Over a Year as a Full-Fledged MO

Okay.

So, they are right.
It gets better.


There are days when it feels like absolute S*&# and you fear the slippery slide to insanity, and best believe those days sometimes come more often than not...

But overall,

it

     gets
         
          BETTER.


Believe in your dreams.
TRY to be patient and not morph into the malignant boss of your nightmares.
No matter how stressed you are.
Pray hard to Him and ask for His blessings in all that you do.

InshaaAllah, it will get better. It may take months, maybe even a year, but it will improve.

So, hang in there.


And when it does get better, remember your dreams (ahem, specialisation?) and GO FOR THEM.

As my favourite medical specialist has told us, do not settle- have an ambition and chase after it. Always strive to improve yourself and move forward; never be too comfortable with where you are.


Thanks, Boss. You will always be our superhero.


And hey, ignore the meanies who tell you you're stupid and make you feel worthless.
Take their advice when given, but ignore the insults.

ACCEPT that you may be so stupid sometimes, it's absurd. Do not have too much ego, okay?
Just accept that your lack of knowledge at that time was inexcusable. You are not super intelligent, even if this title required you to score the highest in all your school years- it means jacks@#& because you are in a field filled with so-called overachievers so again please just accept that.

LEARN. Consolidate. And most importantly, MOVE ON.


Yes it's particularly hard when it concerns certain... beings... but try, for your sake.



Belated Title: Advice to Past Me.
Proper Title: Advice to All Ailing New MOs.

P.S.: I am STILL a new MO. One year does not a senior MO make.

WOOOOO

Just as you thought you had it worst,

Welcome to...

A New Posting! 

*party streamers* *vuvuzela noises*

Where everything is ALWAYS worse the first few days in.

Ahaha.

No seriously I just, I dunno.
I feel stupid.
And humiliated.

Some postings just have a more generous share of, let's just say, vocal bosses.

This posting is one of them.

If I continue to not let their loud comments slide, I'll be beaten by the end of the day. I usually am.

NEED TO SLEEP STILL TAGGING BYE

A Post Dedicated To New Taggers

Dear new first-poster taggers,

Welcome to the working life! It will be filled with many ups and some downs. More importantly, it will shape you for many years to come. For many of you, it would be your first experience holding a job and finally, FINALLY being responsible for your own needs. Congratulations! It's not easy, but you're here to start and learn to be the captain of your own ship. The ship called your Career in Medicine.

Let me give you some tips, hopefully humbly, from the perspective of one who was, in the not-too-distant past, in your shoes:


1. Be proactive
More often than not, you will feel overwhelmed the first few days of your working life. Especially if you're not used to the system, i.e. overseas grads.

My advice is to be proactive- anticipate what you should know, and offer to do things. Ask for assistance- any good senior would be too happy to stand by you during your first couple of clerkings/procedures. But learn quickly, because most of the time everyone is too busy to just stand by you and be your guide. Everyone has their share of work!

My advice, as I have said, is to anticipate and prepare. Read about housemanship duties (from other people, blogs, or books). Watch videos of procedures. Read back on your theoretical knowledge and basic clerking skills.

But if you haven't done any of the above during your holidays, and only realized belatedly, then at least volunteer first and learn second. Seize the opportunities!


2. Listen to those more experienced
If your SN says she is concerned about the patient, chances are she has a good reason. They have been working for way longer than you most of the time and know when something is wrong. Listen and attend to the patient, and chances are you'll learn something new.

When your seniors say you should do a certain thing before another, there is a very high chance that you should listen to them. After all, they are most probably better at prioritizing tasks than you are, having been there for longer. This is something only experience can teach you; books only do so much. So if they say the clerking of a case can come after the blood C&S of another patient, then better do the latter first. This is only sometimes true- like when an antibiotic has to be given STAT and the patient is septic. How would you know? Experience.

Of course, as always, come prepared. At least you would have an inkling why they prioritize certain things more than others, and are less blind!


3. Try before you could even think of being intimidated
It's easy to be intimidated by new procedures the first few times. Even the simplest of things like blood taking may scare the wits out of you at first. Chillax, that is normal for new taggers. Eventually, blood taking will be the least of your concerns.

So try.

Seniors will likely point new people to easier patients for procedures, because they know that giving you harder options will likely make their jobs harder as well. So before you say you can't, if you've seen it being done before and know more or less what to prepare and how to do it, try. Try before you fill your head with negative thoughts of failure.

Failing the first few times is alright, but you will improve with practice. Most important is to attempt!


4. Find time to learn- quickly
You should have done at least some reading and preparing in your long months of holidays.
But if that's not the case, then learn while doing.
And learn quickly.

While you are in your tagging period, especially as a first poster, people will give you slightly more time with clerking and procedures. So this is good for some quick learning! For example, if you're clerking a case of adult pneumonia, open the Sarawak Handbook (3rd Edition) while you write out your plan. And if you're so swamped with work it's not possible to even open a handbook, then learn from the management plans given to you by your MOs/senior HOs. Internalize them and be sure to be able to manage the next similar case. During your first few days you are more likely to get away with making wrong diagnoses and not having any management plans, but some bosses are stricter and less lenient than others.

Bring a tiny pocketbook to jot down important facts. It will always come in handy, believe me.

If you have even more free time in the ward, as soon as you sit down and have no carry-outs then open your books and start revising based on the cases you just managed, so it is easier for you to remember the facts. And if your seniors or bosses tell you to revise a certain topic, then do so! It's probably very important and common.


5. Come early!
So you feel like you have no time to review your assigned patients before your bosses come? Unfamiliar with most of the terms you see (especially for those not used to the local system)? Want to practice blood taking? Want to know a bit more about the cases you're managing but once you get home, all you want to do is sleep?

Come early!

As new people, you are expected to come earlier than your seniors to familiarize yourself with the new environment. You cannot expect to be as speedy in reviewing as those more senior to you. If you do not feel the inclination to come early and you are a new tagger, shame on you. I'm sorry but this is true.

Please remember that even if they do not force you to come early, it is your onus to do your work to the best of your abilities. It's only for a period of time, until you're more confident of your own skills. And it may make a difference as to how others perceive you. If you're rather clueless but people see you putting in extra effort, chances are this will make your job way easier in the future. People are more likely to help those who show effort!


6. Take it one step at a time
Feeling depressed? Everyone went through it at some point in their working lives. You may feel alone but across space and time, you're one of many. Scoldings are normal (they shouldn't be, but alas they are in many hospitals).

For every single day you wake up and brave your workplace, is another day closer to the end.

Take it one step at a time.
One more day close to the next off day.
One more day closer to the end of the week.
One more day closer to the end of the month- and your salary!

And within the blink of an eye, your posting is half gone (talking about myself now)...


7. Keep going! Motivate yourself
Awful bosses? Snobby SNs?

They're only there for a blip in your entire existence!
4 months (inshaaAllah)! Not that long!

And look forward to future events.
If you love book sales, look forward to the next Big Bad Wolf Book Sale!
If you love traveling, look forward to the next Matta Fair!
If you love gadgets, look forward to the next PC fair!

And how about holidays with your loved ones? Plan your leave early and look forward to that!

Remember, this is temporary. It's just a tiny phase in your life.

Soon you'll be out of it and on to greater things. But how you react to what you have now will define you in the future.

Seize the opportunities, smile often and try to be sincere. It gets hard at times, but if you consciously try, God will help you.

Take care and remember it's all temporary! Persevere and you SHALL be rewarded!

You can't spell 'MOODY' without 'MO'*

Day 9 of tagging (8 if you deduct the day off I took) and my MO was already asking me how long I should tag for.

I got scolded by that same MO for informing him of things and not looking at the patient first.
Too used to my previous posting modus operandi, I suppose. Also my previous posting MOs.

Like, he actually swore at me and snatched the BHT and observation charts before stalking off to see the patient while I stood there for a few moments, blinking my confusion (and guilt). Then I followed him and had to endure him telling me how incapable I was and that I was a Dr., not an informer, and that I should be able to clinically judge the patient, yadda yadda yadda (believe me I took everything to heart but I can't tell you everything. I don't dismiss my bosses' complaints to me no matter how hurtful they are).

Half an hour later and throughout the rest of the day he was very playful with me.
You can't spell "moody" without "MO", eh? Eh?

**********

I have been targeted by several MOs for various reasons that used to not make sense to me.
Like, the way I talk.
Or the silly mistakes I did.

The more playful some MOs are with you, the more likely other MOs are to dislike you (or target you, whichever way you see it). It's something this department is famous for. It's weird, after being in such a different environment in my other posting.

But after being in this posting for such a brief period, I can sort of understand where they get all their stress and anger from sometimes. It's such a demanding posting, and you have to be meticulous yet quick and efficient; have compassion and yet still have the emotional range of a robot when it comes to carrying out certain stuff. How does one find the balance in all that? No wonder they're all moody as anything.

Of course, being the planktons in the food chain of the department, HOs are the main source of consumption.

Lesigh.

**********

Joy in the little things.

Like when one of my patients accidentally called me 'Misi', but continued on with 'Misi, misi maanyak cantik'. Tiredness = Evaporated. I mean, she might have an eyesight problem (she does, to be fair) but my heart flowered and burst into many colourful, fragrant pieces that shattered the dreariness of the day in one single, brief moment.

Then the patient next to her had to comment that she has been saying it since earlier that evening, but she might have been mistaking me for a ghost. That was a total downer zzz.

Or when one of my MOs showed his amazement at my ability to clerk a patient, and include relevant scoring systems pertaining to her condition. Sadly, he was comparing me to another person who was also in my batch, also the same number of postings- and stating how we were so different in working quality. I actually knew there were other factors (I had ages to clerk the case as my MO was busy doing other stuff, and the other person had so little time)... And how I still relished the comparison that I was better than someone.

It's an entirely disgusting, human thing to feel. Most of us do not want to admit that being told we are better than others is actually cathartic. Unfortunately, that is the truth.

Being able to take a patient's ABG.

Having the patient who was previously dreading my approach, actually smile at me each time I review her and being more willing to let me take her blood and insert IV lines for her.

Having patients and relatives thank me for the smallest of things.

Of course, there are many other bad things that happened to me, but why would I waste my precious energy memorializing them? Heh heh.

 **********

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
I make sure I have other things to think about.

Life outside the walls of the ward.

Days away from the hospital.

Not to mention the satisfaction of well carried-out plans.

The Grand Scheme of Things, in which these 4 months are but a blip in the existence of my life.

So many things to look forward to, that it is stupid to stay stagnant in a pool of fear over what a single MO has done to me. Or several.

**********

And you will need to vent.

You will need an outlet.

It just so happens, one of my best outlets is this blog.


I know I'm improving, and I will prove that I'm not the non-functional tagger I was on my first day here!
Eh. I sound so confident here.
No lah.


* - Disclaimer: I love my MOs. Just like they love me. Haha.

End of Posting (EOP)

I have passed my first posting, alhamdulillah.

Next up- the toughest posting since medical school, at least for me.
Medical.

I chose it. I was the first person to request my next posting among my batch, and I had the option to choose as there are many of us. And I chose medical.

On my last Post-call shift I participated in the resuscitation of a patient.
It was... traumatic for me. I wanted to write the details here, but even thinking about it now makes me tired.
But it was the first honest-to-goodness resuscitation I've done for a paediatric patient, as others were neonates.

Kind of like a welcoming introduction to Medical, as everyone has said.

My last day in Paediatrics is coming soon before my EOP (end-of-posting) holidays start.

Stuff to have settled prior to EOP:

1. Logbook completion

2. Final assessment

3. Inform posting captain and MO in charge of HOs of your last day

4. Leave forms

5. Logbook to be handed to HOD

6. Completion certificate (copy) to the Admin

I'll miss the camaraderie in this posting. The amazing bosses, the kind and helpful seniors, my juniors (some of whom are senior posters)- they're all great colleagues, some very dear friends.

I'll miss how huge a crush I had on Cute MO (still cute, though he is now a dear boss more than anything), the MOs' teasing and friendliness and how they helped out, and covered for us most of the time. Their guidance, unfailing patience with my newbness, honing me to be efficient and (slightly more knowledgeable.

I'll miss the tiny sliver of dread I would feel when I know my HOD will do rounds, but then how she will laugh at my flubbed-up sentences (I always end up flubbing at least one sentence when presenting to her, but not to other specialists)!

How the nurses joked and helped me greatly when I can't find stuff (most of the time), or couldn't find the right vein for line setting (quite some times), or mainly when I'm emotionally disturbed and needed their coddling (only a few times, eheh).


These are not things I could expect from my upcoming posting, but I'm sure they won't be totally absent.

One more day :(

Off-Day Thoughts: Where Does the Money Go?

First salary has been here for barely a few days, et voila! More than half is gone.
Such is the way for salaries, I suppose ^^;

There are two ways this could have gone: You could have expected it and shrugged it off, budgeting for the rest of your month, or this could have been a total shocker and you find yourself floundering with almost no money to spend for the rest of the month.

And guess what, if your student-day allowances don't fulfil your needs, chances are your working day salaries won't either, despite the hefty increment.

So what gives?


PLANNING

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail, an old adage goes. I concur with this.

I am very much the planner type. To avoid future mishaps and try as much as I can to navigate the unforeseen, I plan ahead- very much ahead.

In fact, knowing more or less the salary I would be given, I have started planning- very amateur-ly- my salary since my second year of medical school. From then, I knew the luxurious lives people keep saying doctors have, is utterly non-existent in my earlier years of working. I expected that I wouldn't be able to get a decent gaming laptop until at least several years of working and not spending on anything. I knew I wouldn't be able to realistically change my cellphone to a newer model every year without having to lose weeks' worth of groceries, and thus that is not going to happen.

I knew all this since my pre-clinical years in medical school.

I have thoroughly planned my salary division since a few months prior to entering the workforce, and I know how much I can expect to have left to myself after all the essentials are paid for- essentials being rent, bills, loans and insurance, as well as some fixed savings. I already know how much I can afford, more or less, on monthly groceries and phone bills.

This means even before working, I know what I can and cannot afford and I did not get anything I feel I cannot pay for in the future.

This will be grossly different depending on the lifestyle and upbringing you already have. I know of some wealthy people whose parents still give them a hefty sum of money every month even after they start working. I know of people who have to pay for EVERYTHING of their parents' after they start working. The key here is to suit your own budget, and NOT expect to get anything for yourself the first few months. That way, even the smallest extras for yourself feel rewarding!

Which brings us to the next thing...


MINDSET

Reward yourself, but don't do so lavishly.
Unless you're wealthy and you can afford it.

If you think a RM 15 chicken chop is a just reward, it WILL be. But if you keep on fixating on a RM 250++ lavish hotel dinner course as a just reward, then your pay as a new government servant won't be rewarding at all.

Therein lies the problem in most of my generation: We are so self-entitled, we think we deserve better than most people, when in fact, we ARE most people. And it's so much worse in new doctors sometimes, because they keep thinking their salaries are so high that they should be able to spend more than the regular office clerks or other hospital staff.

What we should realize is the fact that 1) those clerks we see have been working WAY longer than us; 2) people have other sources of income than their full-time jobs nowadays; and 3) most of us have massive student loans to pay for. The combination of these three points alone is enough to make you feel like salary-pinching.

So you're going to be a doctor.
That doesn't mean you can afford that expensive smartphone contract for 2 years.
So what if you don't have the latest phone? In reality, in the hospital, NOBODY CARES WHAT PHONE YOU USE. You can use the NOKIA 3310 and people will be stupefied, but any smartphone capable of making calls, staying in touch through group WhatsApp and surfing the web for medical information is enough for any young doctor. And these things do not require a RM3500++ stylish iPhone.

That contract looks small in comparison to your gaji.
But believe you me, small things tend to pile up, and there are always other costs incurred that you've not even entertained before.

So where does the money go?

Where your planning and mindset would lead them, silly!

Ah, and always keep aside some of your salary for your emergency savings account!

Okay bye must enjoy the rest of my off day!

Zzzz

Today, I got burns where my socks met the dorsum of my left foot.

I managed to drink two packets of Milo and eat some bread. That was it.

The food provided went into the trash.

What a shame.

But I know that I have got some good friends and superiors so that's amazing.

Also one of my MOs is super cute. Like, swoon-worthy cute.

Not that that registered in my head for more than a couple of hours before I got super busy and he left the hospital to do what cute MOs do when they're outside the hospital.

Also did I mention I'm getting married soon?

That said, I am now certain I do not want to become a paediatrician.

GUYS.

Buy lots of packet food for tagging period.

If you get hyper on coffee, GET IT. You need that extra energy.

Don't dwell on how horrible one superior makes you feel. Rather, try to put the feelings aside and focus on other things you have to carry out. Believe me, you're not the only one and not everyone else hates you for the same reason. Many people sympathize.

And be a total team player. #1 rule.

Also the occasional cute & kind MO does help a little.

Off Day Thoughts

Yes, this exists even for taggers. But this may depend on the hospital because I have a friend who claims she doesn't get off days during the entire tagging period.

There are busy days, and there are slow (relaxing!) days.

I learned a lot in the past 4 days of tagging in an SCN/NICU:

1. You do not disturb the nurses when they have passovers to conduct, but they can very well disturb you during your am review, pm review and procedures to imply that you're being rather incompetent
2. A lot of nurses are very helpful despite their loudness
3. Your competency during your clinical years in medical school doesn't hold a candle to how your working days will be.
4. Remember when you were surprised at how messy and unorganized and incomplete the histories are for patients in the BHTs you read? YOU WILL DO IT TOO because you're simply pressed for time!
5. The success for blood-taking is 70% in your head, 30% skill. 40% what you learn from your senior HOs.
6. Your MOs are a blessing when they cover for you while the specialist asks questions you do not know the answer to. And these MOs may appear to be the stricter ones
7. My MOs are so good at blood-taking, they must have x-ray vision, but not limited to visualizing bones and soft tissues only.
8. It's actually easier to take blood from a neonate than a child, or even a grown-up... Most of the time
9. The useless feeling I get when I fail at blood-taking but my seniors do it in one simple go-
10. The helplessness I feel when the MO says something like 'Take blood C&S', 'TSB level QID', 'Prolonged jaundice workup' and 'Start IV C-Pen and Genta for this patient' because it means poking the babies!
11. Other than during a procedure, one of the worst moments in a day is when you have to wake up and get prepared to go to the hospital for another brand new day.
12. But when your patient recovers, you feel super happy
13. And when they come back after being discharged, you wonder if it's in any way your fault
14. Tedious things like writing discharge summaries take up time!
15. Learning to ignore negative reactions to you will be your best shield when your knowledge and competency is not up to par yet. And keep on trying and practicing because it will contribute to your future.
16. During tagging, you are expected to be functional- but your mistakes will be forgiven, especially when you're a first poster.

Et cetera.

But this is my first off day after a series of actual working days.

So I'm gonna rest and not think about hospital life too much.

And just FYI, I'm not exactly miserable during tagging periods. Sometimes it's actually really fun and makes me feel like dragging my butt off my bed in the morning was totally worth it. When it's totally horrible and suddenly the entire ward is in chaos, I reserve some of my thoughts to some of my favourite things, ala The Sound of Music. And always remember that the storm will pass, and there are people who can help me no matter how dire the situation feels at that moment.

Like now, I am just chilling in bed. The storm has passed.

Until tomorrow comes.

Then I won't be chilling anymore. But it's okay, chill days will come and experiences occur. And good deeds will never go to waste. :)

Kay bye need to do more chilling!

Of Moving

I have relocated myself a few hundred kilometres from where I was.
I am now in a different state, with different types of people and attitudes and generally an overwhelmingly different atmosphere altogether. It's like an entire world of difference in the beginning.

Good thing it's not at all as busy as the last place I was in!

So this was the first time I moved on my lonesome. I tried asking family and friends for reliable movers but got no satisfactory answer, i.e. most people forgot who they employed and some merely hired lorries and did their own packing. I was willing to pack most things on my own but I needed some other people who actually knew what they were doing. Hence the decision to hire movers.

Generally, people do not 'move' at this stage, preferring to stay with family or leaving most things at their own home with their family. However, this does not apply to me- so yes. Hiring movers was something I decided to do long before I even graduated, for various reasons. But let me say that generally, housemen do not 'move' on a large scale because it is very likely that they will move somewhere else for MOship.

That said, let's get on to the moving process.

On Finding a Moving Company and the Entire Ordeal (Almost)

1. Finding

It is better to find movers that the people you know have employed before and found reliable enough to recommend. This may not be the case most of the time, so you have to search on your own. Unlike retail stores, moving companies do not generally set up shop with the rest of your usual retail outlets, so it wasn't as easy as going to a street or into a mall to survey them. Hence I took to- what else?- The Interwebz.

That's the internet btw.

Googling 'movers Malaysia' already comes up with many hits, most of which international relocating companies which I know are very efficient and trustworthy but also very costly. Thus I decided to look for more obscure names. I found one that I thought looked promising, but after filling their query form  for a quotation I got no response even after a week. So I started looking elsewhere.

Most companies available online ask you to drop your moving details and number so they can call you up and arrange a survey session to give you a quotation, before you agree on any company's services. I just wanted to fill online forms and not have to talk to anyone to avoid showing how noob I was. In the end though, being noob is part of a growing process- so don't be afraid to feel noob. More importantly, it is important that you meet the people from the companies face-to-face. More on that below.

I looked at several blogs to get recommendations of movers, and one blog recommended going to movers-malaysia.com for an almost hassle-free comparison of several moving services at once. That's what I did. I filled out the form with as much details as I knew, prayed a little and pressed 'Send' for all the companies that they recommended based on my current area. That evening, I received two calls and one email, all from different companies.

The people who called set a date and time to visit my house and survey the things needed to be done before giving me a quotation, which is an estimated price for all the needed services. As for the punctuality of the survey, one was late by a few hours; the other was late for a day. They both gave me almost the same quotation.

The one who contacted me by e-mail gave me a very thorough response with elucidation on their total services and total costs. It was very cheap compared to the rest and I was impressed.


2. Deciding

So now I have three possibilities, only from filling a single form online! That's kinda amazing.

But- and that's a huge but- it's not enough. Take it from me. Unless you're comparing between different multinational moving services with a proven track record of excellence, three of obscure moving companies is on the low side for comparison. I only learned this now, in retrospect, so try to at least get quotes from 5 different companies. No strings are attached when getting quotes; don't feel guilty about doing a little surveying of your own, as it is entirely expected.

What you need in movers is reliability; efficiency; trustworthiness. These, I can now say, are rather hard to come by with most companies. Appointments set for a certain date get postponed to another date; appointments set for another time will always be delayed for another hour or two (sometimes 4 or 5) with many different excuses. I guess you can say they are rather busy bees, these movers.

The lowest quotation I got was from the e-mail. He answered all my queries politely and thoroughly, and the rate was surprisingly low- I got an average of 1.3 to 1.5k with the phone calls and physical surveys, but this particular guy was willing to offer the same and more for only 850.

I found this dubious, and it doesn't help that he did not want to do a physical survey, his reason being my online descriptions were enough.

When in doubt, do the following:

1) Google the moving company name and look for their sites/reviews. In this country there aren't many people reviewing companies and leaving them online, especially the obscure ones. Furthermore, most movers do not have a working site. This is troublesome.

2) Ask the movers to e-mail you their exact quotation with the company letterhead and pictures of their previous work/lorries/etc.

3) Ask for their company address. Perhaps you can use Google Street View to look for it, or even drive there yourself and at least see if the company exists.

The one with low quotation had very nice manners on mail, but had a very generic name that happened to be a famous moving company in another country, gave me a non-working site (saying it's under maintenance because they are opening branches in other states), and despite all the thorough explanation before, when I asked them for their full address, gave me only a vague street name and vague area- no postcodes, lot numbers, or anything that allows me to pinpoint an exact place. In fact the street name and area name are both so common that they usually come with numbers at the end, which he conveniently did not include. Not to mention he refused to do a physical survey. He also did not ask me to further reconfirm my decision after answering my query for his address; I figured he figured that the jig was up.

When the quotation is too low, be careful- it may be that your things will be moved with other people's things in the same lorry, which is not the biggest issue, or a total scam, whereby after making an initial deposit they disappear off the face of the Earth (read: internet). I did not want to risk it. I stopped contacting them.


3. Process

I asked both of the remaining companies to give me a black & white quotation via e-mail. The slightly more expensive one did it by that night, as promised. The other one which was late didn't send me anything, and called me the day after (it was missed as I was doing other stuff) but did nothing to follow up any further.

The choice was obvious by then.

Given the quotation, I asked the chosen company- the one that was more punctual and reliable- to send me the appropriate packing materials for my things as I would prefer to pack my books on my own. This process was delayed several times. As for payment, they said I could pay when everything has been settled, which is more fair to me as that ensures they won't run off with my stuff once payment has been made. I'll make sure this is the case from now on, too.

Note to self: Find another way of obtaining packing material e.g. bubble wrap and boxes because the material they provide may not be the same as what they said they would provide, and not meet my expectations.

I packed like mad the week before the move, until revision  for my actual work was almost entirely eliminated from my thoughts. On the day itself, they came over and closed the boxes (I didn't close the boxes yet as I anticipated revisions to my packing but they didn't seem to care) and packed the rest of the miscellaneous stuff that were bundled together but still not put into boxes.

I asked if there were documents to be signed- that was a no. From what I read online, you're supposed to sign several forms with some insurance documents too, but that may only apply in the states (or with more reputed movers).

Then we left. I didn't go with the lorry but alone.


4. Outcome

They arrived shortly after I did despite using the non-highway roads- probably because I can be slow.
Moved the stuff to the house.

Then when I told them to assemble my furniture, I was met with confusion and slight resistance. The guy who said it was okay reluctantly started on my desk. Over two hours later they still weren't done.

I noticed that despite my insistence that they read the given instructions (which were really clear, as it is IKEA after all) and showing them Youtube videos of people fixing the things, they refuse to do either and preferred to half-heartedly flip through the manual whenever they think is necessary, skipping steps along the way. I offered to help but was refused. Anyhow, after 2++ hours the guy told me they couldn't do it and packed his stuff up, along with his friend. He made to leave but had to wait for my payment.

I flipped, of course. I yelled at him and demanded to know why he said it wasn't possible. It was made to be possible, I could do it myself given more time. He said they aren't used to assembling new things and could only assemble furniture that they themselves disassembled, which- to be honest- was a load of &#@$. Then I asked why he said it was possible when I first showed them the flat-packed furniture and asked if his team could assemble them for me upon arrival. He initially weakly made the excuse that he thought I was going to assemble them first, and then ask them to disassemble them again. This was a pathetic claim. This was also around the time I started yelling really loudly to his face.

There were other things exchanged and he apologized several times, saying it's not my fault. Duh it's not. It was agreed upon ad it's not like he didn't contact me 4 or 5 times at least after the agreement, during which time I reconfirmed again and again that the assembly of my furniture is possible.

I was so upset that I told him he should just leave. He gave me a small discount which he claimed was his and his friend's (there were 2 people trying to fix that small table) payment for that day. I gave him the money and told him again, angrily, to leave me. I guess they were quite eager to do that by then.

He said something about asking some IKEA person to come over and help me assemble it the day after. Obviously nothing of the sort happened. I didn't wait either.

Conclusion: What do you think?

Assembling IKEA Furniture

It ain't that hard with the right mindset and attitude!

I started assembling the remaining things that night, finishing the table within the next 20 minutes and the wardrobe within 2 hours. Then I waited until the next day to start on my bookcases as they require hammering and by then it was really late and I didn't want to wake anyone (i.e. the neighbours) up. All things considered, I think I did quite well on my own.  

 
It's highly recommended to have the basic IKEA toolbox called FIXA with you- it costs (if I'm not mistaken) less than RM 30. Would be even better if you had those automatic screwdrivers because that speeds things up (I don't know what they're called- power screwdrivers?).

Basic FIXA tool set- all you need to assemble any IKEA furniture! The FIXA line actually is not just limited to this.

FIXA power drill/screwdriver. Would have bought it if I had more money; not necessary but perhaps more speedy.

But most importantly, you need the ability to be patient and read the manual thoroughly. It's hard not to do it correctly if you read the manuals thoroughly, because they even illustrated the major but common assembly mistakes, and put large crosses on those incorrect methods. As for the claims that there are very frequently missing screws and other bits in the flat-packs, I can safely say that in my brief experience nothing of the sort happened. In fact the wardrobe I was assembling had extra parts. I know because I count out all the parts and sort them into tiny piles before I even start assembling. Oh, on that note, also ensure you have ample space.

Basic instructions from IKEA, available on the first page of most furniture assembly manuals.

Basically, any able-bodied person who is sane and has the strength of a normal adult could do it- so long as you don't buy the especially large and especially well-made (heavy) furniture, and so longa s you can drag your furniture around on the floor. 8Case in point, I am the least fit person I know and I still could assemble and then drag around the tall, large furniture. Lots of grunting and sweating were involved, not to mention bruises from bumping into the parts or having them fall on me. I just read the last sentence over and realized it could sound very, very wrong and it doesn't indicate an extreme level of perverseness, but is actually normal.

Anyway.

I assembled large IKEA furniture and smaller, simpler things too and succeeded in all of them. The table is being used right this moment, after I fixed what the movers gave up on; the wardrobe is filled with clothes, the bookcases are holding books and the other stuff are functioning well. So even with almost zero knowledge of furniture assembly, I feel rather accomplished.

Now to rearrange more stuff, after I get some zzzs.


P.S.: I'm loving this house so far!

Brief Update

I am now living among quite a few boxes and a lot of mess, trying to deduce where to put what, and when.

We have gotten our PTM locations but have yet to receive the physical letters, though the digital version has been made available to us (thanks, overly-prepared batchmate who shared it on Facebook)!

I currently owe my Dad a ton of money;
I might talk about this in a later post.

I have, of course, decided on a moving company. Until after the day of moving, though, I would rather not talk about it. I had three options to begin with and chose the one I found most reliable- where movers are concerned, none are very punctual, and you shouldn't expect them to be unless you're employing the services of famous, multinational companies which cost a pretty penny.

I went to a preparatory course for housemanship. I found it rather beneficial. I owe my Dad for the fees, but I figured it was a worthy investment if only to motivate myself. And yes, it was highly motivating and surprisingly, even tears were shed. Sorry not talking about this further, but my advice is if you can afford it and are not as disciplined to start revising for your HOship (which actually applies to many of us), you better attend a HO preparatory course shortly before your HOship starts. :)

I certified many, many documents with the help of a friend's relative. Not as many as I copied, but quite a few copies each. Until now I am unsure what exactly I really need for the day, but according to the PTM letter they're pretty much what I listed in an earlier post, minus parents' IC copies (nobody even mentioned these among my cohort).

And I went shopping again.
Madly.
Obviously, otherwise why would I owe my Dad a ton of money?
But like I said, maybe an elaboration later.

And I'm off! Toodles!

House Hunting

For quite a few of us, our hospitals/working destination requires moving away- far, far away- from our current residence. In fact, when deciding your hospital, this is probably something that goes into careful consideration. I have been stalking several sites rather religiously for the past few months in an effort to find the perfect accommodation in several hospitals of my choosing, even before I knew that I got into the number one hospital of my choosing.

Needless to say I'm glad I got the one I was most religiously stalking.

This post is for those of us who do not already live close to our future workplace, and need to find our own accommodation prior to starting work. Of course, this is for when you already know where you're posted, i.e. post e-housemen.

First things First: To Hostel or Not to Hostel?

If only...

Back "then", there weren't many HOs running around the hospital. As such, for all HOs, their accommodations were provided by the hospital by means of 'hostels', which are dorm-like accommodations within hospital grounds. I heard that there was a time when HOs were made compulsory to live in these hostels for the entire year of housemanship (yes, it used to take a year kan).

Now it's not the same, mainly because there are too many HOs for the hostels to be adequate.

Currently, in most hospitals, the hostels are only allowed for a fixed amount of time before you have to move out and find your own accommodations outside. And even when they are available for perhaps longer than a few months, you have to remember that many hospital hostels are dorm-like; i.e. the bathrooms may be outside of your unit, and the furniture immovable, and the space generally not that big or open to creativity. I say 'may' because I am unsure of how the newer hostels are.

Yes, you have to pay to stay in the hostel, and not that little either. It will be deducted from your salary, should you so wish to stay there. I know of a district hospital where the supposed rate of a hostel room is RM 400, shared between two people. And in the (highly likely) event that you have to move out after several months, remember that you still have to hunt for a house while being busy with HO duties, and with that move your belongings too.

So, to hostel or not to hostel?

I would say, yes to hostel if you do not mind the relative lack of space and privacy, have little belongings, and have no means of transportation of your own (cars or motorbikes).Yes if the hostels are available for more than a few months; or if you don't mind having to move out after you started working. Yes if you are pressed for options, for example if you cannot do proper house hunting for any reason, or other options are simply to expensive for you (very unlikely). Yes if you simply want to live the hostel life. Yes if the hostel is actually very decent for you, and you like the thought of living there.

And no to the hostel, simply, if any or most of the above things don't apply to you.

In case of the latter, onwards to house-hunting.

People-finding

There are several ways you can go about it. One of the best ways is to use your family members and friends who already live in the locality of your hospital, if they are available. Ask them very nicely to help you find a place close to the hospital. At least someone you know and trust is dealing with the process, and it takes a great burden off your mind. I happen to have some relatives living in the intended area of my posting, and thus the process of finding an appropriate place was made easier. It helps that I'm also very close to these relatives.

Sometimes, you can even get heavily discounted or free accommodation because your relatives ask you to merely take care of their existing house! This is of course very much welcome for those of us who are very new at handling money.

But more importantly (or slightly less; it is after all relative): find fellow people posted at the hospital you're going to. This means batchmates of the same gender who aren't married, or are married to a non-HO and are willing to live as bachelors/bachelorettes at least on working days. You may even know people of the same HO intake but from different learning institutions who are going to the same place. Seek them out.

Make a chat group for yourselves. Discuss if you want to share in the process of finding the right accommodation, or if any of you prefer to X-Wing it, or go Han Solo. Having others around is undeniably easier. And even if you do not end up rooming together, you will still be in the same hospital and attend the same PTM so it's still useful to have a group chat (on WhatsApp, or Facebook, etc), at least until you start working and going to different departments. Even after separating to your respective departments, it's always useful to have these contacts that you are (hopefully) more familiar with. Especially if you end up in the same accommodation!

Choosing the Right Place

You may choose to find an entire unit (house/apartment) and share with others, or have it all to yourself. OR you may opt to rent a room with existing tenants. This is entirely up to you (and your budget).

The more convenient way, if you can't do it personally or have someone do it personally for you, is to browse online. Several sites that are very handy:

• google.com
• mudah.my
• ibilik.my
• homes.mitula.my

I think the first two in the list are more than sufficient.

A number also take to Facebook to find their house. You have many contacts on Facebook, do you not? Make sure your request status is made Public so it can be shared or seen by strangers who know your Facebook contacts and can potentially help with the process. 

Facebook also contains many people promoting their houses for rent or homestays (which can be converted to rental accommodation if the owner feels like it).

By now, you will probably be facing many options.

Here are things to consider very very meticulously when choosing your accommodation from all those options:

Price

I made a semi-flexible budget. You should too. Make sure the chosen accommodation is within your budget for monthly necessities.

Duh. ;)

Location, location, location

You will, of course, want to look for accommodation close to your workplace. If you do not, what are you thinking? Have you even heard tell of news of road traffic accidents caused by exhausted doctors??! Ahem. Make sure to employ the services of Google Maps, then Google Earth and Google Street View (if available) to check the exact location of your intended accommodation in relation to your workplace. 

If the location is not so clear from the listings, ask the owners to provide you with the address and Google Map it. This usually proves accurate. They shouldn't hide it for whatever reason.

Disasters?

It may also be useful to check for the potential of getting natural and man-made disasters in your place, i.e. floods and landslides. These are very common in our country, particularly during monsoon season (you should have checked this before you chose your hospital too, but some may purposely choose hospitals that are known to be directly involved in these disasters for their own reasons).

And... avoid disastrous places, to the best of your ability. Or if you can't, make sure you are reasonably equipped in the event of said things occurring. Pray that they don't. Take care of the environment. Et cetera.

Security

If you are living alone or of the fairer gender, then the safety of the neighbourhood is really important and should be one of the first things you look at. Ask the owner if it is safe for you; more often than not, they will tell you that it is, no matter what. So to be even more safe, ask around instead. Do google searches. Everything is at the tips of your fingers. 

One of the ways in which the owners try to reassure you (and ask for higher rental) is by implementing safety measures that are probably a necessity in our country nowadays, particularly grills, secure locks and gates, and adequate porch lighting (if your house has a porch). Alarm systems? All the better! Make sure you know how to use them.

Facilities

Before making your decision, enquire ceaselessly. Make sure you are paying for something you will not regret.

You will be spending money on the house/room, and you have your rights. It is easy for us to feel intimidated and presumptuous when negotiating the needs of the house, but this- again- is part of growing up. Learn to put your foot down and make your intentions clear to get what you think is necessary, but be reasonable about it. There is no set formula for doing something like this, so experience really counts. Ask your friends and family members if need be, but make the final decisions for yourself. After all, you are going to be making life and death decisions later at work, no? 

Timing

You need to be clear on when you expect to move in. As the PTM will be done within the area of the hospital we're posted at, it is better to move in prior to the PTM date; remember that there is only a gap of one or two days before we start working after PTM. If you feel that you have many things to settle with the house, in particular moving and buying furniture or appliances, it is better to settle in a few days earlier than the PTM date so that you may familiarize yourself with the new surroundings and not feel too rushed. Make your chosen accommodation as cozy as possible. Feel it out. Baca Yaasin ramai-ramai every night for 3 days straight. Whatever calms you down.

Because it will be only a short while before the REAL struggles begin. *evil laugh*

...

.....

.........

Okay, okay, no worries. Just chill and take it easy. But seriously, how do some of you just do everything last minute? I do not comprehend this fascinating ability. I honestly wish I can be less prepared and more 'in the moment', but alas this was not how I was programmed or raised. ^^;

Have many belongings? Movers will be required so start looking around.

More on that in coming posts, after I gain more exp in that particular subject.

Good luck! :)

E-housemen done. Now What?

Post e-housemen, you might be wondering what to do.

You have read the offer letter and they involve some very foreign things. Fret not! It's actually rather simple. Unless you have to find accommodation and move, then it's not so simple, but it's part of growing up so yay!

Anyway.

Remember those forms from before? Copy them, at least twice, so you have 3 copies. Keep them in a special file. We'll call it 'Special File'.

What forms?! You ask.

Okay, let me explain lah...
And for the stuff below that you can keep in a file, keep them in that Special File for ease.

1) By now you would already have received your SPA offer letter. You can't fill out e-housemen without it after all. With that offer letter, they would have given you 3 copies of Surat Terima Pelantikan, and would have asked you to download the other two items from their site online (portal SPA): the Surat Akuan Sumpah (SPA.6C) and Borang Pemeriksaan Doktor untuk pelantikan ke Perkhidmatan Kerajaan.

This requires seeing a medical officer and above, and also a commisioner of oaths, or pesuruhjaya sumpah.
And make sure someone witnessed your medical check-up forms prior to doing the medical check-up!

THESE things, complete them before your PTM date and make at least 2 copies. Then make 3 more copies just to be sure so you have 6 copies. If you have the money and printer, make as many copies as you can afford to without being (too) ridiculous.

Then keep them safe.

2) Do you have a KWSP account? No? Then, please go to the nearest KWSP branch and sign up. All you need is your IC with a working chip. They have super useful kiosks with very helpful and friendly staff to help you (especially the one in Kajang, don't ask me why I went to several KWSP branches lol). Not a single cent to spend, too! Keep the slip of registration, then activate your iAkaun online. You can do that in the office itself or at the comfort of your home.

If you've just made your KWSP account, you will have no account statement available to print. For now I merely made several copies of my registration confirmation slip and had a couple verified, just to be safe. I am sure the hospital admin will brief you on this later (along with the account verification, see number 5).

3) Take/print out passport pictures. Lots of them. I believe there will always be a need for more passport pictures in your entire working life. Print out 12, why not.

I suggest 20 at least, to be scattered to the winds so that you can find smaller stacks of them if you happen to forget where you put the initial stack. Dead serious yo.

4) Make your official stamp and name tag. Many people say the hospital can do this for you, but it's always better to be prepared (and have extras). Therefore, make them yourself. A portable type of stamp with 5 lines cost me RM 33 per stamp. I made 2. The normal non-shiny name tags, in large, cost me RM 5.50 each.

For my stamp, the details I included were:

DR. FULL NAME

MBBS (UNI NAME)

PEGAWAI PERUBATAN UD41

MMC NO. 12345

HOSPITAL NAME

Centered and CAPSed, the lot of it.

Many chose to omit the name of uni, but I've been posted to that hospital before and all the HOs I saw had their uni name in their stamp, so I figured better safe than sorry. Also I am rather proud of my alma mater, no matter what people say. 'Tis the time to be proud of your alma mater, and make them proud!

But to be safe, the format most used is without uni name, and with the words 'Pegawai Perubatan Siswazah' (not Pegawai Perubatan UD41) to emphasize your provisionally-registered status. Haha.

Each hospital has their own way of making your official chop. In most hospitals, they do not actually mind how your chop is organized as long as the details are true and you don't misuse it.

Also, if you lose your official chop, you have to make a police report. No kidding. So keep it safe!

5) Go to your current bank account- the checking account, that is- and ask for an account verification to be printed out. I believe if you have one of those tiny books (buku simpanan) you just need to copy that, but most of us these days do not.

In any case, just go to the information counter and say you are to start working and your employer requires your account details. They know what you need, and will ask for your bank card/IC (can't remember which or if it's both, but it's something you should have with you at all times anyway). Then they will immediately print out a single sheet with your name, IC number and account number, among other things. The bank staff will stamp it with that particular branch's special chop, and sign it- these are required. It takes almost no time at all and doesn't cost a single cent.

I did this in CIMB, and on top of the document are the words 'CASA Account Relationship Inquiry'. If you have several accounts in the same card, make sure you remember the account number that you want your checking account to be- as the document will only state one account number.

Make copies and have them verified.

6) Photocopy (at least 3 but I recommend ~10) and place in Special File:

• SPM results
• Medical degree
• MMC temporary practicing certificate
• SPA offer letter
• Own IC
• Birth certificate
• Parents' IC (Unsure if needed now; will update later) - You actually do not need this, but you will need to know your parents' full names, IC numbers, addresses, phone numbers and marriage date (?) to fill out your HRMIS form later when you report to your respective hospitals (after PTM).

Currently, other than the account statement I am not 100% sure if you need to verify any of the above copies. You may do so to several copies, to be safe.  My hospital administration did not require verified copies and only asked for ONE copy of each thing- maximum 2, one of which they returned to me anyway (the Surat Penempatan from KKM, the one you print after filling out e-Housemen). I think it's because they cared enough to photocopy the documents on their own, because I've heard friends from other hospitals required more than 3 copies of each thing!

7) The rest of the items on your KKM letter of placement will be done during hospital orientation/after PTM, so don't worry. This includes surat akujanji, laporan perubahan, and tapisan keselamatan kasar- the latter of which is fully online. Source of information: Call to KKM.

The tapisan keselamatan can be done after your PTM, but if you are unsure just wait until your hospital orientation. They will guide you on how to properly fill out your details.

8) For those posted far away from home, this is the time to start looking for rentals, movers and transportation methods. I will probably update my personal thoughts on moving in coming posts, to make it easier for first-time movers- at least based on my very green experience. Many do not bring enough things to hire movers and can ask their parents or other family members to help. That is even better :)

May Allah ease everything!



P/S.: This info will hopefully be updated periodically as I discover more of the proper methods, after having done them and confirmed them with suitable individuals/authorities.

E-Housemen: The Force Awakens

I have gone through the much-anticipated, arrhythmia-inducing process of applying through e-Housemen and would like to share it here... To the best of my abilities.

Sorry for the lack of screenies because as you may know, it is a very rushed process and you cannot backtrack to the actual forms once you are done.

In preparation, 

I read the e-housemen guidebook which can be found online or after the KKM e-mail reaches you. I read it again and again to familiarize myself with the steps listed.

I sought to be in a place where the internet is strongest. This means NO MOBILE INTERNET and possibly leaving the comfort of your own home to be in the cyber cafe... Or to a friend's house. I noticed a lot of people living in more remote areas had the problem of their process 'hanging' due to unfavourable internet connection or device capability.

Prepare your best device. Try to avoid cellphones, and use a PC that is not ancient or overencumbered. Most laptops work fine. Make sure you are able to type accurately and comfortably on that device.

I prepared my own information: SPA reference number (the one you need to fill in the acceptance letter, as written on your offer letter from SPA), full name, phone number, current correspondence address; most of these were already filled in but I double checked anyway. These I sequestered on a word document for easy copypasta.

I prepared the information for all my family members i.e. parents and siblings. This may include your spouse and children if you are married. Information needed: IC no., full name, local residential address (no option for other countries which I think is a major drawback), age, cellphone number, job. All in CAPS. There will be several rather redundant dropdown options for each family member, which are: Ethnicity, occupation field, occupation sector... They can slow you down more than you think. But my advice is not to leave any family member behind, or omit their details, to the best of your ability. There have been several people advising us to just skip all but one family member's details to get to the placement window quicker. Being the person that I am, I am not capable of doing such a thing, as they have warned you to fill in everything. I think knowingly omitting to key in your family members is kind of like falsifying your information.

I also opted for the Chrome autofill and autocomplete functions to be turned on so that the info is easily filled in. For autocomplete, I included my name, cellphone number, correspondence address in CAPS. I tried finding ways to input other necessary information into autocomplete; I think in the end, you may put anything in the name/address/phone number blanks which may be used in autofill once you start typing out in forms on your browser. You can try it.

You should also prepare mentally and spiritually. This is to ensure you have the smoothest process and choose what is best for you. This includes prayers, family and friend support, and basically gearing yourself up to not get your first choice (or even your second or third). Be prepared to lose and hope for the best!

You should have registered earlier according to your date of offer letter. It only requires your IC number, and the registration usually opens a couple of days before the application date. Be alert as it may open before the KKM email reaches you. On the registration date, your IC number is taken as your login name, and you will have to create your password for your login process. Retrospective advice? Make your password as easy and short as possible. It would help in the frenzy of application day.

On the day of applications

Ensure you wake up bright and early on the day the system opens and have had your breakfast.

Park your laptop somewhere close to the wifi router, or plug in the internet cable one hour prior (okay, 30 to 15 minutes before is actually very acceptable too).

Make sure you have all other unnecessary applications on your computer turned off- especially those that drain data.

Open website at http://ehousemen.moh.gov.my and find the Login page.

Log. In.

I started furiously logging in close to 15 minutes prior to my PC clock turning 12:00; I actually started trying 45 minutes prior and kept trying in shorter and shorter intervals, up until it turned 11:55, at which point my friend and I were inputting our login details continuously until we got accepted into the system at about 12:04. I lost count of the number of times I was denied access. I thought the people manning the servers might be having a chuckle about how kiasu people can be. In my defense, THIS CONCERNS A COUPLE OF THE MOST CRUCIAL YEARS OF MY LIFE OMG. Being cool just doesn't cut it!

Once I entered the systems, I noticed that most of my info was already keyed in in the first part of the form. I double-checked (rushingly) and filled out/chose the rest that is necessary: the No. Rujukan SPA, place of birth, number of siblings, religion, marital status, citizenship, number of children and sponsorship. From the e-housemen guide, these options can be seen. Then I clicked Seterusnya.

We come to the Family tab, which is probably the most time-consuming of all tabs. You may choose to ignore this tab in favour of moving forward more quickly in accordance to some people's advice. My advice is DON'T DO THAT as you should have read earlier. Here the info I have mentioned in preparation is needed. Sometimes it's quicker to type 'em in. It depends on how proficient you are at copying and pasting, or typing out information- which says a lot about your undergraduate days (hint hint)! Persevere in putting in your family credentials! I was being verbally obnoxious about it but my friend kept reminding me that your family is a blessing. You know it's true, but in the moment do you really? *laughs* When the youngest sibling has been completed, I gave my entire family a once-over, making sure the names and IC numbers and family relations are correct (rushingly), then clicked Seterusnya.

Then we come to the most confusing (but briefest) tab which is the Education tab. According to the manual this is for other qualifications than SPM and your medical degree; with the drop-down you can see it actually involves your pre-university courses or other degrees you may have taken. Foundation is notably not included. Some people who did the university foundation course just chose 'TIADA'; others put 'LAIN-LAIN', and chose the year they finished said pre-university programme regardless. Then click Seterusnya.

FINALLY the most important tab. Shriek!
This goes without saying, as you have probably visualised doing this a thousand times by the time you get to this spot. I know I did.

It's simple enough- you can choose to place yourself in a hospital or delay.

Choose your chosen hospital's state from the drop-down menu, then choose the hospital with available vacancies in that state in the drop-down menu below it. Make sure you choose the correct hospital as some states have several similar-sounding hospitals (notably, JB) and in the process you might not have noticed. Check as many times as you can afford, choose the hospital and send.

If your chosen hospital is not there, choose your next best hospital. If you refuse, and this has already been discussed with those who matter to you, you may delay instead by going to the Penangguhan tab. No one I know did this but the instructions are in the official guide.

They will confirm your chosen hospital with the next window. Read the name of the hospital and the state. Commit yourself as you cannot change this! Click on the 'PENGAKUAN' checkbox. Confirm your choice and hit send again.

A pop-up will appear! You have succeeded! Hooray! Praise be to God!

Print out your offer letter (saved in the computer as PDF form).
Screenie.
Post it on social media.
Go wild.

And pray to God you're prepared enough for a life as an HO in less than two months!


As for me, alhamdulillah. I got my first choice.
As soon as this was done with, my friend and I went to eat and settle some stuff, and we made our hospital stamps/chop and name tags.

Now I'm in the process of finding appropriate accommodation choices and thinking up ways to transport a gazillion books to said place before my PTM starts. OTL.

Learning to Cook

Part of my usual activities during the past few months of idleness is cooking for myself. Living alone, this is a fairly easy practice, as there is no one to appease with my culinary creations and potential mishaps.

Unlike many my age, I do not take pride in them, even if they turn out palatable- which they usually do. Not that I am against those who post their ventures on social media, because those can be inspirational! But alas, I'm very insecure about these things. As I am about many things.

Now I'd like to say, kids (are you a kid? If you aren't, then nvm): It's never too late to start cooking, because it is one of the easiest things in the world. Perhaps owing to the fact that we need to eat to survive, after a while you will find yourself being compelled to cook something for yourself, giving into your hunger pangs.

An easy tip for those of you living pretty much on your own is thus: Buy the raw materials needed to cook the simplest things, with whatever kitchen appliances at your disposal, and avoid keeping packets of instant food. This is because those of us who are more lazy will not cook our own meals as long as there are easier ways to put food in our rumbling tummies. And what easier way than to just add hot water for a quick fix!

You may say you're too busy. I guess it's understandable, all things considered. But with the financial status of the country and most of the middle to lower income groups right now, self-made meals may be the cheapest way to go. Students mostly will have weekends off- utilize these days to cook your own meal or two, instead of going out to eat. In fact, this is probably when your friends aren't home, for those of you who are less confident about sharing your food. And even if they were, sharing is caring, and you could probably do with some input!

In the arsenal of student living, I find having a portable electric hob is useful especially for accommodation units that do not allow for gas cooking (most dorm-style accommodation). This, of course, should be accompanied by flat-bottomed pots that are compatible. If that is too much, we could also easily rely on the trusty electric rice cooker, too. Even if you are not partial to rice, the rice cooker can be used for a variety of creative cooking- including, surprisingly, cakes!

But for those with the privilege of cooking with a proper cooking hob, then all the better.

When I started my foray into cooking, about 7 to 8 years ago, I used this site at www.trymasak.my . I don't know how I ended up there; it might have been the recommendation of a family friend. Now, I found that it has been replaced/renamed to iCook Asia- at least that's where it redirects me when I input the trymasak url. Try it!

The good thing about the site was that I could easily look up recipes based on the ingredients I had, and the difficulty level I wanted. Back then, I obviously always chose Easy. These tend to have very simple cooking methods, like stir-frying, and very easy ingredients and preparation. Quite a few people who contributed recipes on the site also put harder dishes on Easy mode, probably due to their 1337 cooking skills, but they are easy to overlook. In the end, most things to cook are easy- they just require practice.

The only slightly hard thing about cooking is estimating ingredients or cooking times- which is often. Many Malaysian recipes do not have exact amounts of salt, sugar or any spices, and sometimes none of everything! That is where practical experience is important. Visit your mom/dad/sister/brother in the kitchen regularly when they cook, if they are adept at cooking. Watch what they do and try to help a little to make peace with them while you intrude in their space (heheh). This makes doing your own cooking easier, as it allows you to feel more at peace with the heat, sizzles, noises... The works. No matter how many youtube videos you watch, you cannot get this authentic experience unless you walk yourself into a 'live' kitchen.

Several things you have to frequently practice before you start cooking include peeling and chopping onions, vegetables and roots, and preparing chicken/other meat cuts. For most Asians, washing and cooking rice is paramount to a successful meal preparation, so get around to that, too. Cooking shows are made that much easier because most of the time, these ingredients come fully prepared to be thrown into their respective pots. In actuality, preparing these tedious things take up the bulk of even the easiest dishes.

What this topic has to do with my soon-to-be working life is that in my almost decade-long journey into cooking, only today did I learn to make rice porridge. And this is quite a useful and easy recipe to do, as it does not require much in the way of kitchen appliances or ingredients- especially when one is pressed for time! I used the rice cooker, and was unsure of how much water to put in with the rice. In fact, I wasn't too sure of how much rice to put in, either. But remembering the famous saying 'nasi menjadi bubur', I figured too much water and too little rice should work- and if it doesn't, merely adding water should do the trick to making the porridge as soupy as possible. For some reason, the saying makes the thought of cooking porridge an easy one. It does tend to happen accidentally, as the saying goes, so how hard can it be to put your mind to it and make it, right?

I put in slightly less than 2 rice pots of rice with thrice the amount of water I would usually put- or maybe four times, since I kept adding small amounts as it was cooking. When the rice seemed almost done, I tossed in a crumbled chicken cube and stirred the contents. steaming my right hand raw and red in the process- ouch. A healthier option would be to boil some chicken beforehand to be put into the porridge later, and subsequently use the broth for the porridge, but I did not have the luxury of doing that.

In barely no time at all, it was done. Just make sure to never let the rice cooker run its full cooking course, to prevent accidental bubur menjadi nasi (it happens- so stir frequently, as you would to anything cooking on the stovetop).

So, lesson of the day: Jangan biarkan bubur menjadi nasi. Be vigilant! What goes around, comes around!
Um, what?

Signing off!

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

The Journey has Begun

I have graduated from medical school for about 4 months now.

I went on a stage all dolled-up and received my symbolic scroll 2 months ago.

The actual MBBS degrees, two separate papers proclaiming my qualifications in Bahasa and English apiece, were collected a month ago.

My job offer letter as a UD41 Medical Officer (Pegawai Perubatan UD41) from the Public Services Commission of Malaysia (Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam, better known as SPA) arrived two weeks ago. Of course, the interviews were conducted way back in June- that was half a year ago- as arranged by my university for my entire batch. I doubt any of them failed their interviews; I doubt anyone on that day failed their interview. My interview questions were, for lack of a better word, deep.
No, I will not openly tell you what questions were asked of us (the interview was conducted in groups of 5 for us); you may ask me personally and I *may* divulge what I remembered. Not that it would be helpful for you, most likely, unless you got the exact person I got asking us most of the questions. Also that wouldn't be fun for you, would it?

And now I am waiting with bated breath for the Ministry of Health (MOH, or Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia, KKM) to send me an email containing further instructions for me to register and then apply for my placement in local hospitals through the rather new system aptly called e-housemen.

What I do know that is 99% for sure is that our Program Transformasi Minda (PTM) will be conducted after Chinese New Year, which will fall on 8 February 2016. This means there is a chance that I will be celebrating my birthday in the middle of PTM. Oh sweet delight!

As if I needed another reminder that I am, on average, 2 years older than most of us fresh HOs-to-be.


Accompanying the agony of waiting is an excess of planning and prepping for just about everything that comes to mind. Rental houses searched, despite the fact that my hospital of choice is not guaranteed; reliable movers, ditto; MRCPCH dates and fees; shopping lists, including IKEA bookcases that will definitely be needed along with videos of their set-up. This is no joke! On and on the random searches come and go...

Then, inevitably, came the drawn-out search for information regarding housemanship, despite the many people I've already witnessed, talked to, and read about throughout the past six years. I have a general tendency for blogs as they are more personal than books, newspaper articles and guidelines. I came across many, of course, and with each of them undertones of malice; of malcontent. But mostly with a sprinkling of optimism. Every dark cloud, eh?

Therefore, of course I was drawn to document my own journey as a medical person here.
Preferably on a very, very long-term basis.


My journey as a student has been documented, rather patchily during clinical years, on another private blog account. Momentarily, Google could crawl over it- this I amended within my first year of medical school. It was rather unfair, seeing how I was drawn to my own university after having read several blogs from the existing students whom, incidentally, have by now long taken their blogs down, too.

I guess with the glut of doctors, as we are recently calling it, this blog will be one of thousands that the future generations will read. Many will laugh in delight at our frustrated rants. Oh, how they toiled! How they blathered and whined to no avail!
And to that I say: I hope my blatherings help you, you ingrate.

But it is in my sincerest hopes that I prevail this time around.
My hopes that this will be as informative to you as it is liberating to me.

Being a good House Officer means not having time to do this, you protest.
In fact I thought so too, but in one's life, reflection is always needed to improve.

And thus my (second) intro ends.