The First Month of Life

Assalammualaikum.
It has been a month now, since I started working in this govt hospital.

I reported duty on the 8th of Dec at Ibis Hotel (which was right in front of my housing area! Grrr..) and went through a one-week induction course. The course is called "Program Transformasi Minda". All government servants are required to go through this course before "sah lantik" - that means you've passed the probation terms.
The name was recently changed to Prog Transformasi Minda. I think previously it was just Kursus Induksi or something.

I received the hospital allocation one month before the course, to give people enough time to look for accommodation etc - I am very fortunate that the hospital I am placed at is very near my parent's house so I don't have to look for one.

On Dec 15th, I reported duty at the hospital itself and we had a further one week orientation course. Since the hospital is an IT hospital, we had the last two whole days dedicated to learn the IT system. So future Malaysian doctors, the structure was like this:
8am till 5pm is orientation course.
5pm till 10pm is TAGGING period. For the first week.
On the second week, it is 7am till 10pm tagging.

During the induction course in Ibis Hotel, they were saying that KKM is gonna change the structure. The first week will be fully for orientation, that means the new doctors go home at 5pm.
Tagging only starts on the second week - which I personally find better.

Unlike what I previously thought, tagging does not mean you are attached to an MO.
It just means you are a tagger in the department. The HO leader of the dept will assign you to a ward, and you just work in the ward.
For first posters (that means people like me, newly fresh graduated doctor), we do not hold any beds for the first few days.
Holding beds means we are fully in charge of the specific beds in the ward.
Any blood test needed, scans or other imaging, referrals etc are done by us.

Tagging also mean you are not yet in the shift system - you just work from 7am to 10pm.
Doing things you are capable of or, incapable of - but need to quickly learn.
You will have a tagging sheet, which is specially designed by the department - that you need to fill throughout tagging period. The sheet consist of skills you need to perform and perhaps master, within two weeks.

During the orientation, we will be divided into the 5 departments; Medical, Orthopaedics, Obs Gynae, Paediatrics or Surgery. There are in total 6 departments a HO must go into, but the last one; Emergency Dept or Anaesthesia is reserved only for 5th or 6th posting.
That's wise.
I can't imagine doing ED for my first, or even second posting.

OK, so I was allocated Orthopaedics.
My first thought was: OH NOOOO~ ANATOMYYYY.

But after a month, I am glad I was put into Orthopaedics first.
God always know the best for us.

Orthopaedics is by far, perhaps the most relaxed posting in this hospital.
By relaxed, I don't mean we have nothing to do, or we get to go back at 10pm sharp everyday.
Relaxed in a HO world means - sometimes you have time to eat and on some oncall nights, you get 2-3hrs of sleep.

So to start off my career with Orthopaedics posting gave me time and space to learn the system and the survival skills.
And because it is not too stressful, the seniors are quite kind to us and are willing to teach us few things.

Recently there were two sixth posters who have just completed ED posting, started in Orthopaedics.
They are of course, very skilful.
And because they find Orthopaedics relaxing, compared to ED that they have just finished in - they are very nice and very willing to help me and friends (the blurr blur first posters)
Had this posting be Medical, they might be too busy to teach me little things like which bottle for which blood test.

Hmm ok la, tu je la kot for now.
I passed my tagging assessment two weeks ago, and since then for the past two weeks I have been in the shift system - I had three on call nights already.
My learning curve for the past one week went up exponentially - and I actually am enjoying this job.
I just hope my friends in other departments feel the same.

Bye~


-Because life is a test-

-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com