today we had a 3 hours course on data entry and statistics using SPSS. The practical class was conducted by Dr Nagarajah Lee and Dr Tan for 40 of my batch people as we will be using SPSS to analyse the data we'll be getting from our Community Health Class.

I won't say SPSS is bad or the class was boring. It is a good software and makes data analysis much easier. I used Microsoft excel for my selective data and it was a pain. everything had to be done manually which was extremely cumbersome. This can be done automatically with SPSS so it's a good software. I guess the problem was that I just don't like statistics. Like most of the others present, we generally didn't like statistic very much. We ended up reading blogs, facebooking and playing games. haha sorry Dr Nagarajah. We tried our best. =p

Yes or No

2009-03-02T08:19:00.000-08:00

Yes or No? Yes or No? Yes or No? Someone please tell me yes or no.

You know what, just go for it. Yes.

Community Health

2009-03-01T07:52:00.001-08:00

For the next 2 weeks starting tomorrow, we will be having our Community Health Course. This course would consist of a few lectures and mostly of health surveys. We would be required to prepare a questionnaire of some sort and conduct a study for 3 days at various health clinics. After that, we will have to prepare a report on the findings. As well as this may sound on paper, it does not sound too good to us, especially with our exams just round the corner.

For 3 days, we would be at a clinic. Thank God transportation is provided. Preparing the survey will be a pain. The report will definitely be even more painful. With our Integrated Medical Seminar or IMS over last week, I hope the Community Health Module would be good. Nevertheless, not having any real substantial lectures for 2 weeks means we will have some time to catch up on studies. Now, Community Health Module suddenly sounds much appealing doesn't it. hehe ;)

Fishing

2009-02-26T06:45:00.000-08:00

I say this all the time, many have heard me say this. "I'm going fishing" with the fishing action. (if you have heard this before, you'll know what it means)

But honestly, all this is NATO (No Action Talk Only). Come on, I'm not that desperate and I'm certainly not a "buaya" to go fish for juniors. Especially not during their 1st week in university. Hahaha So yeah, the next time you hear me say "I'm going fishing" what I really meant is I'm going to go study, going for a walk or going go get a drink. Don't get any wrong impressions. ;)

On a lighter note, I have found many words to fit in IMSS. I Am - Super Senior, Syok Sendiri, Self Sufficient, Still Single, So Sad, Squeaking Squirrel?

Internet

2009-02-24T02:53:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned that my Internet connection sucks?Well, it does. What is streamyx doing? They must have millions of users and making tones of money. Damn

Old man beside the road

2009-02-24T02:42:00.000-08:00

If you take the Old Klang Road from Happy Garden to PJ you would have definitely seen him. There's an old man, at least 60 years old, probably a Malay who sits beside the road on the divider every day. He sits near the crossroad beside the police station. That's where the road from PJ, Happy Garden and Puchong meets.

I normally drive pass the road at 10pm. Since I was not feeling well today (read earlier post) I was there at 4pm today. To my surprise, he was also there. Does he sit on the divider the whole day? Where's his family? His legs were swollen and he was on clutches. He probably have some kind of PAD. He mentioned that he has Gout and DM when I spoke to him today.

He was begging for money actually. He had a small plastic container which he waves to passing car. I gave him RM 10 to which he responded with a lot of thank you. I was feeling generous. I know I was probably getting conned but hey, it makes him happy and I'm happy to see him happy. Moreover, The happiness gained from giving joy to others lasts longer than the happiness gained from self pleasure. Try it. Its a nice feeling.

Semester 5 is making me fall sick

2009-02-24T02:35:00.000-08:00

A 22 male presents with abdominal discomfort with increased bowel sounds since 10am today. He then developed a low grade fever which was getting worse. At 4pm, he had abdominal discomfort, malaise, muscle pain, nausea, headache and high fever. Whats the differential diagnosis?

Gastroenteritis? Food poisoning? What ever the diagnosis is, one things is for sure. Semester 5 is making me sick. Only 2/3 weeks ago i was down with fever and sore throat. Today, I'm down again. It looks like my body's immune system is fighting an uphill battle to keep me healthy, or at least not sick. It must be the long hours i go through, stress of examination and lack of sleep that's coming back to get me. Sigh. Hopefully I'll be well in time for IMS this Thursday. =(

Youtube Tutorials

2009-02-22T03:58:00.000-08:00

I'm sure we all know what youtube.com is all about. But check out what I found recently. Its tutorial videos for medical students. I'm not sure if the contents are reliable though. Anyway, check it out and judge it for yourself. I think its a good revision tool. =)

http://www.youtube.com/user/hyperhighs
http://www.youtube.com/user/Campbellteaching
http://www.youtube.com/user/o2demand

Transformers 2

2009-02-22T01:05:00.001-08:00

Breaking News!! The Official Trailer for Transformers 2: Revenge of The Fallen has been released. Its on the official website http://www.transformersmovie.com/. I just saw it and man, its really cool. There's more bots this time. Many new bots will be making their debut entry including a few huge ones. Alot more actions, more explosions, more cool cars and our heroes from the 1st movie is back to save the world. Some villains from the 1st movie returns too. Baricade and Starscream are back for sure. And as usual, the good guys are outnumbered. The site says the movie will premier on 24 June 2009. Keep yr calender marked and reschedule any plans. Autobots, Lets roll out!!

Hair Cut Day

2009-02-21T06:33:00.000-08:00

Today is my dogs hair cut day. haha It has been 3 months or so since we last cut her hair and it was getting long. My dog's name is Passion btw. =)

It would cost RM80 for a dog haircut at the shops so we decided to cut her hair ourself. Out came the scissors. Snip Snip Snip Snip and alot more snip. After one hour of careful snipping, walla!! new clean cut look. =)

Thank goodness my dog was really obedient. She just sat there quietly as we worked our way through her long hair. I cant imagine how i would be able to do this if she kept running away. Good Girl. ;)

My life as of 20th Feb 2009

2009-02-20T07:50:00.000-08:00

My life today can be summarized in one sentence. I don have a life. Why is that so? Thanks to my EOS examination 12 weeks away that is. For those who don't know, its my final examinations before i start clinical school and I'm expecting it to be tough. It will be. I have 12 weeks to finish revising 9 systems- Cardiovascular, respiratory, Hematology, Gastrointestinal, Endocrinology, Renal, Reproductive, Muskuloskeletal and Central Nervous System. I also have to practise for Clinical skills examination ow OSCE as we call it.

So what does my day consist of? I wake up between 6.30 and 7.30. Sometimes i only wake up at 8. I fight an upstream battle with my lazy self to wake up and get in the bathroom. I have a quick shower and get dressed for class. My uni has a dress code which requires me to be in formal clothes- slacks, shirt and tie for me every day. I normally leave at 7.45 and drive to my uni 10km away.

While driving, i have my breakfast. One hand driving, the other hand holding food. I know. Its dangerous. I reach uni around 8.10-8.15. Class starts at 8 so I'm almost always late. ( i just cant wake up on time)

1st lecture is a battle with myself from falling asleep. Coffee is the only way i stay awake. I'm getting addicted already. 2nd lecture is a bit better. After lecture at 10.15 I'm off to library. By the time i leave the library its 10.pm and time to go home.

I reach home at 10,30. Bath, have supper, print tomorrows notes and sleep at 12.30. That's the summary of the life of a semester 5/3rd year medical student whose preparing for final exams. To simplify its:

Wake up at 7.30
Drag myself to uni
Struggle to stay awake in lecture
Go library
Go home
Print notes
Sleep

So there you have it. My life as of 20th Feb 2009. =)

ps. i do not study 12 hours of course. i wish i do. i sleep, walk around, walk out awhile, have lunch and dinner, talk to friends etc. I piratically live in the library. My junior called me "Library God" and another named me "Permanent Resident of Library" hahaha

Utopia

2009-02-19T07:16:00.001-08:00

Any utopia players out there? Its a fun game so if you are not hooked on yet, to try it out. utopia.swirve.com.

Its a game where u start by obtaining 400acres from the Utopian Lords (game admin). You then proceed to build up your lands (houses, banks, guild, barracks, hospital, farms etc) and military. You get to choose your own race and personality. I'm currently playing as a Merchant Dark Elf, hence carrying the title The Wealthy Lord Vladimir. Lord is a title. Vladimir is my in game name (don't ask) If you play with honour (eg. not attacking easy targets only, helping fellow kingdom members) u get more honour points and promoted in title.. I'm aiming for a Baron now.. hehe

The game is set in middle ages ala LOTR. so there's soldiers, orcs, dwarfs, elves, humans of course, gnomes and my fave dark elves. There's also thieves, magic and wizards.. =)

So join in the fun and explore a whole new world. ;)