Going ga ga over Psychiatry

It's been an insane 6 weeks in this lunatic posting! There are so many funny & interesting characters that we see in the wards, I think the doctors & nurses on duty there must be so entertained everyday.


We've met people who claimed lots of things: from a lecturer which hails from Egypt, to being the latest prophet from God; and even someone who lie on the bed as if she was lying on a couch, and refused to speak to us until we say, "Ampun Tuanku, boleh patik tanya beberapa soalan?"

And then there are people who are so cute, repeating everything we say, like:
Me: Mak cik tinggal mana? Kuala Terengganu?
Pt: Kuala Terengganu
Me: Atau Ajil?
Pt: Ajil
Me: *Sweat*

Of course we had our fair share of scare, when one of them came in & suddenly grabbed my friend's hand, and later on grabbed me by the neck. Thank God we were able to run away before I get squashed between those powerful hands.

It was definitely an eye-opener to the world of mental health, as it is not merely confined to those whom we see or call as 'crazy'. See, we've always thought of mental illness as those who come with full fledged abnormal behavior, those who talk & laugh to themselves, those who are in straight jackets for being aggressive.. yada yada. Little did we know that all of us, given the right stressors and circumstances in life, and based on our own personalities; actually have the potential to have some psychiatric disorder =S

I think that I myself have the obsessive-compulsive trait (not OCD, it's a milder form!) because I feel that there are times when I'm preoccupied with orderliness, perfectionism, and control. Lol.

Oh, as much as I enjoyed it, am I not glad that this posting is over, because if I were to stay there any longer I might just end up there permanently. The last day in the Psychiatric Ward, I was so stressed with the fact that I lost my log book (a book where we record all the patients that we've seen) which we were supposed to pass up in two days! I was so depressed I could really voluntarily admit myself. Thank God I was able to get a new one and complete it on time =)

In conclusion, don't neglect your mental health, or we might just see you in there!

How to write an annoying blog post

I finally managed to conquer my fear of presenting a patient's case to the scariest lecturer in the hospital (well, at least to me). How scary you ask? He makes ur heart stop with the sound of every footstep he makes into the ward. He has the ability to make you tremble with fear and also burst out laughing at the same time (He's really good in dry humor). Over all, I really felt such a great sense of accomplishment!



Had an unexpected visit from an ex-secondary school teacher today as well. Had a great dinner along with a belated birthday present. Then my housemate brought me out for ice cream supper. Twas a beautiful day =)

And this is the typical annoying 'This is what happened today in my life' kind of post. But I can't resist the temptation to write it down for memories sake. Haha

Back on9

It's been a while. Life during the past two postings were hectic, especially Surgery.. where most of the lecturers are REALLY serious about their job - making sure we get good cases for discussion everyday and checking on us whether we are punctual to be in the Operating Theatre/Wards or not. Oh, the horror & emo-fying experience.

Next was O&G, known to be a huge favourite among most medical students, but I find it just alright. Everyday it's all about the female private part and bleeding. Haha... and although initially it was quite embarassing to see and discuss problems regarding that part of the anatomy - no thanks to our conservative culture - as the days go by, everything was just so 'biasa' already that sometimes we get quite sick of it. And as someone joked, 'Gynaecologists are the only people who search for problems at the place where normal people find happiness' - lol.. sorry for the crude joke but it's quite true.

Perhaps the more interesting part happens in the Labour Room, where we get exposed to the miracle of childbirth and the amount of agony that the mother has to endure (and so 'ngam' it was Mother's Day season too - makes me appreciate mom more). Oh.. of course, the joy and one-of-a-kind experience of being able to assist in bringing a new life into the world. But the boring part is that we need to wait and wait and wait... until the mother's contractions are sufficient to begin delivery.

*Teran lagi! Sikit lagi! Bila sakit teran!*

...was our favourite chant in the Labour Room, and sometimes we ourselves tend to puuussshhh along with the mother as though we are delivering. Haha.. and seeing too much of these has its side effects too - I dreamt 2x that I was watching and cheering on while my wife was delivering. And I don't even know who she is!

Was able to assist in the delivery of a baby girl - although she was warded soon after for difficulty in breathing. NOT my fault ok - She's pre-term!

It's almost one year since I came to KT, and it is truly a different and enriching experience - especially in terms of first time staying away from home, and coping and adapting to the idiosyncrasies of housemates from different backgrounds. Really needed patience like a hundred-fold. Life had been dramatic to say the least. Other details are really quite lengthy, so here's hoping for a more stable year in year 4!

To be seen, not to be heard?

The hierarchy in the wards/hospital:

Head of Department > Consultant > Specialists > Medical Officers > Sisters > House Officers > Staff Nurses > Medical Assistants > Janitors > ...

And then there's us students. Sometimes we couldn't help but feel like we're in everybody's way, and that nobody even bothers to look at us with a second glance. Yes, they say that in this dog-eat-dog world, you have to be someone higher up then people will start recognizing you. Maybe that's why TVB shows like 'Goong Sam Kai' is so famous. Perhaps the underlying theme is quite similar to what people face even today.

Ok, enough of emo-ness. Well the negative perception actually changed when I was in the Orthopaedics ward, when a HO is actually kind enough to talk to us, teach us so many things about how to examine patients, what are the important things to study etc. Phew. At least there's still some nice people around. And I think surgeons are generally nicer in that they are more willing to teach, more jovial, more relaxed.

Mr S: What investigations would you like to do for this patient?
Friend: I'd like to do an X-ray of the forearm with 2 views
Mr S: Oh... What views? Sea view, swiming pool view, garden view?

Orthopaedics is the Rempit ward, people usually come with all sorts of fractures after a motor vehicle accident, and I was trying hard to resist laughing when they tell me they've hit a buffalo or a cow. Haha.. evil, i know, but I found it amusing at first. And I actually dreamt that I was involved in an accident after hearing all these stories.


Oh... and I think that A&E is so overrated, perhaps we had too much dose of shows like ER and Grey's anatomy that shows how hectic and exciting the department can be. Me and my classmate even stayed over one night in the department hoping to see interesting/rare cases of severe accidents or an emergency delivery of a 'blue baby' but alas, we only managed to see minor cases of heart attack etc. Slightly disappointing for us, I know, but good that everybody was fine and healthy on that night.

Classmate: I wanna see sepsis case! (So nerdy)

Reliving my deprived childhood

Happy new year!

The exams which caused me to stay back in KT for the Christmas and New year holidays were finally over! Kinda depressing you know.. with a whole mountain of books to read, which after reading also I can only retain about 10% and forget the rest; knowing that failure was never an option; and also thanks very much to our schooling system that has holidays in December every year, so when December comes everyone is already in a mood for enjoyment.

Well to give myself some motivation, I promised myself to do something fun after the exams; so after the exams me and a bunch of friends went to fly kites along the beach. Yay! (Yes, it might sound sad but this is one of the few sources of entertainment here. No Avatar all ok)

Which after all wasn't too bad. Couldn't find any 'wau's so I got myself a small kite which could make all the other children go green with envy:

Ben 10 can fly! And it's legs can move too!

It really did because as I was flying it a small kid passed by and exclaimed 'Ayah, ada wau Ben 10!' Which the daddy quickly denied.. hmm.. perhaps he's scared the son will pester him to buy one.

I did play kite once or twice before but last time I remembered that to let the kite 'take off' I'd have to throw up the kite and start running like there's no tomorrow. Kite flying is a little different here, no need to run but the challenge is learning to navigate it as the wind is real strong.

Up, up and away!

The condition of the waves for today. I love monsoon!

And so this is Christmas?

It's 24th December. What on earth am I still doing here in KT? No Christmas trees, no presents, no fancy shopping malls with artificial snow falling, no.. ok, better stop; its getting sad. And my housemate has to ask me the million dollar question: "Do you feel lonely?". Sweat.

Anyway, come to think about it, it's a good thing to strip down the commercialized version of Christmas and be able to focus on our Savior's birth. It's definitely a new experience for me, taking a break from the annual busyness of the Christmas season to just quieten down and look upon the real reason for the season. Blessed Christmas!

Paeds!

Sorry sidetracked a bit. Continuing on my series of adventures in KT, today marks the end of Paediatrics! The hospital really can be quite a depressing place, with sad and ill faces everywhere; but all of these changes the moment you step into the kids ward...

Such a big difference it makes with its bright and cheerful surroundings, with a huge Doraemon and some cartoon cat painted on the wall greeting you everyday. The sight of the infants & toddlers smiling back at you just makes your tiring day more bearable. Well, not everything is rosy and sweet though, especially when you hear the kids screaming at the sight of having needles being poked into them, and oh yeah, fancy having this guy as your lecturer?

We have a lecturer that, by the way he sarcastically responds and sometimes scolds; makes you shudder, laugh and marvel at his intelligence at the same time; much like our friend from the idiot box. So cool!