DAY 1548-1563

Nov 28 - Dec 13

1) A lot has happened since my last blogpost. For starters, I have finished my psychiatry rotation, and have begun family medicine. The scope of family medicine is very broad - it's a complete mix of all rotations, and it's quite impossible to predict what type of complaint the patient might come in with. There are, however, some problems that are more commonly seen in family medicine. These include diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia (collectively known as "the big three"), Nevertheless, it's been really interesting visiting the different health clinics (Klinik Kesihatan) and private GP settings to see what goes on behind the scenes.

2) I am of the opinion that family medicine gives medical students the most exposure in terms of practical skills. We have a clinical logbook to fill, which includes a list of procedures which we should ideally observe, assist, or perform. Some simple procedures include taking blood pressure and pulse, calculating BMI, the different types of injections (e.g. IM, SC, IV, ID), wound dressing, using the ECG machine and interpreting the results, and many more. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect! Hopefully, we'll have practiced enough before sitting for our end-of-rotation exams.

3) Assessment for family medicine consists of two - the OSLER and DoSKE. OSLER stands for "Objective Structured Long Examination Record" - it is basically a 15-minute observed clerking of a patient, followed by a discussion on the differentials, investigations and management plan. The 40-minute DoSKE (which stands for "Documenting Skills Examination") assesses candidates on four tasks - writing a referral, writing a prescription, requesting an appropriate X-Ray, and requesting a blood investigation. At the end of the year - they will be the usual OSCE as well as written examination, consisting of single best answers, extended matching questions, and short answer questions. 

4) Studies aside, I've been quite busy with other events as well. I was an invited panelist for the "Aspiring Doctors Virtual Event", where I talked about my journey through medical school and intercalated masters. Here's the link of the entire video if you're interested - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-ZCEj23vsY. Besides that, I presented a poster for the 31st International Symposium on ALS/MND, which was the culmination of my year long research as a Masters student. It was exciting to hear the progress made in the field of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as motor neurone disease) research.

5) Yesterday, I again went hiking up Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera) with my good friend Mad Noor. This time, we went up earlier, and I felt great going up the first half (to the lower station). A third way up the second half, however, I had a really bad stomachache. Knowing that I would not be able to reach the top in time, I had no choice but to descend back to the lower station where toilets were available. The worst thing is when I tried to resume hiking later, my muscles had cooled down and become a bit stiff. That made the second leg of the hike very arduous. Nevertheless, I made it to the top - eventually. We had a nice drink to cool off, before taking the tram down (that has become our routine).

6) All in all, it has been a productive two weeks for me. I anticipate that the days leading up to our Xmas break will be very busy, as I have a lot of catching up to do with my studies. That's all for today's blogpost - thanks very much for visiting, and have a great week ahead. Cheers! 

Dinner @ Lagenda House & Cafe, as recommended by Kuhan

(l-r: Melvin, Myself, Esther, Kuhan, and Melissa)

Dinner with Afifah and Sharifah - after a very long (but productive) day at Bayan Baru Health Clinic

Lunch at Tesco Food Court with my group mate Sharifah and our other two 

"group mates" Rachel and Afifah :)

Meet up with my buddy Zi Yan at the unlikeliest of places - college!

Chilling with a drink after reaching the summit of Penang Hill - with Mad Noor :)

Now that the highlight reels are finished, here are all the pictures in chronological order:

I ordered the fish meal - which came with butterfly pea rice, soup, and a "congkak" set of appetizers! :)

A close up of the "congkak set" - which consists of omelettes, crackers, tomatoes and onions, cucumbers, and dipping sauces

The same dish, but after removing the pandan leaf which covered the butterfly pea rice

Here are all our meals!

For dessert, a beautiful panna cotta with strawberry sauce

Some sago pudding with coconut milk

Caramelised bananas with ice cream - yum!

Today, Sharifah recommended that we try this popular franchise called "3 Budak Gemok" (lit: Three Fat Guys") - after our morning clinic session

Their specialty is "ayam kicap sambal power" (or sweet soy sauce chicken with sambal chilli)

I really liked the sambal, as it had a nice kick to it!

We're in Pusat Sejahtera USM today, specifically the lab department. Here are some interesting charts on urine microscopy (and what to look out for).

This is a Roche Urisys 1100 urine analyser

(you can see the test strip - which is dipped in the patient's urine before being placed in the slot for automated analysis)

Guidelines for the measurement of HbA1c - an important diagnostic and screening tool for diabetes

This is the A1care Analyser

Sysmex KX21N haematology analyser - basically where all the full blood count reports are handled

The tubes with lavender tops are called "vacutainers" - they contain EDTA as an anticoagulant, and are used for collecting blood samples for analysis (using the haematology analyser above)

The name of the restaurant is Bangkok Tomyam

We ordered "tom kha" (Thai coconut soup), "ayam gajus" (cashew nut chicken), and "kangkung belacan" (stir-fry water spinach)

The "tom kha" was very rich in flavour, but could have done with a bit more spice :)

Getting ready to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year!

This was just the beginning - they've now added photo booths and other shops surrounding the Christmas tree!

Tried the sizzling mee at Gurney Plaza - extremely filling!

Lunch with friends

Sharifah swears by these - the Swiss Roll from Bread History

(upon her recommendation, I decided to try one myself)

I must say, presentation wise, incredibly beautiful and delicious-looking Swiss rolls

Blueberry and chocolate combo!

Originally planned to use the gym - ended up in the Mezzanine instead XD

Getting ready to present my poster to the world!

A fruitful and rewarding experience indeed! Next year's symposium will be in Basel, Switzerland

My apartment is getting a makeover

In case it wasn't already clear, the newly painted side is on the left (the grey tone colour scheme)

At the lower station again

The view from the lower station was amazing! Too bad it was also a lot hotter than usual

Not sure how anyone would bring their bicycles up here in the first place XD

Map of Penang Hill

Just 200m more to go (the summit is basically just Cliff Cafe)

There are at least ten stores just like these on the lower deck - ready to capitalise on the tired hikers (myself included!)

Oreo milkshake

That's the face of someone who doesn't care about the calories soon to be consumed

Another spot recommended by Mad Noor - Ali Nasi Lemak Daun Pisang (translated loosely as Ali's banana leaf-wrapped nasi lemak). They come in different flavours - cili bilis, udang, and sotong (chilli anchovies, prawns, or squid)