Let's pick up from where I left off. Read the Part 1 here.
The horrible morrible Medical posting.
Second Posting: Medical
Well, this was hellish and exhausting.I lost 5kg within the first 2 months, effortlessly. I was the skinniest, slimmest and already someone's wife.
My tagging period in Medical was hell.
I hated some of the seniors in my department at that time, especially the leader. Leaders arrange our timetables. And she, shamelessly gave two days of holiday per week to herself and her friends because they "have to do 24-hour shift" while we taggers get no off day.
In the general medical ward, there were 34 beds and they are almost always full. She put 3 taggers in each ward with only one non-tagger (who was also the most junior one). Of course, things get very messy. Where were all the other non-taggers? In the dengue ward, obviously, the less busy ward compared to gen medical, and in ED - it is busy too there, I know but they get 2 days off per week? Such a heartless woman the leader was. I don't care if she reads this post. She already knows I don't like her.
Even though I was second posting at that time and some of the other taggers were 4th posting, it was still hell-ish.
It was like the blind leading the blind.
I had to be in the ward before 6am, and can only leave the hospital most of the time after 11pm.
I drove in auto-pilot mode. I only realised that I reached my destination, completely forgotten how I arrive there. If Akmal was driving, I'd be sleeping in the car; even though our house was only 10minutes away.
To off tag, we have to present a case during morning passover and we also have to pass a viva by Dr. Kang (the Specialist in charge of house officers). I passed the viva, but I couldn't present during morning passover because the passover was only once a week.
To present, we need to clerk (in layman term: interview) the patient, manage and then discuss our management. That is what it mean to "present a case".
I prepared hard for this one case to present during passover; a pulmonary TB case. A very very difficult one. But I was so determined to present it even though I know I will be questioned like crazy and I wouldn't have the answer to most of the questions.
But I was so desperate to off tag. I went home past 12midnight that day.
And on the next morning that I planned to present, the morning passover got cancelled 😠ðŸ˜
I cried a bucket. I started crying non stop in front of Nisa in the room because she asked me, "Kau OK ke?"
I missed the morning rounds because I was crying in the room.
Because that means I will have to hold for another week and prepare one more case to present to off tag.
But Allah heard me.
HE helped me BIG time. On the day that the passover got canceled, I received another case.
A considerably simpler one. A HIV positive patient with chronic diarrhoea.
And I went through the case with a specialist already.
And the next morning, Dr Kang decided to hold yesterday's canceled morning passover. Hence I got the opportunity to present this HIV with chronic diarrhoea patient!
And to make it more blissful, Dr Kang was the only specialist present during that morning passover (or rather during my presentation time). The other specialists came in late while the scariest ones (Dr M and Dr M; the two iron consultant ladies in Medical) were absent.
Hence I was questioned only by Dr Kang. And as sarcastic as he is, he is also very kind hearted and practical. He didn't bury me in the dung. And with that, I managed to off tag. Finished my 2 weeks tagging period.
Yes, two weeks only. But it felt like forever.
The rest of the 4 months were not without its own sufferings.
During 4 months of Orthopaedics posting, I inserted not even 10 branulas on my own.
In Medical, I had to insert 10 branulas per day.
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| Makan-makan at the end of the posting. |
I could not fathom how Akmal went through Medical as a first poster.
He was in it, all on his own - we weren't married at that time.
He didn't have anyone to care for his food. Well sometimes I took his shirts to laundry and iron them for him.
But that's about it. But also perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. He didn't have a wife he had to take care of during his first posting. I was a fiance but I go back to my parents', my food were taken care of by my parents and he didn't have to worry about me.
He gave his undivided attention to his work.
In Medical posting too that I made some good friends; as "we were in this together". Lembab sama-sama, kena marah sama-sama, balik lambat sama-sama and stuff.
But in Medical too that I met nasty people. People who while working long shift (the most important person of the day), can still sleep in the room in the afternoon. At first I thought she was being super-efficient. But it turns out she was neglecting her job!
Also met selfish shameless leader. Also met "I deserve your utmost respect, and you should treat me like the biggest boss" kind of boss.
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| Staff nurse ni nama dia Alex. Was in 7C night shift that time. Scared me off 😱😱 |
What was good about Medical posting then?
One thing for sure....my learning curve went up exponentially. And my confidence too.
I had to face so many things in Medical that once I graduated from that department, I felt so much better and matured, and experienced.
Come what may, I can face them. If I survived Medical, I can survive anything.
Which brought me to my third posting: the ever emotional department Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
-Because life is a test-
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| This was our Medical farewell makan-makan. Held AFTER I left the department though because we didn't have time to organise it WHILE we were in the department! |
-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com
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