Chan Weng Kit's Blogspot

Sunday, 7 April 2019

DAY 936-948

Mar 26 - Apr 7

1) And yet in another blink of an eye (for me, at least - I've lost all concept of time) another two weeks have flashed by. Our medicine rotation is finally over (for Group B), and the upcoming public health rotation promises to be more "relaxed". I am delighted to have survived both surgery and medicine rotations, and to have public health as the last rotation before our end-of-semester exams in May.

2) As it is, I cannot believe that four months have passed by so fast! I still remember coming to Penang in January, and moving in to Sri York with my housemate, and saying goodbye to my family once again :'( Heck, it was just yesterday that I touched down in KLIA, after spending my last days in rainy Dublin. Everything seems to have whizzed by so fast - a little too fast if I'm honest. I sometimes like to take a breather and to think back about all the adventures and memories that I've made - it's so easy to forget in the midst of everyday life!

3) Back to reality then. The other day, as part of our portfolio review for medicine (consisting of 10 case write-ups and some other stuff), we had to print out the feedback of those write-ups. Uproar ensued as the library printers (and if I'm honest, all printers in the college) stopped functioning in accordance to Murphy's Law - whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. It was at the last opportune moment that the librarian managed to fix the printer, and I was first in line to print the remaining feedback (for those wondering, I couldn't print it out any earlier as I needed to get the feedback from the examiners first). What a RELIEF!

4) The medicine portfolio was a cinch compared to the surgery one. Just 10 case write-ups, as opposed to 23 cases, and we could type it out as well! The only downside is there was no added time after our medicine end-of-rotation assessment (EORA) to compete the portfolio (in surgery we had around 5 or 6 days to finish our surgical portfolio after EORA). For public health, continuous assessment (similar to EORA) is via a 10% report regarding a health-related topic (mine is entitled "Effect of Monsoons on Health in Nepal"). At the end of the semester, we have our end-of-semester exams, consisting of an MCQ (multiple-choice questions) paper for Medicine, and an MCQ paper and OSPA (Objective Structured Practical Assessment) paper for Public Health. There is, thankfully, no MCQ paper for surgery, yet. (Please don't get any ideas)

5) For public health, we are split up to three groups - one for each District Health Office (DHO) location, namely Seberang Perai, Barat Daya, and Timur Laut. I've been assigned (without much choice actually) to Seberang Perai - the furthest location. The upside is my entire Seberang Jaya Hospital "crew" (namely Ray, Mahitha, and Ruth) have been posted here too, which is great! We only travel to the DHO thrice a week; the other two days are spent in the lecture theatre at RUMC.

6) That is basically our rotations in a nutshell, hopefully it provided some insight/ was at least mildly entertaining to read haha. Thanks very much for tuning in, and have a nice week ahead. Cheers!

On the road back home (just the first left and voila - Sri York!)

Spotted this during MPU (General Studies) Presentation (our "Ethnic Relations" module is in

Malay Language)

Close-up of the white text from above - showcasing the diversity of our language (or serving to confuse just about everyone else)

So the other day Denise introduced me to this cafe called Harvest Times Cafe - a 10 minute drive away from accommodation...

Their soup of the day - creamy mushroom soup with bread basket

Garlic butter chicken kiev - served on a bed of mashed potatoes and salad

Grilled tilapia in basic white sauce

Our set menu came with dessert - cake and ice cream! :)

So another one of Denise's recommendations - chicken shawarma @ Gurney Paragon!

Thumbs up and all smiles XD

Gula melaka (brown sugar) ice cream - as you can see I am a desserts kinda guy XD

Finally got round to trying this - a huge bowl of tom yam (sour and spicy) seafood noodles

- at Sri York Cafeteria!

Absolutely wonderful and spicy too haha

Sunday, 24 March 2019

DAY 921-935

Mar 11-25

1) Two weeks have passed by, and with it another wave of experiences and memories have come and gone. In these two weeks, our group has presented our MPU a.k.a. General Studies project (for Ethnic Relations); we've sat for the Ethics examination (1 of 3 which contribute to a total of 20% for our Forensics and Legal Medicine module); my friends and I tried RM1 red snapper at Canton-i Gurney; and my mum came to visit for the weekend - and I got a chance to try the most outrageously over-the-top decadent slice of cake I'll probably ever have! In short, it's been a really productive week...

2) Starting off with our General Studies project with Pn. Farah, we had around 15 minutes to do a presentation on the topic "Cultural Traditions in Malaysia". We finally came up with a short skit, with a homesick Sabahan girl, Pandalela, (Melissa) coming over to Peninsular Malaysia to study. She meets three friends, Ali (myself - representing Malay customs and traditions), Kumar (Kuhan - representing Indian customs and traditions), and Ling Ling (Emma - representing Chinese customs and tradition). Also, the classroom teacher is Mr. Tan (Zi Yan - representing Chinese customs and tradition as well). Introducing each character and setting the scene is expertly handled by the narrator (Melvin).

3) Essentially, Pandalela learns more about each one of the three main cultures in Malaysia (Malay, Chinese, and Indian), with each of us performing while demonstrating our cultures and traditions (myself with the ending "pantun" or poem; Kuhan with the tabla playing; Zi Yan with the traditional tai chi performance; and Melissa with her traditional Sabahan song). Afterwards, all of us sang verses of the 1Malaysia song, whilst beckoning everyone to remember their roots and heritage, and to preserve our identity for the future generation. Suffice to say, Pn. Farah liked it very much, and we were very touched by the positive response we got for our performance :)

4) Next was the Ethics examination, which just concluded on Friday. Although it was only a 30 minute exam, it required an ethical analysis of a long-case scenario. Some of us got the same cases, while others got different scenarios. Mine was regarding a middle-aged gentleman with moderate dementia, who suddenly developed appendicitis (a medical emergency). We were required to write an ethical analysis, while considering if he had the capacity to give informed consent, and if not, if any of the family members were to be contacted, and finally, if they were contacted and there was a family dispute, what would the next appropriate steps be? As you can well imagine, there's no obvious answer (or indeed, correct one) - so we just tried to defend our positions with facts and points.

5) The other day, Denise, Hoong Yun, Lanre, (all from the year above) and myself went to Gurney Plaza for dinner. It was a crazy deal which was on offer that day - just RM1 for a whole red snapper. My Malaysian upbringing tells me if it's too good to be true, that means it probably is - but this was really what it said on the tin - no strings attached. So we found ourselves sharing a whole fish, cooked in hot soy sauce with garlic and spring onions - absolutely marvellous! It was the first time meeting Lanre, who hails from Nigeria. Also, we had seconds at Secret Recipe - and I found out that my favourite cake there (Chocolate Indulgence) is actually their bestseller. I guess I have good taste then XD

6) Finally, over the weekend, my mum came over to visit! I tried my best to take her around, mostly with Grab taxi service as I don't have a car haha. We went to James Foo Restaurant at All Seasons for dinner, and the next day we went to Big Ben Cafe for breakfast. We then called a taxi to Gurney Paragon, where we had lunch at Sushi Zanmai. Finally, for dessert, my mum had the best idea ever - the gargantuan superhumongous "kenot brain" cakes at Flover Flower Cafe. Before anybody corrects me by saying the cakes are actually from Moody Cow Dessert Cake, I'm well aware of that, but they also sell their cakes here. And after hearing from a friend how incredibly delectable they are, I decided to be the judge myself.

7) My mum had the "cempedak"(same genus as a breadfruit and jackfruit, but is not either :p) cake, while I had the Nutella one. It was absolutely ginormous and filling - and I don't think I'll ever eat a more over-the-top/outrageous cake haha. But it was really really delicious, which might explain the hefty price. But since this is a once-in-a-blue-moon treat, I don't expect to come back anytime soon. After the cake, I helped my mum back to the Sungai Nibong bus station, before saying goodbye. It is so convenient indeed to live so close from my hometown (Ipoh), as this means I can come back (or my parents can come visit) anytime.

8) That is the summary of my past two weeks - very exciting and productive. Looking forward to the coming week, and what it has in store for us. Stay tuned, and always, thanks very much for tuning in. Have a nice week ahead, cheers!