on call or shift system?

i am one of the lucky few who managed to experience the both sides of the world. well, truth to be told, i only did the old-school on call for a month but i guess my 2 cents will be worthy to some.

what i like about the previous on-call system is that it made you stronger and be proud by the end of the day on how mentally-abled you are, surviving the ruthless hours of work. yes, you get the whole experience and do more procedures but being a "normal" human being, i cannot help but to feel exhausted and "lame" since i spend most of my hours, in the hospital. there goes my life, to experience adulthood. other pro is that, you can save your salary from shopping and spending them on meals cause you are stuck in the hospital. so, you reduce the petrol consumption and you get free meals from the hospital. (well, this depends on your hospital). and to those who puts money as a life goal, oncall will earn you even up to rm1k per month.

otherwise, the reason of doing "on-call" can save your ass from being kicked around all the time. NOTE : not ALL the time. i noticed that the superiors will have more empathy towards you and they will have less expectations on your work performance on that day.

so now what about the shift system you may ask? well, i don't care whether you want to label me as a lazy HO but being a normal human being, i am in fact happy that such system was introduced. i noticed that i feel more motivated to work since i know i can go back early to rest the next day. at least, i do not feel that i have to push myself to last until 5pm. on-call is not tiring since the adrenaline is pumping in but the feeling of POST-CALL sucks. i have slept a few times on the counter and drooled my patient's notes for being too sleepy (even though it was only a 10 minutes nap!!).

i also have more time for myself and this keeps me energised and refreshed to work the next day. and after going through the conventional method, i do appreciate the extra time given. hence, i do not complaint if i have to work after 8am and help my colleagues.

so the problem that causes the superiors to loathe the new system is that the housemen seem to be taking this for granted. i admit that ever since we do shift duties, some become more "berkira" about their work. they tend to pass the job to the next shift and moan if they are asked to stick around to do extra job such as doing discharge summaries or attending the clinics. other than that, we might spend less time in the hospital but at the end of the day, it depends on the attitude of the person to make use of the limited time. i dont think the system should be blamed for lessening knowledge and exposure but instead, blame the person for not showing extra efforts and initiatives.

furthermore, the shift allowance is rm600 and to some this means earning less than they could possibly do. but i notice that i do not even have that much of time to spend my salary on. if they really want to earn extra cash, i suggest them to come to Sabah or Sarawak. we get an extra of rm1000 compared to those working in the peninsula. And oh yea, to those who whined about receiving less exposure ever since the shift system was introduced, i really recommend them to come to sabah and sarawak or otherwise, stick around in the hospital a lil longer, voluntarily.

otherwise, in conclusion, to date, i am really enjoying the shift system. at the end of the day, i think it all depends on our work ethics and attitude to properly utilise the time to equip yourself. before i leave, i'll just random shots from my phone on things that i see afterwork. thanks to the shift system, i can see the sunlight and do chores without feeling like a zombie!

 My Post-Call Treat. 

A pool at Taman Awam, Miri

O&G in Miri Hosp at a glance

20 days from today, we will be welcoming another new year. I dont think i will be celebrating the new year's eve since i am on call and i have a feeling tonnes of mothers will be flocking the labour room in the hope of having a new year's baby. Well, i cant blame them since i am myself almost a new year's baby but late by a few days! Hehehe

Anyway, some might be wondering, what are the cases encountered in Miri Hospital in case of Obst. Well, yours truly here have come out with list :

1. Normal labour
2. PROM / PPROM
3. GDM
4. HPT disorders in pregnancy
5. IOLs
6. Oligo / poly
7. Placenta Previa / Placenta Abruptio
8. Prem Labour
9. IUD
10. Abnormal presentation (breech/transverse/abnormal lie)
11. Trial of scar
12. Multiple pregnany (esp twin)
13. Asthma in pregnancy
14. False labour

It doesnt really differ much than those i've seen in Hosp Putrajaya and Hosp Serdang; the 2 hospitals that we got for my clinical training in medical school. If you happen to be a medical student reading this post, please master the above topics. They will be handy when you work later on.

Otherwise, please study your CTGs very well! The prob that i got for now is to properly analyse and interpret the CTG. Sometimes, they can be tricky. Whatever it is, the fate of the unborn child will be in your hands. A few minutes of delay can cause a permanent damage to it (ie cerebral palsy). Always remember that in O&G, a child should be born healthy until proven otherwise.

So there goes my saying on the current field. I only have a few weeks left remaining in the dept and i am yet to enter the gynae ward. Up till now, i am so far, enjoying my time in the dept. I have heard of scary stuffs in other dept and i am nervous about it! Let's hope i can at least swim despite having difficulties!

Sent from Hanani's iPhone! Woo!

The end of the year!

It's already the beginning of December; a few weeks more to go before we end the year. So far, my life has been in line and my confidence grew each day. I dont think i am super competence but i can now handle straight forward cases independently. 

I am now working in ward, a simpler and less adrenaline pumping environment. There'll be days when i handle the whole ward all by myself. That is, covering about 30 patients all on my own. I love the challenge but i still fail to finish my work before my MOs or Specialist comes over. 

Otherwise, i am planning to move out of the quarters real soon. I can't wait any longer cause i am yearning to have my own bed and a comfortable room! However, i am worried since the new housing area is not developed fully and there are Construction workers all around. I dont understand why but many people around here like to stare especially to that of girls. 

Otherwise, It has been almost 2 weeks and there hasnt been any new housemen coming in. I hope the public out there especially the soon to be graduating doctors will consider Miri as the choice. So far i dont think we learn less here compared to that in the Klang valley hospitals. In the end, i think it all depends on your attitude towards learning. 

Orite then. It's weekend and i have finished my work! It's time for lunch! Bye!

Sent from Hanani's iPhone! Woo!

A lil hello!

It's been awhile indeed! Lately i've been spending my already limited time on other things to detoxify myself. Hence that explains for my hiatus. Otherwise i would probably be dozing off especially after postcall. 

Without realising it, i've been a houseman for almost 2 months! I know i've been saying this a lot but hell yes, it does feel short! 

Workwise, i am now more comfortable being an O&G houseman. I learnt a lot especially from my nurses, colleagues and superiors. And yes, up to now, i am still relieved and glad to be posted here. 

They said, O&G is the busiest posting but so far, i am indeed enjoying this place. Teamwork is excellent and everyone does not mind helping others when they are in need. Specialists are approachable and MOs are also very cooperative. To sum it all, i can say i am in a good posting.

I am not sure on how things are like back in The peninsula but throughout my observation based on my clinical attachments in 2 Klang valley hospitals, i can safely say that things are worse back there. Though One of the cons is that they now use Laptops for reporting purposes, i think handwritten can still safe time. 

Since i am halfway through the posting, i need to make sure i buckle up my procedures as well as the practicals. Then i might need to undeego Viva exit exams. I hope this feeling of luckiness persists until my nezzt HOship.

Pic above : my first movie out as a HO! yeah, i know it's outdated!

Sent from Hanani's iPhone! Woo!

It's 2.45am and i am wide awake!

Hello there!

I am now doing my so-called night shift. Miri General Hospital has introduced shift system but unfortunately, since we are lacking of housemen in O&G department, the system still looks like normal oncall schedule.

So for those who are doing night shift, we will start our day at 7am and stopped at 2pm. We are given with 3 hours break until 5pm and then to come back again to work from 5pm until 8am.

We can go back early the next day provided that we have attended the compulsory sessions such as CME and pass over and rounds with specialist. I have mixed feelings about this system since by doing so, there will only be 2 HO per night shift. Depending on the days, good calls can give some time to sleep. On "hot" days, u will definitely feel like a living frustrated zombie.

It's still too early to give my comments on the system but i hope our teachings and experiences will still remain optimised!

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!