Angels

I passed !!! All the hard work , endless nights of insomnia , daily episodes of palpitations , upon-awakening-guilt is all worth it ! I don’t know my grades yet . But , passing is more important ! I have a week’s holiday . There’s so much I want to do . Example : train for the upcoming Brooke’s Marathon , read the bible , run , go shopping , run some more , learn to cook soup , read blogs , read novels … One week ? Not enough time ! Semester 8 starts in a week . I’ll be in a different group with different members again .

You know , most of my friends would try to swap groups to be in the same groups as their housemates or good friends who they are used to . In semester 7 , I didn’t swap groups throughout semester 6 and semester 7 . Just stuck to the allocated group . In semester 7 , my group members were totally the people who I didn’t normally mix with throughout the whole 3 years in medical school . I hardly knew any of them besides their name . Also , in semester 7 , I was in the group which nobody wanted to be in . You see , we had 4 postings in Semester 7 . Our group started with psychiatry , then continued with orthopedics , pediatrics and obstetrics . Nobody wanted to be in this group because we were ending with obstetric , also known as the busiest and most hectic posting . And , everyone wanted their last posting to be one that provided them some free time for revision . No way in obstetric posting would you have free time for revision . It was possible , just extremely exhausting.

I did feel like swapping groups but then i realize it didn’t really matter . So , I decided to just stay in the group and see how things go . To tell you the truth , obstetric posting turned out to be really very exhausting . With all the deadlines for research project , CFCS at the end of the Semester , and adding case summaries and reports and also covering wards each night , I tell you , obstetric posting turned out HELL-ish to the members of our group . There was a point where we were all so stressed out that we argued among subgroups. It was really terrible . It should never happen again .

Despite all that , I realize , I found friends , my subgroup members . These friends are sincere and real . These friends , they do not have an alternate motive , they do not keep to themselves . And through them , each of them , I learnt something new . I hardly knew them , hardly talked to them . Slowly , we got to know each other . Slowly , we got used to each other . And by the end of a few postings , we were quite a close knit .

The picture was stolen from Maywan’s Facebook page . Hehe .

Semester 7 was suppose to be “DASYAT ” . But , thanks to them , Semester 7 was so much more enjoyable than semester 6 . Seriously . I remember during pediatrics posting , I was basically laughing throughout the whole posting ( in the wards , in class and after class ) because of them . Those were good times !

Today , we got our results! And i am superbly happy because we got through the exam together. We passed the exams together and Zheng Sheng made us proud by being one of the distinction students ! ( sorry , promote one last time here )

I think … God placed me in this group for a reason .

Now , when I look back on Semester 7 , I realize , the reason is them .

Angels and blessings come in all shapes and sizes . =)

Cheers ! God bless all of you .

Untold Tales

As you know , exams are over for us Semester 7 medical students . Evidenced by this post here . I have so much free time now . I don’t know what to do with myself . Grrrr…..

We were so busy preparing for exams the past few months that we didn’t have time to think of the aftermath of exams . Being the kind of person who would normally have a timetable for my daily plans , you could imagine how lost a sheep I was . I ended up staying home on Tuesday filing , sorting my notes and also blog/blog shop hopping . But , the conclusion is , life without exams is equivalent to being in heaven .

I did my evening runs around the neighborhood today . After 3 laps , I decided it was enough. Grandma and grandpa were sitting in the porch , getting a few breaths of fresh air . I started chatting with them as I stretched my limbs .

Grandma talked to me about dad today . It started from just a simple question I asked . I asked grandma if anyone in the family were sporty . She told me no one was. No one played any form of sports . The only sport they did at home was shooting lizards with their “lastik” . Zzz.

She went on telling me stories about my uncles and aunties. But , more importantly , she told me about my dad . Dad’s childhood and dad’s achievements in the past .

Dad was superbly intelligent . Grandma said he was top in class all the time . He used to have a rival. Apparently , his rival was the son of the school principal . But , he had never succeed in defeating dad . Grandma said that he was top in class from Form 1 till Form 5 . Usually , in the mornings , grandma would send him for extra classes for the extra subjects he took . And after the classes ended , he would rush for afternoon school in Alor Gajah. Grandma said that dad was always very intelligent . He could catch and understand fast. Despite having such a hectic schedule , he managed to maintain his position in class.

Did you know that, dad was practically Gadek’s hero . He was the first in his small town to attain a place in University Malaya for Medicine . Back then , it was very prestigious to be offered a place in University Malaya . The people of the town were so happy and proud of him that they held a dinner to celebrate his achievement. A journalist even wrote about him. Eh, no kidding . I also want to be in the newspaper one day ok !

When dad graduated , he came back to Gadek and provided free consultations for the residents in Gadek. That’s why everybody in Gadek likes him very much. Sometimes , despite being tied up at work , he would make it a point to come back to Gadek to treat the people in Gadek .

I was really amazed , awestruck by this tale that I never knew of Dad. I’m …like … inflated now because … wow … That’s my dad !!! He is truly a role model in my life . There is so much that I can learn from him and my mum . I can’t thank God enough for both of them . And I hope that , one day , I’ll be as great as them .

If possible , even better than great . =)

Dad and his trusty fly-swatter! XD

Cheers !

Exams Grrr…

Today , I want to talk to you about exams .

Particularly , the exams  i just had for the past 2 weeks . It , finally , ended today on Valentine’s Day .

It’s been an exhausting few weeks for us Semester 7 medical students . We had our clinical exam yesterday and today . Yesterday , we had OSCE ( long case) and today we had OSCE (short case) . Both test us on our clinical skills in a stressed up situation . For instance , in OSCE ( short case ) , there are a total of 8 rooms , each with a clinical scenario. Students are required to move from room to room answering what is required from that clinical scenario . The challenge is that students are only allowed 5 minutes each station . In other words , in that short 5 minutes , students are required to think of their approach to the clinical scenario and perform whatever is asked of them ( e.g perform an examination of the cardiovascular system or taking a history ) .

If you asked me , it was fun. Seriously . All the patients were real patients . They had signs that we were suppose to pick up. So in that hour ,we saw so many different cases .

Interesting , it was . But , it was a pain to prepare for the exam . Medical exams are so general . There are so many things we can be tested on .

We would really need to learn to think like our lecturers to ease our preparation.

Despite reading , preparing , memorizing so much during the few days before exams , I realize , during exams it is not the knowledge loading the few days before exams that helped me but it was prior knowledge . It just points out to me the importance of our daily learning in the wards (not during exam periods) .  There were many times when my patients face pop-ed into my head as i recalled the symptoms they presented with and the management plan the doctors implemented.

Overall , I can’t really assess myself on how i fair this exam . Results are released this coming Friday .  The results are annouced in a very stressful manner . All students are gathered in the hall . They would announce the borderline pass students . These students are reassessed on that day itself where they decide to pass or not to pass the student . And the rest of the students in the hall were either a distinction student , clear pass student or … a student who failed . *GULP*

I’m hoping for the best . Don’t want to be reassessed or retake the whole semester 6 and 7 .

Hmmm…I love Medicine and all . But , i really hate preparing for exams. Grrr… None the less , *sigh* we’ll need to go through many more exams in future , better to just get use to it then .

This is one really boring post … Pfftt . Exams suck the fun out of life .

Shall make life more interesting these few days .

Last but not least , Happy valentine’s day !

Resolution 3

My reasoning skills,the way I understand and process information.

All these need change.

Rapid enough?

Exam! Major exam ! Starting this Wednesday is the theory paper Short Answer Questions and OSPE. and the next week , Monday and Tuesday , we’ll have our very first OSCE (clinical skills) exam in seremban clinical school.

*palpitations! *

*shortness of breath!*

*fit !

This years Chinese New Year was ruined by this professional examination.

These are the books I used during each posting.

 

And these are the ones used for my revision.

 

So colorful right ?

 

I like em for their brevity. It’s straight to the point and in point-form. It helps if you need a quick revision.It has the important points in there.However , it does not have any images or many tables or a differential diagnosis section though. Its mainly on the different diseases. An Approach and Differential Diagnosis section in their next edition would definitely be good. Then it would be quite complete. I think it’s better than OHCM because they provide the indications of the investigations.

 

That’s just what I think of the book. Hopefully , it’ll aid me in sailing through the exams. Clear pass.. Clear pass .. Clear pass is all I need. Before ending, just want to share this bible verse

psalm 37:8 Do not fret, it only causes harm. Trust in the lord and do good. Feed on his faithfulness. Commit your way to the lord. Rest in the Lord. God is in control.

My mum sent it to me via SMS  =) It never fails to reduce my anxiety.  =D

Mr.R’s Liver and Spleen

This, a post of appreciation to Mr.R.

Many many thanks to Mr.R who so willingly let my friends and I feel his enlarged liver and enlarged spleen.

Thank you also for teaching us a few techniques that other students / doctors used when examining you.

I hope you enjoyed the drinks and biscuits we got you =)

And I apologize for causing so much inconvenience and for disturbing you while you watched TV .

I hope your business with your partner goes well . May your business prosper =)

I am forever thankful to you for teaching me.