Musim org bertunang berkahwin

I call this gossip paling best tahun nih, paling best for me, bg org lain yg x knal this person x laa...dh sebulan kot nk bergossip pasal this bestfriend of mine (BFoM for short..haha) who's getting married but she won't let me until she's engaged and now that she did, I'm free to write so long as no one can guess who she is...
anyway, korang penah dgr x yg kalo tunang2 nih x patot heboh2? that's what people used to tell me tp kalo tgk kat msia nowadays org tunang pon mcm dh kawen...ade yg lg pelik boleh exchange rings laki ppuan...
tp for me I don't quite get why shouldn't we announce engagement since yg I tau, if a woman is engaged, another man is not permitted to propose to her...kalo org x tau she's engaged, then possible laa kan utk org lain utk masuk meminang..

so today I did some googling utk carik Islamic rulings on this...

here is what i got:

- the part in a hadeeth that says 'conceal the engagement' is a weak one and the reason for not announcing engagement is to avoid destructive envy to the couple or families

- it is not prohibited to propose to a woman who had been proposed by another man in the following circumstances:

• the girl has rejected the 1st proposal
• the girl has not accept or reject the 1st proposal
• the 1st guy has given his permission/decided not to go ahead with the wedding
• the 2nd guy doesn't know about the first proposal
• the 1st guy is immoral whereas the 2nd guy is chaste provided that the girl is chaste as well

- another interesting point, Imam Shafiee said that in case of a virgin, a silence indicates acceptance of a suitor...<---and that's exactly what my friend did...silence..with a smile..

anyway, I'm so happy for this BFoM for finally found a match..from the background search I did he seems to be a good one indeed..and he's so lucky to have her, one of nicest person I've ever met...I am so excited for wedding which will be in June...unfortunately not on a weekend, so I have to skip a few days of hospitals to be there on her wedding..can't afford to miss this one, she's my first bestfriend to get married!!well actually not, there's another BFoM who's getting married the week before hers but my cousin is also getting married on that day & this BFoM lives in the northern part of Malaysia which makes it not possible for me to go..but my prayers will always be with you dear!

these 2 BFsoM are marrying someone whom they haven't known for long, so it will be pretty much love after marriage...I'm sure some people might disagree with this but I have always liked the idea of love after marriage...I'm all for this friends!!

I'd like to talk more about these 2 BFsoM but I don't think it's possible without revealing who they are...so I should stop now...:)

On a more positive note...

I was busy when I was doing my elective that I didn't have the chance to write about the good times I had in plastic surgery...well I was busy with those endless presentations & worrying...yeah, I think I spent more time worrying that the surgeon will ask questions that I have no answer for than actually studying..but anyway, at least I can understand plastic surgery...u have a cleft, u close them, u have skin lesions, u remove them, u have a hypospadia (an abnormally placed urinary opening), u make a new tract with a new opening..it requires creativity but it does make a lot more sense than blood tests or drugs or organ failure (yes, I'm that dumb!..I can't comprehend heart failure, renal failure, liver failure etc)..

Ok enough complaining about my stupidity...I'll talk about my elective - about my plastic surgery placement..there's not much interesting thing happening in my orthopaedics placement..although it still was OK..at least it makes more sense than medicine...

I had a very anal surgeon when I did my plastic surgery placement...but who cares as long as she's passionate with teaching...she made me learn plastic surgery by asking me to do presentations...although I find them rather overwhelming at times, but I did learn something even if it's not examinable in MBBS exams...she let me scrub in all surgeries, made me stand next to her and quizzes me in theatre and would accept it if I don't know the answer, so long as I look it up later...She accepted it when I made mistake while assisting her in theatre with a remark, "medical students xpe, masters student x boleh"...

If I hadn't had the chance to get to know her I would be in the same boat with everyone else who thinks that she's just one of those snobbish surgeons who wants to be served like a king...but from my 3 weeks with her, I could tell that she really cares about her patients, she thinks of them as a person, not just as a cleft lip/palate, a hypospadia, a haemangioma, a pressure ulcer...

Most importantly, she wants me to be a good doctor...she made me a list of lessons in plastic surgery:
1) Courtesy i.e notify people of your absences, make proper investigations before referring your patient to someone else
2) Always do full examination
3) Study about the anatomy of the structure involved in the surgery beforehand
4) Study about the surgery you're gonna be assisting so that you would be able to anticipate what the surgeon's next step

Aiyyaaa...there were 7 on the list....I have forgotten 3 of them..dang!should have written that up!
On a scarier note, this surgeon warned me that if I don't turn out being a good doctor, she'll haunt me from her grave...

Why I like plastic surgery:
1. It makes sense
2. In most public hospital cases, it's not purely cosmetic, but it adds aesthetic value while correcting something that's defective or dysfunctional
3. It rarely involves saving life but it makes a huge difference to someone's life, hence their quality of life
4. A significant proportion of the patients are children (in a public hospital)
5. It is artistry

Some of the people who've made my elective a great one. Picture taken on my last day at HSNZKT.

I just don't know

I'm back in Melbourne..currently doing Gen Med/Aged Care placement..which is rather boring...well I guess it's not if you know your stuff but for someone like me...I would pass as a 3rd yr, but definitely not a final...I hate answering I don't know...not having the skills to filter the information...what's important, what's not, what needs to be documented...& not having these skills makes me look really bad...I have to ask the interns/reg..what's the plan again??n she would say, "what did i say just now?you're gonna be an intern next year, you should be able to do this..."
n gen med patients always have multiple comorbidities...I find it difficult to put everything together & not to mix up everything..
n I'm bad with phone calls, referral bla bla bla....or coordinating with the nurse about the patient's care...

I try to comfort myself by saying that I don't have the mind of a physician n I'm bad with pharmacology..that's why I'm struggling..I'll do better in surgery...but the truth is I don't know..it doesn't mean that I like anatomy, I should be good in surgery..(not that I'm that good in anat either)..
So what if when I'm on my surgical placement n still struggling? Whereelse can I go?What other excuses can I make?

Oh by the way, the only good thing being a fifth year is that the reg is keen on teaching the 3rd yrs..so she likes to throw questions to them, thinking that a fifth yr like me should know about it...so I'm off the hook..

The only thing I'm good at is counting days or weeks...2 weeks down in Aged Care-Gen Med, 4 weeks left = 2/3 left... which will be 1/2 in a week's time, n 1/3 in 2 weeks' time....
We have 5 modules in Aged Care...1 is done...4 left!

Then I'll be going to ED, heard that ED is pretty fun...that's something to look forward to, I need hope 'cause that's what keeps me going...please Allah, give me the courage..

1st Excision

I had my first excision on a patient's body today..it was tangential excision on left thigh of a patient who sustained 27% of total body surface area mixed full & deep partial thickness burns..

I'm beginning to love this hardcore 3 weeks of elective in plastic surgery...even though it's gonna be the busiest 3 weeks of my life as a Monash med undergrad...

Definitely considering a career in plastic surgery...



Regarding my previous entry, I just got my VIA results today..although it was 1st quartile..but I passed...Yahoo!!as usual, according to the breakdown marks, my worst area was physiology/pharmacology n best is anatomy!!

May this be the last time..

this is how my desk looks like during the day before VIA* exam..

VIA=vertical integrated assessment...the exam that assesses everything from 1st yr till now...hopefully I won't need to sit for this exam again next year..Amin...

Non-weight bearing OK!

so today I had my GP & Psych OSCE...for those who doesn't know what OSCE is bleh refer my old post nih...
As usual, sure ade bende bodoh happens during the OSCE..akan ade laa situasi di mane I would left my stickers in the stations...well, sticker nih kene carry with us in every station, kat sticker tuh ade ID number yg kene kasik kat examiner n they will attach them to the assessment sheet..ade jugak laa part yg terangkut instructions yg supposedly kene tinggal for next candidate..standard laa tuh..

but the funniest thing I said today was at the 2nd station...in this station, we were given the knee X-ray findings of a 50++ y/o lady n we should tell the diagnosis & manage the patient...as part of the management process, I told the lady that having an osteoarthritic knee, she would benefit from doing exercise...I cared to say specifically that it should be a weight-bearing exercise!!aahahha...
looking a bit shocked, she asked, "did u say weight-bearing exercise?"..I was like, "yeah, the one that doesn't put too much pressure on your knees...", she continued on saying, "what sort of exercise is weight-bearing?"..not knowing what to say..I told her I'll give her a handout about the sort of exercise that she should be doing...I should mention that when I said weight-bearing, Andrew Beveridge (the examiner + my tutor) stopped writing & put on a very serious face...he must think that I really want to be an orthopaedic surgeon who wants to benefit from a knee replacement surgery, the sooner the joint is damage, the richer I will be!!hahahah....bodoh2....(he must have a not-so-long thought whether or not he should pass me, a dangerous doctor!!)

I like to write more about the other stations but this one is the funniest, it deserves a special entry!

2010...

so our 2010 placements that we've been waiting for months are finally out just this afternoon...


I got..


Rotation period Rotation
1 : 17/01 - 25/02 Ortho+Plastic+Gen. Surg (Elective) - Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, KT
2 : 08/03 - 16/04 Aged Care - MMC
3 : 19/04 - 28/05 Emergency - Dandenong Hospital
4 : 31/05 - 09/07 Gen. Med. - Hospital Sultanah Aminah, JB
5 : 12/07 - 20/08 Neurosurgery (Specialty) - MMC
6 : 23/08 - 01/10 Colorectal Surgery - Dandenong Hospital
7 : 04/10 - 12/11 Vacation
15/11-20/11 Back to base lecture series, Monash Uni
December 2010 Graduation (InsyaAllah...)

As you can see I'm gonna be in Malaysia for a few months next year...
at least during my rotation 1 and 4...I might even go home during my vacation period...

So friends, if you're planning to get married in 2010, please do so during those dates ok??I would very much love to attend your weddings!!

Now that my 2010 plan seems a bit clearer, I should get back to studying...Yes!I really should...
O' Allah..please let me pass my upcoming 4th year exam....can't wait to be in final yr and working life afterwards maybe...(I hope I won't regret saying this)...

And friends, as usual...pray for me...I really need this!!