DAY 1822-1847

Aug 29 - Sept 23

1) This is the longest I've gone without a blog update - and for good reason. I've been waiting for the end-of-fourth year results to come out. What initially started out as a one week wait turned into two, then three, and finally just shy of a month since our last exam, we finally received our results this morning, during online class no less. I can just imagine some of my friends just zoning out of the lecture in order to check our results mid-lesson - I know I did.

2) For the past four weeks, we have had online classes on medicine and surgery, which are our fifth year modules. It has been rather difficult for me to find motivation to study for fifth year, especially when we didn't even know if we passed fourth year or not. Honestly, I was mentally preparing for the worst - as I knew I did not do well in a few modules. But without getting into too much detail, I was so incredibly lucky to pass fourth year! And suddenly, the stress and anxiety of waiting a month for our results seemed to just melt away. 

3) So the next (and final) step is fifth year - which is divided into Semester 9 and 10. Semester 9 has three modules which the students rotate through i.e. surgery, medicine, and public health. However, there have been problems getting us medical students back to the wards, as our main teaching hospital (Penang General Hospital) has no more teaching wards. This is due to the fact that most of the wards have been converted into COVID-19 wards, which is off-limits for medical students.

4) Nevertheless, we are scheduled to return to clinics beginning next Monday. It will be a slightly different experience, as the clinics see different patients compared to the wards. The main difference being that patients seen in clinics are generally in a more stable condition as they do not require ward admission. But there is still hope, as we are likely to utilise another teaching hospital (Taiping Hospital) after our first two weeks of clinics. Currently, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding the resumption of clinical teaching. Hopefully, this is sorted out as soon as possible, so that we may graduate and move on in life.

5) The coronavirus pandemic has really turned the world upside down, and on a personal note, has affected our clinical exposure with patients. Hopefully, we will be able to make up for this deficit and become safe and competent healthcare professionals in the end. On that note, I'll end my blog post here. Thanks very much for visiting, and have a great day. Cheers! 

On a side note - I've received my second dose of vaccine!

This means I'm fully vaccinated, and just in time for our return to clinics too :)

The sign reads, "I've been vaccinated. You should too!" - which is really good advice

DAY 1802-1821

Aug 9-28

1) After what felt like an eternity, we are finally done with fourth year. Eight rotations (paediatrics, obstetrics & gynaecology, psychiatry, family medicine, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, emergency medicine, and radiology) all condensed into three combined written papers. Two days later, a massive 31-station OSCE practical session, assessing all eight rotations over three hours. Honestly, the last month has been one hectic race against time, as we scrambled to cover all the specialties before our dreaded finals. 

2) So what's in store for our batch? Well, we are now bona fide final year medical students, with less than a year remaining before we graduate. Initially, we were supposed to begin our final year rotations (surgery, medicine, and public health) immediately after exams, but this had to be postponed after the major hospital departments denied us entry, so it'll be online classes for the next two weeks. Less than ideal, but I'm sure this would be a welcome breather for most of us after the mental and physical hell that we've been through.

3) It is also high time for me to focus on the core subjects for which our degree is based on, namely medicine and surgery. The last time I properly revised any surgery or medicine was in Semester 6, which was literally two years ago! Of course, I'll be taking the weekend off while I focus on other, more pressing tasks i.e. sleeping and cleaning my room. There is laundry that needs to be done, groceries that need to be bought, and sleep that needs to be replenished.

4) We will (supposedly) get our results in a week or two. Regardless of the outcome, I just want to sincerely thank everyone who has helped me on my journey so far, and hopefully we'll continue motivating each other on the road to finals! And with that, I'll sign off here. Thanks very much for tuning in as always, take care and stay safe, and have a great weekend - cheers! 

Does someone need a CAT scan?

Featuring Luca: a rather contented cat :)

Fadhli and I were all smiles after our obstetrics and gynaecology end-of-rotation examination

(his was genuine, mine was forced though :')

Jinny, Rachel, and I enjoying a short break before resuming our medical student shenanigans

Oh look - someone's decided to jump in the picture as well

I've never done well with captions, so just imagine a nice one in place here

Post-exam pre-requisite photo

ft. Lai, Aiman, and myself