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 537

Feb 18-20

1) After spending the night with some friends, I went back to RCSI to register for the third and last day of the International Conference for Healthcare and Medical Students (ICHAMS) 2018. The schedule for today was as follows - Poster Session B, Oral Session C, Keynote 3, Lunch, Poster Session C, Workshop, Oral Session D, Tea Break, Keynote 4, followed by the Closing Ceremony and optional Black Tie Dinner.

2) I spent most of the morning rehearsing for my poster presentation after lunch (Poster Session C - 13.00-14.30). During lunch, we had the opportunity to listen to research carried out by past students of the RCSI Collaborative Research: The John Bradley Clinical Research Summer School, Michael Garron Hospital, Toronto. Quite a number of my Canadian friends had taken part last year, and were presenting their posters today. It was thoroughly entertaining listening to each one of their research focuses, and to appreciate the rich diversity of projects available to candidates.

3) At 13.00, the judges came over to do their rounds. I was one of the first to be assessed - 3 minutes speaking time, with 2 minutes for questions. Before I knew it, I was wrapping up and being bombarded with questions. I tried to answer as best I could, and they nodded in approval. Job done, I thought. As I opened a bag of crisps and stared at another poster - in a vain attempt to prevent myself from overthinking about my just concluded presentation - I was approached by two girls, Hazel and Meghan. Apparently they had been following my blog too, and we had a nice chat about my research projects last summer.

4) At 14.30, I went for the second workshop: Workshop G - Physio in high-caliber athletics. Mr Aidan Woods (Head Physiotherapist at the inaugural European Games 2015 in Baku and the London 2012 Olympics) gave the presentation, going through some practical examples - including two case studies on the role of physiotherapy in giving athletes the green light to compete at major championships. It was fascinating to obtain a different perspective and approach towards healthcare, especially for top-level athletes. The chances of litigation due to an oversight are enormous, but so are the payoffs - seeing an athlete fulfil their lifelong dream of starting a race, even with an injury.

5) Our last keynote speech was by Dr. David Rowe - general physician and thought leader in the emergent area of Health, Happiness, and Wellbeing Wisdom. It was an inspiring talk that beckoned us to practice more gratitude and gratefulness. After a mesmerising dance duet by Robert Prein and Mayke van Veldhuizen, it was time for the closing ceremony. The winner of the Best Oral Presentation went to none other than Joshua! Congratulations to him, and job well done to all.

6) As it was getting dark, we decided against staying back for the Black Tie Dinner at NoLIta. I walked all the way back to Eden Quay, and took Bus 27b back home.That concludes ICHAMS 2018, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks for visiting, and have a lovely weekend. Cheers! :)

ICHAMS 2018 was a huge success!

With Dr. Sara O'Neill 

(ICHAMS Faculty Advisor since it's inception)

Hazel had us posing like that

(and then didn't maintain it so the picture's a tad blurry XD)

Me: Until the next one guys :')

Congratz Joshua on a thoroughly deserved win :D

Dr. Mark Rowe was the fourth and final Keynote Speaker of the conference

Dr. Mark Rowe - 

talking about how an arson tragedy in the past turned out to be the most important lesson in his life

ICHAMS 2018 draws to a close ~~

"K bye"

- Melissa

DAY 28

Sept 29

1) Today was an interesting day. Woke up early as usual and watched the two videos on clinical practice and history taking. These would make up our lectures today. Went to RCSI before 10 a.m. to grab a spot, before attending lectures till 12 p.m.

2) Had lunch at AK. Henry's. The sandwiches I had were very filling, and all at only €3.00! After filling up, I had a 3 hour gap before our small group tutorials. So me and my friends went to the Coffee Doc to do revision and to prepare for tomorrow's lectures. The place was quite noisy, but we still had to study anyway.

3) With tutorials done for the day, some of us stayed back to enter the Anatomy Room, to get our hands on examining the cadavers. We wanted to do revision for practicals, but unfortunately the room had to be locked soon, and we didn't get a chance to fully cover the videos we were provided with online. Undeterred, we went to the Physiotherapy Room, where there were some model skeletons lying about. Each of us proceeded to "teach" the others, simulating a demonstration and to promote better understanding. It was really fun and exciting to learn in this manner!

4) By now it was time for dinner. Went back, decided that soup was for dinner until I realised the frozen dinner I bought the other day was expiring today! Had no choice but to finish that as well. So now my stomach is doubly full, and I would probably skip breakfast tomorrow as a result haha. Anyway, that's all for today, but tomorrow and the day after is chalk full of activities which I can't wait to experience. Stay tuned, and goodnight!

Extremely filling, extremely satisfying, but most importantly

*extremely cheap*

Posing with Stefan the Skeleton ;D

The Physiotherapy Room

Chicken tikka masala with rice,

plus oxtail soup