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!

DAY 1690-1704

Apr 19 - May 3

1) Having finished our eye posting at Bukit Mertajam Hospital, Group B1 has continued with the ENT (ear, nose, throat) posting in Penang General Hospital. ENT medicine, or to give it its proper name, oto-rhino-laryngology, is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the surgical and medical management of conditions affecting the ears, nose, throat, head, and neck. For the past week, we'd had clinical teaching at the hospital, where we learnt how to use an otoscope (a medical device used to look into the ear canal and eardrum). We also had a chance to see how hearing assessments are conducted (usually in sound-proof rooms).

2) Throughout our two weeks in ENT, we are attached to two different doctors, with three 4-hour sessions each week. At the end of the second week, we have a clinical exam, which involves an otoscopic exam and a short viva requiring us to interpret results of various ENT diseases. So far I am really enjoying this posting as the workload is not too heavy, giving us time to self-study and revise. I like to think that less is more - by focusing less on exams, case reports, and group presentations, there is more time for the medical student to actually focus on what they are weak in, as well as to delve further into what they might later specialise in.

3) After obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G) posting and the ensuing fourth year finals that I've repeatedly mentioned in previous posts, we will commence our clinical electives. The idea is to give students a chance to explore an area of their own interest, in any hospital of their choice (subject to approval of course). Initially, the duration of our electives was to be eight weeks (2 months), but this was slashed in half due to the ongoing pandemic. The only problem now is that most hospitals have closed their doors to external medical students, leaving very few options behind. That being said, I have been really fortunate to be accepted as an elective student at Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (otherwise known as Ipoh General Hospital). 

4) I guess that is all for this edition of my blog post. I wish it were more fun and exciting, but I suppose that is the downside of being smack in the middle of an ongoing pandemic. Anyway, thanks very much for tuning in, and have a great week ahead. Stay safe and stay healthy, cheers! 

Lovely decor spotted at Gurney Plaza, 

to commemorate the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan

Tracheostomy tube - a tube inserted into the trachea of a person who is unable to breathe using their nose or mouth (can be used in emergency situations or for long operations)

DAY 1579-1592

Dec 29 - Jan 11

1) Just like that, the nightmare that was 2020 has passed. That doesn't mean things will get any better, but with a new year comes new hope. Some of us will have made our New Year's Resolutions, while others may not. I don't have any particular resolution, other than to continue toiling about with my studies. I'm currently just past the half-way point in family medicine, and I'll be sitting for the end-of-rotation examinations in two weeks. No pressure then.

2) Exam stress aside, family medicine has been very interesting. Our 10-day break for Christmas was very useful for me, as it gave me time off to rest and recuperate, as well as revise some much-needed medicine and surgery notes. Given the recent increase in COVID-19 infections in Malaysia, we will have to wait and see if there are any changes implemented to our current movement control order, which may have an impact on our studies and exams. I guess we'll find out tomorrow evening.

3) When I was younger, I loved reading about space and astronomy - of quasars, supernovas, and supermassive black holes. Of course I was not able to understand most of it, but recently I've begun watching videos on YouTube, and it has piqued my interest again. Everything from the theory of the universe, how life began, and how we measure the age of the universe etc - all easily assessible and explained in layman terms. 

4) Another aspect of science that I've always enjoyed is evolutionary biology, specifically that of humans. Those days, it was always a search for the "missing link" - that transitional fossil that describes the intermediate form that separates modern humans from our anthropoid ancestors. Nowadays, we know that evolution is neither linear nor progressive (i.e. it is branching), and so the term "missing link" has fallen out of favour, replaced by the newer term "last common ancestor". Again, some excellent videos are available on YouTube explaining this in more detail - I just find them fascinating.

5) There's nothing really new going on in my life right now. The main objective is to finish off our family medicine rotation in one piece, and then transition to the next rotation (i.e. ophthalmology) before our Chinese New Year break. Until then, I should probably get back to revising haha. Thanks very much for visiting my blog as always, and have a great week ahead. Cheers! 

Welcome to Cat Beach!

(We took a nice detour during our posting at Teluk Bahang Health Clinic to visit this gem of a location)

I don't know anything about cats but here's a contented-looking one XD

These are all stray cats that have been put up for adoption :)

One of them even decided to get close to me XD

At the entrance to the very aptly named "Cat Beach"

Here's a close-up photo of my left retina, taken during one of the clinic postings

(it's a normal eye XD)

Lunch with Sharifah and Rachel @ Oldtown Kopitiam :)

As quickly as they appeared, the Xmas decorations have been taken down and replaced by the Chinese New Year ones

Compulsory face shield, for extra protection against the current pandemic...

A huge thanks to Melvin and Melissa for the lovely cake and banter! :')