DAY 2289-2317

Dec 8 - Jan 5

1) Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2023!! And what a year it has been. Starting where I last left off, the online exams (for the Research in Health Module) went smoothly, although we have yet to receive our results. Hopefully all of us pass and can progress to the next block of research in August, during the first block of Foundation Year 2 training.

2) Trauma and orthopaedics has been an interesting rotation so far, if slightly challenging to wrap one's head around. For example, there are five different wards - Wards 225-228, and Ward 112. Ward 226 is a mixed ward comprising both orthopaedic and spines patients, while Ward 228 is a neurosurgery ward with some ortho / spines patients. Ward 112 is the elective orthopaedic unit which has recently become a trauma unit, but is currently a medical ward. The other wards are more straightforward - Ward 225 is for neck of femur fractures, and Ward 227 is for acute trauma rehab. All of this took me some getting used to.

3) Overall, this is mainly a medical job in a surgical ward. Commonly encountered scenarios include prescribing adequate pain relief, managing constipation, managing infection, checking wound dressing sites, checking post-op X-rays, and medically optimising patients pre- and post-operatively. Based on my limited experience so far, I've found spines to be more challenging than orthopaedics, with more complex presentations requiring senior input. 

4) It is customary to have a New Year's resolution. For me, it is to make it through Foundation Year training, and then decide for certain what I'd like to pursue in life. With any luck, the coming rotations will help me make up my mind. For now, I'm quite happy and content with the way things are going. Hopefully this will be another good year for everyone. Thanks for visiting my blog as always, and have a great year ahead. Cheers!

Merry Xmas from Ward 228 :)

L-R: Myself, Julian, and Amir

A perk of working late shifts (14:00-22:00) is you get this "Nervecentre Device"

- essentially a repurposed iPhone that alerts the doctor of any urgent tasks

Guess who decided to grab two of these today

Freezing at -8° Celsius

Got myself a gym bag for travelling XD

Unexpectedly shift at County Hospital today

Love the Christmas decorations in front of the hospital

A rainy night

Yes, permission was sought beforehand

First time doing bloods in the paediatric ward

Bloods done today

The wards may be poorly staffed, but the staff are well fed :)

New Year, New Haircut

DAY 2181-2203

Aug 22 - Sept 13

1) Just over a month now into my job as  Foundation Year 1 (or F1) doctor in the UK. A brief overview of a typical "normal working day" (NWD) for me would be as follows: updating the handover list before 9am (if not already done), prepping the patient notes as much as we can after that, starting ward rounds with the consultant at 9am, updating the jobs book as we go along, delegating the jobs after the ward round (usually around 12 or 1pm), completing some jobs before going for lunch, then coming back and completing the rest, or handing over to the night team if there are any outstanding jobs at the end of the day. 

2) A typical normal working day is a 9-5 job, however I had only one normal working day yesterday, before having long days for the next three weeks. Essentially, "long day 1" extends from 9:00-21:00, while "long day 2" is from 9:00-19:00. Most of the time, long days (for me at least) are split between two departments - my day job in the gastroenterology ward (from 9-5), and thereafter in the acute medical unit (AMU), emergency department (ED), or frail and elderly assessment unit (FEAU). Every department sees different types of patients, so I've been exposed to a variety of interesting cases especially outside my day job.

3) These past few weeks, I've been really busy preparing for the Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) - which we have to pass before the end of Foundation Year 1 if we are to progress in our training. There are three exam dates in a year, and I sat for mine last week. While it is an open book test (you can search the British National Formulary or BNF), the main challenge is time constraint. There are 60 questions to answer in 2 hours, with the first two sections counting for the majority of marks. After an initial scare in setting up my laptop for the exam, I managed to barely finish in time. According to the website, results should be out in two weeks - so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

4) In summary, working as an NHS doctor has been really rewarding - I've learnt a lot and have a whole lot more to learn. Time to keep working on building my portfolio then. Thanks very much for visiting my blog, and have a great week ahead. Cheers!

A sunny day today :)

 Made sunnier by the fact that it was my off-day

Back to work then I guess...

Trying out authentic Thai food at the "Art of Siam" in Newcastle

Sharing life stories with my good friend Clarence

Massaman curry with rice was stunning -

rich and creamy curry with just a hint of spiciness on a hot bed of rice

Sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream to end the meal

Apparently the Doctor's Mess organise an official event once a month - this evening we were at the Orange Tree, and in front of me is a massive beef skewer

A ginormous dish of chocolate brownies with vanilla ice cream

The Clinical Education Centre (CEC) - where we have most of our fortnightly teaching

I've recently discovered the library at the Clinical Education Centre - perfect for some quiet time

What I've learnt from the hospital cafeteria is that they do Curry Thursdays and Chippy Fridays

Can't remember what this was called but it tasted really good

I pass by this area on my way back from work every day 

- it's most likely a park but I've never entered yet XD

DAY 1441-1444

 Aug 12-15

1) This is it then. My final day in the UK (for a good while at least). It's a really strange feeling, having to say goodbye whenever I move. I've felt it when leaving for Ireland, when I left China (after research), and I'm feeling it again now. I suppose its change that I dislike. I wasn't happy about getting kicked out from Champion Hill to my current address in Westminster, but now I feel the same way about moving out from here. Still, we have to move forward, and having completed my masters programme here in the UK, it's time to say goodbye. 

2) My entire day was uneventful as I was busy packing up and making sure I had not forgotten any important documents. In my earlier post, I mentioned about getting my COVID-19 test, and this afternoon I received the results. Sai helped me print the required documents, after which we met up for dinner. I suggested a nearby fish and chips shop - the Laughing Halibut. Coincidentally, this was the place where I had my first fish and chips when I moved in. It seems fitting that this would be my last before I leave.

3) With my bags packed and my autograph book signed by my friends (Sai and Geoff both signed that evening), it was time to leave for the airport. My taxi driver unfortunately decided to wait by the side entrance, so it took me ten full minutes before realising he could be waiting for me somewhere else. Thankfully, I had plenty of time to arrive and check in. The rest of the journey went smoothly - we departed Heathrow (Terminal 2) at the scheduled time, and reached Dubai International Airport at midnight - a 7-hour flight. The stopover was for four hours, so I decided to grab a snack and a hot drink at a nearby cafe. The next flight was also 7 hours; this time from Dubai to KLIA, Malaysia. 

4) I spent most of the time watching movies, playing games (on their in-flight entertainment system), and sleeping. The flight back home was really empty, to the point where I wondered if they limited the number of passengers to prioritise social distancing. Anyway, having set foot on Malaysian soil, we were greeted by a policewoman who ushered everyone over to a number of stations. Essentially, we had to show our travel documents (Letter of Undertaking, passport, etc), fill up some documents, take the COVID-19 test (yes - the same test), and pay for the test (this was free for Malaysian students).

5) Then came the most stressful part - waiting. What was supposed to happen is we get whisked off by bus to different accommodations (mostly hotels), and then we check in and are quarantined for fourteen days. At the end of our stay, if we are tested negative for COVID-19, then we are allowed to return to our homes. At any point should we become symptomatic, they will isolate and treat us as required. On that day, however, there was a small problem. Too many return flights had been booked at the same time, meaning there were not enough hotels to accommodate all of us. So we had to wait. And wait. And wait.

6) After only seven short hours of waiting, the bus finally came to pick us up. My batch (i.e. people from my flight) were taken to a nearby airport hotel - Tune Hotel, where we were registered and checked in. At all stages, the staff were in full personal protective equipment (PPE). They were very professional and apologised repeatedly for the delay. We were assured that this was a once off incident. Having now been given access to my room, there was just one more thing to do - sleep. Tomorrow I will wake up in my home country, far from the one I have grown accustomed to in the past year.

7) And that's it for this edition of my blog. Thank you very much for reading as always, and have a nice day. Cheers!

Channel 4 Television at 124 Horseferry Road. I pass this huge "Big 4" sculpture almost everyday, en route to getting lunch at the street markets just ahead.

Spanish omelette with mini croquettes and garlic bread, from one of the food stalls.

At The Laughing Halibut, for some good 'ol fish and chips

I got the cod and chips, while Sai had the rock (-fish) and chips

Sai putting off my book signing to focus on the camera

Yes - a good motto to live by indeed

The red shirt is for the Range Rover (on the left), while the blue shoes are for the other car on the right. Taken in front of Louise House, my home for the past seven months

My lack of upper body physical development has never been more cruelly exposed.

With Geoff i.e. apartment mate/ course mate/ all-round great friend

All packed up and ready to go!

(and yes, I do travel light)

Room 208 - now vacant I presume...

Farewell Louise House Student Accommodation - it's been a nice one :')

Heathrow Terminal 2

The sign reads (in Mandarin) - from now on, all China Southern Airlines departure and arrivals will be at Terminal 5.

"Slipstream" is a sculpture by Richard Wilson, created in 2014 for Terminal 2, "to transpose the thrill of the air-show to the architectural environment of the international air terminal."

Waiting area once we've cleared through customs

Decided to get my lunch here

Huge red bull sculpture

The Sicilian Meatballs was really nice and tomato-ey, and for only 3 GBP!

Not sure if it is clear, but my flight was EK002 to Dubai (@ 14:20 hrs)

Getting ready to board the plane... Emirates Airways

My luggage securely stowed in the overhead compartment

Stunning view of the clouds, captured from my window seat

I probably am the only person alive who actually enjoys airplane food - but just look at the chicken and mash - looks delicious, no?

Evening had arrived, and still we had not arrived at our destination, Dubai

Landing soon, in around half an hour

Live view of the landing as it took place, from our in-flight entertainment system

It's hard to see, but the next flight was at 04:25 hrs, Flight EK046 from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur

Grabbed my breakfast (?) at "Get Your Fix" Cafe

Pan au chocolate and hot chocolate for me

Next stop - KLIA

Large mural spotted, in Dubai International Airport

The palm trees welcoming me to the waiting area for departure

As you can see, safety precautions were in place to ensure social distancing

Here's a close up of the signs from above

This golden palm tree shades a jewelry store

They had run out of chicken, so this was the next best thing - vegetarian rice with korma. Not bad!

Finally back in KLIA, Malaysia.

Following the policewoman (in front) to register and collect our luggage

Waiting for the bus to arrive. The yellow crosses are to promote social distancing

At the very least, they provided us with some snacks and drinks while we waited...

Finally, we were allowed to gather our remaining luggage and head over to the entrance, where a bus was waiting

Staff members disinfect our luggage before we store them in the bus

The first room on my left is mine - the chairs outside are for our meals to be placed everyday

(to minimise physical contact between hotel staff and ourselves)

And there it is - my accommodation for the next 14 days :)