Life as a Junior Doctor

Every junior doctor (houseman) in Malaysia were required to undergo a 5-days course known as Program Transformasi Minda (PTM) carried out at a hotel before officially reporting to your respective hospitals. Mostly every hospital in a certain state will conduct the course together except certain bigger hospitals which conduct it individually due to their huge intake of junior doctors.

What is this Program Transformasi Minda (PTM)?
Well, a direct English translation of it is Mind Transformation Programme. Sounds rather interesting, right?

So, I went through this course for the pass week. I was quite reluctant to go for it at first because it felt like boring school camp all over again. The course started on 22nd April and we were required to reach the venue at 2pm. We handed in all the required documents and checked into the hotel. We were required to get 2 other roommates to share a room. I heard certain states had actually allocated roommates for you but for Johor, you can find your own roommates if you want.

I felt like my post will bore you guys out if I go on in detail regarding the content of the course. So here is a summary, you will listen to loads and loads of talk about Malaysian healthcare from clinical to management, get put into groups (not by choice) to do some group works and lastly, eat 6 meals a day. And this is all done from 6am to 12am everyday.

Time did started passing faster from the 2nd day onwards and without realising it, it was the last day. I was glad to be put into a group with 14 other brilliant doctors from different backgrounds and universities. I enjoyed my time there with all the fun and laughter we shared. I did not think that I would be able to find such good friends at such a short span of time. But we somehow bonded over due to similar thought wavelengths i guess.

Here is a photo of the awesome G6 *poppin' bottles in the ice, like a blizzard*:


Overall, the course itself was not too bad so for those that will be going for it in the future, go with an open mind. You might able to encounter something unexpected.

For now, I am still going through orientation for the week at my chosen hospital and will start tagging from this coming Sunday onwards.

Bonus: Photo of all the NUMedians who decides to stay in this state down under~

Back in early of March, rumours were spreading that there would be an opening for a new batch of doctors to be absorbed by the government hospitals. At that point, I was not feeling very hopeful as several rumours had come and gone all these while; they led to nothing but initial nervousness which ended with disappointment time and time again.

This time though, it was a slight surprise for me (all of us). We received e-mails from the health ministry telling us that we would need to choose our hospitals when the portal opens in early April. Hence, the waiting game started. Practically everyone was eagerly reading the manuals on how to navigate through the portal and some had gone quite far by repeatedly reading them until they could memorise every single step by heart (little bit extra I know, but these were some of the stuff that we c ould control).

On the day the portal was opened, everyone was so focus and got ready at least an hour before or so. The only way we could make sure to not mess things up was to get access to a really stable internet connection with the lowest ping and decent laptops or desktops that would not lag during the selection processes after logging into the portal.

Just when the clock struck 12, the portal opened -- we logged into our accounts and tried to get to the hospital selection page as fast as we could. After all, it would determine the location that we would spend our lives for the next two years as we complete our internships.

When we were done with our own respective choices (be it whether we got into the hospitals that we wanted or not), the work did not end there as we had to deal with a mountain of paperwork. These documents were required to be submitted to the government when we report for duty on the date mentioned in the agreement.

Things were in a rush as we only had three weeks to sort out everything, from getting an accommodation to preparing transport for work purposes. Worse of all, we have to rummage through our nearly empty brains in hope of finding all the medical knowledge that we have gathered throughout the medical school years, which was nine months to a year away from us since graduation!

All in all, yes, I do not feel ready to start working in hospitals, transitioning from being a medical student to an actual doctor treating patients (hopefully I am not the only one!). I hope that as time passes by, I will get better in figuring out the things that I need to do. With that, I hope everything will eventually turn out good for all of us who are going to join the workforce soon. Cheers.

What is success?

Sorry for this week's post delay.
It was due to post-eHousemen-stress-disorder.

I think most of you are thinking whether is this post about how to not be like Jack from Titanic?

Nah, I meant the Jack from "All work no play makes Jack a dull boy."

Studying medicine is said to be very hectic and one would not be able to indulge in your hobbies anymore. But today, I'm here to tell you that it is not true! Up to now, I have about 5-6 hobbies so how do I still enjoy them but still manage to keep up with my studies. The answer is time and mental management.

Here are a few tips on how to manage your time wisely and your brain nicely:

1) Always try to revise what you have studied on the day itself

Never wait until a month or a week before exams. This may seem easier said than done but it's not impossible. You might have been tired after a full day of class and the thought of revising is probably the last thing you want to do. Give yourself some time to freshen up by resting or even doing one of your hobbies. Just make sure to revise at least an hour before bed (reading key points will do as well if you're too tired). Reading a little is at least better than nothing at all. This might actually help you better to catch up on subsequent lessons. If you have more than enough time or studying is your calling, read up on the next lesson as well. A better understanding of the topic can help you to remember better.

2) Do not force yourself to sit and study for a few hours straight

As a person who have low attention span, forcing myself to study a few hours straight is very excruciating. Every hour or after finishing a chapter, stand up and walk around. Relax your eyes and brain. What I tend to always do is after a chapter, I will watch an episode of anime or a quarter episode of korean drama or even 2-3 Youtube videos. But with this method, you will need strict discipline. And this leads to the next point.

3) Stay discipline

Do not ever let yourself stray away from your restrictions. Stick to the rest time you have set. Do not let 2 Youtube videos turn into 20 Youtube videos. How do I actually do that? I might be very tempted to click the next Youtube video or let myself surpass that 15 min point for a korean drama BUT I will remind myself that after finishing another chapter, I would be able to continue watching them. It might be quite a tough process but once you are used to it, it is actually not so bad.

4) Prepare your mind before starting

So what do I mean by managing my brain nicely? I personally believe that as long as you put your mind into doing something, you'll be able to do it. Therefore, before starting anything (doesn't matter studies, competitions,exams), prep your mind. Talk to yourself (this might sound utterly strange but I mean it). Brief yourself about your schedule for the day or even firmly tell yourself off when you are distracted. However, please do these in private or else others might think that you've gone bonkers.

5) Get enough rest

Rest is still the most important afterall. Even a machine that is not turn off properly will spoil faster than a machine that is properly turned off after each use. Our brain works that way too. Therefore, limit yourself from burning the midnight oil to around once or twice a week (this does not apply for exam season). Every individual has their own sleep requirement. Hence, try to adjust your daily schedule accordingly. Try to fit in an exercise routine as well, as the saying goes "A healthier body leads to a brighter mind."

I hope these tips are helpful to you as it have been to me.

P.S. The second part of the proverb is "All play no work makes Jack a mere toy." Thus, don't only focus on playing, study as well. Leaving everything to the last minute will bring more disaster than good.

All the best!