DAY 2047-2060

Apr 11 - 24

1) Where to even begin - the relief of finishing our surgical OSCE examinations was matched only by the anxiety that preceded it for the past two weeks. It is no big surprise that I've not quite been myself recently, becoming easily stressed, frustrated, and quick to anger - being in final year tends to have that effect. Of course, there were many milestones which we achieved along the way, which led to our final OSCE examinations today.

2) Firstly, we had our last bed-side teaching on Friday, and who better to wrap things up than the Professor of Surgery himself. I had never gotten Prof. Bikram for clinicals before, and I was really taken aback by his reassurance for our upcoming exams, as well as his career advice for the future. In general, I've noticed that the lecturers and consultants are more easygoing towards the final year students (as compared to third years), which is contrary to what I would have expected. Nevertheless, I learnt a lot during the session, even if we were made to stand a couple of hours more than I would have liked.

3) Secondly, we had our last online tutorial on Wednesday, and it was none other than the ex-Head of Department of Surgery himself, Dato' Manjit. Strangely enough, only in final year (and in the final week no less) did I find out that there was actually a book where our online tutorials were taken from, and that it was written by a previous professor of surgery in our college. If only I had known about it sooner, I would have gotten it for myself. Regardless, I have found the online tutorials to provide a useful framework for our revision.

4) Fast forward a few days, and it was our surgical OSCE examinations today, which consisted of seven stations - four active, one passive, and two rest. I have no idea how I fared, and I definitely would have done certain things differently if I could, but all that is in the past. For now, I'm just really glad that this is over, and we have a period of 13 days before our final finals. That would consist of our medicine and surgery long cases, as well as the medicine and surgery written papers. 

5) Everything that has a beginning has an ending - and that would soon apply to medical school as well. One thing I hope it won't apply to is my blog, as I intend to continue updating it for as long as I can. And with that sappy saying out of the way, I'll end my blog post here. Thanks very much for visiting as always, and have a great week ahead. Take care and stay safe, cheers! 

Group photo with the legend himself - Dato' Manjit

Taken in an undisclosed location somewhere in Penang General Hospital

Of course I wouldn't pass up an opportunity for a photo myself :)

An extraordinarily long day in the orthopaedic clinic :)

Group picture in front of the surgical wards, C9 and C10

(L-R: Esther, Rachel, Midun, Ting Ying, Myself, Helmi, Penny, Faizul)

It's been a while since we had Sri Ananda Bhawan's banana leaf rice!

That's breakfast, lunch, and dinner right there

Arati Villas for lunch today

Stare at the orange enough and it becomes a hernia

One more for good measure :)

DAY 2032-2046

Mar 27 - Apr 10

1) At present, it is a little difficult to describe my emotional state. I am simultaneously anxious for our upcoming finals, while also feeling relieved that all of this is coming to an end. The same can't be said for some of my friends though. Most of them seem to be in full "exam" mode and ready to start pulling all-nighters, if they have not already started doing so.

2) This week is our sub-internship week for orthopaedics - the last of our three sub-internship opportunities (for medicine, surgery, and orthopaedics). Unlike the previous two which were in Taiping Hospital, the orthopaedics sub-internship will be in Seberang Jaya Hospital - which is much more convenient. Hopefully the next two weeks will be kind to us. Coincidentally, there are only two weeks more to go before formal teaching is over. What follows after is a series of practical and written examinations which will (hopefully) conclude our medical student life. No pressure then. 

3) Studies aside, I was very happy to be able to join some badminton sessions with my friends over the past two weekends. While I was never really good at it, I thoroughly enjoyed myself - plus it gave me something to look forward to at the start of the week. Sadly, with the start of the fasting month for Muslims (Ramadan), as well as our fast-approaching finals, badminton sessions have since been temporarily suspended. 

4) Given how much I have left to cover, and how little time I actually have, I think it is time for me to resume my revision. Thank you very much for visiting as always, and have a great week ahead. Take care and stay safe, cheers! 

Group photo after an excellent ortho session at Penang GH
L-R: Helmi, Penny, Myself, Dr. Eu, Rachel, Ting Ying, Faizul, Esther, Midun

Dinner with Khang Way and Esther after an excellent badminton session :)

A fine meal to replenish those calories

(at the aptly named Grandpa's Kitchen)

Coming in early only to find the endoscopy suite (where the sign-in sheet is located) closed

L-R: Rachel, Ammar, Myself

Post-BST destressing at Fu Er Dai, which serves Cantonese-style dim sum

The highlights (for me at least) were the woo kok (fried taro dumplings) and lau sa bao (salted egg yolk buns)

Unlike most traditional dim sum which is carted out to each customer's table, here customers are required to make their selections at the counter instead

A surprise package - wonder what's inside...

An interesting addition to the OSCE sessions

Before anyone gets any ideas, the mannequin is for practising intimate physical examinations

A second badminton session to wrap things up before finals

L-R: Khang Way, Esther, Michelle, BK, Marcus, Myself

The spicy pomfret was to die for!

The cutest iced coffee I've seen

My face after realising I'd been fooled a second time... turns out the endoscopic suite only opens around 7.30am each day

Back for some clam noodles at Ah Gu Pan Mee today

One more for memory's sake :)

DAY 1863-1878

Oct 9 - 24

1) As I walked past the sea of people on my way to the food court in Gurney Plaza, it suddenly dawned on me - we are gradually recovering from the effects of the pandemic. Once empty walkways and corridors are now filled with people going about their business, and empty food stalls have returned to near full capacity, with dine-in being allowed for fully vaccinated individuals. Week by week, I am amazed by how much progress has been made. Case in point, today we recorded just 5,666 infections - nearly half the number of daily infections we had at the beginning of the month. Over 94% of the adult population has been vaccinated, and there is an ongoing vaccination programme for schoolchildren, targeting at least 80% full vaccinations before school reopens in 2022. I think that is a commendable effort.

2) In the past two weeks, my group has had clinical teaching in the various surgical departments in Penang General Hospital. We had teachings in cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery, urology, and general surgery, covering a wide range of cases ranging from simple to really, really complex. Anyway, it has been a productive four weeks of surgery / orthopaedics. The next rotation (for me) is medicine, followed by public health to wrap up the semester. 

3) The past two weeks have also been unbearably hot. Even with a stand fan on at full blast in my face, I was still sweating profusely. The hot weather also made me really sleepy, especially in the afternoon, and after a heavy lunch. Thankfully, the past couple of days have been much more bearable, mostly due to the frequent raining. I still remember when I was studying in Ireland, deep in the middle of winter, complaining about how cold and dark everything was (as I often do in my blog updates). I made a promise that when I returned home, I would not complain about the weather - no matter how hot it was. Well, turns out I just complain a lot about everything.

4) Before I start complaining about other things, perhaps it's best to end this blog update here. There's nothing really exciting going on in my life right now, but maybe no news is good news? Thanks very much for tuning in, take care, and stay safe. Cheers! 

Gurney Food Hall - the side entrance from the lifts

The "Canteen"

"Bak kut teh" or pork bone tea - today's lunch objective :)

The interior decor reminds me of when I did my research in China

"Bak kut teh", accompanied with a heaping bowl of rice and "you tiao" or fried dough sticks

Yes it's the one and only Sim!

It was a lovely day outside today - just after the rain

DAY 1848-1862

Sept 24 - Oct 8

1) For the past two weeks, things have been getting better - both for our country and for us as medical students. The average number of new Covid-19 infections per day has fallen by over 7,800 over the last three weeks, with today being the fifth consecutive day the cases were below 10,000. Considering at our peak, we were averaging well over 20,000 cases per day, I would call this a huge milestone. Indeed, things are looking much brighter now, as there are plans to lift the ban on interstate travel in the next couple of days, once  90% of the adult population have been vaccinated.

2) As for us medical students, we have been informed regarding the re-opening of campus on the 18th onwards. This is a very timely update as well, since we are now in final year, and usage of the library and other facilities will definitely help us through our final stage of medical school. For the past two weeks, my group has resumed clinical training in the orthopaedics outpatient clinics. As mentioned before, we have not been allowed in the wards yet, due to the high number of cases. But in the coming weeks, I am hopeful that at some point we'll be allowed back, as more Covid-19 wards are reverted back for normal use. 

3) Having completed our two weeks of orthopaedics posting (for Semester 9), we now have another two weeks in the surgery outpatient departments (SOPD), after which we have two more rotations - in medicine and public health, respectively. Having done half our the public health module in Semester 6 (Year 3), we will now complete the remaining half during Semester 9, and we will sit the final examination for Public Health as well. Next year, Semester 10 - our final semester - begins. We only have two large modules, medicine and surgery, which includes sub-internship (i.e. pre-housemanship) training as well. Barring any hiccups, there will be one last round of examinations at the end of Semester 10 - these are the final examinations for medicine and surgery. Thus concludes medical school in a nutshell.

4) It has been a really long ride, certainly made longer by my research year abroad. But at the end of the day, I keep telling myself that it will all be worth it. And with that, I'll end my blog post here. Take care, stay safe and stay happy. Cheers!

Dinner with my good friend Sim @ Sushi Tei, Gurney Plaza

A lovely view to the sea

Chicken katsu curry for dinner :)

This is my first dine-in at Gurney Plaza Food Hall in months. 

Feels great seeing people coming back.

Saba meal deal for lunch. Cheap as chips for just RM10 (~£2)!