Monday, January 14th, 2008
|
|
1:50 pm - spoke too soon.
|
day 12 (sun) in india! Very pleased that there aren't any toads/frogs in this village, at least none hopping in front of my paths or in the toilet like in cambodia! Getting used to the electricity cycle.it starts with electricity from like 6-12pm. no elec till 6pm, then elec till 12. then next morning no elec till 12pm, comes on till 6pm then off! but we do get elec most of the time in the living room area, just not else where. can get quite fustrating when ur phone dies and u need to charge or u're using the comp half way through and off it goes. Another thing that the docs have to put up with.
Can't rem if i said so the last time, but got to put sutures in for a px with scalp laceration. my very first human suture. there were 3 of them in a motor vehible accident. the other 2 had a blunt inj and lip laceration respectively. watched the doc stitching up the lip and felt rather quesy!
went up to a village that is on a hill. one of the docs from the hosp goes up there once every 3-4wks to see patients. so we went along this time and the patients were waiting for us when we arrived. Helped see some of the kids. got to give a few jabs too.
travelling up in india is a little bit scary. the cars tend to overtake the BIG trucks by going onto the on coming traffic lane while blasting their horns to let the trucks know that they are coming. if theres a jam they'll head off the road and go down the dusty tracks which is super uneven. sometimes the oncoming vehicle is just a few cm away from u. its all kinda nerve wrecking.
wrote the above yest... and that very night i bumped into a FROG!!!! was terrified as usual... absolutely spoke too soon!
|
|
(comment on this)
|
|
Sunday, January 6th, 2008
|
|
3:36 pm
|
me in india chinchipada doing electives!I'm doing fine here! No diarrhea lots of food and i thought i was gonna lose weight here in india!
arrived safely in mumbai on wed and was picked up by mrs gahukamble she looks like a very kind granny in a very pretty purple sari. she makes us call her auntie!stayed over at her fren's place in mumbai then travelled down to chinchipada on thurs. 7hrs drive!! quite tiring but worse for the driver la.
went to the hospital starting thurs. since then have seen 2 caesarian sections and 1 natural birth. looks terribly painful the natural birth! and think the general consensus in india is that women shouldn't take analgesia while giving birth cause helps in the bonding of child and mom! not sure if it affects bonding but if there's Pain then its analgesia for me thank you very much.
the 2 senior docs here are pretty cool. they are a couple (paed surgeon and pathologist) and they've given up a life in the city to stay in chinchipada (a village in the tribal belt in the state of maharastra). they've been working 365 days the past 7yrs they've been staying in chinchipada and the surgeon. They put their bed room next to the window facing the door so that he can answer calls in the middle of the night! such dedication huh?
|
|
(4 comments | comment on this)
|
|
Monday, June 11th, 2007
|
|
11:41 pm - Jesus's thing...
|
|
PEOPLE were Jesus's One Thing. And they still are. People who are sick. People who are lonely. People who are wandering, depressed and hopeless.people who have gotten themselves entangled in suffocating habits and destructive relationships.- bill Hybels Just walk across the Room
|
|
(comment on this)
|
|
Saturday, February 10th, 2007
|
|
10:25 pm - amusing...
|
the strangest thing happened this afternoon. 2 guys followed/walked me from the city to my fren's place. one hongkong guy think 30+ and a egyptian guy prob 40+. they were actually really funny. started out with them offering me their pastry in their hands. and i was like no thank you. and they started talking about how they just came from a job interview... one of them just came back from s'pore and showed me his sing dollar when he saw my look of unbelief. they were just jabbering between the 2 of them. they were meant to be walking back to their cars but they made this huge detour walking with me to my fren's place. cause they were so amusing i wasn't particularly alarmed only occurred to me not very safe when i was getting to my frens place. but figured since i wasn't going home and its broad day light it was ok. bumped into another fren going to my fren's palce as well then they just left after that.
for like half a minute i was wondering if i'm on some kinda gotcha show. it was absolutely bizarre.
so that's my strange event of the day. apart from that. been really stressed at school. feeling non- too intelligent. would appreciate prayers!!!
|
|
(14 comments | comment on this)
|
|
Monday, February 5th, 2007
|
|
9:11 pm - first day of sch
|
first day of school is over! think all in all its been a good day! started out having a full 9hr of slp which was SO GOOD!:) got up at 6, did my QT, went for a jog with xl. really miss running along the geelong coastline! very pretty! just absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the ocean!!! then on the way back xl agreed to take the ferris wheel with me! I am SOOOO happy:) hee... xl loves me! meehee. saw it yest but not one wanted to take it. but xl took pity on me and said this morning while jogging she'll go with me! yah!!! haha i know ferris wheels are for kids. but i haevn't actually taken one before. plus its the biggest one in the southern hemisphere. act, forget about the biggest thing. its just because i haven't taken one before. what better place to take it? get to see geelong from a bird's eye view!
anywae... so had a jog... went off to be kiasu and headed to the library to get books! they ahev computerised the library here! used to have to fill up the cards in every singel book we borrowed! know like the primary school kind? at least when i was in primary sch we had to fill out cards as well! briefing then went off for outpatients! had a very old handsome distinguished looking surgeon who was very nice:) so that was good! then lunch and had tut with another surgeon who was SO funny.
right now in lib checking out qantas cheap flights to melb! my parents are coming over in june:) got my room all set up for them! even bought a double deck bed! so thats day 1!!! being back in geelong feels like i've never left and that holidays and cardio at stv's never happened!
|
|
(3 comments | comment on this)
|
|
Thursday, February 1st, 2007
|
|
1:56 pm - school starting....
|
|
5th feb, mom's bday... starting 5th yr med school semester 9 in geelong!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! the important semester. 90% of my grades... covering a whole year's work (verses half a year in the first 2.5 years of sch).... determining whether i'll get a city internship spot in australia. about 5 months of what i anticipate to pure muggin (hopefully). Want to finish the semester with peace (don't wanna be stress). want to finish it and be able to say that the group have helped each other along (instead of trying to strive ahead on our own). I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength.
|
|
(10 comments | comment on this)
|
|
Thursday, January 18th, 2007
|
|
9:46 pm - Tasmania!
|
|
|
|
9:40 pm - green chilli rocks!
|
whee... just had dinner at malaymas! my dear fren jas brought me there and the food there is yummy! had beef horfun with green chilli!:) absolutely made me happy!!! meeeheehee... miss s'pore food! i want satay and bbq chix wings! reminded me of lunches at nuh canteen!
hehz... nothing much else going on. watched pursuit of happiness. tot it was alright only. think cause i knew the ending was gonna be good so didn't get pulled into the very sad story line in between. mayb i'm just getting old and more cynical? i used to bawl even whilst watching cartoons... er mayb was just tired! who knows. wah but it was SUPER DUPER hot the day i watched the show think it was almost hitting 40deg!!!
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
|
Friday, January 12th, 2007
|
|
11:26 am - coffee high...
|
I'm on a coffee high... was feeling so sleepy just now. after coffee, i'm all awake and cheery!!! coffee makes me wanna vacate my bowels as well!
been a million years since i've last posted... its the innate laziness in me! free time is often spent trying to study or doing something i like doing like watching the tv or just bumming can't get myself motivated enough to get to the comp and typing an entry! so why am i posting now? cause there's a 2 hour break. act make that 2.5hr break before the next thing that is on! plus... i've act got things to write about... other then--> spent my day trying to study... :)
2 weeks at the hospital doing an attachment. been pretty good actually. won't say that i'm learning plenty but am learning slowly but surely. the doctors have all been lovely. got a free lunch at nandos just the other day which was from a consultant and coffee this morning was on the reg! and no, i'm not saying they are nice ppl just because they bought me food and drinks!
just got reminded once again that lifestyle and values here is very different from back home. back home work is the focus of most ppl's life's. it's normal to be expected to worked to the bones. as a student u're expected to study and know EVERYTHING if u don't... u get ridiculed by/ mocked at/ put down by the consultant. u gotta keep up with the rest of the class, get ahead if possible. on top of that u've got ur own expectations, parent's expectations, relative's expectations.
overhere, there's more to life than work. family, fren's time for urself just R&R. And that's expected, it's normal to knock off on time and spend time with ur family. no one's gonna say that u're a slacker, and that you should work harder. as a student, they are more encouraging... there a couple who are the typical not so nice consultant's (ie those that give u the why are u so stupid look when u can't answer questions), but the majority are encouraging. think it would be fair to say taht less is expected of the students here and they are expected to have a life outside of medicine. (er.. must add that the 2 systems i've described is probably a VERY broad generalisation... but i don't think its TOO far off the mark)
and i'm kinda caught in the middle of the 2 systems. doing holiday attachments don't seem to be such a biggey to the s'pore ppl. but when ppl hear that i'm doing extra stuff in the hols, they go, "gee... u're really hardworking". if compared to home standards, i'm probably not working hard enough. And there's also the parental expectation factor (work harder), the $$ factor (its super duper ex to do med here), the me factor (mayb i should be trying harder). See there's the s'pore me... i should work harder. i'm not doing enough. then there's the melb me that goes... i'm doing pretty well. more then others... its the hols, i should kick back and relax.
But the hard facts are... there are a million and one basics that i'm still not familiar with or at least tend to forget quickly and i need that constant repetition to drill it in. so thats why i prob need extra. Should be stduying.. but can't say that I have been doing much self studying.
i duno la.. don't even know where this entry is heading. anywae... the reason why i was kinda thinking of all that was cause was talking to this lady in the morning and she was just saying how she's living her live as she wants to. she stopped seeing patients and is in the lab full time doing the lab side of clinical work, after working with px for over a decade. She was just saying how its got better working hours, more outside life and just doing what she likes to do. How she's lived her life as such. She's worked with the army and gone on UN missions as the medical officer, travelled alot... did alot of things here and there and not followed the normal route of intern, medical officer reg then consultant kinda route. which got me thinking what am i doing with my life? Honestly... did medicine cause i wanna help patients... but would that burn out as i presume it did in that lady after a decade or so? I hope not... Do i do anything much outside of medicine here? Not quite cause that will take time off studying... but why do i need to study so hard to get good grades and then what? get a job at a palce that i wanna be in... and then i'll be able to work in the area i want to work in and then eventually be a consultant? and then what? So what am I doing??
This tot process is way too deep for me... I don't like complex issues... i like straight forward.. simple. black and white. unfortunately think not much of life comes in that form.
So in conclusion... think the goal shouldn't be so much to get good grades... but to be a competant doctor. That way I'll be able to help patients:) Do my best... ask God for help. Ah... simple statement... work on it Miss Chua!
on a lighter note... watched a midsummer's night dream yest at the royal botanical gardens. it was quite nice. me and aveline brought a little picnic (act she brought the real food. i brought the junk food)... was a tad too cold (didn't bring a thick enough jacket) but it was quite fun. hee.. being me... got tired think around the 10.30pm mark so was getting a bit impatient for it to end. ended at 11.15 in fact... thats why i was tired this morning (had less than 7hrs of slp!!! BAD for me!) therefore the coffee... and the coffee high and this very long blog. what a nice closure.
|
|
(6 comments | comment on this)
|
|
Saturday, December 23rd, 2006
|
|
9:57 am - nice poem...
|
SLOW DANCE
Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,"Hi"
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
|
Wednesday, November 8th, 2006
|
|
4:12 pm - PRAISE GOD:) wheeee....
|
not sure if u guys know but was trying to get an attachment during the hols at Alfred hospital at the ED (emergency department) department which is the biggest trauma centre in victoria, emailed them but they replied saying no space for me. then i tried asking one of my tutors (she's the sub dean in my clinical school) for help and she referred me on to the other sub dean and at first she wasn't very keen about it (i haven't had much clinical experience, haven't done my emergency rotation, no insurance coverage...) but she did call up an old student working at the Alfred to find out for me if its possible. and when they spoke it didn't sound very promising either.
i had given up hope there. and the sub dean asked me to apply for an attachment with the cardio unit at my clinical school instead. which i did. but haven't heard from him since. this all happened like 3-4weeks ago? then today, she tells me that she has heard from alfred. i tot it was going to be a doctor that i had to call to arrange thigns with. But... turns out that the clinical school attached with alfred had given the thumbs up and i'll be able to do 2 weeks at Alfred with the infectious disease department from the 2nd day of 07' :) praise God!!! the ppl i initially emailed whom said i couldn't do it, have given their approval!!! though i didn't get ED, its fine! i still got something:) wheee...
and the whole time had my family and frens praying for me with regards to this matter, my holiday job as well as my electives next year! holiday job still hasn't come thru and right now thinking prob wont be able to do it anymore cause parents coming till mid dec, electives starting early jan, doubt anyone would take me for 2 weeks. plus my mom act doesn't want me to work!!!!
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
|
Monday, November 6th, 2006
|
|
12:05 pm - sch lib
|
|
in school now tryin to study. bumped into one of my favouritest tutors and she was like did u not take the day off? cause its a holiday today! and she said, " very hardworking"! meehee... made me happy. sometimes study already always feel like i'm not doing enough and not studying enough! feels good to haev someone think that i'm hardworking! jiayou!
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
|
Tuesday, October 17th, 2006
|
|
1:39 pm - mid autumn festival
|
|
|
Monday, October 9th, 2006
|
|
9:47 am - long long day...
|
started at 9am and kept on going till 6.45pm! think this is what workign life is gonna be like!
highlight of the day:
got to assist the urologist in the radical prostaectomy surgery!!! It was quite exciting! got there at 9am hoping that there'd be a surgery that i'd be able to scrub into (usually got to be there by 8.30am) and praise God! there was a radical prostectomy surg! thats one of the 3 surgeries that i really wanna watch before i head back to melb this weekend! (other 2 are aortic aneursym surgery and orchidectomy). and got there just as the urologist registra was about to start! and i just asked if i could watch the surg and before i got roudn to asking me if i could scrub up HE OFFERED to let me scrub up!!! how awesome is that? so got to scrub up and the nurses were VERY NICE as well! like they helped me put on the sterile gowns and gloves (still haevn't been taught/learnt how to do it on my own). the doctor was awesome! like he would describe everything he was doing (as opposed to standing there and doing the surgery and me just watching on). He was terribly encouraging and everything u do right he'd be like good job, nicely done kinda thing. not that i did anything much. was retracting the tummy, sucking up the fluid with the fluid sucker that kind of thing! and he said that i've got potential to be a surgeon, which i'm pleased about not quite cause i want to do surgery in future but its nice to have ppl say nice things about one:) (but i'm half suspecting he's just being nice and saying nice things cause really one can't quite tell if i didn't do much during the surgery can you?) i was really pleased all in all.
low point:
lost my watch which was my 21st birthday present from my st nicks frens! had removed when scrubbing up but forgot to retrieve it from my scrubs pocket and consequently chucked it into the laundry bin when i changed back to my normal clothes! sieved thru like 2-3 bags of laundry at the laundry chute but still can't find it! will be calling the laundry ppl to see if they have found it!
wasn't terribly upset but feeling it abit more now. mayb it just haven't quite sunk in yet...
|
|
(5 comments | comment on this)
|
|
Friday, September 22nd, 2006
|
|
10:58 am - Bday in geelong :)
|
|
Had a nice bday in geelong:) had dinner with me grp mates then got surprised back at the hostel with the rest of the international bunch:)
my Baked Birthday Cheesecake:)
Silly shot:) of everyone!
Proper one!
|
|
(5 comments | comment on this)
|
|
|
10:50 am - Geelong:)
|
|
Geelong beach front: the view i get when (if i go) I go joggin:)
finally got round to taking photos of geelong after being here for 2 months! i either forget to bring my camera, or the weather is bad! kudos to my daddy for the camera to take these beautiful photos!
|
|
(8 comments | comment on this)
|
|
|
10:28 am
|
|
Group mates in medicine:) our first group meal at the Bended elbow! was the chicken parma night at $10/11:)
L-R Matt, me, ken, xueling, wanyen, shehara and luisa
The boys got bored one day and started sticking notes on the girls doors
hehz i've been threatening to "smack" them thus the sign
And we retaliated:)
this the guy who can't kick the soccer ball straight and keeps kicking it to the place where there isn't anyone!
And this guy's got awesome parents who pick him up from Geelong:)
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
|
|
9:45 am - photos time
|
|
hee finally got a good net connection to be able to post photos!
SunSet at my Melb apartm! Love the view:) was so pleased when i first saw it!!!
Me melb room! thats xl me roomie!
Me bed as u can see thru the window i stay opposite a little garden called flagstaff gardens:)
And this is me geelong room which i'm in on weekdays!
really like the room:) nice and cozy! got everything i need! very well stocked with food as well!
alrightie thats all for now:)
|
|
(4 comments | comment on this)
|
|
Friday, September 8th, 2006
|
|
12:05 pm - first week again...
|
been a strange week one starting a new rotation. think got familiar with how things worked in the previous block then suddenly gotta start all over again! right now doing 3 weeks of urology and renal and just completed the first week and haven't learnt quite alot abt those 2 disciplines. 2 weeks to go. weekend whld probably be good to read up more!
thing is, the last blk we had 5/6 tuts with the various consultants each week so the learning felt a bit more directed. whilst this week i haven't seen the consultants much. plus think the department isn't too big and they've onyl got a few patients so there just doesn't seem like there's as much to do as in the other block.
the tutors have been fantastic so far:) haven't got to know all of them but the few that have tutored so far ahve been lovely!
still doing a bit of ortho here and there. and got to watch an amputation yest. got to scrub up for the first time and was a bit worried that i'd faint with the bld and gore and just the whole removal of leg thing. but it was ok. think cause i went in in the middle of the op and didn't act know anything about the px i didn't actually reflect about how the op whld affect the px till it was all over. can't imagine, dont wanna imagine what it'll be like living without one leg. God please protect me!
yest was a good day. things just seemed to flow nicely. had a tut, managed to help set a drip with the help with a nice intern just as i popped by the wards (usually gotten run around trying to find a patient to speak to) headed for another tut then popped by to speak to the samepx, did that was gonna watch a total hip replacement (done on the same px i set a drip adn had a chat with) only to realise that it had been cancelled. so i decided ok, to the fracture clinic to learn more bout fractures that when the surgeon got called away to do the amputation and i got to watch it AND scrub up (thats like washing my hands 3/4Xs and putting on sterile gowns so that i can touch the patient and get really close to see whats going on during surgery!). headed back to the outpatients and was of some help setting plasters cause the plaster tech wasn't around. yep was quite pleased with how everythign just fell into place! so thank God for that!:)
got up nice and early this morning to have a ward round which only lasted for 20mins. and found out that the very nice surgeon that looks like a granddaddy was the head/director (or soemthing like that) of the college of surgeons. he had arranged for us to drop there to "play" as he called it! gonna be learning suturing, that kinda thing and would get to use the simulated laproscopic kit or something. then i headed to the operating theatre hoping to scrub up and was disappointed cause they were doing 2 knee replacements at the same time and there just wasn't enough room for me to scrub up as well. why i'm writing about this is cause the surgeon who said that i couldn't scrub up was so nice about it. he didn't actually do very much. for starters he did ask if i could actually see anything from where i was standing ok mayb the starters was it, but think its about being acknowledged. it doesn't take very much for him to check how i was doing over in the corner but it was important to me that he at least knew i was present, i was trying to learn though it was unfortunate that i wans't able to scrub up and get closer to see. (as opposed to this other surg i watched when i couldn't see anything and felt very much like a wall paper) argh... dont think i'm being very clear here. if i can actually express it better i'll write again. think i can't qutie put my finger on why this is so important to me.
been using the word nice very often in this entry. guess when i say that the surgeon/tutor is niec i'm actually saying that they are willing to teach, they dont sit themselves on a pedestal, they dont make me feel small like a puny fry which we kinda are in the medical food chain, they make me feel welcomed.
think thats my tot for the week. an aside, dreamt that char was back in melb for a camp withou telling me and i had gone for the same camp and someone confiscated my bed JUST because they had tot i didn't bring my pen torch, which i did!!! bizarre eh? dreamt about my s'pore church youth choir as well and they had bigger numbers and they were singing brilliantly:)
|
|
(18 comments | comment on this)
|
|
Thursday, August 24th, 2006
|
|
11:13 am - last week
|
next week is the last week left in ortho and i'm not too sure if i'm ready to move on! did a drip today and kinda got it in with assisatance! the doc was SOOO NICEEEEE:) i like nice doctorS!!! thats act nice doc no.2 last week had a really really nice doc as well at ED! i kinda just approached her and she very kindly (most of the docs there are very busy and dont take much notice of us meddies) taught me step by step how to do an iv. she was extremely patient and would teach u till u got it. she'd on her own initiate look out for practical things u can do (like injections, catheters). i had a great day at ED! the best one so far:) the patient i did my first iv on was a very very very nice old man:) sorry i shld improve my vocab! how about extraordinary nice old man? anywae... yep i actually missed his vein on his hand and it blew and really was on the verge of tears and he just kept on reassuring me. and saying how i'm going fine. and that i've gotta learn this. and don't worry its not hurting that kinda thing... i am very grateful to him and that very nice doc:) thank God that i just so happen to stumble upon her just as she was about to put a drip into him.
hmmm... moving on... last weekend was crazy... stayed up till 1+ on both thurs and fri and sat!!! which is totally abnormal for me. i like sleeping at 11pm! 8hrs for me thank you very much. it was like unpacking (cause my new place was available), marketing, pack more, go out for bday meal, more packing, moving more stuff in (had to move the rest of my stuff in), unpack, steamboat. church, bday meal, unpack, cake time, unpack... back to geelong!!!! u get the idea:) managed to set up my bookshelf which i was very very pleased with:) even had to improvise an dused my screwdriver as a hammer which totally reminded me of cambodia with the nailing of frame windows and stuff!
bday week was really nice with all the eating:) had a tim sum treat from jas:) first cake was on sat during combined cell group steamboat. it was a pleasant surprise cause didn't quite expect it. and they just HAD to stick those BIG number candles that says 23 there! think i'm just about the oldest member of the cell group... kept the candles and was thinking... shucks wont have any use for these anymore. cause could have reused if char was still around! xl, wy and everyone else in my med group are all under 23!:P had bday dinner with my group mates on the actual date at lipari (in geelong) which was pretty good and got a surprise bday cake back at the hostel:) they had gotten the help of other frens back at kitchener house to get the cake ready adn surprise me at the door btu i kinda got back a bit too quick and stumbled upon them lighting the cake:) kept all my presents till 22nd morning and it was fun opening them up! thanx for the bday msges:)
thats all for now:)
|
|
(5 comments | comment on this)
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
aiai's journal
