Resources one should have in Orthopaedics posting as a HO in Malaysia

I think this might be a little important. Unlike Paeds and Medicine, for which there are the Paeds Protocol and various CPGs, there aren't any official guidelines for Orthopaedic management in this country. Apart from the following, I would suggest a small notebook in which you can jot down the common management seen in your hospital.

Look through your HO logbook and aim to complete it quickly. Some procedures are hard to come by and may not come by at all by the time you finish your posting!

As always, the following is based on my personal but honest opinion.

Books/Printed Documents:

Print This - A highly useful PDF document made by a great team. Has all the important fracture classifications, some important angles (to accept check x-rays), common dressings, implants and in the final page some important ortho emergencies to watch out for, amongst others. Try to memorize this by the end of the posting. To be The Ultimate HO, memorize the entire thing before the beginning of the posting!

'UIA Ortho Book' - It's actually titled 'Basic Fracture Management for Students and Housemans [sic]'.I don't know where you can officially get this, but since UIA/IIUM grads are everywhere, try asking them. This book came highly recommended by one of my specialists and a few MOs. The book is usually found photocopied. It is concise and has almost everything you need to know regarding some of the most common management points in the posting. If anyone has a means to get the original form or a way to contribute to the authors, I'd greatly appreciate you dropping me a line.

Netter's Concise Orthopaedic Anatomy - A great book for a quick look through important anatomical points, and concise information on some important injuries. It even shows x-ray techniques. This book saved my life (okay, more like reputation) quite a few times. Small enough to carry around (and lose :( ) in the hospital.

Apley's Concise System of Orthopaedics & Fractures - Get the concise version if the big one is too costly. Mind you, your specialist might tell you it's 'not enough'. It's more than enough for a HO not very keen on furthering in Orthopaedics (or too broke to afford the bigger book).

Websites:

1. Orthobullets - Concise as the name, and highly useful for some accurate high-yield facts and management points.

2. Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics - Another highly recommended site.

Both of the above are more than adequate, and best of all they're absolutely free. And amazing.
God bless the contributors.

If you're not keen on getting the books suggested in the previous list, access to internet and the above sites, as well as the PDF document in the previous list, is more than enough most of the time.

Tools

1. Measuring tape

2. Goniometer

3. Tendon hammer

4. Don't forget your stets! And other basic HO stuff. Just because it's Ortho doesn't mean you don't review the patient holistically ;)

Actually these can be found- most of the time, anyway- in your clinics and wards. But it's better to have them handy. The goniometer? I've survived without one, but I could distinctly remember some MOs running around like headless chickens trying to find one in the clinic.

Conclusion

Some Orthopaedic departments are known to be the most chill departments in the hospital.
Some are known to be the most malignant.

Either way, it is always better to equip yourself in this posting, same as other postings. It may not be a major posting like medical or surgery, but once you become an MO, you may - MAY- be thrown into this department, and have no say in it. Furthermore, some basic management of orthopaedics is still important when you're the frontliners in medicine, working in a health clinic or the emergency department. So don't take this posting for granted!

Important topics?
Kindly ask your bosses. I might go into it later, if I have the time and motivation.

Counting down to the end of this posting...

New Year's Eve~

So much has happened this past year.

I got a job and subsequently felt the advantages of working life- buying myself shiny things, being able to give my parents money and treat my family to meals for a change, and learned how to sort myself out better.

I'm pretty sure I had something more insightful planned for this post, but my postcall state is preventing optimal recall. So, sleep it is.

Happy new year to all, and may 2017 be better than 2016 for all of us :)

The Almost End~

Handed in my logbook.

I'm free! I thought.

Last day pun kena oncall okay.

Also borang hijau mana, borang hijau?

Free lah sangat.

But whatevs.

I'M OFFICIALLY DONE WITH THIS POSTING! WOOHOO!

Next stop: Orthopaedics.

Where my old bestie from Paeds is yayy!

But for now, 15 more hours to last on-call with some difficult people...

Ahem. Not difficult. Just challenging.

A Whiny Post (Sorry!)

Yes, I can be a whiny baby too. Waaaa D:

It's really disappointing when you suffer from the mistake of another individual.

But it's part of life.
Still, can't help whining about it.

I wish I had more patience.

On that note, please pray that I pass this posting uneventfully. If all goes well, I would be ending in a mere 3 weeks (less)! And my logbook still has some ways to go T___T

I really, really, REALLY do not want to get extended.
Really.
Not in this posting.
Please, God. I'm not sure I can handle the test.

Sure so far no MOs seem to be up my case or anything, but the boss can be quietly deadly.
Like, you think you're fine, and then BAM! Extension.

IT'S SCARY OKAY.

I do my work, it's true.
But the stupid thing is, it's so hard to get bosses' signatures on time for assessments.
They're often busy and/or in a bad mood. And when they're not, WE are often busy and too tired to even think of answering assessment questions.

It's something bosses seem to forget to understand.
It's not like I haven;t been rejected at least 6 times in asking for an assessment for one reason or another... And if bosses are that busy. then imagine us tiny little planktons, trying to carry out all their orders.

Sorry. Trying to be sincere here, but I'm only human and after over 30 hours of being awake and more than half of that doing something or another for other people while having your needs neglected...

Well. At least I'm sheltered from the rain and still get to eat afterwards, right?
And I get a steady income, right?

It's not all bad.
But that doesn't mean conditions can't improve for us measly little HOs.

Okay bye now before I get whinier.
I care for my patients, but sometimes people can be big bullies.

Waaaaaaa. 
/endwhinymode

Orientation Starts TOMORROW!

Oh God. Oh God Oh God Oh God.

I'm panicking.
But I haven't told you about my PTM session!

I'll tell you about my PTM session in the next post... When I'm done hyperventilating.

WHAT DO I WEAAARRRR?!?!

Hello, 2016!

Some days, I feel like I thrive solely upon the smell and taste of heavily-sweetened coffee.

I think this is something most students can relate to- the absolute power of coffee. In fact, I do recall most of my blog posts during undergraduate days being absolutely littered with caffeine-related words and descriptions.

Some of my best works were caffeine-fueled.

What progress have I made so far since the last post?

I have entered a new year. Hello, 2016!

Prior to that, I learned a new skill- I learned to knit, with the help of one of my dearest friends. I quickly learned that such a skill requires physical teaching for anything further than the start. When I made mistakes, any attempt to correct them (with the help of video tutorials) ends up with me unraveling my entire work, sometimes worth days. That is NOT cool. So I did what any sane person would do when faced with this situation- I leave the mistakes be, and hope that they are not disastrous enough to be corrected when I see my teacher again.

Prior to that, I went to IKEA and with the help of my faraway sponsor (i.e. father) bought so much home stuff, I was surprised. Like, 4 full IKEA bags' worth of assorted knickknacks for the home, and an entire furniture trolley filled with furniture- so much that the bulk of it had to be delivered to my current home, as I do not have enough space in my car for all of them. Granted this was split two way (the other way went to my brother and sister's shared uni accommodation) but the main bulk of the stuff belonged to me.

You see, I rarely shop for anything other than books and essentials, but when I do, I tend to go really big. And then I will cease almost all shopping activity for years.

Did you know that there are now 2 IKEAs in Malaysia? Rumour has it that there will be a new IKEA somewhere in Penang as well. It would probably be profitable, as all IKEAs tend to be. It's not all about the furniture, either. IKEAs are famed for their food, and both for their very affordable snacks and also the more costly but still rather affordable proper Swedish-based dishes.

Although, I do not understand the hype around the meatballs. I had some, and though it wasn't bad, it was personally not worth the hype. I did, however, enjoy their baked chicken leg with some sort of minty, clear gravy, which was surprisingly as refreshing as it was savoury.

The novel thing about IKEA, I believe, compared to other furniture outlets is the accessibility to the living spaces in the showrooms. You can sit on the chairs and beds, and feel the furniture; walk around the multitude of living, storage, and dining spaces almost as if they were your own (ignoring the masses of people around you). No one would tell you off for these actions. The sheer amount of different places to chill is almost enough to psyche anyone. My brother and I sat down on almost all of the chairs and beds, and approved several ranges for their comfort and design. We even spent some long minutes just sitting in several of the cozier, quieter living areas, pondering life, and no one shooed us away. This experience must be one of the reasons that makes IKEA so popular.

And yes, as you may be able to tell, I rarely go to IKEA.


The prospect of being able to choose my workplace for the next two years is becoming more and more imminent. I am scared and excited. I am anxious.

I hope I will be strong enough to face what is to come.

For now, I have registered for a preparatory course for my HO stint soon.
I dearly hope that it helps, at least in kick-starting some serious revision, and at most in preparing me for the worst of what's to come.


As for now, I shall continue doing some minute revisions here and there an trying to finish off several more books in my TBR list before my book-reading days are over!

Shopping Under Sleep Deprivation

I daresay I have never shopped for so many clothes online in my entire life until the past 24 hours.

In total, I bought 4 pairs of baju kurung from one shop, then 3 pairs of (the most instant and convenient) tudung and a brooch from two other different sites.  Eek!

One of the sites was Zalora, which promised me a RM 25 discount if I signed up for their newsletter, so I did just that. Only, I didn't read the fineprint which states I needed to spend RM 125 for that discount to be in effect- not until I keyed in the discount code and this statement appeared in glowing red font. Grumbling slightly, I looked for something that could raise my cart total by at least another RM 13, which is also on discount because if I had to spend more it better give me even more savings! The brooch was slightly short of RM 20 and looked appealing, so I chose that and proceeded with my purchase.

When I checked my e-mail for the confirmation, I realized I wrote my postcode wrong.
Bugger me. So I sent them an e-mail lickety-split quoting my order number and the error and correction, and as soon as that was done and sent, I changed the address on my account.

Ugh. I have never written my address wrongly before. Lack of sleep must have engineered this silly blunder.

HAHA.

I must get used to writing stuff perfectly in the most extreme states of sleep deprivation because that will be my life in 2 months!

e-Housemen Will Be Online Soon!

What in the name of speed.

I have been religiously checking the e-Housemen site daily, to see the dates of the next registration. This has been happening since the SPA offer letters arrived.

And today, while I was out and about doing some errands, the people in my batch's female WhatsApp group started telling each other that the dates were announced on the site.

Thanks peeps!

Tadaa~! I left the flowchart just in case, and the header because proof.

According to a blog I've read on the internet of a fellow recent HO, the PTM will be held near your hospital of choice. Additionally, he mentioned that at the end of PTM he only had one full day of rest before he had to start working. Which means... Once I've chosen my hospital of choice, I have to start looking for accommodation and movers. 

Heh

It also occurred to me that I might not get the hospital I was aiming at. And I was aiming rather obsessively, since 3rd year.

Oh my God.

I mean, it's not like other hospitals haven't crossed my mind several times, but I was so preparing myself for THAT hospital.

And now I'm panicking again.

I should sleep because I have to go shopping tomorrow, and also because I drove a distance of over 100 km today and I haven't had coffee and it's 2 am and I'm sleepy.

Byeeee

Introductory Post That Will, No Doubt, Be Lost Under the Mountain of Upcoming Posts

There are several ways in which I sort myself out.

One of the more prevalent ones throughout the years is writing; putting my thoughts down onto pen and paper, and then, as PC access grew more and more unlimited, I began typing them. They were mostly private, sometimes public. Mostly direct rants; occasionally, abstract prose.

Since then, I have had several blogs, most of which have been taken down for one reason or another. Mainly privacy issues... I tend to shy away from public scrutiny.

WELL NO LONGER!

I am now BACK!
Under WATCHFUL EYES!
Eyes whom I do not RECOGNIZE!

Ahem.

There's your taste of me.



At this very moment, whoever you are, you will realize that I am talking to you. Yes, you, the reader. I am figuratively looking at you from these words that I will have written and posted; conveying my message, no matter how nonsensical. But this will not be the norm.

This is where I rant.

I will try to keep it as private as possible, but this is by no means a guarantee of keeping myself hidden. Perhaps someone will identify me in the future and this blog will be renowned. People start to seek me out as I scuttle further and further into the depths of the hospital.

Who knows?
I don't.
Only time will tell us feeble human beings.

Please, for the love of God or whatever entity that you may believe in, be courteous and respectful of others' opinions. Correct me when you feel it is necessary, but do so in a discreet, gentle manner, and I will reciprocate.

After all, I am- and will always be- a mirror of your actions.
A chameleon, changing my camouflage to the hues of your actions.



So, in case the introductory section of the blog will change in the future:

Hi! I work for the government and may be found scuttling around in some hospital as the humanoid form of a somewhat highly educated roach. Of course, this roach is more pleasant than your usual roaches, albeit slightly less resilient. Oh, DO be careful; please don't take your footwear off, the floor is not sanitary. Wait, why are you aiming the slipper at m--