Sunday, March 22, 2009

Testing

Testing

Sunday, March 8, 2009

The dissappoinment...

Lately, I've been glancing through a lot of my secondary school mates' blogs as I finally have the time to settle down and relax. From it, I just realize how very different our university life is. Some of my friends are in Japan, some in Australia, some in UMS, all are very very different indeed. Comparing myself with them, my experience seems so... ordinary. Or maybe there are any experience except for the long nights of dota and the early ward rounds and on-calls.

Studying abroad has always been what I've been yearning for so long. It was a childhood dream, which remains as such, a dream. There isn't the slightest sign any changes in that status. University life in USM Kubang Kerian(USMKK) so far has been very far off interesting, and even more far off than what I wanted. I've always thought of University life as when we will be more independant, in a large campus which is properly equipped, and has lots of exciting and fun activities. Much to my dissappointment, this isn't the case. My campus is more or less as large as my secondary school with most of the equipments malfunctioning. The gyms have lots of equipments, mostly not functioning. We have wireless, which isn't so unstable that Celcom broadband is fast becoming a trend in the campus. With this kind of connection, our lecturers still expects us to get our assignments done. In the end, we have to turn to the library computer which is the main source of virus infection in the campus. Even the qualities of the lecturers have dropped significantly since the first year I came. A lot of the 'legendary' has become history and lots more are on their way out due to the policy of our campus. The best examples will be our physiology department where there was once a good deal of 'Einstein-ish' figures. Well, for a consolation, we still have a lecturer who does look like Einstein in our surgery department.
I would give anything to be taught be someone like him!
Another dissappointing thing in the campus is the amount of activities. Due to the amount of undergraduates in the campus, there can't be too much activities. We do not have the prom nights, the faculty nights or any dinner in fact to look forward to. Nevertheless, we do have some activities such as student conference which was held in UMS, and a few other outdoor activities. However, much to my distaste, due to the fact that all the organizers of this activities are the M type, we rarely know about the existance of such activities until after they are over. The M people will take this opportunities fully for themselves while when we try to organize an activity, there should be an amount of them present. What an irony! So, for the whole year, the only thing worth thinking about is the Christmas night organized by the Christian Fellowship and also the Chinese new years night organized by 2nd year students.

From the blogs, I also came to realize all the beautiful scenery and all the different weathers that I have missed. Since I have been trapped here for such a long time, I've only experienced the super-duper hot season and the monsoon season where the rain just won't stop. There is no spring, no summer, no fall and no winter. Just plain-o sun or rain.

My university is also just one of lower ranking university in the country. We are currently just 3rd in the standings in our country. We do have a nick called the apex university, but well, I think so far it still counts for nothing since nothing is up to standard. Our university's ranking have plummeted to 313 in the world standing and is only 7 places ahead of UPM. UM not only is our country's top, but they are 73 places ahead of us. Maybe I'm just good enough for this University. Who knows?*shrugs shoulder*

And then there is the whole issue of the hostel thing at the beginning of the year. Its just made me realize that some people's words are just worthless. Our admins are exactly like politicians.(althought not all of them are like that) Its pointless to ask them to get a hold of information of any condition. They will give you any answers to make their life easier. As long as thats the case, if you suffer, thats your problem. So, they be worried if you step in our admins' office and sell a lot of fishes. They do sell them you know. Who says admins are there to help students?

Well, looking at the bright side, at least I will be away from here after one more year(hopefully, fingers crossed). After that, I can try and make a better choice then when I did for my university. After all, we have to pay the price for decisions that we make.haha

Friday, March 6, 2009

Doctors

What are doctors to us? What kind of person should a doctor be? In my mind, a doctor should be a person who is caring and very knowledgeable. Nevertheless, since entering this course, I have changed my view.

There are a lot of doctors who just wants profit, they couldn't care less for the patient. Some doesn't think too much of money, but they don't think much of their patient either. Some are excellent teachers, who are willing to teach everything they know to you. Some feels that other doctors are a pain in the ass, who will drag them down when they do their work. All in all, doctors are just normal people.

In my four years in medical school, I've only seen a few doctors who I look up to. They are excellent clinicians, yet they do not lack the human side of a doctor. They talk to their patients, they explain to their patients, and they treat the patients like their friend. It is this kind of doctor that gives us the urge to do better, in the hope of being a good doctor like they are. On the other hand, some doctors don't even bother to see their patients. And when they go to the patients bed, they just glance through the patients folder and move on to other things. Some even are rude to the patients.

For example, a doctor went to see her patient. This patient had a lump on the body which has caused her pain for months. She was originally scheduled for surgery on the day before but for some reason, the surgery was called off. When the doctor came, she tell the doctor that she is in pain and is hoping to get the surgery soon. Instead of assuring the patient, she answered her coldly. Her reply was, ' if we can, we will do the surgery, if we can't, we can't la'. The patient was very sad and tears started to drop. The doctor went away without further explanation. Is this the kind of doctor that you would want for yourself?

My friends had an experience that made him extremely depress for one whole week. He was with this specialist for exam when the specialist asked him some questions. Being an extremely bright student, my friend was able to answer most of the question, and then there came the shock. There was one question that he wasn't sure of, but he tried to answer anyway, guess what the response from the specialist was...
Bullshit man! Nah!
That was the response. Imagine the look on my friend's face when I saw him immediately after that exam. haha.

Here's something just for laughs...

Doctors Conference -

Five surgeons from big cities are discussing on who makes the easiest patient to operate on.

The first surgeon, from Singapore, says, "I like to see accountants on my operating table. When you open them up, everything inside is numbered."

The second, from Bangkok, responds, "Yeah, but you should try electricians! Everything inside them is colour coded."

The third surgeon, from Bejing says, "No, I really think librarians are the best, everything inside them is in alphabetical order."

The fourth surgeon, from Jakarta , chimes in, "You know, I like construction workers... those guys always understand when you have a few parts left over."

But the fifth surgeon, from KL , shuts them all up: "You're all wrong. Politicians from Malaysia are the easiest to operate on. There's no guts, no hearts, no balls, no brains and no spines. And the head and the arse are interchangeable!"

Thursday, March 5, 2009

PPSMI

Lately, all the attention have been turned towards the happenings in Perak. From the party hopping incidents to the fall of the Pakatan Rakyat lead government to the emergency assembly under the tree. Indeed, it has been a interesting period for those who love drama. And more is to follow. Nevertheless, there is also one other issue that concerns us, the PPSMI.

PPSMI stands for Pengajaran Dan Pembelajaran Sains Dan Matematik Dalam Inggeris (http://www.moe.gov.my/tayang.php?laman=ppsmi&unit=guru&bhs=en). Since a few years back, our country has started adopting English as the medium for Mathematics and Science education. The decision was made 'based on the government’s concern on the nation’s human capital development towards achieving the standard of a developed country, as well as an early preparation to compete in the era of globalization'. It has just been implemented for less than 5 years but certain group of people are already rejecting the effort of the government.

Mostly of the people objecting it thinks that the change of medium will cause the Malay language to be destroyed(hancur as they say). Apart from that, they think that this policy wil benefit those from the city more than people from the rural areas where 70% of the population are Malays. There are also a few other arguements that are brought up.

Personally, I think that it is too early to judge whether this policy is effective or not. The group of people protesting are only thinking that teaching in English is hurting their mother tongue. What our country lack currently are capable teachers who can teach well in English. Teachers who struggle to master the English language should be sent to follow courses to improve tmeselves. I feel that a teacher are responsible for making sure that they are capable and can master the English language. As for the rural area, there are some projects being done to improve the condition such as the 'Project to improve English in rural schools' (PIERS) which was implemented in Negri Sembilan. Instead of whining, I believe that we should think of ways to improve the project. What do you all think?

Regarding the article which is very critical of the project, go to http://www.pkpim.net/v2/info/memorandum/72-menolok-usaha-meneruskan-ppsmi.html

Monday, March 2, 2009

Cancel the class

Today, I called the doctor who was supposed to take our clinical teaching. Below was the conversation we had...

Me: Good morning doctor, i'm a 4th year medical student. We have a teaching with you next monday. But the Monday is a public holiday...(before i finished)

Dr: Public holiday ar? You expect me to come on a public holiday? No way. Cancel the class.

Me: Erm, is it possible to change...(again, before i finished)

Dr: Change? No, its impossible. Cancel the class.

Then the doctor left.

Conclusion, doctors are really damn busy...Though, i'm kinda piss about how the class was cancelled, I'm thankful for the holiday. Blessings really comes in various forms.haha