Someone asked me how I knew Abg was THE ONE the other day and I didn't have a ready answer at that time. Now, as I have pondered about it, I realise it's because it's not just one thing. It's a collection of things I observed and remembered about him during the course of our relationship.
I remember when he told me that on that night when he messaged me via ICQ, that he was so bored that he simply sent a message to a random person that caught his eye on the profile thingy. At first, I thought, wah, aku nie 'accident' je ke...but then I thought, that out of millions of people that he could have messaged, why did it end up to be me......hundreds and thousands of kilometres away in cold Belfast? and not only that, what were the chances that of all times I ignored other messages, that I felt compelled to reply to his?
I remember in the beginning he would send me forwarded emails that I would promptly ignore and I even later told him that I never bothered reading them so could he please stop? Our meetings in cyberspace at that time were mostly coincidental, mostly due to the time difference, I'm only online when he is about to go to bed and he never exhibited any interest to lay off his bedtime in order to chat with me. So, logik la kalau masa tu rasa macam dia tak berminat la kan...
I remember the things that he tells me but one which made me go 'awwww' was when he told me about being hit from behind by this car driven by this pakcik. He told me the pakcik looked so sorry that he told pakcik not to worry about the damage caused. When he admitted that he's never celebrated his birthday before, nor getting birthday presents, I promised myself that I will be that first person to do so. Later on, he would say that I am first in a lot of aspects in his life.....isn't that sweet?
I remember one day, we were chatting as usual, mostly about his work and my studies and other stuff when suddenly he said, 'I'm thinking about having a serious relationship with you'. Terkedu la jugak. Mind you, he still won't sleep late chatting despite having said that! :)
I remember arriving in my cold dorm room after a tiring 16 hour journey from KL to Belfast and had just sent him an SMS saying I had arrived. At that time I could send SMSes to him tapi not the other way round. I remember feeling so overjoyed when suddenly I received an SMS from him - kebetulan service providers had just recently allowed international SMSes. Selepas tu, melambung2 tinggi la perbelanjaan membayar phone credits....:)
I remember the day I realise that this man meant more to me than I ever let known when he nonchalantly told me about how his mother and elder sister wanted to set him up with this girl and antara sedar tak sedar I got so upset sampai nangis2 depan PC! Tak ke lawak....well, masa nie rasa lawak la...masa tu, rasa macam jantung turun ke kaki....! :)
I remember one time when we had one of our major disagreement and I implied that maybe we were better off seeing other people. He later told me, the next day he was so depressed that he couldn't concentrate during a meeting, which was even noted by the chairperson.
I remember, when I had started working, even after completing a 30 hour on call during my houseman days, the sight of him coming over for dinner completely rejuvenated me. He would listen patiently as I told him about the scoldings I had received, about feeling so tired I didn't have the energy to even eat and even just talking about it made it all feel a lot better.
I remember when I had to go back to KL, he would send me to the bus station and wait till the bus drove off before leaving. I remember the heaviness I felt in my heart as I left him.
and there are thousands more of "I remember"s over the past 5-6 years of us being together and all of those are part of the answer of how I knew whether Abg is THE ONE.
So, my answer is this,....you just know.....call it gut feeling, instinct, gerak hati, etc but only you will know....
Friday, May 18, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007
All good things...
...must come to an end......sigh.........and it's back to work next week. Ended up taking the whole week off as sis Yanti went into labour on the 14th and gave birth to a baby boy. Two boy cucus in the family now.....apparently they plan to name him shaquile.....weh, dah fikir masak2 ke belum tu weh??? :)
The beach at the hotel we stayed the first night.
I love hotel stuff!
The whole lot of stuff we bought. Shopping spree sakan!
Latest addition to the family.
The beach at the hotel we stayed the first night.
I love hotel stuff!
The whole lot of stuff we bought. Shopping spree sakan!
Latest addition to the family.
Friday, May 11, 2007
A day of silver linings
I may groan and gripe about stuff but despite all that I love my job. and yesterday was proof that silver linings do exist.
I was in the OPD on my own (with one MA - when I was in Permaisuri, I had the luxury of 4 MAs, di manakah keadilan? What a silly distribution of resources!) and also covering the casualty, since Z has taken the day off. Silver lining: unlike the rest of the week, the casualty was eerily quiet and calm. Pelik betul. I had to assess two cases during the lunch hour (itupun after seeing all patients finally at 1.45pm) but they turned out to be fine. Afternoon cases was completed at 5 (itupun with the help of two JMs) and I then went to casualty to clerk in a case of jaundice. Tapi itu je lah.
I have been bursting my head about leaving work the whole week and during morning breakfast with my colleagues, it turns out that she won't be going to the course afterall. Lega. Silver lining number two. But I've decided to come back early from holiday anyway, as a number of MOs will be going for courses on Thursday.
Tapi yg pentingnya, I will be going off on my holiday today! Yeay, Langkawi, here I come!
I was in the OPD on my own (with one MA - when I was in Permaisuri, I had the luxury of 4 MAs, di manakah keadilan? What a silly distribution of resources!) and also covering the casualty, since Z has taken the day off. Silver lining: unlike the rest of the week, the casualty was eerily quiet and calm. Pelik betul. I had to assess two cases during the lunch hour (itupun after seeing all patients finally at 1.45pm) but they turned out to be fine. Afternoon cases was completed at 5 (itupun with the help of two JMs) and I then went to casualty to clerk in a case of jaundice. Tapi itu je lah.
I have been bursting my head about leaving work the whole week and during morning breakfast with my colleagues, it turns out that she won't be going to the course afterall. Lega. Silver lining number two. But I've decided to come back early from holiday anyway, as a number of MOs will be going for courses on Thursday.
Tapi yg pentingnya, I will be going off on my holiday today! Yeay, Langkawi, here I come!
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Dilema, delima
Tension sungguh. Nak bercuti makin tension ada la.
Abg kata I'm thinking too much about it. He said I should stop feeling kesian towards other people and start feeling kesian towards myself. (Or rather, kesian pada dia since he is the one who has to listen to me moan and gripe about how stressed I am at work)
It's just that, next week, I had applied for a whole week off. Abg has a two-day course in KL and some work in the SA office. Travelling takes 2 days already. So, dah lima hari dah tu.
The thing is, kak TJ will be away for the whole week doing admin meetings and what nots. The other OPD MO will be away on Sunday for a presentation. I don't think Z, who signed my leave form realised this when he agreed to be my 'pengganti'. He's away for a course at the moment and taking Thursday off. (Org lain senang je amik cuti tapi diri sendiri nak amik cuti kena pikir 4-5ratus kali)
One MO on a Sunday.....tension wooo. I think Z can be 'pulled' to work in OPD the whole day and hopefully one of the other MOs will come and help out. For the rest of the week, if he can help out in the mornings pun dah ok dah kot. Aaargh....tension!
Tapi I don't have any other free time next week. June will be busy, what with ISO Audit and all. Tambah pulak what with the school holidays, definitely MO lain berebut2 nak cuti-cuti Malaysia jugak.
Abg, being the typical male he is.....hehehe, jgn marah Abg....:) states it rather simply, whether you are there or not, work in the hospital will go on. Pepandai la MO yg ada tu cari org nak cover. Kalau nak pikir kesian, kekeringan la mati kerja tension tiap2 hari.
Abg kata I'm thinking too much about it. He said I should stop feeling kesian towards other people and start feeling kesian towards myself. (Or rather, kesian pada dia since he is the one who has to listen to me moan and gripe about how stressed I am at work)
It's just that, next week, I had applied for a whole week off. Abg has a two-day course in KL and some work in the SA office. Travelling takes 2 days already. So, dah lima hari dah tu.
The thing is, kak TJ will be away for the whole week doing admin meetings and what nots. The other OPD MO will be away on Sunday for a presentation. I don't think Z, who signed my leave form realised this when he agreed to be my 'pengganti'. He's away for a course at the moment and taking Thursday off. (Org lain senang je amik cuti tapi diri sendiri nak amik cuti kena pikir 4-5ratus kali)
One MO on a Sunday.....tension wooo. I think Z can be 'pulled' to work in OPD the whole day and hopefully one of the other MOs will come and help out. For the rest of the week, if he can help out in the mornings pun dah ok dah kot. Aaargh....tension!
Tapi I don't have any other free time next week. June will be busy, what with ISO Audit and all. Tambah pulak what with the school holidays, definitely MO lain berebut2 nak cuti-cuti Malaysia jugak.
Abg, being the typical male he is.....hehehe, jgn marah Abg....:) states it rather simply, whether you are there or not, work in the hospital will go on. Pepandai la MO yg ada tu cari org nak cover. Kalau nak pikir kesian, kekeringan la mati kerja tension tiap2 hari.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Crossing fingers and toes
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Kesing invasion and my 'jonah'ness
I think I am gradually becoming more 'jonah'.
Seriously.
My calls are becoming more and more ridiculous each time. KKM doesn't pay me enough on call money la.
Anyhow, once in a while Tanah Merah gets invaded by these black bugs called 'kesing' - forgot to take pictures la, did I mention I was jonah last night? Hehe. They get EVERYWHERE and let out this pungent smell when squashed, which isn't really nice as they get all over and inevitably get stepped on.
I don't see 'kesing's outside Kelantan. My first experience with them was when I was a houseman in HKB. Last night there was a major invasion. These bugs were crawling up the wall, the glass doors and into cars. Euch. I really should have taken pictures but I was seriously too tired.
Last night's call was, in short, hell. Seriously. For the first time since my houseman days, I did not sleep a single wink. Not sleeping at all on a 24 hour call - NOT GOOD. Human rights association should really come here and fight for us doctors.
It has been busy since early morning and the previous day's MO was still in casualty. He'd just referred a case of septicaemic shock (which passed away on arrival) and in the middle of stabilising the internal bleeding case. On bed 2 was an asthma case which I proceeded to review.
In short, I had practically all possible emergency cases under the sun! From febrile fits (two cases at once at half three in the morning - have mercy on me!) to maggot infested abscess to fractures and appendicitis and snake bite and haemorrhagic stroke and head injury. Manala aku tak penat.
However, I'm delaying my nap this morning to gripe about t*****rs. What is about them that makes them feel that they are more superior than others? Is it because of the nature of their job, so called nurturing minds and what nots? A group of them came to my casualty last night. The patient is a head at a nearby s****l. He is unmarried, at a ripe old age of 53. Apparently he is a nice guy and all. He has been in my casualty since half five and it was nearing 11pm and MVA cases were coming in by the drove and I was desperate to figure out what was wrong with him so I could ship him off to where he should be. His blood sugar was on the high side and I wanted to test his pee. He had tried previously but then claimed had no urge. I wanted to catheterise him but despite insistence, totally refused - whimpering like a 5 year old kid.
I was tired, and I still had a long night ahead of me and I do not want to deal with this. I admit I might have raised my voice a little but if anything, it just proves that I am human. Only a non living thing would still be cheerful after working for more that 15 hours straight.
Later on my staff informed me that the patient expressed his displeasure with my unpleasant demeanour. Yang kelakarnya, a few of his colleagues actually went up to my nurse and asked her what my husband worked as and other personal question? Amenda korang nie....? Takde kerja lain ke nak buat nak busybody pasal hal peribadi aku?
I left him in the ward this morning, in the care of my freshly back from honeymoon colleague and hopefully she is in a clearer mind to find out what is wrong and what to do next.
After running up and down and across, at half four a patient in ward collapsed. He was well underway by the time I rushed to the ward. I still can't figure out the exact cause of death.
I'm getting dizzy now. Maybe I should get my sleep......zzzzzzzz
Seriously.
My calls are becoming more and more ridiculous each time. KKM doesn't pay me enough on call money la.
Anyhow, once in a while Tanah Merah gets invaded by these black bugs called 'kesing' - forgot to take pictures la, did I mention I was jonah last night? Hehe. They get EVERYWHERE and let out this pungent smell when squashed, which isn't really nice as they get all over and inevitably get stepped on.
I don't see 'kesing's outside Kelantan. My first experience with them was when I was a houseman in HKB. Last night there was a major invasion. These bugs were crawling up the wall, the glass doors and into cars. Euch. I really should have taken pictures but I was seriously too tired.
Last night's call was, in short, hell. Seriously. For the first time since my houseman days, I did not sleep a single wink. Not sleeping at all on a 24 hour call - NOT GOOD. Human rights association should really come here and fight for us doctors.
It has been busy since early morning and the previous day's MO was still in casualty. He'd just referred a case of septicaemic shock (which passed away on arrival) and in the middle of stabilising the internal bleeding case. On bed 2 was an asthma case which I proceeded to review.
In short, I had practically all possible emergency cases under the sun! From febrile fits (two cases at once at half three in the morning - have mercy on me!) to maggot infested abscess to fractures and appendicitis and snake bite and haemorrhagic stroke and head injury. Manala aku tak penat.
However, I'm delaying my nap this morning to gripe about t*****rs. What is about them that makes them feel that they are more superior than others? Is it because of the nature of their job, so called nurturing minds and what nots? A group of them came to my casualty last night. The patient is a head at a nearby s****l. He is unmarried, at a ripe old age of 53. Apparently he is a nice guy and all. He has been in my casualty since half five and it was nearing 11pm and MVA cases were coming in by the drove and I was desperate to figure out what was wrong with him so I could ship him off to where he should be. His blood sugar was on the high side and I wanted to test his pee. He had tried previously but then claimed had no urge. I wanted to catheterise him but despite insistence, totally refused - whimpering like a 5 year old kid.
I was tired, and I still had a long night ahead of me and I do not want to deal with this. I admit I might have raised my voice a little but if anything, it just proves that I am human. Only a non living thing would still be cheerful after working for more that 15 hours straight.
Later on my staff informed me that the patient expressed his displeasure with my unpleasant demeanour. Yang kelakarnya, a few of his colleagues actually went up to my nurse and asked her what my husband worked as and other personal question? Amenda korang nie....? Takde kerja lain ke nak buat nak busybody pasal hal peribadi aku?
I left him in the ward this morning, in the care of my freshly back from honeymoon colleague and hopefully she is in a clearer mind to find out what is wrong and what to do next.
After running up and down and across, at half four a patient in ward collapsed. He was well underway by the time I rushed to the ward. I still can't figure out the exact cause of death.
I'm getting dizzy now. Maybe I should get my sleep......zzzzzzzz
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
I'm IT...(again)
Hi Zaiti!!
Got back early this morning, post call. Very busy night it was, one MVA after another right up to the stroke of midnight. Originally planned to have lunch at SIL's house but am too tired, I said to Abg so he has left with FIL and yet here I am blogging! Haha, teruk tak I....
The MVAs weren't that bad apart from this 23 year old who actually did not sustain any fractures but she had bilateral ear bleeding and appeared drowsy. Vomited 3 times in the casualty and sorry to say this, the whiff of partially digested ikan pedas will forever stay in my mind! But the bilateral ear bleeding is the least of her problem, after a while she started to vomit out blood clots. Sent her off to HUSM with a pack of blood and my best prayers and hope the A&E MO won't find much about the quality to which I transported my patient to them. Lately they have been making a fuss about how poorly we KKM MOs are sending cases to them.
BTW, I digress, - let's finish this tag so I can take my shower and get some shut eye...hehe.
Part 1 - ON THE OUTSIDE
Name: Suriana
DOB: Feb 12th
Current status: Married and not taking it for granted
Eye color: Dark brown
Hair color: Black
Right of left handed: Right
Zodiac: Aquarius the water bearer
Part 2 - ON THE INSIDE
My heritage: Half malay and half chinese
My fear: Flying coackroaches, fast scuttling spiders and drowning
My weakness: Abg, my Ma, chocolates and my mother's sambal ikan bilis.
My perfect pizza: Ala, not much of a pizza fan - what with all the horrendous experience with pizza waiters.
Part 3 - YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW
Your first thought waking up: If it's a working day - waaa, morning already meh? i want to sleep some more! If it's the weekend - what? only 5 am? I'm already wide awake and raring to go, wakey-wakey people!!!
Your bedtime: I'm not a night owl - usually in bed by half ten, eleven.
My most missed memory: Ma and us howling in laughter while playing Pictionary.
Part 4 - YOUR PICK
Pepsi or coke: Neither - don't like carbonated drinks unless topped with ice cream and everyone knows floats are best with root beers!
McD or burger king: Ramli burger, a ringgit a piece!
Single or group dates: Depends on the situation
Adidas or nike: Doesn't really matter
Lipton Tea or Nestea: Depends - sweet Lipton Tea with a dash of lemon is divine on rainy nights with The Amazing Race on TV.
Chocolate or vanila: Chocolate, anytime!
Cappuccino or coffee: Not much of a coffee drinker lately - but okay la, cappucino.
Part 5 - DO YOU..
Smoke: Nope
Curse: Only when I'm in the car, driving and no one can hear me...hehe
(other tags have more to this tapi I'll just stick to Zaiti's)
Part 6 - IN THE PAST MONTH
Drank alcohol: Nope
Gone to the mall: Faithfully every Saturday when I'm not on call. It's the only thing keeping me sane, hahaha. Long live window shopping and retail therapy!
Been on stage: No
Eaten sushi: Can't stand the stuff - sorry, sushi lovers!
Dyed your hair: I wish I could but Abg won't let me.
Part 7 - WHAT WERE YOU DOING
1 minute ago: Typing 'sushi lovers'
1 hour ago: Reading Zaiti's blog
4 1/2 hours ago: Tying up work at the antenatal ward
1 month ago: Probably at work, wishing I could be home blogging...
1 year ago: At work, wishing I could be in KL, shopping. Aiya cannot remember la, my life is so boring! hahaha
Part 8 - FINISH THE SENTENCE
I love: so many things in my life right now, I hope I don't forget to be thankful.
I hate: inconsiderate drivers, people who throw rubbish out of their car windows, colleagues who leave other colleagues in the lurch, people who are responsible for MANGGA (what a sorry excuse for an entertainment mag!)! Hahaha.
I feel: sleepy but I need to finish this tag.
I hide: my disdain/dislike towards people very poorly. I will never make it as a politician...
I miss: spending time with my family now that everyone has started to branch out with their own family and busy with work
I need: to finish this tag, log out and take that long overdue shower and get a nap!
I'm not really tagging anyone.....plus most people I know have already done this...Okay la, tag Yaya la....she really needs to update her blog more often...!
Got back early this morning, post call. Very busy night it was, one MVA after another right up to the stroke of midnight. Originally planned to have lunch at SIL's house but am too tired, I said to Abg so he has left with FIL and yet here I am blogging! Haha, teruk tak I....
The MVAs weren't that bad apart from this 23 year old who actually did not sustain any fractures but she had bilateral ear bleeding and appeared drowsy. Vomited 3 times in the casualty and sorry to say this, the whiff of partially digested ikan pedas will forever stay in my mind! But the bilateral ear bleeding is the least of her problem, after a while she started to vomit out blood clots. Sent her off to HUSM with a pack of blood and my best prayers and hope the A&E MO won't find much about the quality to which I transported my patient to them. Lately they have been making a fuss about how poorly we KKM MOs are sending cases to them.
BTW, I digress, - let's finish this tag so I can take my shower and get some shut eye...hehe.
Part 1 - ON THE OUTSIDE
Name: Suriana
DOB: Feb 12th
Current status: Married and not taking it for granted
Eye color: Dark brown
Hair color: Black
Right of left handed: Right
Zodiac: Aquarius the water bearer
Part 2 - ON THE INSIDE
My heritage: Half malay and half chinese
My fear: Flying coackroaches, fast scuttling spiders and drowning
My weakness: Abg, my Ma, chocolates and my mother's sambal ikan bilis.
My perfect pizza: Ala, not much of a pizza fan - what with all the horrendous experience with pizza waiters.
Part 3 - YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW
Your first thought waking up: If it's a working day - waaa, morning already meh? i want to sleep some more! If it's the weekend - what? only 5 am? I'm already wide awake and raring to go, wakey-wakey people!!!
Your bedtime: I'm not a night owl - usually in bed by half ten, eleven.
My most missed memory: Ma and us howling in laughter while playing Pictionary.
Part 4 - YOUR PICK
Pepsi or coke: Neither - don't like carbonated drinks unless topped with ice cream and everyone knows floats are best with root beers!
McD or burger king: Ramli burger, a ringgit a piece!
Single or group dates: Depends on the situation
Adidas or nike: Doesn't really matter
Lipton Tea or Nestea: Depends - sweet Lipton Tea with a dash of lemon is divine on rainy nights with The Amazing Race on TV.
Chocolate or vanila: Chocolate, anytime!
Cappuccino or coffee: Not much of a coffee drinker lately - but okay la, cappucino.
Part 5 - DO YOU..
Smoke: Nope
Curse: Only when I'm in the car, driving and no one can hear me...hehe
(other tags have more to this tapi I'll just stick to Zaiti's)
Part 6 - IN THE PAST MONTH
Drank alcohol: Nope
Gone to the mall: Faithfully every Saturday when I'm not on call. It's the only thing keeping me sane, hahaha. Long live window shopping and retail therapy!
Been on stage: No
Eaten sushi: Can't stand the stuff - sorry, sushi lovers!
Dyed your hair: I wish I could but Abg won't let me.
Part 7 - WHAT WERE YOU DOING
1 minute ago: Typing 'sushi lovers'
1 hour ago: Reading Zaiti's blog
4 1/2 hours ago: Tying up work at the antenatal ward
1 month ago: Probably at work, wishing I could be home blogging...
1 year ago: At work, wishing I could be in KL, shopping. Aiya cannot remember la, my life is so boring! hahaha
Part 8 - FINISH THE SENTENCE
I love: so many things in my life right now, I hope I don't forget to be thankful.
I hate: inconsiderate drivers, people who throw rubbish out of their car windows, colleagues who leave other colleagues in the lurch, people who are responsible for MANGGA (what a sorry excuse for an entertainment mag!)! Hahaha.
I feel: sleepy but I need to finish this tag.
I hide: my disdain/dislike towards people very poorly. I will never make it as a politician...
I miss: spending time with my family now that everyone has started to branch out with their own family and busy with work
I need: to finish this tag, log out and take that long overdue shower and get a nap!
I'm not really tagging anyone.....plus most people I know have already done this...Okay la, tag Yaya la....she really needs to update her blog more often...!
Friday, April 27, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
Colleagues busuk....
What the hell has happened to professionalism??? Sometimes when I read the slogan, "sikap penyayang, bekerja berpasukan and professionalisme..." - I seriously laugh, man.
The last time I took a long leave (long = more than one day) was in January. and how many months ago was that? Bila ada overlapping PH pun I'm either oncall or postcall. and then bila nak amik cuti in continuation with overlapping PH, fikirrrrr la seratus kali whether I really need the break or not because I know all hell breaks loose in an OPD after overlapping holidays (hence why I must be the only person in Malaysia who hates overlapping holidays but that's another blog entry).
I think some MOs in my hospital has been taking advantage of others. Take for example our OPD; at the moment there are three MOs there (average of 250-300 patients per day) tapi boleh kira dgn jari la how many days there are three of us. Most of the time one is away for a meeting, a course or assisting with visiting specialists. When you're in charge of the OPD (read: moi), takde tapi2, sharp 8.15am at least kena start tgk patients already. Most days, you finish at past 1 pm. Pukul 2 suku or lewat2 pun, half two you have to start again.
I don't like to call myself calculating, but when day in and day out you see your colleagues (who is supposed to be helping out) leave her parking space at half twelve -quarter to one and only drive leisurely back at half two, sape yang tak bengang? Tambah lagi this certain MO never shows her face to help with seeing patients. Nor is she at the casualty to assist the MO there. So, what are you doing haaaaa?????? Mengelamun? Berlenggang???
The story via the grapevine recently was that she went off for a course in Pahang early this month. Tetapi rerupanya, she didn't go for the course AND didn't turn up for work. What the hell? So it's no wonder that the other silently suffering MO retaliated by taking off for more than a week after she came back. Poodacit punya org.
The other colleague busuk of the year is another pain in the ass. I don't care if she reads this because I am sure as hell going to give her something worth listening to during the next MO meeting. She is only in charge of the Labour Room (which gets about 6-8 admissions per day nowadays) and the ante/postnatal ward. It goes without saying of course that she also is in charge of the Gynae/Antenatal Clinic. She took leave yesterday and came for work today and taking the rest of the week off? Okay la, kalau tak ganggu kerja aku, tak kisah la but why the hell are you taking a day off when you're supposed to assist the specialist? Siapa jugak yg kena ganti? Akuuuuu jugak. So, esok OPD only one MO left. What the hell?? MO yg luluskan cuti pun satu, and yg tolong sign as pengganti pun satu. Korang dah tahu perangai minah andalusia tu macam tu, jangan la sign borang cuti tu, fahammmm???
Eii, hangin aku.
Sure doesn't help the fact that I am on call tomorrow......sigh.....
The last time I took a long leave (long = more than one day) was in January. and how many months ago was that? Bila ada overlapping PH pun I'm either oncall or postcall. and then bila nak amik cuti in continuation with overlapping PH, fikirrrrr la seratus kali whether I really need the break or not because I know all hell breaks loose in an OPD after overlapping holidays (hence why I must be the only person in Malaysia who hates overlapping holidays but that's another blog entry).
I think some MOs in my hospital has been taking advantage of others. Take for example our OPD; at the moment there are three MOs there (average of 250-300 patients per day) tapi boleh kira dgn jari la how many days there are three of us. Most of the time one is away for a meeting, a course or assisting with visiting specialists. When you're in charge of the OPD (read: moi), takde tapi2, sharp 8.15am at least kena start tgk patients already. Most days, you finish at past 1 pm. Pukul 2 suku or lewat2 pun, half two you have to start again.
I don't like to call myself calculating, but when day in and day out you see your colleagues (who is supposed to be helping out) leave her parking space at half twelve -quarter to one and only drive leisurely back at half two, sape yang tak bengang? Tambah lagi this certain MO never shows her face to help with seeing patients. Nor is she at the casualty to assist the MO there. So, what are you doing haaaaa?????? Mengelamun? Berlenggang???
The story via the grapevine recently was that she went off for a course in Pahang early this month. Tetapi rerupanya, she didn't go for the course AND didn't turn up for work. What the hell? So it's no wonder that the other silently suffering MO retaliated by taking off for more than a week after she came back. Poodacit punya org.
The other colleague busuk of the year is another pain in the ass. I don't care if she reads this because I am sure as hell going to give her something worth listening to during the next MO meeting. She is only in charge of the Labour Room (which gets about 6-8 admissions per day nowadays) and the ante/postnatal ward. It goes without saying of course that she also is in charge of the Gynae/Antenatal Clinic. She took leave yesterday and came for work today and taking the rest of the week off? Okay la, kalau tak ganggu kerja aku, tak kisah la but why the hell are you taking a day off when you're supposed to assist the specialist? Siapa jugak yg kena ganti? Akuuuuu jugak. So, esok OPD only one MO left. What the hell?? MO yg luluskan cuti pun satu, and yg tolong sign as pengganti pun satu. Korang dah tahu perangai minah andalusia tu macam tu, jangan la sign borang cuti tu, fahammmm???
Eii, hangin aku.
Sure doesn't help the fact that I am on call tomorrow......sigh.....
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Why I worry for my race's future..
First of all, with this post, I am in no way declaring myself as a picture of perfection. Jauh panggang dari api. I'm doing OK and can always improve in many ways...
But, I worry when I go to the newstand or book stores and I see the Malays only reach for Harian Metro or Bacaria and Perdana. When it comes to magazines, I only see them buying Mangga or URTV or Media Hiburan. I worry when I accidentally eavesdrop on a group of Malay kids' conversation, all I hear is what a disaster it is that Siti has put on weight and dressing more provocatively some more.
They say they don't buy English mags or newspapers because they have a hard time understanding, yet if they don't read, I can't see them improving and it's all just a vicious cycle.
I worry when I watch TV and I see parents dragging school-going kids to shows that easily ends at 11 pm when kids need 8-10 hours of sleep to nurture their thinking capabilities. I worry when I see makciks jumping up and down with excitement in their seats when they see Aizat rolling his hips to the current Spanish hit.
I worry when parents start to see the idiot box (and there's a reason why the TV is called that) as a substitute baby sitter and prefer to plonk their kids to Barney or Cinderella or worst still, Kuliah Cinta rather than read a story to them.
I worry when kids get dragged to the cinemas by entertainment-hungry parents, and end up watching Ghost Rider or Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam. I remember being brought to the the cinemas but all we got to watch was harmless Disney animation.
I worry when I see young, innocent girls turn up at my hospital, pregnant yet unwed and in despair as the bf is a drug addict yet they can't leave the relationship because they oh-so-love-him-so-much!
I worry when Malay kids tend to take the easy way out and opt for easier degrees and then end up without a job later. I worry that our education system is churning out regurgitators rather than thinkers.
I'm a worry wort tonight, yes I am....
But, I worry when I go to the newstand or book stores and I see the Malays only reach for Harian Metro or Bacaria and Perdana. When it comes to magazines, I only see them buying Mangga or URTV or Media Hiburan. I worry when I accidentally eavesdrop on a group of Malay kids' conversation, all I hear is what a disaster it is that Siti has put on weight and dressing more provocatively some more.
They say they don't buy English mags or newspapers because they have a hard time understanding, yet if they don't read, I can't see them improving and it's all just a vicious cycle.
I worry when I watch TV and I see parents dragging school-going kids to shows that easily ends at 11 pm when kids need 8-10 hours of sleep to nurture their thinking capabilities. I worry when I see makciks jumping up and down with excitement in their seats when they see Aizat rolling his hips to the current Spanish hit.
I worry when parents start to see the idiot box (and there's a reason why the TV is called that) as a substitute baby sitter and prefer to plonk their kids to Barney or Cinderella or worst still, Kuliah Cinta rather than read a story to them.
I worry when kids get dragged to the cinemas by entertainment-hungry parents, and end up watching Ghost Rider or Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam. I remember being brought to the the cinemas but all we got to watch was harmless Disney animation.
I worry when I see young, innocent girls turn up at my hospital, pregnant yet unwed and in despair as the bf is a drug addict yet they can't leave the relationship because they oh-so-love-him-so-much!
I worry when Malay kids tend to take the easy way out and opt for easier degrees and then end up without a job later. I worry that our education system is churning out regurgitators rather than thinkers.
I'm a worry wort tonight, yes I am....
Fantabulous
I love living in Kelantan. Kelantan is where traffic jams are a near impossiblity (only happens during Raya period) and kuih is still 20sen a piece and you can still get a meal for seriyal (seringgit la tu...:)) but there are no cinemas here so I have to be content with a trip to Kuantan or watching them later.
Thanks to RedBeanBun, I went and got myself this! and what a bargain it was! DVD original for RM13.90 aje okay? Slacknya satu aje, on the cover and on the disc itself, it proudly states, FELEM Yasmin Ahmad. Tak caya, gi tengok....
I think, in order to appreciate Yasmin Ahmad's films, you must be a person who gets subtleties. Her films don't tell all. They leave some for the audience's imagination. You know lah, how people watch movies and then they grouch about how they didn't like the ending and the plot and what nots. Sometimes though, it does feel like watching a compilation of Petronas ads but she does make them fantastically so no one's complaining.
I love Ayu! Hahaha....I think she should get a spin off. Seriously.
If I have a kid, and if it's a girl, I want her to be like Orked.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Pisang goreng anyone?
Looks completely harmless kan? Yummy even. BTW, at D'Bayam Restaurant in KB, there's is this kiosk selling Pisgor. They're fried bananas with fillings - chocolate, strawberry, milk, cheese - agak menarik, kan?
Anyway, my internet connection went kaput on Friday. Luckily yours truly was on call on Friday. However, upon returning on Saturday morning, Abg said the connection's still poor (translate - non existant!) so I called up Tmnet, ye la takut akaun mati ke sebab tak bayar bill, kan? But the nice young chap on the other side said everything looks ok. Tension ok, takde internet.......I got chills and rigors from the withdrawal...haha.
Friday started slow. The morning after, I went to review the cases I admitted and there were only a handful. and I found myself feeling less tired than usual despite only trudging off to the on call room at nearly one and was waken by phonecalls every hour.
The gist of the call happened after half seven. I had left a few patients there awaiting blood results. When I got there, I proceeded to clerk them in. At the end of the casualty I noticed a group of a family. Apparently this girl of 28 had been eating pisang goreng earlier and said that a piece had gotten stuck in her throat. She was seriously OK when I first saw her. Her oxygen sats pun 97% and she was breathing fine.
Suddenly she started to become more agitated and restless. My MA gave me a warning look and pushed her to the resus room.
She was choking and panic was so evident in her eyes. I proceeded to sedate her and intubated her quite easily. Tak nampak pun pisang goreng....tapi after intubation I noticed that only the right side was rising. Tarik2 tube pun tak jadi. Buat xray, tgk left lung dah collapse. Tapi nasib baik her oxygen levels stayed in the 90s and remained that way all the way to KB.
We called up ICU just now to ask how she's doing. Alhamdulillah, she is now recovering, only requiring the minimum of ventilation. and the ENT team DID find a piece of pisang goreng in her left main bronchus (one of the passageway in the lungs).
Tapi of course, as always I am left wondering if I could have handled this better. If I had discussed this case earlier (when she was still breathing on her own), there is a possibility the ENT team would just laugh me off. Even if the ENT team did accept her case, there is the possibility of her choking on the way and what could she do then?
and then, in the middle of the pisang goreng bruhaha, an 82-year-old was brought in unconscious. A classical case of intercranial bleed. Initially wanted to refer her to USM but her condition deteriorated and later on passed away. Such was the grief of her son that he in turn collapsed in my casualty. Nasib baik takde apa. Phew.
At least dah lepas dah my PH on call. Now can enjoy the rest of my weekends. Yeay.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
The madness that was..
Jusco's card member's day.
Seriously.
View of the madness from the first floor.
More madness.
Smack in the middle of madness.
*Click on picture to experience the full effect of the madness.
Abg had a briefing in KL this recent weekend. Initially we wanted to get there on the Friday, and leave on Sunday. However, I had just submitted my leave application for Thursday and Big Boss had approved. Kalau nak ubah, kena 'ghoyak semula' - which is, something I am not particularly looking forward to. So, in the end, we decided to drive to KL on my day off and drive back right after the briefing.
The night before leaving, I came across the ad for Jusco's card member's day, which was only going to be held at two Jusco stores - Wangsa Maju and one other (can't remember). and I naively thought, ah, working day meh, takkan la ramai org....BOY was I mistaken. Ma tells me she avoids Jusco's card member's day like the plague. Regardless of how giler the discounts are, the hassle of all the people, the lack of parking and queues to pay are just not worth it.
We arrived at about half two and since Ma (who also left Kelantan the same morning) haven't arrived, we thought we'd go and see what bargains we could grab. Belum apa2, I dah hairan tgk all these cars parked all over the place. and I mean, ALL OVER. Even on the grass of the divider okay. Right from the Wangsa Maju LRT station to the traffic light. Abg had to U-turn twice before managing to find a spot on the divider. There were RELA officers taking care of traffic flow and already a bunch of makciks were happily pushing trolleys of stuff out of the parking entrance.
Security checked for Jusco cards (I bet they were too hassled to check if the cards were this year's) and turun je escalator, BOOM, the full throes of women in a sale frenzy hit me.
Serious giler ok.
I tak tgk pun barang. I was more enthralled with watching the bargain hunters.
Some had trolleyfulls of clothes and bags and shoes and pillows and bedsheets. One nyonya had a trolleyful of only MamyPoko diapers - many came out pushing luggages (which were seriously cheap). Many had kids sleeping amidst the stuff they just bought and one even laid down blankets in the shopping trolley for his baby to lie down on and WITH HIS OTHER HAND, pushing ANOTHER trolley for stuff.
Berapa ramai la workers took the day off that day. Even weekends pun tak segiler nie tau. A makcik in the elevator jokingly said she spent the whole year's savings on that one day sale.
Dah la prices were cut down, in addition to that, for every RM100 you buy from the same dept, you get to redeem RM10 vouchers. Mana tak giler?
But Jusco again proves to me why it's so popular among KL-Selangor people. Even with the hundreds of shoppers, you barely had to wait 5 mins to pay. In fact, there were so many cashiers waiting (for your money) that you barely had to wait at all.
Abg got a pair of really nice sandals, a couple of shorts - I got an early birthday gift for sis Yaya and Shokubutsu was only RM4.99! Talk about great bargains.
Yang kelakarnya, we left after getting the 'essentials' and had to go back to the car cause our arms were aching from lugging the stuff (Naturel cooking oil was cheap and Ma wanted us to get fruits and veges) we bought (trolley pun habis) - and after we got into the car, Abg said, 'Kalau kita U-turn and ada parking, nak masuk lagi sekali tak?' Hahaha, tgk2 bila dah U-turn, parking was opened so kitorg pun joined the madness for the second time. Giler ke tak giler tu?
As much as I hate KL for it's constant hecticness, there's nothing like it for retail therapy.
Seriously.
View of the madness from the first floor.
More madness.
Smack in the middle of madness.
*Click on picture to experience the full effect of the madness.
Abg had a briefing in KL this recent weekend. Initially we wanted to get there on the Friday, and leave on Sunday. However, I had just submitted my leave application for Thursday and Big Boss had approved. Kalau nak ubah, kena 'ghoyak semula' - which is, something I am not particularly looking forward to. So, in the end, we decided to drive to KL on my day off and drive back right after the briefing.
The night before leaving, I came across the ad for Jusco's card member's day, which was only going to be held at two Jusco stores - Wangsa Maju and one other (can't remember). and I naively thought, ah, working day meh, takkan la ramai org....BOY was I mistaken. Ma tells me she avoids Jusco's card member's day like the plague. Regardless of how giler the discounts are, the hassle of all the people, the lack of parking and queues to pay are just not worth it.
We arrived at about half two and since Ma (who also left Kelantan the same morning) haven't arrived, we thought we'd go and see what bargains we could grab. Belum apa2, I dah hairan tgk all these cars parked all over the place. and I mean, ALL OVER. Even on the grass of the divider okay. Right from the Wangsa Maju LRT station to the traffic light. Abg had to U-turn twice before managing to find a spot on the divider. There were RELA officers taking care of traffic flow and already a bunch of makciks were happily pushing trolleys of stuff out of the parking entrance.
Security checked for Jusco cards (I bet they were too hassled to check if the cards were this year's) and turun je escalator, BOOM, the full throes of women in a sale frenzy hit me.
Serious giler ok.
I tak tgk pun barang. I was more enthralled with watching the bargain hunters.
Some had trolleyfulls of clothes and bags and shoes and pillows and bedsheets. One nyonya had a trolleyful of only MamyPoko diapers - many came out pushing luggages (which were seriously cheap). Many had kids sleeping amidst the stuff they just bought and one even laid down blankets in the shopping trolley for his baby to lie down on and WITH HIS OTHER HAND, pushing ANOTHER trolley for stuff.
Berapa ramai la workers took the day off that day. Even weekends pun tak segiler nie tau. A makcik in the elevator jokingly said she spent the whole year's savings on that one day sale.
Dah la prices were cut down, in addition to that, for every RM100 you buy from the same dept, you get to redeem RM10 vouchers. Mana tak giler?
But Jusco again proves to me why it's so popular among KL-Selangor people. Even with the hundreds of shoppers, you barely had to wait 5 mins to pay. In fact, there were so many cashiers waiting (for your money) that you barely had to wait at all.
Abg got a pair of really nice sandals, a couple of shorts - I got an early birthday gift for sis Yaya and Shokubutsu was only RM4.99! Talk about great bargains.
Yang kelakarnya, we left after getting the 'essentials' and had to go back to the car cause our arms were aching from lugging the stuff (Naturel cooking oil was cheap and Ma wanted us to get fruits and veges) we bought (trolley pun habis) - and after we got into the car, Abg said, 'Kalau kita U-turn and ada parking, nak masuk lagi sekali tak?' Hahaha, tgk2 bila dah U-turn, parking was opened so kitorg pun joined the madness for the second time. Giler ke tak giler tu?
As much as I hate KL for it's constant hecticness, there's nothing like it for retail therapy.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Childhood ambition revisited
I have never always wanted to be a doctor.
Seriously.
Do you remember when in primary school, teachers keep this 'rekod pelajar' and at the back, you're supposed to write your top three ambitions? I can't remember mine. The earliest memory of ever having something near to one is after I got my SRP results. It was okay la, I think. I remember getting a P7 for something. Serioussss. It's something I'd rather forget, okay. I really wanted to go into the Arts Stream. I wanted to learn all about Literature and writing and touching people's lives with words. Corny, kan? Hehe.
But my teachers weren't having any of this nonsense. Not that it mattered anyway as I had already applied to an MRSM and have been wanting to get away from that school ever since I moved there from Sarawak after form 1.
I love writing - I guess it's just a natural progression from my love of reading. Ma said when I was younger I used to spend all my time browsing through our Encyclopedia Britannica. When I had gotten through the whole set, I would rummage through my mother's school stuff in the store and find her old school books complete with 'ayer' and 'enchik' spellings.
My first serious novel was Badai Semalam. I was 8 when I found it somewhere. From the moment Mazni walked out of her school compounds and went home to her sick mother, I was hooked. Zaki was the ultimate hero - his undying love for Mazni was an inspiration and heart felt. I didn't think Karim was a true baddie. I would like to think that he did really love Mazni but maybe he was just not ready to commit to a marriage.
But anyhow, I digress. So, even as I went off to MRSM Kuantan (the best 2 years of my life!), I still harboured hopes of getting into writing - authoring or journalism. I enjoyed languages and participated in the malay debate, worked with the newsletter team and wrote a script for the college drama.
After my results came out (which, surprisingly, isn't a gazillion A1s by the way! Even got two C3s tau...gasp, horror horror! Hehehe) I got an offer to do the MARA Engineering course and also applied for the JPA scholarship. Ma wasn't hearing anything about me pursuing my love of writing. She said, you study to be a doctor first, if you love writing, you'll find a way to do it later. So I concurred to the veto power that is my mother, :) and went off to UK to study medicine. The rest, they say, is history.
Moral of this post? Mothers are always right and me thinks SPM is getting easier...haha.
Seriously.
Do you remember when in primary school, teachers keep this 'rekod pelajar' and at the back, you're supposed to write your top three ambitions? I can't remember mine. The earliest memory of ever having something near to one is after I got my SRP results. It was okay la, I think. I remember getting a P7 for something. Serioussss. It's something I'd rather forget, okay. I really wanted to go into the Arts Stream. I wanted to learn all about Literature and writing and touching people's lives with words. Corny, kan? Hehe.
But my teachers weren't having any of this nonsense. Not that it mattered anyway as I had already applied to an MRSM and have been wanting to get away from that school ever since I moved there from Sarawak after form 1.
I love writing - I guess it's just a natural progression from my love of reading. Ma said when I was younger I used to spend all my time browsing through our Encyclopedia Britannica. When I had gotten through the whole set, I would rummage through my mother's school stuff in the store and find her old school books complete with 'ayer' and 'enchik' spellings.
My first serious novel was Badai Semalam. I was 8 when I found it somewhere. From the moment Mazni walked out of her school compounds and went home to her sick mother, I was hooked. Zaki was the ultimate hero - his undying love for Mazni was an inspiration and heart felt. I didn't think Karim was a true baddie. I would like to think that he did really love Mazni but maybe he was just not ready to commit to a marriage.
But anyhow, I digress. So, even as I went off to MRSM Kuantan (the best 2 years of my life!), I still harboured hopes of getting into writing - authoring or journalism. I enjoyed languages and participated in the malay debate, worked with the newsletter team and wrote a script for the college drama.
After my results came out (which, surprisingly, isn't a gazillion A1s by the way! Even got two C3s tau...gasp, horror horror! Hehehe) I got an offer to do the MARA Engineering course and also applied for the JPA scholarship. Ma wasn't hearing anything about me pursuing my love of writing. She said, you study to be a doctor first, if you love writing, you'll find a way to do it later. So I concurred to the veto power that is my mother, :) and went off to UK to study medicine. The rest, they say, is history.
Moral of this post? Mothers are always right and me thinks SPM is getting easier...haha.
Itch
I love weekends.
Not because I get to sleep late. I'm not a late waker-upper anyway in the first place - even during my studying days, I'm up by no later half eight - yet somehow, it's something about knowing you don't have to be anywhere which makes me so chirpy. Weird, I know.
The kitchen has been in a total mess for nearly a month. What with being on call and away for courses, I just haven't had the time to roll up my sleeves and get to what needs to be done. The window sill is grimy with gunk, I can smell rat pee from behind my plate rack and fish bones and what nots are scattered behind the microwave. The floor is slippery from cooking oil spattered during frying and don't even get me started on the state of my refridgerators!
Three hours later, my kitchen top is shiny and lavender smelling, my sinks are rid of the slime starting to colonise the grout and best of all, the floor is mopped! I even took the trouble to wipe off the glue from the rat trap on the floor. Ayah (dad in law) has been having fun with the rat traps we bought in KL. He's been laying them around the house and checking up on them everyday for the latest catch. The small ones get stuck alright but the larges ones just struggle off and leave horrible glue trail (complete with fur) all over. Did you know cooking oil works wonders on these gluey stuff?
I'm on passive call for 48 hours starting 8 am Saturday. Which means I have to come in and do rounds two days in a row. I'm supposed to do OPD call as well on Monday but I think I just can't be bothered so I'm letting kak TJ have it. I got so pissed off with this particular senior MO. Forever taking leave and letting us struggle to cope with her ward. Kalau dia amik cuti, org lain cover, takpe. Tapi god forbid if someone else takes leave, she will act as if we left the whole hospital for her to manage!? Mentang2 la you so senior, you think you can bully us meh?
My last break was in January. I think it's time to go off on another break. We were talking about a road trip to the northern part of the peninsula this time. Once we get this done, it's Sabah and Sarawak next. Finally found my passport so I can now apply for a renewal.
Not because I get to sleep late. I'm not a late waker-upper anyway in the first place - even during my studying days, I'm up by no later half eight - yet somehow, it's something about knowing you don't have to be anywhere which makes me so chirpy. Weird, I know.
The kitchen has been in a total mess for nearly a month. What with being on call and away for courses, I just haven't had the time to roll up my sleeves and get to what needs to be done. The window sill is grimy with gunk, I can smell rat pee from behind my plate rack and fish bones and what nots are scattered behind the microwave. The floor is slippery from cooking oil spattered during frying and don't even get me started on the state of my refridgerators!
Three hours later, my kitchen top is shiny and lavender smelling, my sinks are rid of the slime starting to colonise the grout and best of all, the floor is mopped! I even took the trouble to wipe off the glue from the rat trap on the floor. Ayah (dad in law) has been having fun with the rat traps we bought in KL. He's been laying them around the house and checking up on them everyday for the latest catch. The small ones get stuck alright but the larges ones just struggle off and leave horrible glue trail (complete with fur) all over. Did you know cooking oil works wonders on these gluey stuff?
I'm on passive call for 48 hours starting 8 am Saturday. Which means I have to come in and do rounds two days in a row. I'm supposed to do OPD call as well on Monday but I think I just can't be bothered so I'm letting kak TJ have it. I got so pissed off with this particular senior MO. Forever taking leave and letting us struggle to cope with her ward. Kalau dia amik cuti, org lain cover, takpe. Tapi god forbid if someone else takes leave, she will act as if we left the whole hospital for her to manage!? Mentang2 la you so senior, you think you can bully us meh?
My last break was in January. I think it's time to go off on another break. We were talking about a road trip to the northern part of the peninsula this time. Once we get this done, it's Sabah and Sarawak next. Finally found my passport so I can now apply for a renewal.
India was a blast and a total dream come true. One of these days I should really scan all my stuff from the 2 month trip and relive it here. I'm now itchy for another trip abroad. Abg has never been out of the country so I would really love to go travelling with him.
I'd love to go back to London - maybe we could do that when sis Yanie goes off for her dental postgraduate thingy - but Australia looks kinda fun. The thing with the travelling bug is that, the planning and poring over details and researching about the place you're heading off to is part of the fun. Well, to me anyway.
A fellow blogger up north in Ireland is travelling to Austria. Nak ikuttttt! Ah, the anticipation and planning and sleepless nights as you await for THE day.......*sigh* only another avid traveller will understand.....
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Welcome!
Seriously, I'm so crap at thinking up titles for my posts lah.
Anyway, while jaunting along my regular haunts, specifically at Dr. M's, I discovered I've been added to the Doctor Blogroll at Malaysian Medical Resources. Waaaah, now more readers lah! I sneaked a few peeks at the other bloggers and some are pretty serious stuff.
Now I feel so malu - I write play-play only, can also ah?
Anyway, while jaunting along my regular haunts, specifically at Dr. M's, I discovered I've been added to the Doctor Blogroll at Malaysian Medical Resources. Waaaah, now more readers lah! I sneaked a few peeks at the other bloggers and some are pretty serious stuff.
Now I feel so malu - I write play-play only, can also ah?
Post call rant...
Seriously, oncall rosters are the worst pain in the neck sometimes. There are just way too many things that you have to consider, like, who has been on call during the final few days of the previous month, or who has been doing extra weekend calls and whose turn is it this month? Or who gets to do the much coveted OPD call and who gets the weekend passive calls? Urgh.
Once you get assigned with the task, you would need to call up all the other MOs and ask them for 'requests' - i.e. which days they prefer to do their calls and what nots. I've decided from next month, to do away with this chore and put a book in the casualty so that any MO can write down requests any time. The MO incharge of doing up the roster will then pick up this book and do up the roster based on the requests.
Then, on doing up this roster, ada lagi benda nak kena consider. For instance, preferably, do not put an MO on a passive call just before or right after his/her active call. Then, you're not supposed to put an MO on call (passive or otherwise) on too many weekends. Previously it wasn't much of a problem but since we decided that passive call MO has to come for rounds on the weekends, leceh la because you have to come in anyway.
Then, even after you've completed this complicated, headache inducing task and ON TIME some more, some will still be unhappy. Isy, tak grateful langsung....hehe.
Last night was rather quiet. Hari Sakit Perut Sedunia bersambung lagi. Had only 3 admissions and no referrals and that is seriously, NOTHING compared to what my hospital is known to be. Even the labour room was quiet. My labour room staff slept soundly from midnight onwards.
However, at around 5 am, one of my MAs informed me of a case of abdominal pain. He mentioned that the UPT (urine pregnancy test) was positive. So, bangun la MO ngantuk-mamai nie nak gi rule out ectopic pregnancy.
Turns out that my patient has indulged in some hanky panky with her fiance and has now gotten herself pregnant. She asked me to keep the truth from her grandmother but I told her, somehow or later, kena jugak beritau. I siap warning kat budak tu, you tak nak baby you, jangan buat benda tak elok pulak, baik bui (beri) ke saya. Initially I wanted to discharge her, but then she told me there was some bleeding, so kena la admit.
Later on, as I was pondering over my roster at the counter, masuk plak a male relative, probably wondering what's going on. When told that she has to be admitted, macam tak percaya la plak, sakit perut sikit pun kena masuk ward. Siap jeling2 kat I lagi.....Arrrgh, tension! Hehehe. Before I went off for my breakfast, I ckp kat fiesty grandmother, "Mokcik nok tau bakpo kena masuk wad, mokcik tanyo la cucu mokcik tuh...." Actually, ditujukan khas pada hanky panky girl tapi I think laser I kurang tepat la sebab apparently, sampai dah duduk atas katil dlm wad pun 'mokcik' masih tak puas hati kenapa cucu dia kena masuk wad.
Moral of the story, kalau nak hanky panky, pandai-pandai la protect yourself.
Hey, I'm not supporting free sex, okay...tapi regardless, every Tom, Dick, Harry and Jane is doing it. It's human nature to want something that is forbidden and tambah lagi portrayed as so pleasureable. Tapi, if you're too stupid to do something about preventing pregnancies, at least be responsible to your baby la. Sedap buat, pandai la tanggung.
Once you get assigned with the task, you would need to call up all the other MOs and ask them for 'requests' - i.e. which days they prefer to do their calls and what nots. I've decided from next month, to do away with this chore and put a book in the casualty so that any MO can write down requests any time. The MO incharge of doing up the roster will then pick up this book and do up the roster based on the requests.
Then, on doing up this roster, ada lagi benda nak kena consider. For instance, preferably, do not put an MO on a passive call just before or right after his/her active call. Then, you're not supposed to put an MO on call (passive or otherwise) on too many weekends. Previously it wasn't much of a problem but since we decided that passive call MO has to come for rounds on the weekends, leceh la because you have to come in anyway.
Then, even after you've completed this complicated, headache inducing task and ON TIME some more, some will still be unhappy. Isy, tak grateful langsung....hehe.
Last night was rather quiet. Hari Sakit Perut Sedunia bersambung lagi. Had only 3 admissions and no referrals and that is seriously, NOTHING compared to what my hospital is known to be. Even the labour room was quiet. My labour room staff slept soundly from midnight onwards.
However, at around 5 am, one of my MAs informed me of a case of abdominal pain. He mentioned that the UPT (urine pregnancy test) was positive. So, bangun la MO ngantuk-mamai nie nak gi rule out ectopic pregnancy.
Turns out that my patient has indulged in some hanky panky with her fiance and has now gotten herself pregnant. She asked me to keep the truth from her grandmother but I told her, somehow or later, kena jugak beritau. I siap warning kat budak tu, you tak nak baby you, jangan buat benda tak elok pulak, baik bui (beri) ke saya. Initially I wanted to discharge her, but then she told me there was some bleeding, so kena la admit.
Later on, as I was pondering over my roster at the counter, masuk plak a male relative, probably wondering what's going on. When told that she has to be admitted, macam tak percaya la plak, sakit perut sikit pun kena masuk ward. Siap jeling2 kat I lagi.....Arrrgh, tension! Hehehe. Before I went off for my breakfast, I ckp kat fiesty grandmother, "Mokcik nok tau bakpo kena masuk wad, mokcik tanyo la cucu mokcik tuh...." Actually, ditujukan khas pada hanky panky girl tapi I think laser I kurang tepat la sebab apparently, sampai dah duduk atas katil dlm wad pun 'mokcik' masih tak puas hati kenapa cucu dia kena masuk wad.
Moral of the story, kalau nak hanky panky, pandai-pandai la protect yourself.
Hey, I'm not supporting free sex, okay...tapi regardless, every Tom, Dick, Harry and Jane is doing it. It's human nature to want something that is forbidden and tambah lagi portrayed as so pleasureable. Tapi, if you're too stupid to do something about preventing pregnancies, at least be responsible to your baby la. Sedap buat, pandai la tanggung.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Rant rant rant...
AF5 fans - ada rupa macam Aizat tak?
Warning, post nie merepek dan meraban. Don't say you haven't been warned.
Me, post call today. Abg went fishing somewhere last night and still haven't returned. He usually goes off on this little hobby of his whenever I'm on call on a weekend. Yg tak bestnya, they only leave for land (from whatever spot in the ocean they were on the whole night) at about noon so I'm left at home bored......and hungry. and did I mention bored?
I've exhausted all my usual cyberspace haunts, even found a blog that could possibly belong to a homeroom-mate of mine, but I'm not sure, and I don't want to embarass him by asking straight out in his comments page, kan.
Did I mention I was on call last night? On calls on days when people baru dpt gaji can be rather uneventful. Yesterday's was one of those. Having the second call come for rounds have left me bored in the morning because I usually turn up early to do discharges and rounds. I was sooo bored that I decided to do the postnatal discharges. There were only four so that didn't take much time pun, so I was left feeling bored again.
Admissions in the morning were mostly abdominal pains. Hari Sakit Perut Sedunia la katakan. Serious. I had about 4-5 abdominal pains throughout my shift, 2 of which were suspected appendicitis. I like appendicitis, mainly because I don't have to consult anyone before sending the patient. Boring la consult MO in the referral centre - most are nice tapi some sooo berlagak, tak padan dgn diri tu baru habis 5 posting. Takpe, kau keluar ke district hospital baru kau tau langit tinggi rendah....
There were two eye cases - one guy had the white bits of his eye so swollen, sampai melimpah2 keluar the eyelid. Scary. Nasib baik the Eye MO so baik one, tak kisah tgk case straightaway.
Then I had a pakcik who had an injury with a cow about two weeks ago. Came in with the left hand all swollen and smelly with this huge wound on the dorsal (that's the otherside to the palm) part. Ick.
Then, an MVA came in. Apparently skidded at one of the dangerous bends at the TM-PM road. I understand he's in pain and upset that some no-gooders decided to take advantage of his condition and run off with the things in his car - including the spare tyre! - and I quote 'menate sungguh manusio nih..'- tapi jangan la marah2 at my MA. Wife is this young thing of 22 (he's 42) - nampak macam takut2 je dgn husband dia.
I siap bawak bantal sendiri this on call. Cannot stand the 'keras macam batu' bantal hospital. Dah la masa dapat tidur sikit, dpt bantal keras, lagi la susah nak tidur. Thankfully, slept peacefully for 5 hours. Syukur. Woke up to review 2 cases at 5 and then bathed and cleaned up the room and did my postnatal clerkings.
It's now quarter to 2 and still no news from Abg. They'd better be BIG, HUGE fishes, okay???
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Sweet as honey
I lepak at cari.com.my's forum quite a lot. The gossip board is first class for stinging hot-fresh from the oven juicylicious scandals and what nots. Remember the 'pengacara berbikini' story in Pancaindera a month back? I saw the pic (sans blurred face) and others, more than a month before that. The joke is that whenever the gossip writer states 'dari kawan' or 'sumber-sumber yang dipercayai', she/he most likely had gotten it off forum cari.com.my.
But anyhow, I digress, as usual. The other boards that I frequent are Family Discussion, Sewing and Knitting, Movies and TV etc etc. So, in Family Discussion (FD), one of the moderators brought this topic up; Madu or single mother/janda? and of course a barrage of responses came in. Some say, if the husband makes a real effort to be just to both (or more) wives, better become 'madu' than left to fend for ownself. Tapi, kalau husband and furthermore, younger wife ntah apa2 and only contribute towards the hair loss on your head, then, cerai lebih baik la.
Some only-wife and recently married forumers state that they can't see themselves sharing their husband....so, dari 'menderita', lebih baik bercerai. Some forumers are divorcees and I particularly like one who said after being divorced, she felt like a leper. Gone are all her female friends, who now think that all she wants to do now that she is a janda, is to ensnare all things male into her trap.
I don't know that many polygamous couples. Most are Abg's friends. I had a specialist once, whose husband is someone Abg knew from work and she's a 'bini tua', though I don't know why because my specialist is one of the nicest, lemah-lembutest person and not to forget, so lawa.
I'm not sure what my stand is, though. I find that I might have an opinion in the beginning, but it usually changes when I am faced with the situation. I know accepting that Abg might fall in love with someone else will be difficult. I can't stand imagining that he will fall asleep with someone else in his arms, or that someone else will cook and enjoy seeing him finish off the food.
Three years into marriage life, I admit things have become somewhat monotonous. Not having our own home is somewhat making it worse. Not having kids might have something to do with it too. Lately Abg has been having some minor changes in his day-to-day activities and maybe I'm paranoid; but it makes me jumpy. Sometimes, as we lay in bed, I look up to him and the insecurities come close to being blurted out but I don't want him to feel as if I don't trust him. But at least I know by feeling this way that I'm not taking my marriage for granted.
Maybe it's time for that second honeymoon....
But anyhow, I digress, as usual. The other boards that I frequent are Family Discussion, Sewing and Knitting, Movies and TV etc etc. So, in Family Discussion (FD), one of the moderators brought this topic up; Madu or single mother/janda? and of course a barrage of responses came in. Some say, if the husband makes a real effort to be just to both (or more) wives, better become 'madu' than left to fend for ownself. Tapi, kalau husband and furthermore, younger wife ntah apa2 and only contribute towards the hair loss on your head, then, cerai lebih baik la.
Some only-wife and recently married forumers state that they can't see themselves sharing their husband....so, dari 'menderita', lebih baik bercerai. Some forumers are divorcees and I particularly like one who said after being divorced, she felt like a leper. Gone are all her female friends, who now think that all she wants to do now that she is a janda, is to ensnare all things male into her trap.
I don't know that many polygamous couples. Most are Abg's friends. I had a specialist once, whose husband is someone Abg knew from work and she's a 'bini tua', though I don't know why because my specialist is one of the nicest, lemah-lembutest person and not to forget, so lawa.
I'm not sure what my stand is, though. I find that I might have an opinion in the beginning, but it usually changes when I am faced with the situation. I know accepting that Abg might fall in love with someone else will be difficult. I can't stand imagining that he will fall asleep with someone else in his arms, or that someone else will cook and enjoy seeing him finish off the food.
Three years into marriage life, I admit things have become somewhat monotonous. Not having our own home is somewhat making it worse. Not having kids might have something to do with it too. Lately Abg has been having some minor changes in his day-to-day activities and maybe I'm paranoid; but it makes me jumpy. Sometimes, as we lay in bed, I look up to him and the insecurities come close to being blurted out but I don't want him to feel as if I don't trust him. But at least I know by feeling this way that I'm not taking my marriage for granted.
Maybe it's time for that second honeymoon....
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
MC oh MC....
MC or medical certificate is the one sore thing in my bottom half sometimes.
I dread Sundays and Thursdays because on these days, I notice the rapid depletion of my MC pages. Blame Sundays for the Sunday blues and people just can't be bothered to work on Thursdays anymore. Gaji nak, kerja asyik curik tulang.
The rationale is, if you're sick enough for an MC, theoretically, you shouldn't even be able to rise from bed. Tapi, people can still jump, hop and skip all the way downhill from my hospital, and they still demand one.
Take pakcik A, who works in a nearby estate. Came to see me at 10am for 'lenguh-lenguh badan' - belum apa2, mintak MC because, and I quote "rasa serba salah la pulak doktorrrrr"....my foot la serba salah....apa kerja kau habis pukul 10 stgh pagi ke?
Then there is teacher C, whose daughter had a teeny weeny burn on her calf after coming into contact with the exhaust of a motorbike. Requested for a 2-day MC....for a tiny burn? Logik sikit la teacher...When asked to see me, mula la keluar cerita that rupa2nya takde tiket bas untuk anak dia balik Penang on that Sunday. So, MC guna untuk cover sebab takde tiket bas, gitu? Firstly, takkan la tak cari tiket bas awal2.....and then, MC dua hari untuk luka seciput tu?
I've been told I'm among the most lenient when it comes to giving MCs. One particular MO tak layan pekerja2 estate nie mintak MC. She will give time slips, that's all. In fact, pekerja2 estate has known her so well that they will ask beforehand which MO they will be seeing, and refuse to see her. Banyak cekadak sungguh.
Today was an especially bad day at OPD. Somehow, people of TM has decided to turn up in massive droves at our OPD. A big portion of them, school kids with either demam (siap ada sound effect batuk and selsema hidung lagi as soon as they stepped into my room) or sakit perut. I figured, the 'mendung'ness of the skies has tricked their brains into oversleeping and now they needed an excuse for not turning for classes. Mana taknya, ada sorang mamat tu siap gel rambut pacak2 lagi nak dtg amik MC. Tell me how am I NOT supposed to be cynical??
Anyhow, at about one (with about 10 more people to see), comes in this young lady, siap pakai sweater (benda yang mandatory dipakai kalau nak mintak MC, kalau ada tissue kat tgn lagi bagus) berjalan masuk dgn penuh lemah longlai.
Patient: Doktor, saya dah demam lima hari. Saya dah jumpa doktor di Hospital Sungai Buloh dan dia pun tak tahu apa sakit saya. Mak saya suruh saya balik untuk berubat kampung. Jadi saya nak mintak MC.........
Me: (Membara ya amat dlm hati) *throws up my hands in the air in exasperation* - patient terus terkedu.
Me: Awak nie menyalahgunakan MC, tau tak?
Patient: Tapi saya sakit doktor....*sok sek sok sek* runny nose
Me: Pergi lah check darah and air kencing dulu...
Patient: Tapi saya tak larat doktor....
Me: Awak takde pilihan. Awak ingat saya boleh bagi MC tanpa justifikasi? Takde sebab, tiba2 keluar MC? MC nie sekrg isu sensitif, awak tau....bobebobebobe me going on and on......
I seriously don't know how/why/what some people are thinking. Minah nie tak fikir ke apa implikasi apa yang dia buat? She claims to be ill (aparently Hospital Sg Buloh pun dah bagi MC), YET she can travel from Selangor alllllll the way to Kelantan? Tell me, where is the logic in that? Tak fikir panjang sungguh. Siap ckp dia pregnant la bagai - so, what? Just because you're pregnant, I'm supposed to give you special treatment?
Org Kelantan pun satu, sakit sikit2 nak balik jumpa mak. Luka kudung jari pun sanggup travel from Kedah overnight nak jumpa mak...bawak jari luka berbalut dlm bas....yenadey.
Tapi segarang2 I, bab2 nak kesian kat org nie senang sgt. Garang tak serupa bikin. Last2, lepas dah letih membebel, melaser, bagi jugak la MC 3 hari. At least lepas dgr I membebel, she will think twice about doing something as silly as this....
Aaargh, this is why Suriana will never open a clinic......
I dread Sundays and Thursdays because on these days, I notice the rapid depletion of my MC pages. Blame Sundays for the Sunday blues and people just can't be bothered to work on Thursdays anymore. Gaji nak, kerja asyik curik tulang.
The rationale is, if you're sick enough for an MC, theoretically, you shouldn't even be able to rise from bed. Tapi, people can still jump, hop and skip all the way downhill from my hospital, and they still demand one.
Take pakcik A, who works in a nearby estate. Came to see me at 10am for 'lenguh-lenguh badan' - belum apa2, mintak MC because, and I quote "rasa serba salah la pulak doktorrrrr"....my foot la serba salah....apa kerja kau habis pukul 10 stgh pagi ke?
Then there is teacher C, whose daughter had a teeny weeny burn on her calf after coming into contact with the exhaust of a motorbike. Requested for a 2-day MC....for a tiny burn? Logik sikit la teacher...When asked to see me, mula la keluar cerita that rupa2nya takde tiket bas untuk anak dia balik Penang on that Sunday. So, MC guna untuk cover sebab takde tiket bas, gitu? Firstly, takkan la tak cari tiket bas awal2.....and then, MC dua hari untuk luka seciput tu?
I've been told I'm among the most lenient when it comes to giving MCs. One particular MO tak layan pekerja2 estate nie mintak MC. She will give time slips, that's all. In fact, pekerja2 estate has known her so well that they will ask beforehand which MO they will be seeing, and refuse to see her. Banyak cekadak sungguh.
Today was an especially bad day at OPD. Somehow, people of TM has decided to turn up in massive droves at our OPD. A big portion of them, school kids with either demam (siap ada sound effect batuk and selsema hidung lagi as soon as they stepped into my room) or sakit perut. I figured, the 'mendung'ness of the skies has tricked their brains into oversleeping and now they needed an excuse for not turning for classes. Mana taknya, ada sorang mamat tu siap gel rambut pacak2 lagi nak dtg amik MC. Tell me how am I NOT supposed to be cynical??
Anyhow, at about one (with about 10 more people to see), comes in this young lady, siap pakai sweater (benda yang mandatory dipakai kalau nak mintak MC, kalau ada tissue kat tgn lagi bagus) berjalan masuk dgn penuh lemah longlai.
Patient: Doktor, saya dah demam lima hari. Saya dah jumpa doktor di Hospital Sungai Buloh dan dia pun tak tahu apa sakit saya. Mak saya suruh saya balik untuk berubat kampung. Jadi saya nak mintak MC.........
Me: (Membara ya amat dlm hati) *throws up my hands in the air in exasperation* - patient terus terkedu.
Me: Awak nie menyalahgunakan MC, tau tak?
Patient: Tapi saya sakit doktor....*sok sek sok sek* runny nose
Me: Pergi lah check darah and air kencing dulu...
Patient: Tapi saya tak larat doktor....
Me: Awak takde pilihan. Awak ingat saya boleh bagi MC tanpa justifikasi? Takde sebab, tiba2 keluar MC? MC nie sekrg isu sensitif, awak tau....bobebobebobe me going on and on......
I seriously don't know how/why/what some people are thinking. Minah nie tak fikir ke apa implikasi apa yang dia buat? She claims to be ill (aparently Hospital Sg Buloh pun dah bagi MC), YET she can travel from Selangor alllllll the way to Kelantan? Tell me, where is the logic in that? Tak fikir panjang sungguh. Siap ckp dia pregnant la bagai - so, what? Just because you're pregnant, I'm supposed to give you special treatment?
Org Kelantan pun satu, sakit sikit2 nak balik jumpa mak. Luka kudung jari pun sanggup travel from Kedah overnight nak jumpa mak...bawak jari luka berbalut dlm bas....yenadey.
Tapi segarang2 I, bab2 nak kesian kat org nie senang sgt. Garang tak serupa bikin. Last2, lepas dah letih membebel, melaser, bagi jugak la MC 3 hari. At least lepas dgr I membebel, she will think twice about doing something as silly as this....
Aaargh, this is why Suriana will never open a clinic......
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Between ego and guilt
I'm an egotistical driver.
Seriously.
Just now, there was a female driver (not that it mattered what sex the driver is) in front of me. Depan dia ada lori sebijik, bawak jerami ke apa tah. Approachingthe 'ghe-tak' (jambatan aa), I nak potong (bukan double line tau), dia pun ikut sama. So, the other lane dah clear, I pun tekan accelerator, nak potong la dia plak.
Makcik tak bagi, ok.....tapi, I didn't care, tekan lagik to the max. Depan tu sayup2 dah nampak lori sebijik and makcik nie still tak nak bagi I potong.
Nak masuk balik lane, dah more than halfway overtaken her so potong la jugak. A few moments later, I pandang rear view mirror, dia dah takde. Kalau simpang dia dah dekat, takkan la beria-ia tak nak kasi org potong la kan?
Now, I'm worried that she might have swerved over the 'ghe-tak' - possible tak? I'm actually thinking about driving over to take a look. When I told Abg, dia bleh gelak pulak. Apa, kelakar ke menyebabkan org eksiden?
Nak gi tgk ke tak? Nak gi tgk ke tak?
Seriously.
Just now, there was a female driver (not that it mattered what sex the driver is) in front of me. Depan dia ada lori sebijik, bawak jerami ke apa tah. Approachingthe 'ghe-tak' (jambatan aa), I nak potong (bukan double line tau), dia pun ikut sama. So, the other lane dah clear, I pun tekan accelerator, nak potong la dia plak.
Makcik tak bagi, ok.....tapi, I didn't care, tekan lagik to the max. Depan tu sayup2 dah nampak lori sebijik and makcik nie still tak nak bagi I potong.
Nak masuk balik lane, dah more than halfway overtaken her so potong la jugak. A few moments later, I pandang rear view mirror, dia dah takde. Kalau simpang dia dah dekat, takkan la beria-ia tak nak kasi org potong la kan?
Now, I'm worried that she might have swerved over the 'ghe-tak' - possible tak? I'm actually thinking about driving over to take a look. When I told Abg, dia bleh gelak pulak. Apa, kelakar ke menyebabkan org eksiden?
Nak gi tgk ke tak? Nak gi tgk ke tak?
Monday, March 12, 2007
Me - the Jakun...
Q - Katak apa yang tak pernah tgk matahari?
A - Katak bawah tempurung!
and like a toad underneath a coconut shell I did feel when I went for my Effective Communication Skills in PJ Hilton recently.
The course was organised by NPC and there were about 16 participants - all from different walks of life. There was only one other doctor there and he was like the Head of Department! Yikes, but not the old and baldy type though - the young-ish and good looking-ish kind, haha.
I won't talk about what they were teaching and I must say the second speaker is more like a motivational speaker for Effective Customer Service rather than what they were supposed to convey. and As usual, chinese whispers was done, the one-way and two-way communication demo was done where you had to describe a picture with just words. I volunteered and at least one person got every diagram right!
There was a librarian from Bernama, a guy from the Fisheries Dept, two staff from a local plastic parts manufacturer, two people from another manufacturing company and a few from a local courier service....a serious eye opener and very refreshing.
The two things that I became a 'jakun' to were:
ONE
- the sumptuous, magnificient, way-too-much-food lunch buffet.
Seriously....there must be about 200 types of food there, ok. About 20 types of dessert (three flavours of icecream with 8 toppings to choose from, hot-from-the-grill-crepes with 5 fruits accompaniment, kuih melayu, Indian Gulab Jamun and milk candy, rice puddings, strawberries in syrup, chocolate cakes and cheesecakes), about 100+ hot dishes - Malay, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Western, more than 10 meats from the grill station, tak termasuk the cold salad and what nots. My jaw was like, on the floor, with drool all over - well, maybe not like that lah. Tapi close though.....hehe.
and as I usually am in unfamiliar situations like these, I stand still, act in the knowing and observe. Plates? Under the table top - check. Should I get rice? What? With all these luxuries? Atkins diet la wehh.... Where is our assigned seatings? Oh, over there - check. Now back to food. A little bit of this and a little bit of that. Baru half of the food hall and plate already full. Finished everything and went for dessert, ignoring plates that were shoved aside with things left uneaten. I remember now why I avoid food buffets.
Five star hotels make me feel small (and that's not an easy thing to do!) - maybe it's the inferiority complex in me? Somehow, survived lunch, made conversation and didn't fall while walking to and fro the food hall.
TWO
- how other people were networking like mad.
Cards were whizzing all over - phone numbers exchanged. I was among the few who appeared unperturbed by all this. Sesungguhnya konsep networking is something so alien to me. Which is why I think I'd be happy being a hermit (as mentioned in my profile).
and then, when we had a five-min presentation to make, while I talked innocently about my trip to India, this guy actually spoke about his Internet-Investment thingy and how by 5 months, he has already made RM100,000 and anyone interested pls give a him a ring (number written on white board)....
Eye Opening, indeed.......
A - Katak bawah tempurung!
and like a toad underneath a coconut shell I did feel when I went for my Effective Communication Skills in PJ Hilton recently.
The course was organised by NPC and there were about 16 participants - all from different walks of life. There was only one other doctor there and he was like the Head of Department! Yikes, but not the old and baldy type though - the young-ish and good looking-ish kind, haha.
I won't talk about what they were teaching and I must say the second speaker is more like a motivational speaker for Effective Customer Service rather than what they were supposed to convey. and As usual, chinese whispers was done, the one-way and two-way communication demo was done where you had to describe a picture with just words. I volunteered and at least one person got every diagram right!
There was a librarian from Bernama, a guy from the Fisheries Dept, two staff from a local plastic parts manufacturer, two people from another manufacturing company and a few from a local courier service....a serious eye opener and very refreshing.
The two things that I became a 'jakun' to were:
ONE
- the sumptuous, magnificient, way-too-much-food lunch buffet.
Seriously....there must be about 200 types of food there, ok. About 20 types of dessert (three flavours of icecream with 8 toppings to choose from, hot-from-the-grill-crepes with 5 fruits accompaniment, kuih melayu, Indian Gulab Jamun and milk candy, rice puddings, strawberries in syrup, chocolate cakes and cheesecakes), about 100+ hot dishes - Malay, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Western, more than 10 meats from the grill station, tak termasuk the cold salad and what nots. My jaw was like, on the floor, with drool all over - well, maybe not like that lah. Tapi close though.....hehe.
and as I usually am in unfamiliar situations like these, I stand still, act in the knowing and observe. Plates? Under the table top - check. Should I get rice? What? With all these luxuries? Atkins diet la wehh.... Where is our assigned seatings? Oh, over there - check. Now back to food. A little bit of this and a little bit of that. Baru half of the food hall and plate already full. Finished everything and went for dessert, ignoring plates that were shoved aside with things left uneaten. I remember now why I avoid food buffets.
Five star hotels make me feel small (and that's not an easy thing to do!) - maybe it's the inferiority complex in me? Somehow, survived lunch, made conversation and didn't fall while walking to and fro the food hall.
TWO
- how other people were networking like mad.
Cards were whizzing all over - phone numbers exchanged. I was among the few who appeared unperturbed by all this. Sesungguhnya konsep networking is something so alien to me. Which is why I think I'd be happy being a hermit (as mentioned in my profile).
and then, when we had a five-min presentation to make, while I talked innocently about my trip to India, this guy actually spoke about his Internet-Investment thingy and how by 5 months, he has already made RM100,000 and anyone interested pls give a him a ring (number written on white board)....
Eye Opening, indeed.......
Come in pairs - part II
Two MVAs with the name of Asri, both with lip lacerations.
Two broken wrists.
Two fractured clavicles...
and two resuscitated babies.
Basically that summarises my on call yesterday.
Seriously, Sundays are the worst. Sundays are when people with eye injuries come for follow ups, or MVA cases with abrasion wounds come for medical leave. Casualty medical assistants (MAs) will give appointments (aka TCAs - To Come Again) on a Sunday for cases of fever or loss of appetite or lethargy. and Sundays become worst when three of your colleagues are away for leave or courses. J has gone to Genting for the Annual Anaesthesia Conference (Genting?! Best siot...), L has gone off somewhere for a course and apparently is planning to take the rest of the week off. Weiii, dah dah la amik cuti tu.....org lain pun kerja gakk...and N is taking a well deserved break after all this time covering other wards.
OPD started really late. I thought I was assisting the Nephrologist at the Haemodialysis Unit but after waiting for more than hour, turned out that he forgot about his clinic. One MO went for the Renungan Pagi and the third MO was covering the female ward, Post/AnteNatal ward and labour room. So, obviously, clinic finished late.
At about 11, baby case number 1 arrived. Apparently had been having loose stools and vomiting for the past 5 days! Mother only brought child to a private clinic and even that morning, had gone to ANOTHER private clinic before being told to rush her baby to our casualty.
Seriously, he was a textbook case of severe dehydration - kalau nak tgk depressed anterior fontanelle and reduced skin turgor and dry oral mucosa, he was IT. Child was about 2 months old, a firstborn to a young mother - mother was understandably distraught beyond words.
Sedih tau bila kiddies pass away. Adults, you can easily accept, especially elderlies with bad premorbid condition or ex IVDUs who are 'well underway'....but kiddies? It's like the grief of the parents and grandparents wash over you in huge tidal waves.
Baby number 2 arrived about half five or six I think. Pale as sheet and in obvious respiratory distress. Mom was nonchalant about the condition of the kid, claiming the problems only started 'JUST NOW'......This is where my Dr House persona kicks in. Cannot laaa.....how come this pale only started just now? Called in my 2nd call, intubated the child and resuscitated her. BP managed to pick up but she looked ill. I'm still wondering if sepsis could have resulted in her Hb of 5.2. Stool watery but no blood, abdomen soft, no history of G6PD deficiency....
Only managed to grab dinner and bathe at 10pm, only to rush to casualty again for a case of UGIB (Upper GastroIntestinal Bleed), my long neglected post MI regular customer and ambulance-call SOB. Then Asri number 1 came in after allegedly skidding on his bike. Pecah habis bibir. Second Asri came in at half one, berlanggar lembu and also had a torn open upper lip. Dua-dua referred to Dental and ward nurses still managed to send him late to the Dental Clinic despite me writing in the BHT - DO NOT BE LATE....isy.
Today, there was hoohaa in the hospital as the new Pengarah has now come officially to take over. The Timbalan Pengarah Kesihatan Negeri was also there. So I don my white coat (specially reserved for occasions like these...hehe) and wait for the procession to come. Lama la plak duduk dlm bilik, TPK menanya makcik and her daughter about the complications of diabetes. I was silently rooting for them to know the answers, as if them getting the answers right is a reflection of me. Weirdo or what. Hooray for anak makcik who got the answers right! I could hear the new Pengarah saying something about why both fan and airconds are switched on at the same time...aiyak...and on the only day when I don't come in and switch off the fan plak tu.
Safe to say we are all waiting in anticipation (or in fear?) of the new Pengarah. Winds of change are approaching all right, whether bawak bau wangi sepoi2 bahasa or bawak tornado ala Katrina is what we would like to know....
Two broken wrists.
Two fractured clavicles...
and two resuscitated babies.
Basically that summarises my on call yesterday.
Seriously, Sundays are the worst. Sundays are when people with eye injuries come for follow ups, or MVA cases with abrasion wounds come for medical leave. Casualty medical assistants (MAs) will give appointments (aka TCAs - To Come Again) on a Sunday for cases of fever or loss of appetite or lethargy. and Sundays become worst when three of your colleagues are away for leave or courses. J has gone to Genting for the Annual Anaesthesia Conference (Genting?! Best siot...), L has gone off somewhere for a course and apparently is planning to take the rest of the week off. Weiii, dah dah la amik cuti tu.....org lain pun kerja gakk...and N is taking a well deserved break after all this time covering other wards.
OPD started really late. I thought I was assisting the Nephrologist at the Haemodialysis Unit but after waiting for more than hour, turned out that he forgot about his clinic. One MO went for the Renungan Pagi and the third MO was covering the female ward, Post/AnteNatal ward and labour room. So, obviously, clinic finished late.
At about 11, baby case number 1 arrived. Apparently had been having loose stools and vomiting for the past 5 days! Mother only brought child to a private clinic and even that morning, had gone to ANOTHER private clinic before being told to rush her baby to our casualty.
Seriously, he was a textbook case of severe dehydration - kalau nak tgk depressed anterior fontanelle and reduced skin turgor and dry oral mucosa, he was IT. Child was about 2 months old, a firstborn to a young mother - mother was understandably distraught beyond words.
Sedih tau bila kiddies pass away. Adults, you can easily accept, especially elderlies with bad premorbid condition or ex IVDUs who are 'well underway'....but kiddies? It's like the grief of the parents and grandparents wash over you in huge tidal waves.
Baby number 2 arrived about half five or six I think. Pale as sheet and in obvious respiratory distress. Mom was nonchalant about the condition of the kid, claiming the problems only started 'JUST NOW'......This is where my Dr House persona kicks in. Cannot laaa.....how come this pale only started just now? Called in my 2nd call, intubated the child and resuscitated her. BP managed to pick up but she looked ill. I'm still wondering if sepsis could have resulted in her Hb of 5.2. Stool watery but no blood, abdomen soft, no history of G6PD deficiency....
Only managed to grab dinner and bathe at 10pm, only to rush to casualty again for a case of UGIB (Upper GastroIntestinal Bleed), my long neglected post MI regular customer and ambulance-call SOB. Then Asri number 1 came in after allegedly skidding on his bike. Pecah habis bibir. Second Asri came in at half one, berlanggar lembu and also had a torn open upper lip. Dua-dua referred to Dental and ward nurses still managed to send him late to the Dental Clinic despite me writing in the BHT - DO NOT BE LATE....isy.
Today, there was hoohaa in the hospital as the new Pengarah has now come officially to take over. The Timbalan Pengarah Kesihatan Negeri was also there. So I don my white coat (specially reserved for occasions like these...hehe) and wait for the procession to come. Lama la plak duduk dlm bilik, TPK menanya makcik and her daughter about the complications of diabetes. I was silently rooting for them to know the answers, as if them getting the answers right is a reflection of me. Weirdo or what. Hooray for anak makcik who got the answers right! I could hear the new Pengarah saying something about why both fan and airconds are switched on at the same time...aiyak...and on the only day when I don't come in and switch off the fan plak tu.
Safe to say we are all waiting in anticipation (or in fear?) of the new Pengarah. Winds of change are approaching all right, whether bawak bau wangi sepoi2 bahasa or bawak tornado ala Katrina is what we would like to know....
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
The early years..
A forum message got me reminiscing about my early years as a 'kuli batak' houseman.
To tell you the truth, I seriously don't know how I managed to get through med school. I'm not sounding arrogant and truth be said, I almost DIDN'T. Failed my second year, I think and had to redo some of the modules. By my final days in med school, I was thinking in much disbelief that I, the know-nothing, most lazy final year student was going to be let out unto the real world and managing real patients.
Now, isn't THAT scary.
Coming back to Malaysia to work was an easy decision. Choosing WHERE to work was another story. I wanted to be near Abg; Ma wanted me to remain in the same state. I pondered upon the idea and discarded it instantly. Being away from home all this while: MRSM Kuantan, Walthamstow Hall and Belfast, I wasn't sure if I could adjust to being at home, if you get my drift.
Thankfully, HKB wasn't a popular choice among the final year graduates, so I got in rather easily. Ma actually drove from KL, just to get me there on my first day.
I was told to report to the Medical Department. Hah, little did I know what a life changing experience Medical Department HKB was going to be! :) Early next morning, I went to Ward 4 (Male Medical), all scared and excited at the same time. Met Roshaini who was busy zooming up and down the aisles, taking vials after vials of blood. To say I was overwhelmed on my first day is an understatement.
To give a better picture of how overwhelmed and so-thrown-and-floundering-in-the-deep-end I was, I'll let you in on a secret, something I never told anyone.....when my MO told me to review a CVA case, I actually went up to a nurse and asked her what REVIEW meant!
I had no idea what BHTs were and when my nurse wanted me to write medications, I was looking at her face as if she was speaking to me in Swahili.....
Gelak la.....I definitely snicker to myself whenever my mind returns to that fateful day...:)
I can laugh now but I definitely wasn't laughing then. It got so hectic and so mad that I didn't have time to be sorry for myself. Patients were lying on foldaway beds in the middle of the ward; some days, even right to the doors. Visiting time was like making your way through people at an exhibition or something. I lost 10kg in my first week (and unfortunately gained much much more during the next 2 years, haha) and on some days, only survived on drinking cold plain water in the pantry's fridge.
I remember being shouted at by MOs-particularly by pissed off Radiology MOs who just couldn't be bothered to get off their asses in their comfy homes to do an urgent CT scan at 11pm at night. Referring cases to other departments was another chore that I didn't look forward to. Maybe I sounded too much like a houseman who didn't have a clue what she was doing, haha....they could smell the fear! :)
A typical day would start at about seven (HOs had to come in early to complete the morning bloodtakings, you see); MOs would start their rounds at about eight and then Specialists would come by at about half nine. Rounds are usually done by ten or so when a fresh round of blood investigations have now been ordered, sometimes making your early efforts obsolete. While you struggle with the morning instructions, new patients would be wheeled in and you'd be the person responsible for 'clerking' them. All these new cases would have to be informed to the MO in charge and at the same time, discharges (patients going home) have to be completed.
Some specialists do afternoon rounds as well and if you're lucky, maybe get to trudge along home by six. Some housemen even come in later to finish discharge summaries and what nots.
The Obs&Gyn posting was another matter; definitely eye-opening. EOD (every other day) on calls! How on earth did I manage to survive a full month of EOD calls?! :)
I do think, though, that the best decision I made was to postpone getting married till after I completed my housemanship. I don't think I would've made a good wife when I was either on call, OR too stuporous to even eat...! Having Abg for support definitely helped, as well as having gila-gila fellow housemen.....:)
Seriously lah....if you have relatives who think doctors are glamorous, and want to shove your kids into med school, think again. Semangat kena kuat, telinga kena tebal and muka kena selamba. Kena marah tu perkara biasa, and I strongly believe that whatever/whomever doesn't kill you, will only make you stronger and a better person.
On a less morose note, :)....congratulations and a Yippe-dee-yay tu Dr. M who is now a proud father of two! MDQ no.2 rolled out all pink and nice on the 27th February, 1952H (hours, bukan Hijrah..hehe).
To tell you the truth, I seriously don't know how I managed to get through med school. I'm not sounding arrogant and truth be said, I almost DIDN'T. Failed my second year, I think and had to redo some of the modules. By my final days in med school, I was thinking in much disbelief that I, the know-nothing, most lazy final year student was going to be let out unto the real world and managing real patients.
Now, isn't THAT scary.
Coming back to Malaysia to work was an easy decision. Choosing WHERE to work was another story. I wanted to be near Abg; Ma wanted me to remain in the same state. I pondered upon the idea and discarded it instantly. Being away from home all this while: MRSM Kuantan, Walthamstow Hall and Belfast, I wasn't sure if I could adjust to being at home, if you get my drift.
Thankfully, HKB wasn't a popular choice among the final year graduates, so I got in rather easily. Ma actually drove from KL, just to get me there on my first day.
I was told to report to the Medical Department. Hah, little did I know what a life changing experience Medical Department HKB was going to be! :) Early next morning, I went to Ward 4 (Male Medical), all scared and excited at the same time. Met Roshaini who was busy zooming up and down the aisles, taking vials after vials of blood. To say I was overwhelmed on my first day is an understatement.
To give a better picture of how overwhelmed and so-thrown-and-floundering-in-the-deep-end I was, I'll let you in on a secret, something I never told anyone.....when my MO told me to review a CVA case, I actually went up to a nurse and asked her what REVIEW meant!
I had no idea what BHTs were and when my nurse wanted me to write medications, I was looking at her face as if she was speaking to me in Swahili.....
Gelak la.....I definitely snicker to myself whenever my mind returns to that fateful day...:)
I can laugh now but I definitely wasn't laughing then. It got so hectic and so mad that I didn't have time to be sorry for myself. Patients were lying on foldaway beds in the middle of the ward; some days, even right to the doors. Visiting time was like making your way through people at an exhibition or something. I lost 10kg in my first week (and unfortunately gained much much more during the next 2 years, haha) and on some days, only survived on drinking cold plain water in the pantry's fridge.
I remember being shouted at by MOs-particularly by pissed off Radiology MOs who just couldn't be bothered to get off their asses in their comfy homes to do an urgent CT scan at 11pm at night. Referring cases to other departments was another chore that I didn't look forward to. Maybe I sounded too much like a houseman who didn't have a clue what she was doing, haha....they could smell the fear! :)
A typical day would start at about seven (HOs had to come in early to complete the morning bloodtakings, you see); MOs would start their rounds at about eight and then Specialists would come by at about half nine. Rounds are usually done by ten or so when a fresh round of blood investigations have now been ordered, sometimes making your early efforts obsolete. While you struggle with the morning instructions, new patients would be wheeled in and you'd be the person responsible for 'clerking' them. All these new cases would have to be informed to the MO in charge and at the same time, discharges (patients going home) have to be completed.
Some specialists do afternoon rounds as well and if you're lucky, maybe get to trudge along home by six. Some housemen even come in later to finish discharge summaries and what nots.
The Obs&Gyn posting was another matter; definitely eye-opening. EOD (every other day) on calls! How on earth did I manage to survive a full month of EOD calls?! :)
I do think, though, that the best decision I made was to postpone getting married till after I completed my housemanship. I don't think I would've made a good wife when I was either on call, OR too stuporous to even eat...! Having Abg for support definitely helped, as well as having gila-gila fellow housemen.....:)
Seriously lah....if you have relatives who think doctors are glamorous, and want to shove your kids into med school, think again. Semangat kena kuat, telinga kena tebal and muka kena selamba. Kena marah tu perkara biasa, and I strongly believe that whatever/whomever doesn't kill you, will only make you stronger and a better person.
On a less morose note, :)....congratulations and a Yippe-dee-yay tu Dr. M who is now a proud father of two! MDQ no.2 rolled out all pink and nice on the 27th February, 1952H (hours, bukan Hijrah..hehe).
Monday, February 26, 2007
Update
Arrived at work rather early this morning, all with the best intentions of doing my job well, and not be mad at any of my patients.
Yes, I still keep my Boots card even after all these years....sentimental or what...
The staff nurse who accompanied the PPH case was buying her nasi pagi (nasi with 'kro-peh' - siap ada kaki ayam terjulur keluar via the opening of the package) and beckoned at me excitedly as I approached the very busy gerai.
Apparently, my patient required 10 pints of blood transfusion during the weekend as her Hb dropped to 3.5 on arrival. She had also gone into DIVC and had to be given two courses of DIVC regime. She is, last heard, stable and hopefully will be well enough to undergo an EUA (examination under anaesthesia) later today. According to my staff nurse, understandably the O&G people in HRPZII has kicked up a fuss as to why this has happened. They have asked for her delivery charts and reports. I hope it will turn out okay for the patient. At 27, a hysterectomy would be so devastating.
Had a 'date' with Abg in KB in the afternoon; lunch was nasi at the local mamak eatery. Abg's nasi putih with 2 medium sized sotong goreng and a piece of tenggiri goreng and some pak choy (pak choy in Mamak?) cost him RM9.80!!!! Seriously, RM10 nowadays have less value than it used to.
We went to KB Mall to get his glasses and browsed at Guardian.
I've always loved going through toiletries and such; while I was in UK, I would spend HOURS in Boots, going through aisle after aisle of beauty products and make-up and picture frames and CDs and what nots. They have this really cool loyalty card-reward system that for each pound you spend, you get a point (and occasionally they would have offers of, say, 5oo points if you buy the promotional syampoo or deodorant etc) and if you collect enough points, you could use these points to buy stuff! Example, if you had 500 points, this would be equivalent to 5 pounds and so on.
Now, why can't we have something like that?
Yes, I still keep my Boots card even after all these years....sentimental or what...
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Five minutes of eternity...
Normal finding in an on call room: Owner-less toothbrushes....
There ends my last call of the month. Perhaps, no more PH calls for at least 4 weeks. Working for 24 hours straight is seriously inhumane, I tell you. Even when there are no cases, you can't sleep. Not properly anyway. At least, I wouldn't call 'tidur ayam' proper sleep. You keep waking up wondering if the phone had rang and you were too tired to hear it.
I am writing all these down, perhaps as a documentation of what had happened during my calls. Maybe for when something does decide to crop up later, y'know, as things usually do.
Labour room started busy early that day. Thin meconium liquor in a 43 y.o. gravida 5 I think. Eventually delivered rather uncomplicatedly but alas, her baby showed rather strong features of a Down Syndrome. It was left to me to inform her of her baby's condition, since he was to be admitted for observation anyway.
I was prepared for shock, I was prepared for unconditional acceptance - but I was not prepared for downright rejection. Was I being naive? Had I taken a mother's love for granted? She was shocked, alright but she was so shocked to the extent of refusing to hold her baby. Apart from his physical features, he was totally fine. But later, he developed hypoglycaemia and despite feeding, still required infusion of dextrose. I went to check on him later that night and he seems to be doing okay, despite the minor hiccup of a blocked intravenous access that had me in near tears.....frust, occccayyyy, kalau tak jumpa urat nie tau...:) in the end found one on the foot. Phew!
Then, a case of fall from height arrived. Ada apa tah kat tangki air kat rumah dia, that she had to check for herself....complaining of pain at the back but could move her legs okay. Xray showed a wedge fracture of the L2. Last I checked, she still didn't exhibit any neurological deficits, so I hope she'll be okay, at least until Mr S checks her out tomorrow.
Then I had two MVAs - siblings who both sustained fracture of the right femur. I don't know about other people, but I seriously have issues with underaged people who ride bikes as if they were racing in a GP. Serious. They are the worst in tiny, bendy kampung roads which only allow one car at a time. Seriously la, if they were to fall and the bike were to fall on them, serious tak larat nak angkat okay. and it's ALWAYS the car driver's fault. Tak percaya, gi tanya mana2 victim MVA yg bawak motor. I've never heard one admitting that it's their fault.
My weird case of the day came in form of a 19 y.o. chinese girl who, from what I gathered, had initially complaint of stiffness of the jaw, which progressed to numbness/cramps of both hands, SOB (shortness of breath) and then suddenly fainted. Her concerned mother and sister immediately came to the nearest hospital. Mother and sister claimed little sis had no medical problems, not on any medication apart from panadol for her gum pains but denied any possibility of overdosing. This had never happened before and there was no history of fall or family disagreement.
Her BP was normal, her oxygen sats were perfect and her blood sugar normal. There was no neck stiffness, no jerky movements, and her CNS were normal. I was totally stumped. There were no signs of infection, ECG was normal, her serum Calcium was normal and so was her renal funtion.
I rubbed on her sternum till my knuckles hurt and there was no response. Serious! and I rubbed extra hard some more but still nothing. Hish, kabar ke dok mek nih? She opened her eyes for a while but did not seem to register anything. I honestly admitted to her mother that I have no clue to what was wrong with her daughter and since she wanted her child to be admitted to a private hospital, she wanted us to send her.
We managed to send her eventually but I got temporarily pissed with a certain MA on call who was supposed to escort her. I clearly stated that he didn't need an attendant; he was supposed to come here and whoosh, go off. Tapi, on hearing that an attendant was not called, he PURPOSELY delayed leaving by, I dunno, pretending to check on resus kits and what nots until his 'best friend' magically turned up without any of us calling him. Why why why???? If he insisted on having a helper, he should have approached me or the other MAs on duty. If he sounded reasonable, I would have agreed. Nie tak, kau biar patient ngn mak dia yg already so flustered on the ambulance, pestering my driver who didn't know squat.
Then I had a young male with a history of rather uneventful asthma who suddenly had a bad episode of SOB and wheeze. He took about three hours of stabilisation before I could transfer him to ward. Seriously, I thought he was going to collapse on me. Young male with no history of ventilation before - major caution needed. This morning, I dropped by to check on him and he was fine.
Tapi, was my call ever going to be uneventful? Nooooo....of course it just had to end with a bang. and a Big Bang it was. Young mother of three, delivered 13 days ago came in with symptoms of shock. Pale as sheet and complaining of dizziness. BP registered at 77/33 with a heart rate of 80-90. Admitted to having PV bleeding since 7 pm the night before (she turned up at casualty at 5 am); lochia before this was already decreasing in amount and she denied history of fall, sexual intercourse (at 13 days post delivery? Ada ke?) or massage. Blood was literally pooling underneath her clothes. After pushing in fluids, BP picked up to 90/40. Vaginal examination revealed more and more and MORE blood. Abdomen had a mass of about 16 weeks pregnancy (when there shouldn't be at 2 weeks post delivery - uterus should have been impalpable) and scan revealed a bulky uterus. What was in there? A retained placenta?
Blood was ordered for transfusion in progress and I alerted the Gynae MO on call that I'm sending this patient. Now I need an escort. MO 2nd call was on call the night before and had OPD duty this morning. It was already half 6 in the morning. If I went, the ambulance could leave straight away. I know I had done all I could in my setting. She needs to get to HRPZ asap. Plus, MO 2nd call lived about 45 minutes away. Dilemma and decisions. On call money doesn't pay enough for dilemmas like these.
The ambulance journey took only half an hour, zooming through the morning mist which is occurring quite often nowadays, but it felt like ages. Five minutes were set between each BP readings and those five minutes felt like an eternity.
The patient still wasn't out of the woods when I left her. Her BP was still on the low and dangerous side. I prayed for her well being as I passed her case to the Casualty MO (all fresh and wangi and possibly wondering what she did to deserve a bad case of PPH so early in the shift..:))
Tied up all my loose ends, checked up on the patients I admitted last night and drove home. Ate my nasi pagi in silence and went to bed. Pukul 3 baru bangun balik. Which means, pasar malam dinner....hehe.
On a more cheerful note, Hooorayyy for sis who officially became a salary receiving staff with KKM last week. May you turn up for work with joy in your heart and always be at your table and not having never endings 'minum2' - dpt gaji jgn lupa belanja...hehe...
Monday, February 19, 2007
I'm IT.....
sebab dah kena tag dah la kan....so I'm it la....
Thanks Mafeitz for tagging me....tagging nie usually means shadowing in our line of work. For instance, kalau ada budak hingusan baru masuk kerja, he or she's supposed to tag for a few days just to get a picture of what the job entails. Usually up to 8 pm la, but of course, nothing exciting happens before 8 in the job so....
Well, I digress....
I'm supposed to list 6 weird things about me...
1. I must have my books lined up according to height. and if possible, according to length as well. But height gets priority, for instance, if i get a book which is shorter than the one to the left of it, and it juts out, usually, the height wins. I'll most probably just find another shelf for it. or buy books which are roughly the same length (length, from the spine to the edges of the pages).
2. I'm a sucker for Hindi movies.
I know.....! Weird, right? It must be embedded in my subconscious or something, maybe Ma watched a lot of Hindi movies while carrying me. When I was younger, Hindi movies were something else, weren't they? Bobby, Sangam, Qurbani, Dosti Dushmani, Chandni, Amar Akbar Anthony - these were what I watched and remembered, apart from the sing-a-long Disney movies. At MRSM, I was in the TV room at 2 pm on a Friday (the boys would be out for Friday prayers and the girls were either doing laundry or sleeping) with Kak Safilah, religiously watching Hindi movies even when I had to be content with Govinda. (No offense, Govinda fans)
Heck, just to illustrate how weird I am about Hindi movies; I even went to Coliseum Jln TAR ALONE just to watch Khal Nayak, ok???
Till now, Hindi movies still get me. Even when they feature ridiculously impossible stunts or death defying heroes and illogical plots. It's just something about the haunting melody of the sitar and wonderfully thick manes on the heroines I guess.
3. I ate a couple of lizard's eggs once when I was younger. I actually thought they were sweets.
4. I hate seeing hair in the kitchen. I mean, on table tops or in the sink - not on top of people's heads where they belong, of course.
5. I wake up earlier in the morning during the holidays then when I'm working. I'm a morning person, so usually waking up isn't a chore but during working days, I seriously struggle to get up and shower tapi come weekends or holidays, tak payah alarm pun bleh bangun pukul enam. I'm like the kid who wakes up super early and goes into his parent's room and bug them. In this case, Abg gets poked and bugged to get up and entertain me.
6. I seriously LUUURRRRVE onions. Yellow, red, big, small, uncooked, cooked - but I stop short at biting into them like Shrek did in the first movie. and to think that Ma used to have to force me to eat them when I was younger.
I'm tagging -
Yaya, RedBeanBun, Zetty, Zaiti, DBI and SuperWomanWannabe - all among my must read blogs.
Rules of the game: Each player of this game starts out by telling 6 weird things about themselves on their own blog, as well as state the rules clearly. At the end, you will need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list out their names. After you do that, leave them a comment on their blogs letting them know you tagged them.
Tag, you're it!
Thanks Mafeitz for tagging me....tagging nie usually means shadowing in our line of work. For instance, kalau ada budak hingusan baru masuk kerja, he or she's supposed to tag for a few days just to get a picture of what the job entails. Usually up to 8 pm la, but of course, nothing exciting happens before 8 in the job so....
Well, I digress....
I'm supposed to list 6 weird things about me...
1. I must have my books lined up according to height. and if possible, according to length as well. But height gets priority, for instance, if i get a book which is shorter than the one to the left of it, and it juts out, usually, the height wins. I'll most probably just find another shelf for it. or buy books which are roughly the same length (length, from the spine to the edges of the pages).
2. I'm a sucker for Hindi movies.
I know.....! Weird, right? It must be embedded in my subconscious or something, maybe Ma watched a lot of Hindi movies while carrying me. When I was younger, Hindi movies were something else, weren't they? Bobby, Sangam, Qurbani, Dosti Dushmani, Chandni, Amar Akbar Anthony - these were what I watched and remembered, apart from the sing-a-long Disney movies. At MRSM, I was in the TV room at 2 pm on a Friday (the boys would be out for Friday prayers and the girls were either doing laundry or sleeping) with Kak Safilah, religiously watching Hindi movies even when I had to be content with Govinda. (No offense, Govinda fans)
Heck, just to illustrate how weird I am about Hindi movies; I even went to Coliseum Jln TAR ALONE just to watch Khal Nayak, ok???
Till now, Hindi movies still get me. Even when they feature ridiculously impossible stunts or death defying heroes and illogical plots. It's just something about the haunting melody of the sitar and wonderfully thick manes on the heroines I guess.
3. I ate a couple of lizard's eggs once when I was younger. I actually thought they were sweets.
4. I hate seeing hair in the kitchen. I mean, on table tops or in the sink - not on top of people's heads where they belong, of course.
5. I wake up earlier in the morning during the holidays then when I'm working. I'm a morning person, so usually waking up isn't a chore but during working days, I seriously struggle to get up and shower tapi come weekends or holidays, tak payah alarm pun bleh bangun pukul enam. I'm like the kid who wakes up super early and goes into his parent's room and bug them. In this case, Abg gets poked and bugged to get up and entertain me.
6. I seriously LUUURRRRVE onions. Yellow, red, big, small, uncooked, cooked - but I stop short at biting into them like Shrek did in the first movie. and to think that Ma used to have to force me to eat them when I was younger.
I'm tagging -
Yaya, RedBeanBun, Zetty, Zaiti, DBI and SuperWomanWannabe - all among my must read blogs.
Rules of the game: Each player of this game starts out by telling 6 weird things about themselves on their own blog, as well as state the rules clearly. At the end, you will need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list out their names. After you do that, leave them a comment on their blogs letting them know you tagged them.
Tag, you're it!
Sunday, February 18, 2007
I love....
...four-day weekends! Especially the ones when I'm not on call. If I am, then the day before the call is ruined, as well as the day after, coz usually I'm just too knackered to do anything.
I must be the only person in Kelantan who would drive alllll the way to Kuantan to catch a movie. Seriously.
Three hours and a half journey, 300+kms...all for two plus hours of Ghostrider.
Well, actually, it didn't really matter what film it was. I just wanted to get myself into a cinema, and my other choices were a film where Eddie Murphy plays multiple characters and something with Erra Fazira.
I love making road trips like these. It gives me a chance to just lay back and catch up on stuff with Abg. Get away from that bangun pagi-mandi-gi kerja-balik kerja-masak-makan and go tidur routine.
View finder misted sebab baru keluar dari air conditioned room
View from our room
We checked into Gr*and Contin*ental Ku*antan, a stone's throw away from the MegaMall. Had lunch and Abg went off for Friday prayes. Movie was at 3.10pm tapi the hall was full, ok? Where did all these people come from? and it wasn't school holidays or anything. Maybe I'm NOT the only person who drives from Kelantan to Pahang for a movie, huh?
MegaMall is the building on the right.
Abg didn't fall asleep, so I guess that said something about the movie. On the way out, I saw this middle aged makcik - wa, makcik tgk Ghostrider, okay. and some people had kids of about 6-8 years of age. Okay la movie tu graded U but do you think a kid of 7 would actually appreciate a film like Ghostrider?
The next morning started with a leisurely buffet breakfast - 4.0 for variety; they had porridge, pancake, chicken sausage, baked beans, nasi goreng cina, nasi lemak and meehun plus the egg station and bread section and about 3.5 for taste - the sambal ikan bilis was nice. I still think MS Garden serves the best breakfast though.
and before we headed home, a short stop at Giant for our shopping. There are a few things that I keep a tab on with regards to prices. Kuaci Chacheer and Shokubutsu shower gel. Pacific KB sells the 300grammer kuaci for rm5.30 and it was only rm3.88 in Giant. I used to get rm5.99-rm6.50 for a packet of shokubutsu but lately I've been forced to buy them at RRP of rm8.50. At Giant they were selling it for rm14.28 for two and you get a cute soap dispenser. So guess who ended up with three cute soap dispensers that she now does not know where to put....hehe.
Anyone want one?
I must be the only person in Kelantan who would drive alllll the way to Kuantan to catch a movie. Seriously.
Three hours and a half journey, 300+kms...all for two plus hours of Ghostrider.
Well, actually, it didn't really matter what film it was. I just wanted to get myself into a cinema, and my other choices were a film where Eddie Murphy plays multiple characters and something with Erra Fazira.
I love making road trips like these. It gives me a chance to just lay back and catch up on stuff with Abg. Get away from that bangun pagi-mandi-gi kerja-balik kerja-masak-makan and go tidur routine.
View finder misted sebab baru keluar dari air conditioned room
View from our room
We checked into Gr*and Contin*ental Ku*antan, a stone's throw away from the MegaMall. Had lunch and Abg went off for Friday prayes. Movie was at 3.10pm tapi the hall was full, ok? Where did all these people come from? and it wasn't school holidays or anything. Maybe I'm NOT the only person who drives from Kelantan to Pahang for a movie, huh?
MegaMall is the building on the right.
Abg didn't fall asleep, so I guess that said something about the movie. On the way out, I saw this middle aged makcik - wa, makcik tgk Ghostrider, okay. and some people had kids of about 6-8 years of age. Okay la movie tu graded U but do you think a kid of 7 would actually appreciate a film like Ghostrider?
The next morning started with a leisurely buffet breakfast - 4.0 for variety; they had porridge, pancake, chicken sausage, baked beans, nasi goreng cina, nasi lemak and meehun plus the egg station and bread section and about 3.5 for taste - the sambal ikan bilis was nice. I still think MS Garden serves the best breakfast though.
and before we headed home, a short stop at Giant for our shopping. There are a few things that I keep a tab on with regards to prices. Kuaci Chacheer and Shokubutsu shower gel. Pacific KB sells the 300grammer kuaci for rm5.30 and it was only rm3.88 in Giant. I used to get rm5.99-rm6.50 for a packet of shokubutsu but lately I've been forced to buy them at RRP of rm8.50. At Giant they were selling it for rm14.28 for two and you get a cute soap dispenser. So guess who ended up with three cute soap dispensers that she now does not know where to put....hehe.
Anyone want one?
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Come in pairs...
I've always noticed that my cases - on call or in the OPD - always usually come in pairs. Not the usual hum drum HPT, DM type 2 cases, 'sakit urat' or demam selsema routine; but the out of the ordinary, once in a while cases.
Like for instance, one morning in OPD, I had two cases of per vaginal bleeding. I had other examples too, but I can't remember them now....
But anyway, my call last night started quite busy after five. A family brought their mother who had been unconscious since 10 am okay? I understand la korang takde kenaikan and all, but 7 hours? Seriously?
She was breathing alright but was as if in a deep trance. Her arms were making random movements but she didn't respond to my calls. She DID however respond to me rubbing my knuckles on her sternum (the bit of bone in the middle of your chest. Cuba try tekan situ - sakit woo). When a case of unconsciousness like this comes into your A&E, if you're lucky, it's a case of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar), kalau kurang sikit itu nasib baik, it's a case of haemorrhagic stroke and if you're really unlucky, it's something else.
I wasn't feeling very lucky that night, so of course, her blood sugar was normal. Her oxygen saturation and blood pressure remained stable. I was sure it's a haemorrhagic stroke but must have something to back my story up, yeah? Nanti susah aa MO Neurosurgical in USM nak terima...:) Then, after checking her pupils for the second time, I noticed that the right one is oval in shape. When I reported this to the MO on call, he accepted my case and off she went to HUSM.
As I was having my dinner and Maghrib prayers, I wondered if there would be a 'twin' of the earlier case. and I was not disappointed. At about 8, came in this case of a 71 y.o. male who apparently overdosed on his schizophrenia medication. After vomiting once and had some loose stool, became unconscious. He was actually snoring like a baby when he arrived. His pupils were pin point. Besar sikit je dari saiz noktah at the end of this sentence. Off he went to HRPZII. Selamat.
The rest were MVAs, fevers and the run of the mill epigastric pains.
Woken up at three for a bronchopneumonia. Mother actually surprised I admitted the 3 year old. What...? You come at three in the morning, must be something serious kan? Of course need admission la! :)
Laid my head for a split second (or so it felt) and it was already half five. A case of G4P0+3 (means currently pregnant for the fourth time, yet no live deliveries. +3 means three abortions) at 31 weeks complaining of having contraction pains. She had cervical circlage done (meaning stitches were made in her cervix to keep her baby inside) but I guess that isn't working. My prayers went with her as she boarded the ambulance. I'm not sure I would be as strong if I were in her shoes.
Like for instance, one morning in OPD, I had two cases of per vaginal bleeding. I had other examples too, but I can't remember them now....
But anyway, my call last night started quite busy after five. A family brought their mother who had been unconscious since 10 am okay? I understand la korang takde kenaikan and all, but 7 hours? Seriously?
She was breathing alright but was as if in a deep trance. Her arms were making random movements but she didn't respond to my calls. She DID however respond to me rubbing my knuckles on her sternum (the bit of bone in the middle of your chest. Cuba try tekan situ - sakit woo). When a case of unconsciousness like this comes into your A&E, if you're lucky, it's a case of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar), kalau kurang sikit itu nasib baik, it's a case of haemorrhagic stroke and if you're really unlucky, it's something else.
I wasn't feeling very lucky that night, so of course, her blood sugar was normal. Her oxygen saturation and blood pressure remained stable. I was sure it's a haemorrhagic stroke but must have something to back my story up, yeah? Nanti susah aa MO Neurosurgical in USM nak terima...:) Then, after checking her pupils for the second time, I noticed that the right one is oval in shape. When I reported this to the MO on call, he accepted my case and off she went to HUSM.
As I was having my dinner and Maghrib prayers, I wondered if there would be a 'twin' of the earlier case. and I was not disappointed. At about 8, came in this case of a 71 y.o. male who apparently overdosed on his schizophrenia medication. After vomiting once and had some loose stool, became unconscious. He was actually snoring like a baby when he arrived. His pupils were pin point. Besar sikit je dari saiz noktah at the end of this sentence. Off he went to HRPZII. Selamat.
The rest were MVAs, fevers and the run of the mill epigastric pains.
Woken up at three for a bronchopneumonia. Mother actually surprised I admitted the 3 year old. What...? You come at three in the morning, must be something serious kan? Of course need admission la! :)
Laid my head for a split second (or so it felt) and it was already half five. A case of G4P0+3 (means currently pregnant for the fourth time, yet no live deliveries. +3 means three abortions) at 31 weeks complaining of having contraction pains. She had cervical circlage done (meaning stitches were made in her cervix to keep her baby inside) but I guess that isn't working. My prayers went with her as she boarded the ambulance. I'm not sure I would be as strong if I were in her shoes.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Along the way...
Hannah enjoying her cream of mushroom soup at S*hakey's Pizza after we 'abducted' her from kindy. Her teacher was telling telling us that once she was telling them about cows and Hannah went to her and asked 'Teacher, kenapa cow ada tetek?'. Macam manaaa nak jawab tu?
View from our room at E*quatorial Melaka during our road trip to the south of Malaysia last year.
Something I wish to see in the future, with one of our own. Buat masa sekarang, takde rezeki lagi la kot.
Hannah in a contemplative mood while Mak Long, Pak Long, Mummy and Babah were having lunch at Orie*ntal Restaurant, K*ota B*haru.
One of those increasingly rare moments when we could get away as a family. Taken at Pang*kor Island.
Korunnnnnnkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!????????????
So anyway, yeah......i'm on leave and all.....after siapkan kerja2 yang menempek2 including my very long overdue SKT (thank you Kak Nor for entertaining this procrastinator)....I logged on to my blog and somehow today decided to update my beta blogger to the brand spanking new Google account.
and guess what I found????????
Twenty two messages (well, satu tu tak kira sebab spam)!!!!!!!!! Where have they all been all this time? Kena sembunyi ngan virus ke?
So anyway.....my silver lining today is, I ACTUALLY HAVE READERS!! *lol* Can that be considered a silver lining?
So all those people leaving comments for me, wow...thanks! Waaa, rasa macam Mawi dapat award Bintang Paling Popular la plak.....
So, (berapa kali 'So' daaaa), I hope I got this glitch sorted out and keep leaving comments!
p/s: i think i know why lah - me thinks me's supposed to click at 'moderate comments'? Hmm?
and guess what I found????????
Twenty two messages (well, satu tu tak kira sebab spam)!!!!!!!!! Where have they all been all this time? Kena sembunyi ngan virus ke?
So anyway.....my silver lining today is, I ACTUALLY HAVE READERS!! *lol* Can that be considered a silver lining?
So all those people leaving comments for me, wow...thanks! Waaa, rasa macam Mawi dapat award Bintang Paling Popular la plak.....
So, (berapa kali 'So' daaaa), I hope I got this glitch sorted out and keep leaving comments!
p/s: i think i know why lah - me thinks me's supposed to click at 'moderate comments'? Hmm?
Monday, February 12, 2007
One Year Old
Thirty one I am today.
Boo.
Very bad past two days, but I will not dwell on it. Suffice to say I hate some staff nurses who are so kiasu that they would actually do something unethical like alter their reports (which aren't that useful anyway - sikit-sikit: pesakit dalam keadaan lemah tapi stabil. Ubatan diberi. Bla bla blaaaaa....) so that they will be free from blame.
BUT, it's my birthday today. Not that I'm glad I'm older yet no thinner than last year. Well, at least, not heavier, yeah? Hehe.
Abg got me a gorgeous gold locket for our anniversary cum birthday present. I actually first laid my eyes on it about a month ago while I was getting my niece Hannah her first gold locket. P*h K*ong just launched their latest range of lockets which are shaped like mini heart shaped 'cages' and in some of these 'cages' are semi precious stones. The one I particularly fell in love with had two blood red biji sagas in them. One side's yellow gold and the other's white gold so you get to wear it with either necklace. Cool, eh?
But at that time I thought it was a bit too pricey so I longingly left it in the hands of the sales assistant. I never spoke about it after that. So, when it appeared in the box that Abg gave me, imagine my surprise. Yes Abg, you exceeded my expectations....next year, must do better, yes....? Heehee. I love you Abg. I love you and all your jiggly bits....:)
Boo.
Very bad past two days, but I will not dwell on it. Suffice to say I hate some staff nurses who are so kiasu that they would actually do something unethical like alter their reports (which aren't that useful anyway - sikit-sikit: pesakit dalam keadaan lemah tapi stabil. Ubatan diberi. Bla bla blaaaaa....) so that they will be free from blame.
BUT, it's my birthday today. Not that I'm glad I'm older yet no thinner than last year. Well, at least, not heavier, yeah? Hehe.
Abg got me a gorgeous gold locket for our anniversary cum birthday present. I actually first laid my eyes on it about a month ago while I was getting my niece Hannah her first gold locket. P*h K*ong just launched their latest range of lockets which are shaped like mini heart shaped 'cages' and in some of these 'cages' are semi precious stones. The one I particularly fell in love with had two blood red biji sagas in them. One side's yellow gold and the other's white gold so you get to wear it with either necklace. Cool, eh?
But at that time I thought it was a bit too pricey so I longingly left it in the hands of the sales assistant. I never spoke about it after that. So, when it appeared in the box that Abg gave me, imagine my surprise. Yes Abg, you exceeded my expectations....next year, must do better, yes....? Heehee. I love you Abg. I love you and all your jiggly bits....:)
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Two down, two to go...
Bad on call last night.
and when I say bad, I meant, death happened.
and it's bad because it was preventable.
How could I have not remembered that I ordered a repeat ECG and then forgotten to review it? Why didn't my staff nurses remind me that I ordered a repeat ECG and that I was supposed to see it?
Bengang and terkilan.
The thing is, I HAD gone to the ward for a quick round at 8 pm before attending to cases at the casualty. I spent half an hour there reviewing my unstable angina cases and not one of the staff said to me, Doc, you ordered a repeat ECG, would you like to take a look?
Aaaarrrghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
and when I say bad, I meant, death happened.
and it's bad because it was preventable.
How could I have not remembered that I ordered a repeat ECG and then forgotten to review it? Why didn't my staff nurses remind me that I ordered a repeat ECG and that I was supposed to see it?
Bengang and terkilan.
The thing is, I HAD gone to the ward for a quick round at 8 pm before attending to cases at the casualty. I spent half an hour there reviewing my unstable angina cases and not one of the staff said to me, Doc, you ordered a repeat ECG, would you like to take a look?
Aaaarrrghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Multiple bleuuurghs...
I just couldn't go to work today. I woke up so depressed and then in turn made Abg depressed. I seriously had chest pains thinking about turning up for work today. I know what I'm doing is bad. Keji ya amat. But I just could not do it. I know if I did, I'd be grumpy to my patients and end up not feeling too good about myself.
I haven't felt good about myself in a long time.
First, I thought moving back into a hospital environment would help. It did, for a while. But my ugly dragon reared its head again and started to cause misery for the people around me. I have lost interest in life, in my home - no longer indulging in my hobbies. Anhedonia, I think is what it's called. I'm sleeping more yet the more I sleep, the more tired I get. I've even started to lose my appetite, and THAT is not good. Food tastes crap (but then that's because I'm cooking, kot) and tears are incessantly welling up.
*SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*
Where is a silver lining when I need one...?
I haven't felt good about myself in a long time.
First, I thought moving back into a hospital environment would help. It did, for a while. But my ugly dragon reared its head again and started to cause misery for the people around me. I have lost interest in life, in my home - no longer indulging in my hobbies. Anhedonia, I think is what it's called. I'm sleeping more yet the more I sleep, the more tired I get. I've even started to lose my appetite, and THAT is not good. Food tastes crap (but then that's because I'm cooking, kot) and tears are incessantly welling up.
*SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*
Where is a silver lining when I need one...?
Thursday, February 01, 2007
A special dedication.
WHEN I SAW YOU - Mariah Carey
Soft heavenly eyes gazed into me
Transcending space and time
And I was rendered still
There were no words for me to find at all
As I stood there beside myself
I could see you and no-one else
When I saw you
When I saw you
I could not breathe
I fell so deep
When I saw you
When I saw you
I'd never be
I'd never be the same
Only once in a lifetime love rushes in
Changing you with the tide
And dawn's ribbon of light
Bursts through the dark
Wakening you inside
And I thought it was all untrue
Until there, all at once, I knew
When I saw you
When I saw you
I could not breathe
I fell so deep
When I saw you
When I saw you
I'd never be
I'd never be the same
With no beginning
And without an end
You are the one for me
And it's evident
And your eyes told me so
Your eyes let me know
Happy Birthday Abg.
With oceans of love,
Your wife.
Soft heavenly eyes gazed into me
Transcending space and time
And I was rendered still
There were no words for me to find at all
As I stood there beside myself
I could see you and no-one else
When I saw you
When I saw you
I could not breathe
I fell so deep
When I saw you
When I saw you
I'd never be
I'd never be the same
Only once in a lifetime love rushes in
Changing you with the tide
And dawn's ribbon of light
Bursts through the dark
Wakening you inside
And I thought it was all untrue
Until there, all at once, I knew
When I saw you
When I saw you
I could not breathe
I fell so deep
When I saw you
When I saw you
I'd never be
I'd never be the same
With no beginning
And without an end
You are the one for me
And it's evident
And your eyes told me so
Your eyes let me know
Happy Birthday Abg.
With oceans of love,
Your wife.
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