Festival of Lights

Am strongly feel that there are no Indians who read this blog...

Well, it doesn't matter coz as Malaysians, we celebrate all festivals!

Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed Deepavali...

M.C. Seeker

Allow me to share this tiny secret with all of you out there..

We secretly label some of our patients in the outpatient clinic as 'MC Seeker'. A small note will be made on top of the patient's card, as a warning sign to the potential doctors who will be seeing that particular patient in the near future.

I was doing locum in Casualty yesterday and was extremely irritated by a number of 'MC Seeker'. These patients gave all sort of absurd excuses, false symptoms, and stories just to gain the doctor's sympathy or for their personal gain.

Throughout my career, I have come across a variety of MC Seekers. Here are some the common approach the 'MC Seeker' may use:

1. Straight forward:

When a patient enters the examination room and say 'Saya mahu MC'. Hello?? Is that even a symptom? U call that a reason to see a doctor? Please, we doctors come to work for a real purpose, ok?- to figure out and solve a patient's problem. Not just randomly give out MC on patient's request. We do the assessment, and WE will decide whether u are fit to go to work. Get it?

2. Beat around the bush:

This type of patients will give a wide variety of symptoms till we can't even figure out which one is head or tail. Eg: Saya sakit kepala, lepas tu sampai demam, lepas tu kebas, tak boleh jalan, pening kepala, sakit perut, bla bla bla. The doctor will ask further questions to try to reach a diagnosis. The patient will give vague answers. This is when the doctor will realise the real purpose for the patient coming to the clinic. Some doctors will get fooled by these kind of patients and will order a whole battery of investigations to help reach a diagnosis. What a waste of the government's money and resources!

4. The Liar

I don't have to elaborate on this one. People lie all the time to get MC.

5. MC Extender: (Haha, is there such a word??)

These are usually the smarter patients-the ones who are already in the 'professional level' in obtaining MCs. These patients will usually have a real complaint, usually muscle ache or joint pain. He will first see his private practitioner and get an MC easily. The following day, he will go to the government clinic to obtain another MC. The reason for this is because most companies only accept one/two days of MC from a private clinic. If a patient wants extra days of sick leave, a doctor from a government clinic has to issue another MC.

6. Habiskan Annual MC:

This kind of patient will usually have an underlying chronic disorder like gout. He will happily binge on seafood and come to the clinic the next day with joint pain. After prescribing analgesia, the patient will ask for MC. When asked why, he'll say ' Allaaa....MC saya banyak lagi yang tinggal tahun ni yang belum habis pakai. Boleh la kasi satu, doc'? Ishhh...memang geram. U ingat ni macam cuti ke, nak habis2 kan hujung tahun??

7. The Leech:

This group includes close/distant family members of the hospital staff. MC is usually for balik kampung or family emergency. It's very difficult to approach this kind of people, as the staff is usually your friend and you wouldn't want to jeopardize your friendship.

Asking one day of MC is bad enough, but there was one occasion when a relative of my staff asked for 2 days to balik kampung. I just told the fella off. 'Melampau la sampai mintak 2 hari!'

8. The Bully:

This is the most irritating group of patients. They will come with the tiniest problem like simple cough and cold, joint pain of the finger, rash- and yet they still ask for MC- even though they seemed as fit as a horse. And when the doctor refuses to issue the MC, he will threaten/scold/demand/using foul language etc. till you give in. Damn annoying, especially when you have another 50 patients lining up outside the room to see you.

9. The Timeslip Refuser

It's difficult to determine whether this group of patient is lying. A timeslip is issued as the patient seems fit to go to work. However, patient will refuse the timeslip and demand for an MC instead. Reason being:

- 'Company saya tak accept timeslip!'

-' Kalau guna timeslip, tak dapat gaji untuk satu hari!'

-' Sekarang sudah petang la, apa guna bagi timeslip, baik bagi MC saja!'

-' Ofis saya jauh, bile sampai ofis, sudah habis waktu kerja!'

So you see, MC seekers are just down right irritating and can just spoil a doctor's day. So please. Have some respect and do come to the clinic for real reasons. Thank you.

Post-Merisik Fever, literally

I've been contemplating to make this entry, but I guess it's about time that I share my joy with the people that I care and love..The people who are close to me would know that I'm not the type who like to talk about my relationship. I have my own reasons, but as of today, I feel that it's time for me to turn over a new leaf.

You see, I couldn't really concentrate during the kursus, knowing the Mr Boyfriend's parent will be coming over to my house to discuss about our future...It was on a Sunday, and since the schedule was so packed, I decided to stay on in Bagan Lalang, and not go home to join in the ceremony..

Apparently, it all turned out quite well...

I urged my brother to send pictures to me via email, which he did..thanks Japa! Thank god that kampung Bagan Lalang had wireless!

From his side to mine..

After the kursus ended, I dropped by at my other half's place, to see the gifts that was given from my side to his..I was quite impressed....Nice and classy! Thank you dear aunties!

I had to ask the maid to take this picture for me..It turned out pretty good, right?

Turns out Mr boyfriend was still asleep in the room when I came over, and hence, I gave him a surprise visit at the same time. Cool!

Mr Sleepy face, and his gift..Specially bought by my dad...

Even though I'm down with a flu now, it doesn't matter coz I'm now happier than ever...

Kursus Induksi Kumpulan 1 Siri 4/2008

Being stuck in Bagan Lalang-a place with no attractions whatsoever-for 9 days in total was something that I never would have expected. My reason for attending the kursus was just to get my pengesahan jawatan settled. That's it.

Bagan Lalang Beach
one of my staff told me that the beach stinks, but he was wrong! the beach seemed alright to me..the girl on the right hand side is 'Ismat-my roommate.

The hotel was nothing to shout about. The only good thing about the kursus was the food that they served! Far better that what we had at the Kursus Kenegaraan (BTN). 6 course meal on a daily basis...occasionally I would skip tea and supper, just didn't want to spoil myself!

The shocking thing that happened on the second day was when I was elected to be the Penghuluwati. Some joker shouted out my name during the nomination, and a few seconds after that, an even bigger joker yelled out' Saya cadangkan cadangan ditutup!' Then, everybody clapped and said 'Sokong! Sokong!' And I was like...' What the...? Did that just happenned?'

Anyway...it was just lectures and lectures everyday..The topics couldn't be more boring! Tatertertib, Dasar-dasar, etika, etc. My normal routine would be yawning for the first half and hour, sleep for the next half hour, and later frantically copy notes from the super efficient girl beside me. I'm really terrible when it comes to lectures,..I just can't help it! Taking sweets didn't help to keep myself awake..

The best part of the kursus was the Persembahan Kumpulan, whereby each group could perform whatever the want, be it, singing, dancing, acting whatever. Our group did a sketch called 'Pink Prashant' -coz the main actor's name is Prashant and our theme song was from Pink Panther. Lame right? Haha. I know. It's about this espionage and his attempt to bribe a government officer, and was later caught by the police in the end..

Kumpulan 7- Pulau Sipadan
From left: Idza the judge, Kiran the policewoman, Anim the stage manager, me, Roopa the receptionist, Felix the policeman, Nasir the govt officer, Prashant the espionage and Monica the narrator.

We didn't win, but we had loads of fun preparing the script and rehearsing the play. U know what was my role? Being the slutty secretary for the government officer...Heh. not my choice ok!

Today, I'm just glad that I'm finally home, able to sleep on my ever-so-comfortable bed and shower with clean water - (the water in Bagan Lalang was terrible! Karat wei...)

Here are some other pictures..

With Vijay- waiting for our turns to receive our certs..Note: we were on the last row!

Peek-A-Boo!

Feeling Proud

This is a long overdue post...

I was on-call last Saturday when my other half asked my to buy Harian Metro the next day. He told me that someone did a write up on him and it might be in the papers. I thought he was pulling my leg, but at the same time, feeling a little bit excited, just in case there's this slightest chance that it might be true. He specifically asked me to get up early in morning, go to the nearest shop and be the first one to read the article.

True enough, I went to the small sundry shop within the hospital compound, and there it was...a full page article (2 pages actually-coz it was at center part of the newspaper, two pages joined together) telling about him and his achievements. His name was even the title of the news! and it was in Red!

I couldn't believe it. I couldn't find the words to describe how much I was proud of him.

And now...when I google his name, the first thing that comes out is that article.
How cool is that?

Well, I'll let u read the article yourself. It actually looks better in the hardcopy version, rather that the one posted in the Harian Metro website.

Kejutan Wan Mohd Azim

Ampang Medikal

Ampang Medikal....Aduh. Where do I begin!?

Please don't judge me just yet. I was just randomly going through the TV channels after watching the news, when I came across this show. I read an article about in the local papers, but never actually had the chance to watch it..till now. And hence, I watched the show out of curiousity. Could a local production company pull off a Malaysian version of 'Grey's Anatomy'?

Owh man..I think I could list out more than 100 ridiculous things that they had in the show. For starters, who wears scrubs with a labcoat? Walking around the hospital compound, eating at the hospital canteen in scrubs? Mau kena marah dgn pengarah? Hello, this is not Seattle Grace Hospital.

And please don't get me started on the clinical symptoms, examinations and management...gile merepek. Not worth mentioning.

Performing CPR in front of relatives? Nak kena saman?

It's not that I don't support local dramas or movies.. it's just that I wish they would be more original and at least do their homework before writing the script. Even the acting has a lot of improvement to do...

I could only stomach 1/2 hour of the show.

Ampang Medikal: strictly not for doctors, future doctors or any medical personnel....

Baby!

Congratulations Tino on your newborn baby!

Mesti cute mcm mummy dia kan..

Insya-Allah Ee dtg jumpe end of this week...

Susceptibility to Mosquito Bites

We had a family gathering today and the topic of mosquitos came up. One of my cousins got bitten recently and developed a more severe reaction than expected. She and her niece were the only ones who got bitten by mosquitos at her house and the other family members were spared.

I have always wondered why mosquitos bite some people more than others...

This was what I found out from multiple websites over the net..I managed to get most of my questions answered.

1. Has any research being done?
Yes. Scientists are still investigating the complexities involved. Many of the mosquito's physiological demands are poorly understood and many of the processes they use to evaluate potential blood meal hosts remain a mystery.

Recent research has been undertaken to narrow down the smells that are attractive and repellent to mosquitoes. The research was at first described as similar to looking for a needle in a haystack, but scientists have since managed to track down and identify around 30 chemical compounds out of 300 that can protect people.---> The basis of mosquito repellents.

This is what they use to do study the body odours of people who repel mosquitos...Cool eh? It's called a foil sleeping bag.



2. What/Who are they attracted to?
Female mosquitoes use the CO2 we exhale as their primary cue to our location.

3. Are they attracted to any smells?
Mosquitoes are attracted to the smells of certain people. If a person is rarely bitten, then his or her body gives off a smell that masks the scent that attracts mosquitoes.

Fragrances from hair sprays, perfumes, deodorants, and soap can cover these chemical cues.

4. What about the colour of clothing that we wear?
Dark colors capture heat and make most people more attractive to mosquitoes. Light colors refract heat and are generally less attractive. Detergents, fabric softeners, perfumes, and body odor can counteract the effects of color.

5. Since they are blood-suckers, are menstruating women at risk?
Women around the time of thier menstrual period are said to get bitten by mosquitos more than other women.


6. Any particular food that we should avoid in order to prevent ourselves from getting bitten?
People say that mosquitos are attracted to bananas. I couldn't find any literature to support this..Some believe that we should prevent from making our blood 'sweet', so we need to take something that smells terrible like garlic....i don't think this is true!

5. Other interesting facts?
They are drawn to lactic acid in sweat. So mandi!

They are also attracted to people with Group O positive blood. (Based on a research published in the Journal of Medical Entomology)

Mosquitoes prefer warm body parts to cold ones.



Hope u all find this useful!

Reference:
1. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080716222338AA6MKys
2. Mosquitoes' Tricks Still Exceed Remedies, The New York Times

3. http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=32414 (This one's very informative)

Day 1 of Raya

D1 of Raya: Kota Bharu.

I was woken up that morning at about 0630H, by my dad who urged me to perform the Subuh prayers. I then went to the kitchen to help out my aunties to prepare breakfast for everybody. Everything had to be self-service, as this time there were no maids around to help to set the table, preparing drinks and washing up the dishes. Well, nothing new for our family as we've been surviving at our home in Shah Alam without a maid for the past one week.

After breakfast, I realised that I forgot to bring an extra baju kurung for the Raya prayers! And so I asked one of my aunties whether I'd be ok if I wear a caftan for prayers. She gave a me a look as though I proposed something really stupid, and she suggested that I just wear the telekung on top of the caftan from home. Then it hit me, I didn't bring an extra telekung too! (U see, I've been using my sister's telekung throughout my stay in KB)

Bad shape..I then called my cousin Iz whether I could borrow his mum's telekung, and whether he could send it over to our house which was just 3 minutes away. Iz was still asleep when I called...(Ape ni, Iz? dah pukul 730 pon blom bangun lagi?) To proof that he was still in a daze, he asked me back in his sleepy voice, ' Nak pinjam telekung? Untuk ape? ' Ler...nak buat semayang la, takkan nak buat tido kot. Ape la.

To cut a long story short, I performed the raya prayers and visited my grandma's grave in a caftan..No choice, what to do.

Moral of the story: Even if you want to travel light, please bring all the necessities. Siapa jugak yang malu nanti.