Pregnancy in housemanship

It has been almost 2 yrs i have not updated my blog.

and i guess the title is quite a surprising ones?!

2014 was an eventful yr for me. Full of ups and downs! And this yr, i completed my orthopaedics / ONG posting. The so called hardest 2 postings of housemanship. Anyway, i juz wanna say, no matter how HARD, It will be OVER too. Juz hang on , and dont lose hope .

The good thing about 2014 – i got married 🙂 and surprisingly the God Rewarded me with a baby 🙂

ok, getting pregnant in Housemanship, i couldnt imagine when i first knew! It is not an easy journey, bt with that “determination”, it is not too hard. I got “morning sickness ” ( misnomer?! I vomited in the night too) as usual in the early phase of pregnancy. Almost every morning every night i vomitted till almost 20weeks! And i feel my “night sickness” was even more serious than morning sickness. Haha. Thank God, i could still drink/eat after vomitted. So i didnt have hyperemesis gravidarum.

Thank God this pregnancy didnt gimme much trouble. It was an “uncomplicated” pregnancy, except extra weight gain , that required me to do “biweekly bp” monitoring for 1 mth.

Cannot forget the first time i did MGTT at 12 weeks, unfortunately vomited!! I tried to resist the nauseating feeling and still, vomited 10 mins before due for next blood taking! As a result, my 2 hr post prandil glucose was 2.9. Bt fasting blood glucose was 4.4. 😳 dr actually suggested me to tak MGTT only after the morning sickness was over.

I went thru my second and part of third trimester in medical posting! It was a really hectic posting with no full off day. Our “off” day was “post night shift” day. That made me difficult when i wanted to go for ANC follow up. I almost never be able to follow the date given by KK. I always changed date / even defaulted follow up. I could only go during my night shift day/ post night shift day. I didnt wanna take time off/ MC for follow up as i know this would make my boss / colleagues difficult. I always receive calls frm KK Staff nurses ” dr!! Bile nak mai kat kami follow up?” ” dr, sudah buat MGTT ?” ” dr, ade masalah ape ape tak?” Until at the end, i would call them to give my own date.

My incredible baby has never gimme much trouble. I did not take MC/ emergency leave throughout pregnancy even i had to work long hours/sleepless nights. To be able to make it, i have to say my hubby also gave me alot of love . 🙂 same goes to my parents, who supported me much frm the marriage to pregnancy. the most comfy and energetic period of pregnancy was second trimester. As entering Third trimester, body becomes heavy and the abdomen( the baby) will grow tremendously. Movement became slow, climbing stairs made me short of breath, like NYHA II.

Now im at maternity leave (started leave at 38weeks) . Still no signs and symptoms of labour. 😁 i did online shopping for some baby stuffs, went shopping with my hubby when he was bak to penang( currently working in alor setar). I also read up some knowledge about breastfeeding. And thanks my fellow mummy frens who shared with me their breastfeeding journey. Now i juz hope , all will be fine for me and my baby during this lasy stage of pregnancy.  God Bless!!!!

With love…

P/s: Pregnancy in housemanship is still managable .Juz take it easy. 🙂

Surgical dept in HSJ

Hah! 1 month + i have never updated my blog. Blame my current posting- SURGERY ! LOL 

Ever since it is “famous” that surgical dept in HSJ is one of the scariest depts. What to say when i entered as “second poster” while I know this dept preferred senior posters.Anyway, as i step into it, i had a culture shock as it was totally and so different from paediatrics dept. From every aspect. Adults vs children and how the system runs.I really need adaptation. There are good days and bad days in surgical dept too! in fact, when i found i get more familiar and actually get used to the system, i actually started to feel comfortable in this posting. 

A few things in this dept that they used to “train” their housemen and MOs. 

1) Limit the number of housemen that joining the dept 

2) Oncall system 

3) Grand ward round

First, limit the number of housemen. Hence there is quality control. it is not so easy for u to escape anyway. Luckily, some of our MOs are really nice. There are only 8 MOs in this dept. ( SO FEW!) and hence MOs are actually very busy. so it is one of the dept that requires INDEPENDENCE. 

Second, the oncall system. it is the only dept in HSJ that still follows ” oncall” instead of ” shift” system. we have a maximum of 6 oncalls/ month. It could be very tiring for HOs to do oncall, sometimes we might end up no sleeping for more than 24 hrs. However, it is one of the strategies that they adapt to make sure the oncall housemen know all the cases in the ward and learn. 

third, the Grand ward round. it is the “spicy” part of this posting XD exciting and nervous! LOL. We have one specialist who will have this GWR every thursday. We have to present our case well to the specialist. if not, we might end up getting warning letter or get extended.But, beginner will always be given chance to improve. I love and hate this GWR. haha. it is a day that i would have to wake up very early to ward n review cases. It is also a day that i might get screwed up. But at the end of the day, it is a day that i will learn alot! I believe my specialist has the enthusiasm to train us to be a better and safe drs, and his MOs to be a successful surgeon. as long as u are dedicated enough. 

Other than that, we have clinics, scopes, OTs etc to go. 

In short, as a junior poster in this dept that requires independence, and caution in working… i really hope i could pick up and get more and more comfortable in this posting. 🙂 

Solo travelling : the lion city, singapore!!

Yeah! I have passed my Paediatric posting ( what a relief!) My next posting would be surgery.
juz keep the working part aside.. I have a total 1 week of leave. And hence, i really dont wish to waste this opportunity, i want to travel!! This was unexpected, and hence every plans was planned last minute. I decided to travel alone, when i found it really hard to get a friend with suitable timing.I planned to Singapore, as it is a safe city, nearest to Malaysia,and with no language barrier.

I once visited Singapore in the new year of 2012, went by car, stayed in Johor Bahru and I counted down for 2012, and watched the fireworks. it was the memorable ones! This time, i travelled on my own, by air, and this was the first time i was using their MRT. A bit nervous at first as i was nt familiar.. anyway, it was easy to learn 🙂

I was lucky when i first reached the MRT station at clarke quay, i was blur in front of the busy road. There was a very kind chinese uncle, who approached me to lend a hand, brought me to my hostel , introduced me the Singaporean’s hawker food, he helped without asking for any returns. So grateful for such a good Samaritans,his help really saved me alot of time and energy. The signboard of the hostel that i was going to stay was really small and high up, it was not so easily seen. One special thing about this hostel was, their self service breakfast available for 24 hours.. I could take the corn flakes at 12am instead of 7am. haha.

I visited the art science museum in Marina Bay Sands ( MBS) for their mummy exhibition and the 50 greatest photo in national geography. I met my friend Sue Ann in the china town for dinner and some shopping. The next morning, I headed to the Singapore’s zoo. To go to Singapore zoo, stopped by the ” Ang Mo Kio ” MRT then take a bus no . 138, S’pore zoo is the last station. It took nearly an hour to travel to the zoo.hence, pls make ur time and money worth! haha. I got lost a few times in the zoo, made me extra tiring as i walk alot and walk a long way in the zoo because i got lost! haha . After the zoo, my next station is ” Gardens by the Bay ” , somewhere where i had a very high expectation! It was really beautiful . It is advisable to go near evening time 🙂

Gardens by the bay ~ Super trees are superb!

The beautiful Marina Bay sands behind me 🙂

 

I visited Universal studio / Sentosa/ the Merlion Park and Casino before, hence, im not going for them this time.
this time i could not make it for Jurong Bird Park as well. Not enough time to try out Singapore Flyers ( 30 minutes, 1 rotation however, it is quite costly, S$33) and no chance for Skypark too! hahahah~! If u have never been to singapore and wish to enjoyed each and every thing, a minimal of 5-7 days required! LOL. make sure itinerary is not too heavy and not too light, no point to get ourselves too exhausted and could not enjoy anymore.

One more special experience was in Clarke Quay, the turkish ice cream trick. What was really special wasnt the ice cream, but the trick. The uncle was playing with me for nearly 1 and half minutes, playing with the ice cream instead of giving me. and i was like a kid, kept trying to get the ice cream from him. I seriously looked relieved , when i got the ice cream in my hand. This ice cream stall located opposite the Central Mall 🙂

he is the turkish sticky ice cream stall at clarke quay

I was quite a short trip and time really flies. Thank you to those busy Singaporeans/ non singaporeans working in singapore, for helping me out when i got lost… They helped me by giving direction, or browsing google map under the sun , or like the first uncle i met, brought me all the way to my hostel! so touched! Thank you Singapore!!

Where i stayed : Woke Home Capsule Hostel At south bridge road, opposite Hong Kong street. Near to Clarke Quay MRT and also Raffles Place MRT. ( From raffles place, it is quite convenient to go to changi airport and MBS) . shared bathroom and toilet. however, quite safe and clean.

The Woke Home Capsule Hostel reception. Checked out 🙂

From SCN to Paed Medical

Entering the final month in Paediatric posting ( provided i could finish it without getting extended) .. i was transferred from SCN/NICU to paediatric medical. actually the allocation is like this… When we first entering, we worked in Paediatric medical , but tagged after 5pm at SCN/NICU to learn . Then after about 1 month in Paed medical, we will get transferred to SCN/NICU.i was 2 months in SCN / NICU. Love the babies there. It is a place where management is totally different from where we learn in paediatric or even adults. It is neonatology and everything has to be dealed carefully. STRICT hand hygiene of course. I wont be surprised that i might wash hands/ use alcohol hand rub 100 times per day. it is a place that i might need to think twice when i wanna increase feeding even 1cc in a premature baby esp those in high risk of NEC ( necrotizing enterocolitis ) . It is a place that when the baby started to develop fever but clinically we could not see any abnormalities… the doctors will started to order bloods and workout to rule out sepsis. it is a place that i could stand beside an incubator for half an hour at 4am to get a blood from a premature babies with very small veins OR old NICU baby who had regular blood taking daily/ every other day that most of the visible veins are almost thrombosed. Anyway, my lucky day would be when i could get most of the blood or even branulla in first attempt! That is really “luck” apart from “skill”. 

Transferring down to paediatric medical, my life was busy as usual in the first monday morning. at the same time, i was quite stressed over my assessment. Currently im awaiting one more short case to finish my assessment, other than completing the log books… and DOPS ( directly observed procedure skills ) by senior MO. If i could get my posting done, i might wanna share more regarding my assessment .hahaa. 

All the Best larrr!!!! 

 

~dreams~

发觉自己真的很爱吃蛋糕。。 

或许若有有一天一个会做蛋糕的好男人向我示爱，我会想都不想的嫁给他。

哈哈。。开玩笑而已。。蛋糕可以花钱买。。 这只是要强调。。我真的很爱蛋糕而已。

XD 

 

Above : Very pretty cake frm google image 😉 

Below : the cake my friend and i had during our visit to Pai 🙂

 

 

 

Life in SCN / NICU :)

SCN = special care nursery 
NICU = Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Just  in a blink of eyes, i have been joining paediatrics dept for more than 2.5 months d.  
i worked in Paediatric medical for 1 month + 1/52, then i got transferred to SCN / NICU till now. Quite NOT get used to it when people called me ” senior ” ( considered as quite senior in paed at least im almost approaching 3rd month in the department. ) 

I always said ” Im not senior, Im juz a first poster!” LOL. 
i have not done my DOPS yet. so far still cant find a chance which im confident/ convenient to let MO observe procedures. it is juz ” not so easy ” LOL. 
Im glad that i managed to pass my first assessment long case( lucky !! ) , though i have not finished my short case yet, which i think, i should study more for that too.>.<

Frankly speaking, i juz found myself lazy and tired after work. even i tried to study, the progress is very  very very slow! perhaps i need to be more motivated larrrr! when im at work, i know my knowledge is still insufficient and hence i should learn more, but when i back home, i juz lost the urge to study fast! >.< 

Recently, i took a short break ( 5 days ) to chiang mai with my friend. It was really a happy trip and at least made me relax completely for 5 days.:)) however, the thought of going back to work haunt me and made me ” emo ” especially towards the end of the journey.however, i juz try my best  to enjoy my holidays , haha. I Thank God as i managed to get a break for the holiday. It is really a revitalising and nice ones. ( apart from several unexpected circumstances. ) Besides, we almost not in time to chase for our domestic flight after our international flight gets delayed. Luckily, God Bless, domestic flight was delayed too, so we still managed to get into the gate before it really close for boarding.

After that, i got my PM oncall straight after holiday. ( i requested for it, coz only by oncall, i could get to rest in the morning and report to work only in the afternoon ) 
my mood for these few days considered good apart from feeling tired as i have lack of sleep. I donno why i could not concentrate and be productive, then i could sleep early too. >.< 

study hard ya! so that i wont get extended in this posting , and survive in HSJ. Pls……. XD 

A trip to “Rose of the North of Thailand” -Chiang Mai

30/7/13 to 3/8/13.

I had a wonderful experience to the “Rose of the North” of thailand-Chiang Mai.this trip was planned earlier by my best friend Dennis and was my pleasureto join him for this 5 day 4 night trip. Chiang Mai is the second largest capital ofthailand being popular for spa and wellness centre. I personally feel impressed with thecleanliness of the city and kindness of local people in chiang mai.we spent our first 2nights in chiang mai staying in a guest house (FWD guest house) on RatchamankhaRoad sharing room with other travellers mainly backpackers from other countries.it isgenerally safe. We went to a few wat (temples) in chiang mai. 2 of the most famousones were Wat Chendi Luang and Wat Phrathat Doi Sunthep. Wat Chendi Luang islocated right in the centre of old city on Prapokklao Road,which was juz 2 min walkingdistance from our guest house.in fact,my friend chose the guest house for its location.While Wat Prathat Doi Sunthep is located over 1600 metres above chiang mai city. Thebest way to go there is by songthaew(red pickup trunks). The panaromic view of the city offered by Wat Prathat Doi Santhep was truly impressive and amazing. I love the 2 dragons right at the entrance with their tails along the staircase to the wat. It made me feel calm and peaceful praying in the temples.

The trip to  thailand is incomplete without some Relaxing time enjoying spa and thaimassage. We were truly impressed and satisfied with the good service and massageoffered by Khunka Massage located along Rachdamneon road. Dennis described it asthe best massage he had ever had. I cant forget how widely he smiled after themassage.haha.I personally fell asleep during the foot massage after a body scrub.

Juz imagine how comfortable it was.

The 3rd day of our journey,We were heading to Pai,a small peaceful town of lovelocated 120km away frm chiang mai city. There are transport services or pick up fromhotels or guest houses to Pai everyday from 7am to 4pm by minibus. The most popularone is Aya Service,costing ard 150 baht per person per trip.

Here on Pai i tasted the most delicious thai food. Unfortunately,i did not rmb the nameof the shop. It is located at the corner over the left side of the main street in Pai. Pai is alovely town. You might have to rent a motorbike or scooter as a transport around thetown.Here we went to  a few attractions like the china village,memorial bridge.im trulyimpressed by the cheap and concentrated cocktails in Pai. Love it! The fun moment inPai was that u were travelling on a bike on ur own and u might want to stop at anywhere  with nice sceneries or landmarks for photography. I love the strawberry shake at thestrawberry farm in Pai and the chocolate cheese cake at “Coffee In Love”. 🙂

 

Another guest house that i would like to recommend was ThongRan’s House located atRachamanka Road,we stayed in this guest house after coming back to chiang mai fromPai. It is a new guest house at strategic location and at a cheap rate,the receptionist isvery friendly and helpful. The room is very comfortable with most of the facilitiesprovided including fridge and tv.the washroom is nice and clean. The only thing thatthey did not provide is hair dryer. However,this didnt bother me much.in fact,i wish icould stay longer here.

 

Im really happy to have this relaxing trip with my best friend dennis,besides this beingshort revitalising break for me after working in a stressful environment for almost 2.5months. Time flies. Im on the airplane flying back to malaysia as i was writing thisscript and i would have to go back to work tomorrow. I wouldnt want to forget everysingle moment in the Rose of the North of Thailand.we met a few pairs of travellersfrom different regions of China who were very nice and friendly besides lovephotography like dennis. we shared information,help one another to take pictures,feeling warm deep inside the heart. If u love to have peaceful quiet and simple life at southeast asia, perhaps chiang mai is one of the destinations u might take into consideration. 🙂

Pm Oncall….

 

I’m such a Jonah queen. So far I have tried 4 times pm shift on call. None of the night  was peaceful so far. Always admission non stop till the next morning. For once I got 7 admissions in one night. Yesterday I got resuscitation in A&E for 3 hrs and subsequently I gt 5 admissions one after another till next morning and then continue morning blood and trace result. Till 7am I finally free @@ 

 

Nurse told me to collect bunga and daun in hospital and bathe so become less Jonah. Hahaha. It is good that I might have chance to ” learn ” more for having eventful call nights. But sometimes it is really too tired. Like I didn’t sleep at all for today… I really feel so hard to force my eyes open when I drive back to home. I dare nt even close ,g eyes for 1 sec.. I will fell asleep. Lol. 

 

the beginning and graduation

I have been joining Hospital Seberang Jaya Paediatric dept for 3 weeks and now coming to the 4th week. I could say this was really the toughest and most tiring 3 weeks for me. other than the pressure to finish the “tagging log book” in time ( which i met quite a lot of obstacles too ), the main problem is the adaptation part. I have to keep reminding self that im now a ” houseman” and doctor and NOT a medical student anymore! Even my MO has told me abt it. A houseman cant be too free! haha . u cant juz stand and observe. instead, u gotta involve urself . i m yet to familiarise myself with the system in hospital. for the first few days, i was really blur. but then it has become better and better. 
may be i m super jonah ( means tendency to attract alot of cases ??? ) LOL, i even met medicolegal cases ( 2 cases come one after another ) which i did not know how to manage. in fact, My MO complained and criticize me for not being able to do my job well. People might think ( or even me myself ) : how u expect a first poster who juz worked for 3 weeks to deal with a medicolegal case perfectly? But, i know i should learn. AT LEAST, not so blur the next time when i come across the similar situation. Perhaps God wants to gv me a lesson early. this is how i console myself, whenever i met difficulties. 
i must be optimistic, at the same time, know abt my weaknesses. I must correct them . For eg: if i cant finish review pts before MO comes, if i review pts very slow… then i should have slept less and come to hosp even earlier. 6am , instead of 630am for eg… life will become easier later once MO is happy with ur performance. ALL THE BEST !!! Jia You!! Learn frm mistakes, learn from experiences. I know i could be better! 

15.6.2013 was my graduation too! 🙂 Is such a memorable day. unfortunately, my sister could not make it . As my bro in law also coincidentally had his new shop open on that day. first day of business cant be ruined. it is the foundation and the beginning of everything. i understood and i was ok with it. in fact, my sister prepared me a really pretty bouquet. thanks her lots. muakz. 
so , my father, mother , brother and i , proceed to Melaka for my graduation at Dewan Seri Negeri Ayer Keroh. Thank God for making our whole journey safe . 🙂 
It is quite rush and very far to travel from Penang to Melaka, for worth it , for a memorable and lifetime event like this! hehe.. 
here are some pictures of the graduation ceremony 🙂 

Thanks my sister for the pretty bouquet.

My fren Wong bought me a happy “graduated” dragon originally by astro for me too. so happy to have it. coz i have another one which i bought last yr , limited edition. he knew i liked this, now i have the second one for graduation. seriously meaningful 🙂 

It is the beginning of everything. Good luck and all the best in my future career! JIA YOU oh !!! 

 

 

Paediatrics.. Tagging Period

Tagging period is one of the toughest period. No one can deny. esp in Hosp Sbrg Jaya, it is abit strict. We have another tagging log book with alot of procedures and cases we need to clerk…. procedures to complete and let MO sign. Besides that, MO will not ” simply” sign the log book. They will ask questions and we must answer satisfactorily!! Any qn unanswered, they will ask us to go back read and they gonna ask us again before we could get the signature. 
this is how i love and hate HSJ. haha. I love it, because it is a relatively smaller hosp, with HO population of only 140. ( of course, many ppl wont want to come, coz everyone has heard abt extension rate and tough life in this hosp. ) as compared to Hosp Pulau Pinang with HO populations of > 400, we are definitely much lesser, and very “understaff” . None of us can escape. HOD, Specialists , MO , will rmb our name or identify our faces. 

At first, i dont come to this hosp voluntarily. But , since fate has put me here, i might as well endure it. 
throughout the 1 week of tagging period, i managed to clerk a number of cases,start learning how to manage cases ( im not really confident .. but i m learning slowly nw ) , poke newborn babies for blood.. poke kids for blood for investigation etc etc. It is really busy . Sometimes it is so busy that i dont even have time for lunch or dinner. Lost 2 kg in one week. 

though im contented that i hv chance to learn sth frm this hosp… no doubt im really tired. May be it is juz the beginning, the tagging period. when we have to work frm 6am to 11pm. ( sometimes would need to stay back till 12 sth midnight coz there are cases/ standby OT / procedures that u wouldnt wanna miss….) We have to fill up our log book too!! Imagine, i could only sleep ard 4 hrs or less a day. minus the travel time i need to travel daily from Penang ( Tg Tokong ) to HSJ daily, to and fro. 

However, MOs so far are willing to teach. So far that i have encountered. Most of them are chinese! haha. not racist.. it is juz that the 80-90% population of chinese MO in paed dept is quite impressing. Almost all Paed specialists that i know of, is chinese too. May be previously i studied in Melaka, i seldom get to see so many Chinese dr ?? LOL 

I hope after some time, i could survive in this hospital, and really love this hosp. I also hope that after some time, i could be trained in this hard way till becoming a really professional dr. HO is a period that we all must get thru!!! i supposed to study and not sitting here writing.. LOL. i owe so many MOs so many topics >.< hehe.