DAY 1705-1718

May 4 - 17

1) Malaysia is currently undergoing its third iteration of the Movement Control Order (stylised as MCO 3.0). While initially limited to a few key states, the MCO has since been expanded nationwide due to new coronavirus variants with higher infection rates, increasing constraints on the capacity of the public health system, and suboptimal compliance of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) amongst the general public. This includes a blanket ban on inter-district and inter-state travel, to last until June 8th. 

2) So what does all this mean for us as medical students? Well, all education has switched from face-to-face to online. This has put a halt to our clinical training in hospitals and wards. For now, our learning is conducted via lectures and online tutorials, with new timetables being circulated every now and then to accommodate the latest updates from the Ministry of Health. 

3) Group B (my group) is in their final rotation for the year, obstetrics and gynaecology (O & G). Assuming no changes, we have one week after this rotation before having to sit for our exams. Having the constant reshuffling of timetables and disruptions to our learning is not ideal, but I agree that it is necessary and in our best interests. On a positive note, the MCO extension gives us more time for self-study and revision, which can only be a good thing given our upcoming exams.

4) Just yesterday the fifth years finished their final year medical exams - a massive congratulations to everyone! I'm sure the coming weeks will provide a much-needed break for most of you, and richly deserved indeed. I've been really lucky to call many of you my friends, and I look forward to seeing where you will go from here. All the very best in your future endeavours :)

5) Yesterday was also Teacher's Day - a very special day where we showcase our appreciation to all the teachers out there. As a secondary school student, there was a particular poem by Malaysian poet Usman Awang that I really enjoyed, called "Sajak Guru O Guru" (lit. "Teacher Oh Teacher"), and which is commonly read during Teacher's Day celebrations. Here is a particularly poignant stanza from the poem (in the original Malay Language and then translated by yours truly into English):

Jika hari ini seorang Perdana Menteri berkuasa
Jika hari ini seorang raja menaiki takhta
Jika hari ini seorang Presiden sebuah negara
Jika hari ini seorang ulama yang mulia
Jika hari ini seorang peguam menang bicara
Jika hari ini seorang penulis terkemuka
Jika hari ini siapa sahaja menjadi dewasa
Sejarahnya bermula oleh seorang guru biasa
Dengan lembut sabarnya mengajar tulis baca.

English translation: 

If today exists a Prime Minister come to power
If today exists a king ascending the tower
If today exists a President of a nation proper
If today exists a noble scholar
If today exists a lawyer upholding one's honor
If today exists a famous writer
If today exists someone who became wiser
Their story started with the humble teacher
Teaching in calm collected demeanor

6) I liked the poem so much that I actually committed it to memory, in anticipation of our SPM Malay Language examinations back when I was in secondary school. Unfortunately, the theme "Teachers' Day" did not come out for our exams that year. Nevertheless, I've never forgotten my teachers, not even those from primary school. Hopefully, I'll be able to come back and meet up with some of them in the near future. And on that note, I shall end my blog post here. Thanks very much for tuning in, and hope you have a great week ahead. Take care and stay safe, cheers!

Happy Teachers' Day 2021

To all the teachers out there, thank you for being so kind and inspiring!