Chan Weng Kit's Blogspot: DAY 235

Apr 24

1) Today marks the first of a long list of exams, which stretch on until the 13th of next month. So registration for our OSCE exams was from 8.15am onwards, and I came early to register. There were a total of 13 groups, and each group had around 16 students. Each group took around 15 minutes to rotate between the two tasks. One station was an examination station, with 6 tasks supposed to be completed in 6 minutes. The other station was a history taking station, which had a "patient" explaining their problems as we asked them questions.

2) I can't really judge my own performance, other than to say that I gave it my best and have no regrets. Only time will tell if it was good enough. Anyway, a huge burden lifted off me, I returned to the library. Tried to do a bit of Anatomy (which is in three days' time) but I was just so drained that I dozed off. Woke up feeling better, and then it was time to meet up with Ms Cheah, our Marketing Executive from PMC, along with Ms Devaki, the Assistant Registrar. After taking some nice pics of us in front of the college, we headed to South Street Restaurant (yes, the one we went to a couple of days earlier for the PMC Appreciation Lunch haha).

3) Among us, we ordered a couple of appetizers and main courses to share. The dishes came out meticulously plated, and they tasted as good as they looked. Really decent quality, especially considering the price. During the dinner, we had a long chat about issues regarding management and communication among the Malaysian and international students here in RCSI. We also talked about strategies to help international students assimilate into life in Malaysia when they come to Penang. The chief problem apparently was the language barrier, which seemed to indicate that patients in Malaysia could not speak an iota of English.

4) To me, that seems a little insulting really. I can definitely understand if the international students find it difficult to understand our accent, but to say that our patients cannot even converse in simple English is stretching it a bit. If anything, most Malaysians from the Colonial era speak perfect English. Either way, I suppose I'll find out for myself when I return haha. So after a lovely meal, Ms Devaki had to return home, while Ms Cheah invited us to go "jalan-jalan" (go along for a stroll) with her.

5) We wanted to go to Butler's Chocolate, but unfortunately it was closed. So instead we went to The Rolling Donut where they had a €5 deal - one doughnut and large cup of coffee/tea/hot chocolate. We continued our nice chat, this time about our prospects of returning to Ireland after completing our housemanship. We learnt a lot from Ms Cheah, who told us about our seniors' experiences. By the time we left, it was approaching nine. I returned to the library to type this out, and to collect my things. I shall return home soon, so I can get a good night's rest. It has been a really long day, but definitely one to cherish as we got to meet up and chat with Ms Devaki and Ms Cheah.

6) Before I end my rather lengthy post, I would just like to personally thank Ms Cheah for spending us for the meal, and also the doughnuts afterwards. It was very nice meeting up with you, and it provided a nice reprieve after our first exam. Many days of studying ahead of me, so I'd best get cracking then. That's all for today, and thanks for reading. Have a nice day, cheers!