Saturday, April 21, 2012

Latest update from Kelantan

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful




A speech from YB Hj Husam Musa. You have got to view the video in order to understand the problems and its solutions

till next time,
assalamualaikum

Friday, April 20, 2012

Counting Hours

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

It is 6.48pm now, and I still have 11 hours more to go before I can start packing up to go home. Ward is full, and in the next 11 hours anything can happen.

As it has made headlines in the past few days, our work is very taxing. Malaysians are more educated, and the demand is more as a consequent. Gone are the days when we tell them what to do and they just have to obey it.

Nowadays, lips service is getting equally important as the practical physical service. They demand explanations for this and that. The moment you are seeing the 30h patient you aren't yourself anymore. Unbelievable as it seems, this is only 2012. Imagine how is it going to look like in 2020?

Azri Fickry - 199x

Life is a growing young boy was fun. Now my job is to ensure your kids grow up and achieve his or her maximum potential.

My pay slip

Do not give me a call instantly after you have seen this. For the record, I don't earn what you can see in the cheque.

Now time for dinner. I have a few patients to review tonight. Adios...

till next time,
assalamualaikum

Bold

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

Just received 1 good news from wifey in Melaka. I was talking about getting a new BB phone and have even planned to take a few locum slots to fund the cost. Today when I was texting her, I knew something wasn't right. I don't know what it was, but she took longer than usual to reply.

So then I reached home at 7.30pm. I was again exchanging texts with her, and she had something to say. So, long story short, here it is.


May Allah bless you always wifey. You have been nothing but sweet. A gift that one couldn't ask for a better one.

Hopefully, in this rarely free weekend, I get to spend a meaningful time with her. I will be on call tomorrow, and right after rounds on Saturday morning, the destination set will be none other than Melaka.

Fingers crossed, hopefully her brother will be successful in finding a replacement of his locum. Otherwise she will be the obvious target to take the chair.

I've known this song for many years, but only a couple of days ago I finally got to know who the singer was. Enjoy this song wifey, and to you the readers. Sorry the video's a bit old school.



till next time,
assalamualaikum

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Thugs

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

I read with absolute disgust when I saw the news on twitter this morning. A group of gangsters allegedly assaulted the students in Dataran Merdeka.

You may not agree with their stance on the issue. However, you cannot resort to physical beatings when is not in agreement with you. You win an argument with facts, and this is 21st century. I suppose with intelligence, we can build the tallest tower in the world, but the primitive part of human being will still remain.You still want to win, by all means and at all costs so that you can stand tall.

If this group were ever to get caught, I would really feel sorry for them. The one who paid for these thugs would still be laughing, and you'd spend your time in the jail regretting the incident.

There is a tweet this morning 'We will only pay our PTPTN when Tajuddin Ramli pays his'. It does raise a point.

So, which side do you support?

till next time,
assalamualaikum

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

PTPTN

Assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

Many have heard of the PTPTN issue. Many have commented. Some agree and some don't. The only objective way to find out is to conduct a survey.

In my opinion, free education should be offered, to the current generation. The loanees must payback whatever was given them. A restructuring of the debt is okay, but to write them off is a bit too drastic.

Maybe for the loanees, some restructuring for a payment according to grades should be initiated. For top scorers, make them pay less. For those who spend the money on new phones and entertainment, well, this is not your money people.

I'm pretty sure you have your own opinion too. Feel free to share them.

Us
till next time,
assalamualaikum

Monday, April 16, 2012

A Doc's Life

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

Tomorrow is my on call day, and every single doctor in Malaysia in the public sector feels it, the pre-call syndromme. The mood seems to hit the lowest the night before, and it matters not that you have worked for 10 or 20 years. Now that I am no longer in comfort zone, having 8-9 calls per month can be quite taxing.

Pre call, then post call comes afterwards. How do I feel then?

It has, honestly, not once but more that I need to constantly chew and drink to keep myself awake. In the recent years, the workload has tripled, if not doubled. Really, before I started this job, the registration recorded for 2008 was roughly 35k in Kulim Hospital. Came 2009, it shot up to 90k.

For a smaller hospital with less facilities, Banting too recorded 90k patients last year alone. The effects of rising cost of living are prominent. The workload has increased proportionately, and the admin people seem unable to understand the requests from the grassroot for more staff.

You can't help but to feel sorry for the late Dr Lee, the House Officer who passed away a few days ago. I don't believe he had 5 consecutive calls, back to back, as 1 of the reasons cited. In this new system, it is not possible. Whereas, I've already had my shares. In June 2010, I had 17 on calls including 5 calls back to back.

In Malaysia, the tradition is the juniors are not allowed to complain. The seniors will always be ' we went through worse'. This attitude helps a lot, doesn't it? Foolish. You went through worse, so don't even spend thousands for your kids, and please make them go through whatever you had before. Don't worry if your kids suffer, they will become a better person in the future. More resilient, tough and clever, 100% guaranteed.

This issue has to be dealt objectively. If previously you had 3 HOs in 1 department, if 1 created problem, the effect wouldn't be too damaging. Nowadays, if you have 3 problematic ones in a group of 10, the impact is more felt, though the ratio remains the same. With the increasing number of patients, you will want everybody to be functioning.

Nevertheless, the declining quality needs to be acknowledged. I reckon this issue needs more attention in comparison to others. How do you ensure the supervision is maximum when there are 10 junior doctors that he or she needs to look after?

The emphasis now has to shift into producing more specialist doctors, and retain them. Sponsor their MRCPs etc. Pay them with what they deserve.

I had the opportunity to pursue my 1st degree overseas. I can compare these 2 systems. It is unfair to judge, but I can confidently say we can do much better to improve the system. I witnessed this twice, that Junior Doctors went on strike for 2 days, i.e. never came for work for 2 days, after their demand for a pay rise was turned down.

In Malaysia, you would be deemed as weak and bad doctor if you did this. Can you see now the difference in the mentality?

till next time,
assalamualaikum

Friday, April 13, 2012

The Success

Assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

Life is good at the moment. I am attending a Perinatal Annual Congress course in 1 World Hotel, meaning I can save some money from travelling till Sunday.

I met some friends whom I used to work with in Kulim. It feels good, rejuvinated somehow. I can now recall what comfort zone means. I was a Medical Officer for merely 10 months. Nevertheless, I know the place inside out. Now that I have moved on, I have to aim for the stars.

I can see the people around me with different level of success. We the human beings never feel satisfied, do we? Always the thirst is there for one to reach another milestone in life. I envy the people who finally get their chance to pursue Masters, or earning 5 digit salary monthly.

Allah is fair. One day Insyaallah my wishlist will come true. As for now, keep working hard and patience are the keys to success.

till next time,
assalamualaikum

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The Journey

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

My wife is with me at Banting now. We'll be staying here for the night. Tomorrow is a public holiday but the job demands my presence in the ward in the next 36 hours, minimum.

I need to thank her for making the sacrifices to come here often. She was on night shift last night, and had a decent 4 hour sleep before starting her engine to reach here. I can't ask for more. In the past 4-5 weeks, she has made most of the travels, while I am stuck in this cowboy town. Everyday is a routine, and the thing that excites me is the countdown to see each other every week.

My boss has been pushing me to sit for the exams to become a medical specialist. No denying that it is an ultimate dream that I need to achieve eventually. The path is straightforward, but full of obstacles. One needs to be determined and focused all the time. I suppose with frequent travels, life couldn't be more difficult. I wake up at 6 am everyday, and reach home at 7 pm. With very little time to spare at night, the long working hours will take its toll long before you realise.

I have started a little. My plan is to be on full throttle when wifey finally gets her transfer, so I can dedicate more time towards achieving what is required.

Sometimes, I realise I make too many excuses. Lol, sometimes?

May Allah pave the easiest way for me to be up on par with the great ones, one day. Amin.

till next time,
assalamualaikum

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Square One

Assalamualaikum

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

It doesn't do anyone any good to be writing after a long hiatus. I suppose it will be very difficult to recapture the visitors that I once averaged 200 per day. Not a bad statistics, considering the fact that I hit the peak when I was a student.

So you ask where am I now. Hospital Banting is where I serve now. I am, thank God, still in Paediatrics. I have completed 1 full year in Paediatrics, and the ups and downs have done nothing spurred my interest into a greater height, Yeah right...

I am moving into 4th month of married life. Baby? No, no luck yet. Is luck alone enough?


My wife and I.

I would really like this blog to be up and alive again. I miss this big part of my life. Writing lights up the world. In order for you to excel, you need to read lots. However, you need somebody to write before you can read, don't you?

My wife has started blogging as well.


Hope P1 Wimax will not disappoint me in Banting. I miss their great service they provided me in Kulim previously.

If only everything could be pre-warned.

Till next time,
assalamualaikum