Goodbye 2009!

Today is the 2nd last day of 2009. It has been an eventful year for me and the past 364 days were indeed well lived for, not because I achieved a lot of goals but it is because I had lots of opportunities to learn from mistakes, although some mistakes were better not made in the 1st place. Haha... but this is life isn't it? u cant choose wat mistakes to make, u just gotta make them all in order to learn things tat make u a more mature person.

As for my new year resolution, i just hope tat i will remember the lessons that i learnt from b4 and try to learn more without having made too many mistakes. =P And i oso hope tat i can enjoy more quality time with family and friends. And last but not least, to pass my finals!

Goodbye 2009!

Merry X'mas

Merry X'mas to my family and 宝贝！

Merry X'mas to my frens!

Merry X'mas! Merry X'mas!

=)

Symptom control

Stress is like death, both are inevitable in life and we will experience both at some points of our life but of course the latter occur only once. Ideally we should try to keep a stress-free lifestyle but most of the times this is quite impossible as I have already mentioned earlier, it is inevitable in life!

So, what do ppl do when they are stressed? lots of things really. It depends wat suits u the most.

So wat will I do when i m stressed?
Taking a nap
Talking craps
Type sth here in my blog
Talk to friends

When stress is 'incurable', symptomatic reliefs are just as good. At least they make u feel better so u can encounter more stress later.

Not a bad day

Today is not a bad day.

Came back early as there wasn’t a lot going on in the clinic.
As usual, came back, felt tired, and then made myself more tired.
Suddenly I felt very sorry for Soya Mean. And I quickly picked up my hp and gave her a call. It wasn’t a direct apology, it was quite indirect. But it was a sincere 1.

Just watched a movie. And I realized what was lacking in myself.

Today, is not a bad day after all.

bla bla bla...

I really enjoy blogging sometimes (not always as you can see that I dun blog all the time), especially when I am feeling less OK and dun feel like talking to any1 about it and I will blog and will eventually get better. I guess i just need a place for me to vent everything out.

And I really love this quote from a movie:

You can focus on what is lost or you can fight for what is left.

So, I shall keep fighting for my goals.

Jokes at work

Today I had 2 jokes from a doctor whom I worked with:

Joke number 1:

Doc: What's your surname, wei?
WK: Lim.
Doc: So next time you should become an orthopaedic surgeon (bone surgeon).
WK: Why?
Doc: Because you are gonna be Dr Lim(b).
WK: =.='''


Joke number 2:

We were in a clinic and talking to a patient.

Doc: Hi xxx, this is wei, a medical student. Don't worry, he doesn't bite.......much.

(The doc's father is a vet doc. Maybe tat's y.)

WK: -.-''


I wasn't offended at all and to be honest I really hope I get more jokes like these next time. =P

Pre-elective

(Yawning...)

I am currently enjoy my 'do-nth' summer hol under Malaysia's hot weather. To most ppl it's very torturing to sweat non-stop even when you are doing nth but trust me, it is the biggest blessing to be able to sweat and slp and worry nth about assignment, exams and grades.

Soon my 'do-nth' hol will change to be a bit more challenging when I start my elective placement nxt week. However, 'everything is hard before it becomes easy', I just heard from my friend that I might need to spend few days 'doing nth' while i am waiting for undergrad office of UM to process my application (even i had sent them my form ages ago, so long that I couldnt rmb the date clearly) on the 1st day of elective. Looking on the bright side, it's still a blessing in disguise because I can extend my 'do-nth' hol.

I am kinda looking fwd to this elective placement because this wud be the 1st time for me to experience being a medical student in my 'tanah air'.

More updates should be coming up soon (hopefully =P)...

Going home today

Currently i am sitting in the departure hall of London Stansted Airport. Will be boarding in 45 mins time.

ETA: 2pm tomorrow

=)

Numerous Numbers

11 months of waiting
in a place approx 6,500 miles away from home
7 hrs across the timezone
that separates me and
my gf,
5 family members,
and many many friends.

Finally,
it's only 7 days
till the day when I can
travel 6.500 miles in 13 hrs
to go back to the place
where I belong to,
which I call it:
Home.

=)

Some updates

I couldn't really remember when was the last time I wrote an entry here but I would imagine it could be months ago. I was quite busy but I think I was just too lazy to strike the keyboards with my fingers after my yr 4 exams. =P

Anyway, some updates for those of you who are wondering what have I done for these few weeks:

1. Some shopping and yum-cha sessions with friends in Cardiff
2. Went for 2 short breaks with my gf (will upload some pics if possible).
3. I am currently doing my 5th year placement in a town called Abergavenny. Gonna stuck here for another 1 more mth b4 i can pack my luggage and fly back to Msia! A long wait it seems to be.

Things started to be different once I passed my 4th year exams. The great thing is now i am just 1 year from graduating from the course but wat this implies is that now i have to show ppl some qualities of being a 'senior med student'. Ppl are expecting more from me in terms of reaching the right diagnosis or at least give some logical differential diagnoses, and I am expected to be able to plan for patient's initial management. Well, i guess it's gonna be a tough year ahead because I am going to learn all the things i need to know to be a competent junior Dr in a year's time.

Anyway, i think now i should probably do my best in this placement and then have a good break in msia before starting my elective placement in August.

Make your hardwork worthwhile

Do you know why exams are so hard?

Because if they were easy, your degree would be worthless.

"Summer Snow"

Summer is getting closer and the weather is getting warmer. However, i am currently being 'heavily' snowed under with my revision for the upcoming OSCE's (objective structured clinical examinations, which are clinical skills examinations) and final exams! And the weather is forecasted to be quite 'snowy' from tomorrow until 22 May!

I am looking forward to the hot summer sun after this 'freezing cold summer snow'.

(Due to the 'poor weather' this blog site may not be updated frequently although the update frequency is always very low at normal days.)

My life mission??

Saw this test while reading a friend's blog and gave it a try to find out what is my 'life mission'...

You Are the Leader

You are inspiring and uplifting. You bring out the best in people, through both nurturing and challenging them. You always can see the big picture in life. You are very philosophical and deeply spiritual. You understand people, and you can look at their lives objectively. You can help others grow and heal. People feel comforted by your presence. You help them gain perspective on their lives.

What's Your Life's Mission?

Well, i think my life mission is to be a happy person and spread my joy like an epidemic!

Keep smiling~

Just read an email which was sent by a course mate regarding academic stuff. At the end of the mail she wrote 'keep smiling' before putting down her name. It is nice to see positivity in ppl during exam time. It just makes me feel more positive as well.

Anyway, Soya Mean also said sth to me yesterday which left me inspired and impressed!

"Don't let the fear for failure overwhelms you."

=)

Disk checking

Recently my 6-year-old laptop behaves like a naughty kid by freezing the screen when its cpu is slightly exerted. And i always have to re-start it and then i will have to wait for few mins to run the system disk checking. I am not a pc person so i dun really know wat is the importance of running this check but from wat i understand is that it will fix the prob of the hardisk. So i suppose it is sth good for my laptop and i always run this check without hesitation.

Speaking about laptop and its cpu, i still rmb i was once described as a cpu processor by a friend when i was just came to Cardiff, because he thought that my mind did a lot of thinking before making a decision or executing an action, which is a bit like a cpu which is processing the data while the software is being run.

So just like my laptop, i had a few disk checking sessions (self-reflection) recently:

Disk checking #1: I am very much indebted to my papa n mama.
I am now doing a clinical placement on child health placement. I do not have a particular interest in this field but i kinda enjoy this placement because it gives me a chance to know a lil bit more about child's development. I saw children from different age grps and different social backgrounds, who suffered from different diseases. However, there is 1 thing that does not vary very much despite all the above differences: the love from the parents for their children.

I can still remember when i was sick as a child, i often kena marah by my mama but then she would provide the best care in the world for me until I recovered. Both my parents did their best to teach me all the skills that i need to know to be an adult. Even if i made a mistake or hurt them, forgiveness was the only thing i had from them. Just like wat i saw in the clinics, no matter how much of havoc the children wreaked, their parents always did their best to tolerate and clean the mess. i think most of us wun realise how great our parents are until we have our own children. And being a medical student, i had the opportunity to realise this at an early stage.

Disk check #2: My temper is kinda bad nowadays.

My temper hasn't been very good these few days. Perhaps I am too tired due to my placement and revision but i think i should not allow myself to lose my temper just because i am not on my top form. And the only person who suffers from this is my gf. I feel very sorry for this as i can tell that she can no longer see her bf being a tolerant and understanding person.

So wat can i do? Try to improve my EQ lvl and try not to give myself any excuses for being hot-tempered.

From 8 to 7

Today, the time difference between UK and Msia is gonna to be 'reduced' from 8 to 7 hrs. So i will be nearer to my home country, literally.

However, as a result of this reduction of time gap i will 'lose' 1 hr here in the UK in order to 'make the time go 1 hr faster'. In other word, i m going to have 1 hr less today, so does every1 who lives in the UK. Surely, some ppl will be grumbling about they have no time to do this and that, which they already complain about even during the normal days.

Ppl like to make excuses for watever failure they made. That's why 'Excuse me' is one of the most common phrases we hear almost everyday, everywhere. Every1 has 24hrs per day. It is one of the few things that every1 in this world have in common, regardless who you are.

So why do some ppl stil complain about being slaves to time?

I acknowledge the fact that some of them really really have to strive very very hard to complete their tasks within limited time. But i think the others are ppl who just spend so much time to complain and in the end they dun have anymore time left to do their work. And i m 1 of them, unfortunately.

1 of my lecturers said to us that if we really wanna do sth we will do it no matter how limited time we have. This is wat ppl always say 'there's a will, there's a way'.

It doesn't matter how many seconds u have in your life. What really matters is whether you have live your life fully in those seconds.

Save the Earth!

Gurdian angel

Who would you turn to when you are having problems?
Who would you seek advice from when you are in doubts?
Who would make you feel safe when you are feeling insecure?

If this person does exist in your life, s/he must be your guardian angel.

A guardian angel will guide you through your problems, but will never give up on you.
A guardian angel will encourage you to be better but will not scold you for your mistakes.
A guardian angel will always, despite all the weak points that you have, look on the good sides of you.

Goodbye Aberystwyth

Time really flies. My 5-week placement in obs and gynae is going to end soon. I must admit that prior to this placement my interest in obs and gynae was virtualy zero. It wasnt because i hated this specialty but it was merely lack of interest in it.

However, i actually enjoyed myself very much despite the fact that i am allocated in a relatively small hospital. Even though the reception on 1st day was quite unorganised, my learning actually went quite well eventually. The hospital staffs were very friendly towards me. Due to shortage of medical staffs, i actually had quite a few chances to assist in operations which was the best thing in this placement.

Tomorrow i m going to have a clinical assessment and i really really should concentrate on my revision now but somehow deep in my heart i feel very sad because i actually feel as though i m leaving my 'family' soon. I m not sure if i still have the chance to come back to this hospital, or to meet the staffs who have taken care of me so well during this period.

I wish all the staffs there all the best with their jobs and life. And hopefully there will be a chance for me to see them once again.

More pictures from Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth

I have taken some pics of the town centre of Aberystwyth:

This is the hospital which i am currently attached in: Bronglais General Hospital

This is the back of the hospital, which i think it looks nicer than its front.

Next post: seaside of Aberystwyth

Obs & Gynae at Aberystwyth

I am now doing my obstetric and gynaecology placement at a hospital in Aberystwyth (A-ber-is-too-i-th). Aberystwyth is a coastal town which is not heavily populated. I am now living in the hospital residency which is about 0.5 miles away from the town centre. I realised that i havent been updating about my recent life so i decided to post some pictures here as i m not extremely malas to blog. =P So let my pictures paint my words la....

First, let's have a look at my room. It is not big but it is actually quite comfy!

Study desk plus an armchair

My bed

The wash basin and mirror

(to be continued...)

No time to complain

Just started obs and gynae placement in west wales. This placement is relatively tougher than the previous ones tat i had because it involves a long placement hour. Most of the time i had to be available after the usual placement hour to attend any deliveries that happened at night. Having said that, i only attended one of such birth so far. Hopefully i am goin to see more in the coming weeks.

Life is really stressful at the moment. Sometimes i really feel like taking few days off and go to an isolated island to relax for a few days. Just wanna be alone for a few days so that i can rest my mind. I did feel like giving up on a few occasions, but i didnt. I am considered quite lucky coz i can always get some supports from my family, esp my parents. My frens wont be stingy to provide their encouragement too. And of course another important source of my motivation comes from the patients.

I was going to the hospital in a morning and i saw a patient who was waiting for his transport to go back home. He spotted me and started greeting me. 'Morning, doctor,' he said.

'Morning, sir. But don't call me doctor cause i am only a medical student.' I smiled back at him.

'It's ok, Doc. Can I ask u sth?' .........

'Well, i am not very sure about that as i haven't got alot of experience. The best thing to do is to contact your GP to get more information from him or her.' I replied him embarassingly.

'It's ok, Doc. At least you stopped to help. Thank you Doc.'

I really feel that he was too kind to address me as a doc and it was really an overestimation on my status. But i must admit that it was very encouraging and it made me wanna learn more so that the next time i will be able to confidently answer questions fr the patients.

I really have no time to complain about my hectic lifestyle. After all, this is what i really want and really like to study about.

新年祝语 Chinese New Year Greetings

鼠年即将尽入尾声，牛大哥的脚步也慢慢地离我们越来越近。如往常一样，我今天还是无法回家过年。虽然很无奈，但是我觉得在国外过年的这几年让我体会到了家人、朋友的重要，也让我学习了以前无法学习的自立。话虽如此，我还是很想家的！因为 “花到新春分外香，每逢佳节倍思亲。” =P

希望在马来西亚的家人、朋友能够有个幸福、快乐及平安的金牛年。
希望爸爸妈妈身体健康、快快乐乐。
希望伟建、伟胜学业进步，CGPA步步高升！
希望小妹SPM金榜题名！
还有还有，希望宝贝嘉敏（我的VIP）可以天天开心！

在此我要祝正在工作的朋友：工作顺利！
祝正在恋爱的朋友：爱情甜蜜！
祝将要结婚和已经结婚的朋友：婚姻美满、早生贵子/女！
祝各位尚在求学的朋友：考试顺利！

愿大家：牛年行大运！ Moooo~~~~~~~

The Year of Mickey Mouse is going to be succeeded by the Year of Ox (not XO..so don't drink too much ok?=P) in less than 24 hrs time. As usual, I am unable to celebrate this annual festival with my family and friends in Malaysia. I have however learnt the importance of family through this experience. So, at least I am gaining something for losing another thing. =P

Anyway, i would like to take this opportunity to wish all my friends a very happy Chinese New Year!

For those who are working, i hope you will earn more $$ and be promoted!
For ppl who are still studying like me, hope we will do well in studies n more importantly, score well in our exams!!!!
For my friends who are married or going to get married, i hope you will find your true happiness in your marriage!
For mates who are in a relationship, hope your relationship will go well!


Good luck to everybody and hope we all have a great year ahead! Mooo~~~~

新年到，Parcels到！

The Chinese New Year is coming soon. This is going to be the Year of Ox and it will be the 4th cny that i spend in the UK.

For the past 3 yrs i had the luxury to celebrate cny with my fellow friends in Cardiff. However, this year i m going to spend it alone in North Wales as I am currently still doing clinical placements here.

Luckily, my thoughtful Soya Mean decided to cheer me up a bit by doing sth for me.


She sent some parcels to the hosp which i am currently 'working' in now. 2 of them were labelled as 'fragile'. So I open the top right 1 1st...




Tada~~ There were 1 bday card and 1 cny card in the envelop ( i guess u shud be able to tell which is which). Also, there's a handphone charm which is my bday present. =)
And then i went on opening the fragile parcels...




cny biscuits!!! Haven been eating them for ages.. I don;t really know the names for those biscuits but i know there are some pineapple tarts in one of the boxes. Haha...
And i opened the last envelop ...



which contained my fav cny snack - BAK KWA! There were 6 of them! Yum yum~~~



Thanks, Soya Mean! =)

As the time passes silently...

It's almost 8pm now and I am still sitting alone in the library. If you know me well u shud know that i m not a person who will come to lib to study. The only time tat i will come to lib is when:

1. i need to borrow a book
2. i need to return a book (or when i need to pay the fine for late returning)
3. use the pc (which is 100% slower than my super old laptop)

So now i m here for the 3rd reason. Coz my room's internet connection is down. I clearly dun manage my time v well coz instead of reading for my exams, i choose to blog now. It is not that i dun 1 2 study but my brain is just too weak for that.

Suddenly i think of those days in Form 5 when i needed to squeeze out as much time as possible to do my revision while i was having intensive training with my dearest teammates.

And now.. i think i m goin to do the same thing again, even though it's for a different person.

Jia you ba, wei kang!

A special b'day

This is the 1st time I am alone on my bday. But this is not the main point for this post. Even though i had a quiet bday here but I am still very happy because of the following reasons:

1. Got a present and a bday card (which is currently still under the custody of UK's Royal Mail) fr SoyaMean

2. Received bday msgs/calls frm home!

3. Got a couple of calls/sms'es fr frens

4. And I got plenty of msgs on my Facebook's wall... haha I actually din expect this because i RARELY log on to Facebook 1 (ya i must admit tat i m a bit outdated, for now)

I hope every1 will b happy every day! =)

A little joke

This is a little joke for my mates who 'happened' to b medics, hope it will make you less insane while reading tonnes and tonnes of note...


One day, a physician and a surgeon was arguing who is better.

The surgeon says, “We just don’t talk about it, we do something about it.”

The physician says, “If we do not talk about it, you surgeons would have no idea what to do about it.”

Then the Houseman says, “Shut up….if not because of me, you specialist would not have time to pee…”

A Bloody Week for me

It's going to be a bloody week for me. Not because sth unpleasant is going to happen but I am going to do a clinical placement in the haematology (the study of blood disorders) department. So literally this week is going to be bloody.

So,perhaps I should have a shot of Bloody Mary at the end of this week.

My temporary nest

Happy New Year, folks! My 2-week X'mas break is coming to an end which means my term is going to continue tomorrow. After the enjoyments in the past 14 days, it's time for me to gear myself up for the upcoming challenge!

However, i've decided to upload some of the pictures of my room which is provided by the hospital for my clinical placement in Rhyl.


The immediate view of my room after the room door is opened.



The study table with 2 chairs. Behind the mirrors, there is a storage compartment for clothes and bags.



My bed. 2 pillows are provided but i only slp with 1 ie not orthopnoeic. =P


A closer view on my study area. A phone is provided which can be used to make internal calls within the hospital.


Some shirts in the storage compartment.


Toilet and shower.


Toilet view number 2