DAY 2448-2534

May 16 - Aug 10

1) Where to even begin? In the span of three months, so much has changed. For one, I have completed my third and final rotation, Emergency Medicine (ED) This was definitely the rotation with the most variation in terms of cases seen. Polytrauma patients air-flown via helicopter, pregnant patients with uncontrolled bleeding and hypertension, paedatric patients whose parents watched me like a hawk as I tried to examine them, patients who were convinced that insects had crawled into their ear and infiltrated their brain, young IV drug users seeking cannulas so they could disappear for a convenient cigarette and a much-needed "quick fix", and elderly patients with broken hips or brain bleeds, who were unable to tell me anything about what brought them to hospital. I've encountered all of the above, made many mistakes along the way, and also learnt a bit about managing these scenarios. I've learnt some really interesting stuff, including fascia iliaca blocks (a nerve injection to provide adequate pain relief in patients with neck of femur fractures), ring blocks (a nerve injection for finger wounds and / or fractures), haematoma blocks (injecting local anaesthetic before manual reduction of distal radius fractures), suturing techniques, applying thumb splints, and how to use the slit lamp for eye examination, among others.

2) Of course, with the end of my ED rotation also comes the end of my journey as a Foundation Year 1 doctor. Long story short, I have passed my final Annual Review of Competency Progression (ARCP) with an Outcome 1 - Satisfactory Progress. This means that I am now officially a Foundation Year 2 doctor, and with that I have also obtained full registration with the General Medical Council (GMC). Finally, the ability to prescribe FP10s and to declare patients medically fit for discharge, along with all the duties and responsibilities that come with being a Senior House Officer (SHO). I'm not sure I'm actually ready for any of this yet. What I am ready for is my first rotation as an F2 doctor, which is going to be in rheumatology at Haywood Hospital. As I am on the academic programme, I'll only be in clinics two days a week, with the remaining three days for academic research.

3) As if moving jobs and hospitals is not challenging enough, I am also moving - literally. The contract with my landlady ends in August, and I have decided to move closer to the hospital. In addition to being closer to Newcastle-under-Lyme, I will only need to take one bus to get to Haywood. One of the biggest challenges for me so far has been packing up all the stuff I've hoarded over the past year. Thankfully, I am mostly done with that, and can look forward to starting my new job in rheumatology. I am sure it will be quite a bit different sitting in a clinic accepting referrals compared to my previous job in emergency medicine, but as always, I am open to learning new things. After rheumatology, I will look forward to a rotation in general practice (GP land as it is sometimes called) followed by geriatric medicine. That would sum up the rest of my F2 year. 

4) And this sums up my blog post today. I am really happy to have lasted this long in medicine so far, and I'm looking forward to all the ups and downs that the road ahead has in store for me. Thanks very much as always for tuning in, and I wish you all a good week ahead. Take care and stay safe, cheers!

First day as a Foundation Year 2 Doctor

(Also my first day in Rheumatology at Haywood Hospital)

Associate Membership of the Academy of Medical Educators

All aboard the free shuttle from the Royal Stoke to County Hospital

Mandatory Clinical Skills Course for F1 doctors

Re-familiarising myself with equipment used in emergency crash calls

Slow walk back home after a long day shift

Event today at the Double Tree Hilton

Presentation by yours truly, on introducing a neurosurgical unit day case service

Learning how to apply a thumb splint in ED

Beautiful scenery out of the hospital cafeteria window

Back at it with the blood and blood culture bottles and forms

A double rainbow after a brief spell of rain

Main entrance to County Hospital

County Hospital has some really good breakfast options for a reasonable price

Fish and chips with all fixings - a Friday staple at the Royal Stoke cafeteria

Haywood Hospital first day :)

My own trust laptop and dictaphone :)

Beautiful bus terminal

My last day as F1 doctor

Handing in my ID badge...

My new ID badge

DAY 1942-1953

Dec 27 - Jan 7

1) It has been 12 days since my last blog post. And what a busy 12 days it has been! We've started a New Year, finished our public health rotations, sat for the Public Health II Examinations and end-of-block surgery examinations, gotten swabbed (again), and received our booster dose vaccinations. Public health was the final hurdle that we had to clear before our final semester of final year (due to it being a barring examination), and I'm really glad that it's over so that we can get back to our bread and butter of medicine / surgery.

2) On a personal note, I had another SFP (Specialised Foundation Programme) interview recently. Without getting into too much detail, it certainly was not what I had expected for an interview session. Imagine studying the entirety of A-Levels physics only to appear for a History examination - that's how far I missed the mark XD. At this rate, only time will tell if it was good enough for an offer, although I'm certainly not keeping my hopes high. At least I'll find out the results for both interviews soon, as they are due latest end of this month.

3) Semester 10 will be the final semester of our long medical school journey. It consists of "only" two modules - medicine and surgery, each of which lasts 7 weeks. Half the class starts with medicine, and the other half with surgery. I'm in Group A7a, which means I'll be starting off with medicine first. For this semester, three training hospitals are utilised - Penang General Hospital (PGH), Seberang Jaya Hospital (SJH), and Taiping Hospital. 

4) In addition to the usual ward rounds and clinics that we have become familiar with throughout our course, this final semester also includes sub-internship, where we shadow house officers and observe / assist / perform procedures as required. Sub-internship seems quite daunting for now, as it is 7am-7pm every day including the weekends, and 7am-1pm on Sundays. A measly 2% is awarded for sub-internship in both medicine and surgery, which frankly is inconsequential compared to the remaining 80% available from our final examinations. Nevertheless, I'm confident we'll gain some good practical experience from being exposed to the daily tasks and duties of a house officer in the wards.

5) It is the start of the new year, and hopefully the start of better things to come. Thank you for visiting my blog as always, and have a great weekend ahead. Cheers! 

Celebrating Nana's birthday @ Coffee Elements, All Season's Place

Ending public health with another nice group photo!

Pic taken at Seberang Jaya Health Clinic (KKSJ)

Doing my part for the community - my presentation on smoking cessation

It seems like I'm presenting to an empty audience 

but there were actually loads of people behind the chairs

A nice thank you gift!

I certainly was not expecting to bump into Hoong Yun, and right in front of my apartment too!

Hin Bus Depot on New Year's Eve - very lively and happening as always :)

Hin Bus Depot - for our New Year's Eve Countdown

Bumped into our seniors Jason and Vivien from C2019! :)

Ushering the new year with four thumbs up!

Liang pi (spicy cold skin noodles) from a food stall nearby

At an undisclosed bar, where we drank the year away :p

(bumped into yet another senior in the form of Kay Vin)

A very thoughtful message from the drive-through staff at McD today :)

Beef barbacoa served with crispy tortillas

A very Mexican lunch at Holy Guacamole

Batu Ferringhi Beach today

(killing time while waiting for our booster dose walk-in at Seberang Jaya Hospital)

Chinese-style lunch today (chicken with dried chilli and claypot tofu)

before heading for our booster shots

I'm starting to notice a trend of bumping into people lately XD

With Fadhli at the walk-in vaccination centre

Title above my head reads "I've been vaccinated!"

Pfizer 0.3mL intramuscular injection into the left deltoid muscle

No side effects, all good

DAY 1879-1891

Oct 25 - Nov 6

1) I've been really busy and stressed out this past week. Essentially, there were two really important events taking place: i) the International Undergraduate Medical Research Conference 2021 (IUMRC21), and ii) the Specialised Foundation Programme (SFP) interview. To make things more difficult, there were both held on weekdays, giving me very little time to prepare after our clinical rotations in the morning.

2) After emerging as the best overall presenter for RUMC Research Day 2021, I was privileged to be sponsored by my university to present my research findings (on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) at the IUMRC 2021. My abstract had been accepted for oral presentation, where I was required to submit a 10 minute recorded video of me presenting my PowerPoint slides. On the day of the conference itself, this video would be played to the audience (and adjudicators), followed by a live Q&A session for two minutes. 

3) It took some time for me to remember all the details regarding my research, and to prepare for the possible questions during the Q&A session. Also, my WiFi has a habit of failing me whenever I have important events coming up. Fortunately, there were no hiccups on the day itself, as I managed to answer the two questions posed by the audience. On a side note, it was really interesting to listen to the other presenters and find out more about how research is conducted in other disciplines. It reminded me of how diverse research can be, and why I enjoyed research in the first place.

4) I had to wait until the next day to get my results. Indeed, I was incredibly lucky to be awarded the Best Oral Presentation Award in the category of "Discovery Science". I certainly would not have been able to do so without the continuous support, encouragement, and advice from my university, and for that I am truly grateful.

5) After attending the conference, I had less than half an hour before the next event - the Specialised Foundation Programme (SFP) interview. This is basically an interview for aspiring clinician scientists hoping to train in the UK as a Foundation Doctor. Although this is very much a longshot, I knew I had to at least try. After the hour-long interview, we were informed that the results would be announced next year. I had done my best during the session, so the only thing left to do is to keep my fingers crossed. That, as well as to start preparing for the upcoming Situational Judgment Test (SJT), the end-of-rotation examinations for medicine, and the second half of the Public Health Examinations. There's never really a break is there? XD

6) I did spend the past few days finishing off my Public Health Report, just so I could get it out of the way. I have been neglecting both my medical and surgical rotations, so it is time for me to start revising properly. Thanks very much for visiting as always, take care and stay safe. Cheers!

My expired student ID card - had to trade it in for a new one :)

Finally received my prize for winning the Anatomy Heart Sketching Competition

- a set of very appropriate pens

I also finally got myself a new watch (from Lazada) after the strap broke off in my old one

First time trying out An Viet - a restaurant in Gurney Plaza serving authentic Vietnamese cuisine :)

As you can see, they gave me so many clams in my coconut broth!

Kimchi burger from "Dream Burger" - smells and tastes absolutely phenomenal! 

Thanks Tenisha for the recommendation :)