DAY 1564-1578

Dec 14 - 28

1) Back to the blog after two weeks. As my current group (Group B) passes the half way mark of our eight-week rotation, I realise that family medicine is really quite interesting - its focus on the whole patient, its holistic perspective, its continuity of care, and its integrative methodology make this field unique. 

2) Consequently, I am aware of how much more there is to cover, from basic revision of medicine in general, to paediatrics, psychiatry, and some obstetrics and gynaecology thrown in for good measure. Therefore, I have made the difficult decision to not return home for Christmas break this year. In all honesty, as much as I would have loved to be back home, I would not be able to focus on my revision as I would be busy going out and hanging out with friends/ relatives. Secondly, I have already planned to return home for Chinese New Year next year, so at least I have that to look forward to.

3) My time in family medicine has been really enjoyable. We have had experience in three different clinical settings - the health clinics (klinik kesihatan), the maternal and child health clinics (klinik kesihatan ibu dan anak), and private GP clinics. We have had the opportunity to do home visits with a registered nurse, as well as visit an old folks' home. Besides, we also managed to visit the occupational and physiotherapy departments in Penang General Hospital. A mainstay of patient management in these settings, other than return of mobility and function, is chronic pain management. I personally enjoyed the occupational and physiotherapy clinics the most, as there were so many creative approaches used to manage the patient's symptoms and conditions.

4) As the year 2020 comes to an end, I cannot help but look back with a slight sense of pride at how far I've come on this long road of medicine. When 2021 begins, I can finally say that I will (touchwood) graduate in just over a year. Of course, along with that expectation of graduating, there is increasing expectation that I should have some basic medical knowledge. Hopefully, I will have filled up some of those gaps in my knowledge and practical skills when the time comes. Here's hoping everyone had a wonderful Merry Christmas (for those celebrating), and happy holidays to everyone! I'm looking forward to a better and more productive year :)

5) Thanks very much for visiting my blog as always. Too bad I don't have a lot of interesting pictures to share this time around. Have a great week ahead, cheers! 

The price of getting a nice photo XD

(just kidding - my group mate and I were practicing venepuncture (blood taking) and IV cannulation)

An incredible learning experience here at the X-Ray department today :)

From phlebotomist to patient...

Ok lah it was quite well done...

Fish fillet rice at Gurney Plaza Food Hall

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

An opportunity to test out functional electrical stimulation (FES), a treatment that applies small electrical charges to improve mobility, for example in cases of stroke or spinal cord damage

Delighted with my new oversized purple clipboard :D

Our latest addition to the apartment!

It seems as though I'm staring into the dark abyss of space and time...

DAY 1061-1080

July 29 - Aug 17

1) This has been the longest interval in updating my blog, and for good reason. In the last update, I mentioned about having to submit our third report (on Paediatrics) before grinding away for our last 2.5 weeks before our end-of-rotation exams. Well, after a long hard struggle, we've finally finished with Paediatrics yesterday. But before I dwell on that, it's rewind time...

2) On August 6, we celebrated Kuhan's and Jason's birthday together at Nando's @ Gurney Plaza. As most of us are in different rotations (based on our groupings), we don't see each other nearly as often as we used to (when we had common lectures together). So it was indeed lovely to have everyone return for a celebration. At the same time, we shared our experience with the different rotations that we had been placed in.

3) As part of the MPU U3 Community Project, my group (consisting of Zi Yan, Melissa, Melvin, Esther, Girvana, Ice, Mehwish, Elaine and myself) decided to help out at a children's home. It was quite apt then, that we chose to volunteer at a children's home in the midst of our Paediatrics module - it gave us the opportunity to practice our communication and soft skills with them. After spending a full morning there, Zi Yan took us to Tai Tong Restaurant for lunch. I still remember coming to Tai Tong with my family during the first week of orientation eight months ago. How times flies...

4) Aug 15 and 16 were the dates of our end-of-rotation exams - OSCEs and 2 short cases. The OSCE stations tested various skills, including history taking, counselling, and clinical skills. They were adjudged by one internal examiner and one external. The second day was for our two short cases. We had twenty minutes for two short cases, in which we had to do a physical examination to elicit any positive findings, report them to the two examiners, and discuss the possible diagnoses and the most likely diagnosis, management and treatment plan. My short case consisted of a GI examination for a patient with hereditary spherocytosis, and a developmental assessment of a 9-month old child with hearing impediment.

5) For both days, I was with the last group of candidates, which added to the stress. I much rather get things done and over with, but having to watch as - one by one - my friends went in for their exams until the four or five of us were the only ones remaining, was mentally draining. Luckily, it was over soon enough, and now I have officially completed the first rotation of fourth year.

6) Throughout the rotation, I've been lucky to meet students from other medical schools - most notably electives students from Newcastle University Malaysia (NuMed). I still can't believe that they have 8 MONTHS worth of electives, as compared to our two months. As a result, many of them have been hopping from one hospital to the next in order to complete each rotation's requirements. Talking to other medical students was very interesting, as we found out how different institutions conduct their lessons and rotations differently. For instance, I heard from them that they have four weeks of paediatrics in year 3, followed by three weeks at the end of year 4. For us, our rotation is 7 weeks straight, so we start and complete a rotation and then move on.

7) While I take a short break from all that studying and cramming, I'm also busy packing up for my imminent departure from Penang back home. I'll be writing on that shortly, but first - I've to settle and enjoy a (well-deserved) break. Thanks for reading as always, and have a nice day. Cheers!

Celebrating Kuhan's and Jason's birthday at Nando's :)

(l-r: Stephanie, Myself, Melissa, Nee Kee, Khee Heng, Hong, Zi Yan, Esther, Melvin, Kuhan, Jason)

Chicken katsu set at Yoshinoya @ Gurney Plaza

Done for the day - lunch with Aneesha at Sri Ananda Bhawan :)

Who can truly resist the temptation of banana leaf rice - accompanied by three different kinds of vegetables, poppadom (crackers), a perfectly seasoned grilled fish, and a selection of chicken, fish or mixed curry?

Lunch at Tai Tong Restaurant after volunteering - with Zi Yan, Melissa, and Melvin

Dim sum to share :)

I ordered the Singapore-style fried mee hoon (vermicelli noodles) - tasted great!

Birthday cake for the two birthday boys

Quarter chicken and side dish of Mediterranean rice

Chocolate birthday cake tasted really good

So I sometimes crave for a snack; this is it - Penang muar chee (a.k.a. mochi in Japanese) is basically small glutinous rice balls coated in sweet and salty crushed peanuts. They come in many flavours - red bean, pandan, sesame, or original - and a real treat after a long day!

 Chicken rice for lunch today...

 ... comes with chai boey (mustard greens stew)

Today Denise and myself made dinner together - her grandmother had supplied us with some lovely home-cured pork. Denise made the applesauce, while I was in charge of the cheesy mashed potatoes. A couple of cherry tomatoes, and a dollop of sour cream - and hey presto!

  

Never tried nasi lemak goreng (fried nasi lemak) before - it's really filling :)

DAY 1047-1060

July 15 - 28

1) And so... another two weeks have passed. Time for a summary of events. I started off the first week with a three day visit to the Private Clinics (in my case, at Island Hospital). I was initially supposed to shadow a neonatalogist (someone who specialises in neonatal health (babies below 1 month of age), but ended up following a paediatric cardiologist for the first two days instead. I must say I learnt a lot observing patients in a clinic setting (compared to the wards) as I got the opportunity for one-on-one teaching. It was really interesting to watch multiple echocardiograms (ultrasounds of the heart) as well as appreciate the different types of heart murmurs and clinical presentations of patients with heart disease.

2) On Thursday, we had our mid-module appraisal (MMA) at Hospital Kepala Batas. Thankfully, transport was provided for by van, although we had to leave really early to reach on time. Dr. Violet took us for the appraisal, which involved going over (confidentially) areas we were weak in, critique and feedback over the course so far, as well as a semi-mock exam for each of us. In the afternoon, she brought us over to the T&CM (Traditional and Chinese medicine) department - one of the few hospitals with this type of department that is endorsed by the Ministry of Health. It was a really interesting experience, and by interviewing some of the patients, we found out that the majority of them had a) tried Western medicine first and failed, then b) adopted a traditional approach and found that it worked. Whether by placebo or by some other method not demonstrable by science, these patients swear by the alternative medicine that they receive. Most of them had chronic pain or disability e.g. following a stroke.

3) Over the weekend, I've been trying to catch up with studies, as any medical student would want to haha. The mid-module appraisal represents the turning point (and halfway mark) for our paediatrics rotation. That means we have another four weeks to go before our end-of-rotation assessment (OSCEs and short cases). In addition to those, we have continuous assessments as well, in the form of online quizzes, preparations before class, and three online report submissions (on Paediatrics, Neonataology, and Evidence-Based Medicine respectively). Our group (B12) has but one more report to finish - on Paediatrics. After that, it's study all the way till finals - as caffeine consumption increases and sleep deprivation too.

4) Next week, we'll be in Penang General Hospital, with our so-called Self-Directed Learning, before finishing off our final week in the Seberang Jaya Hospital Clinics. Week 8 (the final week) is filled with any replacement classes, revision time, and the exams themselves. So all in all, a very packed rotation, with endless information, but enjoyable and interesting nonetheless. And on that note, I'll end this edition of my blog post. Thanks very much for visiting as always, and have a nice day. Cheers!

Kepala Batas Hospital - waiting for our Mid-Module Appraisal

(l-r: Mahitha, Athirah, Myself)

Posing in front of the Main Administrative building :)

Huge fried fish for lunch today <3

Chicken rice in college :)

Penang "Muar Chee" (glutinous rice balls) coated in savoury ground-up peanut :)

Chicken cheese lava at Coffee Elements

 

MPU U3 Members 

(l-r: Myself, Ice, Girvana, Mehwish, Zi Yan)

- we've since expanded our group members to nine :)

DAY 1020-1032

June 18-30

1) It really speaks volumes about the pace at which medical students are expected to study, when in my last blog post I was talking about the looming Forensics and Legal Medicine exams, and in this post I can reminisce about it like a long forgotten memory. Instead, this post is all about our Paediatrics rotation (for my group - Group B), as well as the weekend spent in Kuala Lumpur, promoting our college as part of our "Aspiring Doctors" event.

2) First off was the Forensics and Legal Medicine paper. It was two papers - consisting of 80 questions in total, and a mixture of MCQs and EMQs. I had spent the previous night unable to sleep well, as I really wanted to do well (by that I mean NOT fail) in my exams. Thankfully, the paper itself wasn't overly difficult, and before noon we had finished both papers. Time to celebrate, then. So it was off to Kyochon @ Gurney Plaza with my friends for post-exam celebrations. We ordered three batches of their signature fried chicken - original, garlic, and honey-flavoured. It was my first time trying out Kyochon and it was really quite good.

3) And then, barely two days after we had studied really hard for our exams, it was time to start our next rotation. In my case, I started off with Paediatrics. The whole week has been an introductory week, but there was nothing introductory about it. We've had lectures after lectures each day, with practical skills on Friday at Seberang Jaya Hospital (Clinical Skills Unit). I must say, however, that I'm thoroughly enjoying the rotation so far. I've not been in many rotations, but by far the doctors/surgeons/lecturers are the most understanding, systematic and organized people that I've encountered. We've had all lectures up on Moodle BEFORE the actual lectures (which is a miracle compared to some other rotations).

4) This Friday, after our whole day practical skills session at the Clinical Skills Unit (CSU), it was time to head off to Kuala Lumpur for the weekend. The RUMC van picked me up back at college, and I rode along with Eunice to Pullman KL Bangsar, which was the location of our next event - the "Aspiring Doctors" programme. Both Eunice and myself would be the emcees for the day, as well as take charge of the workshops in the afternoon, and finally share our own experience as a medical student thus far.

5) And in exchange for all that? We got an upgraded room with king size bed, buffet breakfast, lunch, and tea - plus an ultra comfy ride in the RUMC van from Penang to KL and back. A very small price to pay for a simple day's work. Plus I got to share my story, shamelessly promote my blog XD and take a day off studying, so as far as I'm concerned, it was a win-win situation. In addition to hearing from the Deans of RCSI and UCD respectively (Professor Hannah McGee for RCSI, and Professor Michael Keane for UCD, we also heard from two of the RUMC alumni (Dr. Nadia an RCSI alumni, and Dr. Raymond a UCD alumni) - who have since gone abroad and made their mark internationally before coming back to serve their country. It was a privilege to listen to everyone's journey through the medical profession, and they will definitely serve as inspiration for the future aspiring doctors.

6) In the afternoon, we had three workshops running concurrently - CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), blood pressure taking, and laporoscopic stacking. I was in charge of the CPR, while Eunice took over the blood pressure procedure. The participants were divided into three groups, and after 20 minutes they would rotate to the next workshop; thus giving everyone the opportunity to learn all three skills. I underestimated how tiring it would be to demonstrate proper CPR technique while also explaining to them what I was doing haha. At the end of the hour, we had to talk about our own experience as a medical student.

7) I was really happy with the overall flow of the event, and the fact that I was bombarded with question after question for the better part of an hour after the event ended is good indication of the success of the event. I was also pleasantly surprised that some of them actually discovered my blog before attending the event. It just made me so proud that there are people outside of my circle of friends and family that really do engage in my blog. So a huge thank you for those who do, and if you're new to the blog, do check out my other entries (carefully dated so that they provide a continuous insight into my medical student life).

8) Tomorrow I'll be in Penang General Hospital for the whole morning and afternoon, after which I might return to college for the dreaded MPU (General Studies). I'm also on-call tomorrow, which means I have to be back in hospital by 7pm, till at least 12am. It will be my first on-call, so although I know I'll be dead tired by the end of all this, I will have a lot of memories to look back on. That's it for this edition of my blog then, thanks as always for visiting, and have a nice week ahead. Cheers!

It was an honour to meet up with Professor Hannah McGee - Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, RCSI

Post-exam de-stressing with friends - @ Kyochon (Korean Fried Chicken)

From l-r: Khee Heng, Nee Kee, Melissa, Melvin, Esther, Jason, Kuhan, Myself :)

 Original signature fried chicken at Kyochon @ Gurney Plaza

Honey glazed fried chicken was bursting with flavour, albeit a little oily compared to the other versions we tried :)

Kung pao squid rice set - very satisfying after a long day in school :D

Tried my first Grab Food delivery - right to your doorstep, PLUS there's free delivery for RM5 and above (selected outlets only)

super convenient for when you don't feel like or have time to go out...

Studying developmental milestones in a child

(Paediatrics rotation)

Spent the weekend in Pullman Kuala Lumpur Bangsar

(what a way to be pampered XD)

 

All dressed up and ready to go XD

Buffet breakfast was an international affair - including regional favourites e.g. Malay, Chinese, and Indian cuisine, as well as international ones

Traditional nasi lemak (coconut-steamed rice) with a side of fish curry to begin :)

American breakfast with a bit of pasta and beef stew XD

A fluffy loaded omelette expertly prepared by the chefs

A wide selection of cheeses

Some waffles, pancakes, and bread pudding with vanilla sauce ^^

Delighted to have gotten Prof McGee to sign my autograph book, and for the pic as well :)

Buffet lunch was equally impressive, if not more so - just look at the dessert selection <3

Very beautiful plating

The RUMC Van - stopped for toilet break haha