Housemanship @ UMMC

After a really, really long hiatus of inactivity and non-productivity, I've now started working. I haven't really had time to rest since my induction : I called the MOH office to let them know that my registration finally came through, and they told me the next induction intake was in 4 days and i had to RSVP before the end of business that day. After discussing with friends & family, I went for it.

The induction : 4 days of really boring technical & procedural talks. I didnt really know anyone else there. Anyway. I found out that i was to be posted to UMMC. Apparently, most other states were not accepting new housemen at the moment. They were only sending to Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah & Sarawak. In Selangor/KL, they were only sending to HKL.

So getting into UMMC...well, i was really hesitant. On one hand, thank God i wasn't sent to Kelantan/Terengganu : the dialect itself would have rendered me a catatonic imbecile. BUT on the other hand, i really, really regretted applying to UMMC coz i felt that i needed a clean break, a fresh start somewhere else. I cannot emphasize how much i do not want to see my lecturers again coz lets face it, i wasn't a very good student. I dont want my record as a student to colour my future bosses' opinion of me, and i didn't want my knowledge/fears/preconceived notions of my lecturer's demeanour/demands/personality to affect my ability to function at work. I didnt  know what to do : the fascilitator at my induction was somewhat hostile...saying if u appeal to get into the fully occupied hospitals, or if u appeal when u've got into one of your 3 choices, you might be sent to the states i mentioned earlier. I dare not take the risk. Reluctantly, i made my peace with it.

It was a 3 day weekend, so i got an extra day off to get prepared. I dont know how others manage to pack up and leave and report for duty on monday, especially those posted to Sabah/Sarawak. But anyway, as luck would have it, i fell sick. I had to go back to Penang to retrieve my work clothes and medical books (I had sent them back months earlier, feeling so confident i would be working at Penang GH). Tired and miserable, i just had to get it done.

Fast forward a few days : I'm posted to Orthopaedics, under Trauma yellow team. Again, i wasn't so thrilled about starting in ortho but i didn't really have a choice. In my first few days i think at least 10 ppl (colleagues & bosses) told me that its not good, or a pity, that i started in ortho.  Ah, what the heck. The first few days of work was.....miserable!!! I've always hated waking up in the morning, and now i've gotta try to be at the hospital by 5.30....and of course, my feet were silently screaming n shattering beneath me. Morning rounds with the bosses were nerve-wrecking (the same way i felt during ward rounds as a student), especially so because i just didn't know how to exist there and was completely non-functional. As it turns out, i entered at an awkward time, cause the yellow team was really busy with new admissions for the week. I couldnt remember anything from med school, I cant keep track of the patients, and I had no idea what do to next...i was still recovering from my fever, and sorting out administrative details. So day in, day out....i was getting exasperated; frustrations were building up and i was too tired even to eat. I did break, and cried several times...out of frustration mostly...and embarrassment

Now i'm into my second week, and the pace has significantly slowed and i'm not as anxious as i was. My bosses are really, really nice. This week, we've had breakfast 3 times with the bosses : on their dime! And there was a food gathering in the ward, sort-of a belated Merdeka/Raya celebration. Most for the patients from last  week have been discharged, and i have a more 'understandable', 'cope-able' workload. The senior housemen in the team are helpful too...freaky coincidence: one of em is married to a friend of mine. Haha, small world. The other guy, i recognized from my obstetric posting as a student; he helped me conduct deliveries n kinda taught me to suture the tears. And the other guy, i knew coz he was my classmate back in first year...but for some reason he's a bit of a prick nowadays. whatever. he's a good houseman; just learn from him & ignore him. Also, i've met my current n former batchmates who are also doing ortho, i'm getting to know the other housemen and nurses n other staff...so right now i dont feel too much of  a sore thumb .

One thing hasn't changed : I still hate waking up in the morning.