Week 4 - O&G

Another week passed. It's kinda hard to believe that I am already here for a month. Time flies in a blink of a second!

The good thing about this week is that, i got my first pay! I am glad i got it in a month! I have to say the amount is good but i havent had enougj time to spend! Furthermore, Miri does not have that many great shopping malls. Indirectly, it is a good way of saving!

Workwise, there are ups and downs. Sometimes i feel i am not competent even though after being here for a month. There are then other times that i am happy things went the way they should have been. My MOs dont really scold us that much, something that i should be glad at sometimes. But being that way, i might have not known my mistakes.

I am glad that until this date i havent got the feeling of quitting. I should be thankful to be having an uplifting and motivating environment. Teamwork here is great! I really hope that i get my confidence asap.

Sent from Hanani's iPhone! Woo!

Life as a houseman : week 3

Here i am again, updating you guys on my current life in Miri Hospital. 

What i can conclude is that, i pretty much like my Housemanship here. Even though we do not have that many housemen to begin with, at least the staff is very helpful and friendly. I learn many new things every single day and I enjoy getting to know the cultures here. In my opinion, the people and races here are more of 1Malaysia than in Semenanjung. We have Ibans, Melanaus, Malays, Chinese, Indians, Penans and many others which i need to discover.  

To those who are still planning where to go for housemanship, i suggest for you guys to write down Hospital Miri in that little column of your form. You do not even have to put in any other Hospitals in since you will definitely get it. But let's say that if you dont, then REAPPEAL! Do not listen to any rumors mentioning Miri Hospital is already full. 

For now, Miri Hospital definitely needs tonnes of House Officer. I do not understand why many choose Kuching over Miri. Miri town is not as hulu as what people might think it is. Hello, we do have Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Parkson, Giant, Watson, Guardian, Big Apple, Sushi King, Pizza Hut and GSC is coming soon too! We also have 24 hours McDonald's and KFC in case you need food during your on-call! Not bad at all for a small city. 

Other things that i can say to promote this Hospital is the working environment. I have been spending some years in some Government Hospitals during my clinical years as a medical student. What I can say for now is that, the staff here respects each other and the teamwork is so far, more dynamic than the ones in KL. You still can get some of the scoldings here but at least, they are work related. Come on, it's not a housemanship until you get that yellings and scoldings. 

Furthermore, we get to do a lot of procedures here as a houseman. For instance, I can play along with the ultrasound machine in the delivery room and practice it to the patient. I know some hospitals in KL do not even allow housemen to touch the machine! Assisting caesarean section is not much of a competition to do. You will always have the opportunities since we do not have enough housemen here. I am also planning to perform the surgery myself once I am confident with it. 

Sure thing, the workload can be quite frustrating sometimes, but if you have already expected a hell-ish life for 2 years, then you might not really feel the burden here. Sometimes, you just need to understand that working hard now might provide extra benefits later on. 

There are many other things that I can say to promote this hospital but I am already sleepy now. My next oncall is tomorrow and let's hope things will go fine in the end! But until then, remember this : 

Welcome to Miri Hospital!

O&G week 3

Seems like McD has been filling up my tummy on weekly basis! 

I tried to update this blog as often as possible but somehow, i failed to do so. I usually use my already limited time to sleep or go out for good meals. Hence, the plan is always postponed.
anyway, In week 3, i was no longer a tagger. Good thing, i get to go back by 5pm. The otherwise, i am already in oncall system. So far, i've done 2 oncalls. What i can tell is that, oncall does not really make me feel sleepy; perhaps the adrenaline helps me to survive but postcall sucks. You are expected to perform as if you have slept 8 hours the night before.
So far, i seem to be able to adapt to the whole O&G arena. However I tend to be slow when dealing with abnormal cases and there are days when i find myself horribly slow and unproductive. Otherwise, i am still taking it day by day. Who would have thought, i have been working for almost 3 weeks! Indirectly, that means i have 13 weeks more for O&G!
As for the accomodation, i am still looking for a good place to stay. Some of the houses are okay but expensive.

OBS n Gynae

I was supposed to post this yesterday but somehow i could not figure out what went wrong with the post. Here is the repost: 

They said O&G is the busiest posting in Hospital Miri. I cannot comment further on this since this is my first posting. However after going through it for almost 2 weeks, there were times that I feel like giving up. But then, due to good support by my friends, that feelings turn into motivation to hang on with it. 

The patient load in this dept varies from day to day. The fact that this dept invovles 2 lives, serious considerations should be given at all times. A few minutes of late decisions can cause a permanent damage to the baby i.e cerebral palsy. 

Though there are only 10 available beds in labour room, the cycle can be non stop! What makes things worse if there are emergency caesarean that could be due to Acute Fetal Distress or Poor Labour Progress. The whole labour room team will go haywire! I can say that the varieties of cases here are not much differ than those elsewhere. 

As of to date, Ive conducted deliveries, do ARM, assisted caesareans. The housemen can also use the ultasound machines. Something that I know some other hospitals do not allow to. 

Otherwise, I am stil havin problems with V/E and physical examination skills. I can feel down the whole day because of this. Theory wise, I think i am doing okay. Gaaahh, i just need to put in more effort for exposure. 

Ok then, I have a patient to attend. See you later!!

Sent from Hanani's iPhone! Woo!

Obs & Gynae

Week 2 tagging

Hello all. Here I am, updating my current routine for week 2.

Nothing much but more frustration since I am still not competent with my V/E, delivery and episiotomy. Otherwise, i am slowly getting hold of the whole responsibility.

Expectation rises since you have been spending your whole week at the hospital. They expect you to be able handle common cases on your own.

A lil bit on Miri Hospital, for those who want to stay in the quarters, I suggest you to think twice. The HO quarters are located at the 4th floor and the apartment is not well maintained. You can only stay for 3 months max. There are times that I have to get shower at the hospital due to poor water pressure.

Week 1 Tagging

I have been working for almost a week now. I am posted to Labour Room of O&G. truthfully, i experienced culture shock starting Housemanship.

1. I still felt like medical student on my day 1. Then after handling a few patients, I realised the responsibilities that I carried.

2. I've realised that what you learnt in Medical School are not what you will practice in real life. In OSCE, you have 1 hour to clerk case and do Physical Examination but in real life, you are required to clerk case, do physical, take blood and manage patient within one hour!!

3. Documentation is totally a pain in the ass. You need to learn the short forms, filling up forms, sign here, sign there. It is beneficial if you have chop ready with your MMC registration no. You will need them!!

4. Miri Hospital has on-call system. I'll be doing 8 oncalls for October alone! If you want shift systems, dont come here.