yet another pointless blog…

moved to http://evesrambles.blogspot.com/

next post… hmm… in 3 months?

cya there!

And i still feel like a brand new med student. (I just got my blindingly bright orange new stestoscope)

Two exams - and they make sure to let us know repeatedly that they are formative and dont count - and 5 months of classes down the line, the sense of i-cant-believe-im-actually-doing-med lingers.

Not that the classes aren’t interesting - they are, extremely so. And the lecturers are amongst the best I’ve ever got (granted, I’ve only ever been in HSFY classes).

But the downside, of course, is the memorizing part. Yes, I have a decent memory - but I don’t like brute-force cramming. (Does anyone?)

As a friend said “Every course is likely to have its ick bits - are you happy most of the time?”

I am. Happy, that is, most of the time. Settling in a routine - breakfast/class/lunch/class/internet/dinner/badminton/sleep - boring, I know, but snugly in my comfort zone.

Every once in a while I do feel a twinge of guilt - I should be studying more, or I have to stop leeching my parents money or What have I contributed, really? - I could be doing more with myself, achieving higher standards…. but… its the whole inertia/laziness thing setting in. I’m comfortable, doing fairly well, about middlin’ in class - and there is no real drive to go beyond that.

Oh, I do read stuff for fun (including, sometimes, journal articles (!!!)). And I am earning some part time money - tutoring’s a good deal, and its not hard work.

I suppose, I could be doing so much more. But I’m not sure whether it is worth the trouble.

And, its sunk in.

Its 3 weeks into the course.

I am now a doctor-in-training. And its so different to everything that i’ve been through before.

Not in a bad way, though. Just.. not exactly what I was expecting.

The book work hasnt really started. I mean, the hard-core memorising biology stuff has not come out - much - in lectures.So far we’ve briefly covered complement, inflammation, cell death (necrosis, apoptosis), fracture and wound healing.

However, Clinical Skills (CS)- the one where they teach you to conduct a consultation + various basic medical examinations - and Healthcare in the Community (HIC) are pretty much going at full steam.

Our first interview with a patient - asking about their illness and effects on their lives - is scheduled for next week. Mine’s on Tuesday. Its going to be interesting.

I … still feel like … I will never really understand the empathy thing. Its … hard to pick out feelings from the person (not patient, but person) that i’m practising my consultation skills on. Doubly so when theres information i need to find out - and thats where my focus tends to be.

Studying for a purpose now - its not really about the exams, its about knowing the human body as a prerequisite for healing it - well, honestly, so far its not made much difference in my study habits. but there is more motivation to learn.

Studies aside, I’m picking up social squash, meaning not getting coached and stuff, just playing with friends.  trying to keep up with uni badminton, and i may start A pool again. playing the sax on weekends. tutoring physics 1x a week.

It promises to be a full year.

Wish me luck?

Well, three, at any rate, with different people and various places.

First up, Su Xu Vin, at her campus (UKM) in Chow Kit. In which one of the first things she said was “Hey! You’re actually wearing girly shoes!” .. and one of the next was “Quick, grab my bag and pretend to be a student. Sorry, forgot to tell you that you should come with a collared tshirt.”

She also treated me to one of best hawker food I had had in KL - haha. I feel so pai seh cuz practically everyone (read: all but 1, so far) that meets up with me insists on paying *whistles innocently*

Then, then, we crashed one of UKM’s tutorial rooms - you see, it had AIR CON and a WORKING INTERNET CONNECTION … but that comp had no mouse. So….. for like 2 hours it was TabTabTabShift-TabTabTabTabArgh … you get the picture. Unlike *some* people, I am *not* wellversed in navigating mouseless. Look, I know it can be done, and yes, they ARE keyboard shortcuts, but i dont know many shortcuts…. so …. but we still managed to check mail, read blogs, etc. and of course lots lots lots of conversation.

–

Then there was the Tzehowe afternoon in The Curve. Which started by me getting lost - in KL im the default navigator cuz mum drives, i cant actually drive tho i do have my CDL - and arriving about an hour late. Whoops.

Which earned me the comment - after Tze found out I only left house, like 30 minutes before the agreed time - “You have a lot of confidence in your navigation skills, eh?”

And me being my indecisive self (Shoutout to Joyce and Jess, whom between the 3 of us could not decide on a place to eat in Bugis!), we spent at least 15 minutes on inane conversation along these lines.

“Where do you want to eat? Chinese, Thai, Western …?”
“Umm…. McDs?”
“You come to Malaysia and all you want to eat is McDs?”
“Not really, but thats always my default when I cant decide”
“So, where do you want to eat?”
“I don’t know”
“Pick one”
“One.”

Ended up at the cheese baked rice place (I forgot the name) - where I couldn’t choose what I wanted, either. Again, I didn’t pay for it. Even after telling him i could….

Then, spent the next 2 hours? hour? or so circling The Curve (literally going round in circles) before calling it a day.

——

The third and final meeting is the one with Michelle Sam !!

Which actually deserves a post all to itself. Also because its 0200 and I really should sleep.

What I’ve done the past year.

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