In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious The Most Merciful
As the title implies, today I want to share with all readers of my blog, why I feel so thankful and humbled..
Being youngsters, we like to complaint and whine..
So, the other day as I was complaining to my aunt about how difficult it is working flexi hours, how the day offs are so short and etc..etc..
She asked me did i get any leave for the raya holiday? And i said i did.. i actually got 5 days off for the raya. But eversince i started working 2 months ago that's the only holiday i've forten so far..
She said that i am very lucky because when she was a houseman she didn't get any leave at all for the raya and she had ro on-call every other day..
At that moment something hits me.. how can i still be complaining when i'm in much, much better situations than 20 years ago..
Nowadays we have all sorts of technologies to help make our work more efficient, to help reduce our workload.. but why are we still complaining..?
I guess the young generation nowadays (that would include me:p) are lacking stamina and independence.. we are born in the days of technologies where everything has been done for us. It's easy to take things for granted..
When I listen to the hardships that my aunt and uncle went through when they were doing housemanship, i realised what i'm going through is incomparable to their experiences.
Thus, I am humbled and thankful..
I hope I could gain as much experience that I could throughout my housemanship.
I pray to Allah to give me the strength and perseverance that I badly needed to help me become a better person and a better doctor, for my ummah.. InshaAllah..
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Should a 13 year-old drive?
In the name of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful
I've been working in the surgical department for about a month now and the numbers of motor vehicle accident really puzzles me.
Almost everyday we'll get patients coming in for MVA and the number increases more the closer we get to eidulfitri.
Yesterday, there was this 13 year old boy who was admitted due to rib fractures. He does not have a license and he was driving a motorbike when he got involved in the accident.
When I was helping my colleague adjusting his chest tube, his relative came in and asked about his condition. I told him that he is stable. And after that I couldn't restrain myself and ask the boy whether he has any driving licence or not when the truth is everybody knows that a 13 year old couldnt possibly has one because the law says you have to be at least 15 years old to obtain a motorbike licence. That question was only to make a point to the relative that allowing this boy to ride a motorbike when he does not have a licence is very irresponsible.
That boy is very lucky that all he gets is broken ribs. Imagine if his skull fractured, or he has bleeding in his brain or his spine got injured and he will be bedbound for the rest of his life?
From an active person, for just one irresponsible act he might not be able to fulfill his childhood dreams?
I've seen a patient who was involved in a motor vehicle accident and he is now bedbound, unable to speak and move and has to rely on other people to feed him and change his pampers. He is only 19 years old.
Eventhough maybe the situation of these two people are different, but I hope that people could see the consequences of their acts and start becoming more responsible in their life. When you are being reckless on the road, you are not putting yourself alone in danger but also the other road users.
Yes, accident happens. But we can prevent it..
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Saturday, August 4, 2012
Tagging life
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim
Well, to be honest this post has been long overdue. I've been off-tagged for my first posting since 2 weeks ago.
The day I was allowed to off-tag could be categorised into one of the happiest day of my life. I wished I could jump and hugged my boss for letting me finish my tagging duration in 2 weeks. I was very worried in the few days at the end of my tagging because we were supposedly to be assessed before we will be allowed to off-tag. The specialist in charge required us to know all the patients in the ward. Know all the diagnoses, investigations and progression of each patient. So i spent all my free time reading up all the cases in the ward and listening attentively during each rounds and pass-overs so that I would know and be updated with the progression of each patients.
To tell you the truth, 2 weeks of tagging is totally emotionally and physically draining. For 2 weeks I go to work at 6.30am. The earliest time I punched in was 6.15. I could not force myself to go earlier than that. But I know that there are others that come to work as early as 5.30am. And everyday for 2 weeks I work until 11 pm. There are no weekends off. I only get an off day after I've been working for 3 weeks straight.
Alhamdulillah, everyday each time after my prayers I would recite doa asking Allah to help me go through this, to help me endure and persevere and I believe eventhough the 2 weeks had neen tiring but He has helped me by giving me strength. Prayer times are the only time that I could rest my exhausted mind and emotion and recharge my motivation by connecting with Allah and telling Him about my troubles.
Though He never answer me back like humans would do, but my faith that He is taking care and looking after me makes me feel reassured and gives me the strength that I need.
The first lesson that I learn in order to survive the period of housemanship is that, you need to make sure that your spirituality is in check.
It's important to believe in yourself and your abilities but as humans we make mistakes and sometimes we are not at our best. But when we believe in Allah, believe that all things will only happen if He wills it, then our minds will be at ease because we know that He will take care of us.
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"Allah itu adalah seperti sangkaan hambaNya"
Saturday, July 7, 2012
What it takes..
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim..
Alhamdulillah, my first posting would be surgery. Though it's not the posting that I've wanted, and my two best friends are posted in another posting together, nevertheless I am grateful to start off with surgery. Ever since I was in third year of medical school, I have started off with surgical posting. InshaAllah, I will try and do my best this Monday, which is the day that we are asked to report for duty and start our tagging.
We, in Hospital Temerloh will all start on this Monday whereas my friends who work in other hospitals have already experienced the hardships of tagging. To come to work as early as 6.30 am and to go back as late as 12 midnight. As my sister used to put it when she was working as houseman officer, "I got out from my house to go to work and I see the moon. And when I came out from the hospital to go home, I see the moon."
Well, this is the life that we are going to face for the next 2 weeks of our first posting, and for every 2 weeks for our next postings, until we finish our housemanship in 2 years time. InshaAllah..
Since I will only start working on Monday, so I decided to go home this weekend. My second youngest sister has just registered into CUCMS with MARA loan, last week and my mother and sister went to send her.
My mom told me yesterday, what the dean said on the day that they registered.
He said, "Though all other students who wishes to study medicine in local universities have a CGPA of 4.0, here in CUCMS we don't require you to get a CGPA of 4.0. Because being a doctor does not require you to be only intelligent, but most importantly you will need to also have passion for the profession. Because this profession, no doubt is challenging and those who are forced to do medicine will find it hard to cope with the challenges."
Well, nowadays everybody wants to become a doctor. Or is it?
Hahaha.. I am not sure. But I guess with the increasing numbers of houseman officers in the country and with the large numbers of local and overseas graduates, I can safely say so.
Some dreamed of being a doctor since little, like me. And some only went to medical school, to please their parents.
Well, either one it's fine. But like what the Dean said, if you don't have passion for the profession, you will have a hard time to cope with the stress. The stress of studying is much, much less from working.
Working as a doctor, our work involves mostly with human. We deal with lives. The responsibility of that is so great. Though I haven't start working yet, but I've already felt the burden on my shoulders. On the day that we all learned how to operate the computer system (Hospital Temerloh is entirely computerised), I started to have palpitations only by imagining what would happen if I ordered the wrong blood investigations, or typed in the wrong information for a patient.
Being a student, we have no responsibilities whatsoever. Our responsibilities were only to learn and the patients are our textbooks. But being a houseman officer, the patients become our responsibilities.
When you deal with humans; your patients, their families, your co-workers and superiors, lab technicians, staff nurses, what will help you is not your intelligence. It's your attitude. For your patients, it's the ability to empathize. And for those who will be working around you, like the staff nurses and lab techs, your attitude and your common sense will determine how well you'll go along together.
I pray hard everyday, that my journey throughout these 2 years will be self-growing one. I prayed that it will be easy, but most importantly I want to be trained as much as I can during this 2 years so that I could be a safe doctor for my patients. I remember my professor said to me, to pray each time after my solat, and ask for Allah's guidance, and help in each and every patients, and each and every obstacles. After all, all our knowledge about medicine and about life, and everything that will happen to me and to the patients are from Him. There is no God but Allah..
Well, for those who aspire to become a doctor please reflect back the real intention for you to want to become one because this path that you've chosen is not an easy one. I have a few friends who dropped off from medical school because in the middle of the road, they realised that this is not the career for them. The reason might be because of lack of social skills (this is a very important skill in this profession!) or perhaps they'd rather work from 8 to 5 pm everyday and be able to return to their families every night.
If it is for fame, you should better be an singer, or actor, or a politician.
If it is for money, you are better paid doing business, selling Herbalife or other things.
But if you have empathy, and would really want to sacrifice your life to serve the public and the country and working long hours, then the doors of medicine will surely open widely for you. =)
Wallahu'alam..
Alhamdulillah, my first posting would be surgery. Though it's not the posting that I've wanted, and my two best friends are posted in another posting together, nevertheless I am grateful to start off with surgery. Ever since I was in third year of medical school, I have started off with surgical posting. InshaAllah, I will try and do my best this Monday, which is the day that we are asked to report for duty and start our tagging.
We, in Hospital Temerloh will all start on this Monday whereas my friends who work in other hospitals have already experienced the hardships of tagging. To come to work as early as 6.30 am and to go back as late as 12 midnight. As my sister used to put it when she was working as houseman officer, "I got out from my house to go to work and I see the moon. And when I came out from the hospital to go home, I see the moon."
Well, this is the life that we are going to face for the next 2 weeks of our first posting, and for every 2 weeks for our next postings, until we finish our housemanship in 2 years time. InshaAllah..
Since I will only start working on Monday, so I decided to go home this weekend. My second youngest sister has just registered into CUCMS with MARA loan, last week and my mother and sister went to send her.
My mom told me yesterday, what the dean said on the day that they registered.
He said, "Though all other students who wishes to study medicine in local universities have a CGPA of 4.0, here in CUCMS we don't require you to get a CGPA of 4.0. Because being a doctor does not require you to be only intelligent, but most importantly you will need to also have passion for the profession. Because this profession, no doubt is challenging and those who are forced to do medicine will find it hard to cope with the challenges."
Well, nowadays everybody wants to become a doctor. Or is it?
Hahaha.. I am not sure. But I guess with the increasing numbers of houseman officers in the country and with the large numbers of local and overseas graduates, I can safely say so.
Some dreamed of being a doctor since little, like me. And some only went to medical school, to please their parents.
Well, either one it's fine. But like what the Dean said, if you don't have passion for the profession, you will have a hard time to cope with the stress. The stress of studying is much, much less from working.
Working as a doctor, our work involves mostly with human. We deal with lives. The responsibility of that is so great. Though I haven't start working yet, but I've already felt the burden on my shoulders. On the day that we all learned how to operate the computer system (Hospital Temerloh is entirely computerised), I started to have palpitations only by imagining what would happen if I ordered the wrong blood investigations, or typed in the wrong information for a patient.
Being a student, we have no responsibilities whatsoever. Our responsibilities were only to learn and the patients are our textbooks. But being a houseman officer, the patients become our responsibilities.
When you deal with humans; your patients, their families, your co-workers and superiors, lab technicians, staff nurses, what will help you is not your intelligence. It's your attitude. For your patients, it's the ability to empathize. And for those who will be working around you, like the staff nurses and lab techs, your attitude and your common sense will determine how well you'll go along together.
I pray hard everyday, that my journey throughout these 2 years will be self-growing one. I prayed that it will be easy, but most importantly I want to be trained as much as I can during this 2 years so that I could be a safe doctor for my patients. I remember my professor said to me, to pray each time after my solat, and ask for Allah's guidance, and help in each and every patients, and each and every obstacles. After all, all our knowledge about medicine and about life, and everything that will happen to me and to the patients are from Him. There is no God but Allah..
Well, for those who aspire to become a doctor please reflect back the real intention for you to want to become one because this path that you've chosen is not an easy one. I have a few friends who dropped off from medical school because in the middle of the road, they realised that this is not the career for them. The reason might be because of lack of social skills (this is a very important skill in this profession!) or perhaps they'd rather work from 8 to 5 pm everyday and be able to return to their families every night.
If it is for fame, you should better be an singer, or actor, or a politician.
If it is for money, you are better paid doing business, selling Herbalife or other things.
But if you have empathy, and would really want to sacrifice your life to serve the public and the country and working long hours, then the doors of medicine will surely open widely for you. =)
Wallahu'alam..
Thursday, July 5, 2012
House Officer Guidebook
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...
Here in Hospital Temerloh, before you start tagging in your respective postings, you need to undergo a one week orientation.
Too much things to tell about the orientation week.. but there are pros and cons of it. I honestly believe that having gone through the orientation week, I understand better regarding the procedures and protocols of the hospital.
There are certain things that they didn't teach you in medical school like The Order of Draw, or how many times to shake the sample tubes to prevent it from clotting.
These are the examples of mistakes that house officers do all the time. Why is it very important because if your sample clotted or get contaminated, it will be rejected. And that will cost money. Tax payers' money that are better spent on other important things.
Apart from that, we were given various reading materials for guidelines. One that I would like to recommend here to read before you start working is the Houseman Officer Guidebook by the Malaysian Medical Council
You can easily download the PDF version from the official website here
Here in Hospital Temerloh, before you start tagging in your respective postings, you need to undergo a one week orientation.
Too much things to tell about the orientation week.. but there are pros and cons of it. I honestly believe that having gone through the orientation week, I understand better regarding the procedures and protocols of the hospital.
There are certain things that they didn't teach you in medical school like The Order of Draw, or how many times to shake the sample tubes to prevent it from clotting.
These are the examples of mistakes that house officers do all the time. Why is it very important because if your sample clotted or get contaminated, it will be rejected. And that will cost money. Tax payers' money that are better spent on other important things.
Apart from that, we were given various reading materials for guidelines. One that I would like to recommend here to read before you start working is the Houseman Officer Guidebook by the Malaysian Medical Council
You can easily download the PDF version from the official website here
Pray until the day you die..
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim..
Today, I witnessed a very disturbing situation.. I came to work today at 6.30 am and I saw that all the lights in the cubicles were out, and all the patients are fast asleep. As usual, in the morning when we come for work we will do our morning reviews of all patients in the ward. Since I am tagging and still new I only review the stable patients in the open cubicles and in the room. What disturbs me today is that today I learned that a Muslim patient did not wake up for the morning prayers. How I know this was because I asked one of the patients that I saw whether he perform his prayer or not. He informed me that he did not because he has a urinary catheter inserted. I was shocked and puzzled at the same time. Shocked because if this patient did not pray because of the urinary catheter, I wonder how many prayers have he missed since he has been on the tube since the past few months.. Puzzled because from what I've learned it is permissible to pray while having a urinary catheter or stoma on. Allah has made this religion easy and practical. If we don't have water or can't use water for ablution, we can use dust to tayammum. It shows that no matter what, you must perform your prayers. That morning I spent a few minutes telling the patient that eventhough he's wearing a urinary catheter he could still perfom salah. I realised that this is my duty as a muslim. I could not bear to think how would I answer in front of Allah later if I just ignore this. I couldn't bear to imagine if this patient dies and I didn't take the oppurtunity to inform him.. I made a note to myself to look up and research regarding the issues of prayer among sick people. However, up until today I still haven't gotten around to it yet. InshaAllah I hope I could do it and share the information here a.s.a.p. If dear readers have any page to recommend, please do tell me. Jazakumullau khair!
Today, I witnessed a very disturbing situation.. I came to work today at 6.30 am and I saw that all the lights in the cubicles were out, and all the patients are fast asleep. As usual, in the morning when we come for work we will do our morning reviews of all patients in the ward. Since I am tagging and still new I only review the stable patients in the open cubicles and in the room. What disturbs me today is that today I learned that a Muslim patient did not wake up for the morning prayers. How I know this was because I asked one of the patients that I saw whether he perform his prayer or not. He informed me that he did not because he has a urinary catheter inserted. I was shocked and puzzled at the same time. Shocked because if this patient did not pray because of the urinary catheter, I wonder how many prayers have he missed since he has been on the tube since the past few months.. Puzzled because from what I've learned it is permissible to pray while having a urinary catheter or stoma on. Allah has made this religion easy and practical. If we don't have water or can't use water for ablution, we can use dust to tayammum. It shows that no matter what, you must perform your prayers. That morning I spent a few minutes telling the patient that eventhough he's wearing a urinary catheter he could still perfom salah. I realised that this is my duty as a muslim. I could not bear to think how would I answer in front of Allah later if I just ignore this. I couldn't bear to imagine if this patient dies and I didn't take the oppurtunity to inform him.. I made a note to myself to look up and research regarding the issues of prayer among sick people. However, up until today I still haven't gotten around to it yet. InshaAllah I hope I could do it and share the information here a.s.a.p. If dear readers have any page to recommend, please do tell me. Jazakumullau khair!
Communication between two generations
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...
I've always wondered why people love asking other people to give them feedback, or ask questions when the person requesting that is not even ready to hear what the other person has to say...
In this life, it is hard to maintain an open heart. To be able to accept anything people say requires a very brave heart. To be able to consider with adequate justification what other people are telling you or complaining at you requires wisdom and maturity.
Maturity is not measured by your age, nor by your life experiences.
You can aged 100 years old, but still could be considered immature if you think that you are the wisest person in the whole world because you are the oldest.
You can have traveled to all the places in the world, but you wouldn't be mature enough if you wouldn't want to see, hear, feel and reflect the things that you see at the places you visited.
Maturity won't be gained by only experiencing the sweet things in life. You have to also experience the bitterness and the sourness. It's not just beautiful and bright colours, you have to also accept it for the black, white and grey. When you've already accept the world for what it is, then you would understand.
There was once, a bus driver who got annoyed at me because I used the "wrong" name for the road and mosque that I wished to stop at. The name of the road and mosque that I told him was actually the real name and I know this because I lived in that area. But, he got really annoyed at me and said in an annoyed voice that I shouldn't have addressed him 'pakcik' or uncle because he said that actually I am older than him. I told him that I just graduated from university and from what I can see, he was definitely older than I am. With an annoyed voice he shot back that it does not matter, I am still older than him.
At that point, I have an urge to say back to him, "Yes, you are quite right. I am not older than you based on our age, but I am older than you in term of maturity."
But I held my tongue and try to calm myself down to avoid having arguments with him..
At that point, I realise that a lot of people nowadays, think that they are mature because they are older. They think that they ought to be respected because they are older. I am not saying that I don't respect the elders. I do. But some people just take the respect that other people are showing to them for granted, thinking that they ought to be respected all the time regardless of what they do.
Most people don't realise that, respect need to be gained. You cannot ask to be respected. Only eqoistic people will ask to be respected.
Wise and mature people won't ask to be respected. They just will automatically be respected by others due to their wisdom and character.
When two generations gained wisdom and maturity, we would be able to communicate easily. But to have that, two generations need to be able to accept each other, wanting to understand each other, and celebrate each other's differences.
Just like a father and a son; both want the other to accept the other one's point of view, but if we continue asking people to understand us, we would never be able to accept the other person. Not, until we decide to try to understand the other person first. Seek first to understand, than to be understood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRwNEjk8vc4
I've always wondered why people love asking other people to give them feedback, or ask questions when the person requesting that is not even ready to hear what the other person has to say...
In this life, it is hard to maintain an open heart. To be able to accept anything people say requires a very brave heart. To be able to consider with adequate justification what other people are telling you or complaining at you requires wisdom and maturity.
Maturity is not measured by your age, nor by your life experiences.
You can aged 100 years old, but still could be considered immature if you think that you are the wisest person in the whole world because you are the oldest.
You can have traveled to all the places in the world, but you wouldn't be mature enough if you wouldn't want to see, hear, feel and reflect the things that you see at the places you visited.
Maturity won't be gained by only experiencing the sweet things in life. You have to also experience the bitterness and the sourness. It's not just beautiful and bright colours, you have to also accept it for the black, white and grey. When you've already accept the world for what it is, then you would understand.
There was once, a bus driver who got annoyed at me because I used the "wrong" name for the road and mosque that I wished to stop at. The name of the road and mosque that I told him was actually the real name and I know this because I lived in that area. But, he got really annoyed at me and said in an annoyed voice that I shouldn't have addressed him 'pakcik' or uncle because he said that actually I am older than him. I told him that I just graduated from university and from what I can see, he was definitely older than I am. With an annoyed voice he shot back that it does not matter, I am still older than him.
At that point, I have an urge to say back to him, "Yes, you are quite right. I am not older than you based on our age, but I am older than you in term of maturity."
But I held my tongue and try to calm myself down to avoid having arguments with him..
At that point, I realise that a lot of people nowadays, think that they are mature because they are older. They think that they ought to be respected because they are older. I am not saying that I don't respect the elders. I do. But some people just take the respect that other people are showing to them for granted, thinking that they ought to be respected all the time regardless of what they do.
Most people don't realise that, respect need to be gained. You cannot ask to be respected. Only eqoistic people will ask to be respected.
Wise and mature people won't ask to be respected. They just will automatically be respected by others due to their wisdom and character.
When two generations gained wisdom and maturity, we would be able to communicate easily. But to have that, two generations need to be able to accept each other, wanting to understand each other, and celebrate each other's differences.
Just like a father and a son; both want the other to accept the other one's point of view, but if we continue asking people to understand us, we would never be able to accept the other person. Not, until we decide to try to understand the other person first. Seek first to understand, than to be understood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRwNEjk8vc4
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