POPPH

Itulah singkatan untuk Paediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Psychiatry and Public Health.

Terus terang, inilah masa terindah di PMC. Sayangnya ia sudah tamat, dan tahun akhir bakal belayar tidak lama lagi, setelah elektif nanti.

Saya sudah pun mendapat tawaran elektif di Hospital Kuala Lumpur, dalam Medicine, dan juga Surgery.

Peluang yang ada:
- Learn how the system works from HOs.
- Improve liaison tricks (mainly attitude) - HO is part of team comprising consultants, specialists, MOs, other HOs, matrons, nurses, and PPKs. 
- Repolish faded skill - history and presentation, and outline of management
- Cycling to Hospital Kuala Lumpur - its only 8km away from my home in Ampang. Hmmm... am I game for it? By the way, the distance is about 2.5km from my flat to Penang Hospital. Huh!


...


My type:

Let's rekindle back the good old days back in Dublin when cycling was a routine! Well, that's how you do it when you're a student, and cheapskate :-)

Slogan penyedap hati - Mari berbasikal ke hospital....

Asleep at the wheel

House officers (HOs) falling asleep at the wheel is not a myth. Several colleagues of mine already related to me their horrifying experience.What a nightmare...

Hmmm... I think I can forget about riding bikes then. If I lose control, even for few milliseconds, I'd be history. Tomorrow's headline would be - 'HOs falling asleep to death while on motorcycle'. That's not good, after years and monies spent on me. More importantly, I am not ready yet to die! Amal tak cukup...

Perhaps I need to get one of these - Volvo 240 class. What an old banger. It's quite a tank, and you can get it second hand with tip-top condition well under RM8k cash. Tak perlu hutang-hutang. Being a Volvo, rest assured it is safer to fall asleep in one these. Bear in mind, beyond 50mph any car would crashed beyond recognition and definitely cause injury and god forbid, fatality. We human are not designed to take up so much toll, meaning that our internal organs would have been squashed into a blob of meat. Quoting Jeremy Clarkson - Speed doesn't kill! Suddenly becoming stationary - thats the killer.


// Volvo 240 class Wagon version

Despite it being a huge petrol guzzler, thanks to 2-litre engine, note that its built like a tank, with plenty of spaces inside. Heh, you can even put your whole wardrobe if you want to. HOs, typically busy, surely will benefit this feature. So no need to go home and get dressed to join social function/teh tarik/makan malam/ceramah. You can even to go straight balik kampung!

Extra links:
How safe is an old Volvo?
How safe is an old Volvo? (continued)



Well the cheaper alternative would be playing your favorite tunes on the stereo and turn up the volume to the max!

Apa cerita Padang dan di medan?

Ini cerita Padang.

Summary from video:
-Right after the earthquake, a surveillance team was dispatched immediately to, as the name suggest, survey the whole affected area. Helicopter view / Bird eye view. Liaise with local authority and UN. Are the healthcare facilities still intact? Telecommunications? What about transportation - airport, seaport, river, roads connection from nearest town? Electricity? And most importantly, clean water supply. Basically they have few forms to be filled / paperwork which eventually evolve into a report. Then everyone can lend their hand... and work as a team.

-They need cash. Why? Because they can reach the nearest town, in this case, Medan, to stock up and set up a supply line to Padang. Bulky items like tents and blankets can be procured locally, or if there is no logistic connection to the nearest town like what happened in Acheh earthquake and tsunami 2004 whereby the aftermath was so bad that the leading roads were compromised, perhaps airlift and sealift is the best choice.

-Allow me to share a bit: Last year I managed to get a briefing from Maskargo about the peril of freighting all the rations to disaster locale. That's what happened after Sichuan earthquake back in 2008. Tonnes of rations were airlifted to airports in Guangzhou but no receiving party ie. no logistic connection. Plus, no proper documents for the customs. Basically no liaison with local humanitarian agency. Consequently, Maskargo has to transport it back to KLIA or left them to rot at the airport. Lots of money and effort were wasted... Haiya...

...



Ini pula dari medan.


Banyak lagi berita di sini dan sini.

Simpan dulu dalam laci

1. Tengok wayang

Remembering Memali: a Freedom Film Fest 2009 Competition winner

Thursday, 24/09/09 - 14:50PM Filed in Blog by zedeck | Views: 1185 | Comments: 0
Tags: KL, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Freedom Film Fest, documentary, history

Past winners of the Freedom Film Festival (FFF) Film Competition include some stellar work. Look at Fahmi Reza's rousing Sepuluh Tahun Sebelum Merdeka, which explores a pre-Independence independence movement so buried most of us didn't know it existed.

Don't know whether the 2009 winners are any good, yet - but they certainly look intriguing. The poet, artist and dreadlocked Rahmat Haron's Al-Fatehah Memali, for example, has a great premise: it's a memorial of the 1985 Memali Massacre, through the eyes of two singer-songwriters.

Hang on. Memali?

Pay attention: on 19 November 1985, hundreds of police personnel, under then- Home Minister Tun Musa Hitam, laid siege to Memali, Kedah, on the grounds that a deviant Islamic sect, lead by one Ibrahim Mahmud, had infected the village.

The authorities wanted to arrest Ibrahim - a scholar who had previously appeared on national television to lecture on Islamic matters - under the Internal Security Act (ISA). He resisted. Revered by the local population, the confrontation between the police and Ustaz Ibrahim's followers ended in bloodshed: 14 civilians and 4 policemen dead.

Sound interesting? We got Rahmat to tell us more about his film:

~

Where did the idea for Al-Fatehah Memali come from? Why, out of the many forgotten Malaysian histories, choose Memali in particular?

I still remember watching RTM, when I was 8 years old, on that day. The images were so strong. They made me think: why were there heavy police deployments, with armoured vehicles, M-16s, the FRU? Were Ustaz Ibrahim Libya (as he was known) and the villagers of Memali so dangerous?

The government accused them of being deviant Islamic militants who wanted to overthrow the government. But this was without evidence. The police wanted to arrest Ibrahim under the ISA - as if there's no other way to detain him but to use the ISA. That means the government of that time had no valid reason to charge him in an open, free and fair trial.

Does your film intend to address the fact that so little of us know what happened there?

For me, I'm looking at Memali from the human rights perspective. The fact is they were not only religious martyrs, but martyrs who died in defence of human rights and democracy - to oppose ISA, even they have to sacrifice their own lives in the hands of the powerful.

There has been no Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the incident. There was a Parliamentary White Paper and an RTM1 documentary about the event - to present official versions as the only truth.  The court case following the massacre was settled out of court, after they wanted to subpoena Tun Dr Mahathir Muhamad. The family of the 14 who died were given some RM20,000 - that was the price of their dignity.

Looking at Memali again will test the seriousness of the Najib administration - or any future administrations - that pledge to serve the interest of the people.

Why is the film angled from the perspective of singer-songwriters Meor and Black?

For me, this was the easiest way to put things together. They are my personal friends and I'm a big fan of them. Black wrote a song about Memali, titled Syuhada Memali. Meorcomposed the music. I like this song very much.

Even though the song was already completed before the idea of Al-Fatehah Memali came about, in this film I'm trying to tell the story of how Black and Meor unraveled the incident, while composing their song.

In the course of making this film, you spoke to residents of Memali. What was the most interesting personal story that you heard, while working on the film?

The story told by Puan Solehah Husin, the wife of Ustaz Ibrahim Libya. She told us about what happened, moments after Ustaz Ibrahim was shot. She didn't get emotional while telling us the story, at all - without a single teardrop.

I think that was amazing. Maybe her religious convictions taught her to be patient and calm. If I was a survivor of that event, I'd be crying and howling about all those grievances.

~

(Want to hear Puan Solehah's story? Al-Fatehah Memali premieres at Freedom Film Fest 2009 on Saturday, 3 October, 7pm, at The Annexe Gallery in Central Market. The FFF's KL leg runs from 2 to 4 October.)

2. Elektif di HKL. Sambil-sambil bermastautin di Ampang, boleh saya hadir ke program-program. KL banyak acara, tinggal hendak memilih yang mana satu.

3. Jalan-jalan Borneo. Saya kepingin jumpa kawan lama dan saudara-mara di sana.

4. Book shopping therapy. Hmmm... the battle between ebooks (read on big LCD) and print version is getting intense!

Farewell O & G

It is simply the best rotation!


// The obsolete protocol. Don't worry, we students always keep it updated - lots of criss-crossing here and there!


// Prof F-eeney, and the lady from Exam office, S-harla in nice Indian dress.

Favourite and memorable quotes:

A minute you spend on O & G is twice as worth you could on Paediatrics, Psychiatry or even Public Health!
Prof F-eeney on the very first day, mentioning about heavier wattage given to O&G

If you see a husband in labour room, usually it is their first baby.
Prof F-eeney during Obstetrics morning rounds

The thinnest book is the one to read, while the thick ones are for reference and best left on someone else's shelf, not yours.
Dr K-ieran (while showing his Impey) during revision classes

While I was examining this lady a little while ago, I managed to observe fetal movements. Now, the examiner definitely wouldn't disagree with you, would he?
Prof F-eeney's tutoring on how to present clinical findings.

Where is your other friend? H1N1? 
Dr S-omas on missing groupmate

You know, diet control is the way to go in managing diabetes in pregnancy.
Dr A-nil

I have nothing to disagree about your history. It's superb!
Dr K-ieran after case presentation. Well he always said that.

Hey I think you can be a politician. You completely DID NOT answer my question.
Dr J-erilee during evening tutorial

What!!! Pink branula? You think it is nice to match with the hospital gown ka? You. Go and take all the branulas in different colours. I'll show you what's the difference between green, blue, chocolate, grey and whatever colour you have.
Dr A-nil during Obstetrics morning rounds

A picture worth a thousand words. Now where's my whiteboard marker?
Dr M-aha before beginning her lecture

In infertility case, the most worried party would be the mother-in-law, not the mother.
Dr A-zmy's cynical comment on Infertility tutorial

More photos : http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/abadisufaat2/OGEOB

Oh very young

The first song that hooked me up was 'Wild World'. It was many many years ago, I think back in primary school. One day I noticed the tunes on radio before I turned to my mum asking who is the singer, as she was born in that era. Cat Stevens is Yusuf Islam.

Moonshadow is coming. I wonder when this musical is going to our shores? Perhaps at KLPac? Heh I can only dream...

...



Oh very young
What will you leave us this time
Youre only dancing on this earth for a short while
And though your dreams may toss and turn you now
They will vanish away like your daddys best jeans
Denim blue fading up to the sky
And though you want them to last forever
You know they never will
You know they never will
And the patches make the goodbye harder still

Oh very young
What will you leave us this time
Therell never be a better chance to change your mind
And if you want this world to see a better day
Will you carry the words of love with you
Will you ride the great white bird into heaven
And though you want to last forever
You know you never will
You know you never will
And the goodbye makes the journey harder still

Oh very young
What will you leave us this time
Youre only dancing on this earth for a short while
Oh very young
What will you leave us this time

Ramadan & Syawal

Ramadan

Quoting from Bingregory.com:

The most depressing fact about Ramadan is to find out how many of your problems are not caused by the Satan.

Several objectives were achieved. Phew. I need to do more tadabbur ie. comtemplate about the meaning of the verses, rather than boarding the express tajwid bullet train.

...

Shawal

// Haji H-assan bin Haji Abdul Salam.

From Aidilfitri 14302009

// The crowd

What a blast! More cousins than ever, and apparently more on their way to this very world. The whole battalion will be larger next year.

Alas, by next year insha Allah I'll be working, so donating few duit rayas will be a new routine for eid. I will not be too generous though, as children are not supposed to handle too many ringgits in their pockets. Either they will spend on rubbish or the parents will collect tax from them to pay for the bills.

// The daddys

Huh, I sense a strong smell of hypocrisy here. Back in my time, the minimal bounty would be in the range of few hundreds. Well, probably due to me being the early generation of the Haji Hassan's grandchildren. If you can relate to the law of supply and demand, you'd get it. Now, there's plenty of them - at least 65 and I've lost the count. Heh.

Don't ask how did I spend it. It's classified under OSA.

Anyway, I am grateful to be with my family this time around. Plus the extended ones. Second cousins. Third cousins. Wow. The family tree is really huge, as most of the mothers are grandmultiparous. Alhamdulillah.

// The mothers

ps - Sans fireworks, the Eid is kinda dull. Adult supervision should do the job, instead of this cute little creatures risking their arms and legs (its expensive because of its illegal by law) just to have more fun. Wait a minute, they can't be bothered anymore - there are plenty of electronics for them, so I better bring back PS3 or Wii next year!

Kesah Ajang Cerita Kita - Tukar Tiub

as per Tuan Isham at tukartiub.blogspot.com

KESAH AJANG CERITA KITA

adalah dikesahkan
ajang pun dilahirkan

lalu ajang dibesarkan
lalu ajang disekolahkan
lalu ajang diuji dan dipereksa
lalu ajang lulus ujian

gembiralah satu keluarga
gembiralah ajang se ajang-ajnangnya

ajang pun belajar lagi
diuji dan diperiksa
ajang pun luluslah

ajang pun dilamar bekerja
maka bekerjalah ajang
berbaris dan beratur dijalan raya
bangun dari tidor untuk menjual tenaga

sebulan sekali menerimah upah
lalu ajang membeli tv
untuk rehat dan bersenang hati

setiap hari beratur berbaris dijalan raya
bangun untuk menjual tenaga
dihujung minggu ajang berehat buntang mata menonton tv

duit terkumpul lagi
lalu membeli kereta sebelum mencari bini
berbaris beratus dijalan raya
bagun dari tidor untuk menjual masa dan tenaga
agar dapat bayar hutang kereta dan rumah sewa

lalu ajang pun berbinilah
bangun pagi berasak asak menjual tenaga
untuk membayar kereta dan rumah sewa
lalu ajang dan isteri menjadi cerdik
tak perlu bayar sewa kalau rumah dimiliki
lalu mereka berhutang lagi
untuk membayar kereta dan hutang bank
lalu mereka bangun pagi
berasak asak di jalan raya untuk memburuh
dan mengumpul duit nak jadi kaya

adalah dikesahkan
anak pun lahir dan dibesarkan
lalu anak di anjangkan sekali lagi
lalu anak diajar agar dia pun bangun pagi
bangun berasak-asak dijalan raya bersedia cekap
bijak pandai untuk menjadi hamba kepada kerja

akhirnya anjang tua dan hendak mati
anjang terlantar dikatil
lalu anjang teringat
sebuah buku cinta yang dibelinya tetapi lupa tidak dibaca
lalu anjang teringat sekuntum bunga mawar
yang dia terlupa baunya
lalu anjang teringat sebuah pantai landai
sebuah tasik permai sebuah gunung berhutan
saekor burung belibis terbang menyambar

lalu dia teringat gesekan biola
dan tiupan seruling sawah dan gaung
hutan dan pacat

ajang memanggil anak datang
ingin menyampai pesan
lalu mereka pun berkumpul
ajang hanya sempat berkata – jangan jadi bodoh –
semua tercengang semua hairan
mereka menangis
ajang telah hilang ingatan.

ajang mengulangi lagi – jangan jadi bodoh – lalu anjang mati

esoknya anak dan isteri bagun pagi pagi
berasak asak di jalan raya entah apa hendak dicari
mengulangi hidup berpusing-pusing
tak pernah sedar diri
hilang ingatan jadi injin bangun pagi
untuk beli kereta rumah dan tv

The way forward

Today my teacher showed a powerpoint on the projection of 'Doctor to Population' in Malaysia, much to everyone's surprise after his lecture on Endometrial cancer. Wow. Putting it simply, Malaysia will begin to produce doctors excessively by 2014, thanks to almost 20 med schools and more or less 400 recognised institutions gazetted by Malaysia Medical Council (MMC).

Well, it depends on how do you set the ratio up. Mind you, more medical centres will be built to correlate with Malaysia's ever growing population - yes I know our family size is getting smaller in comparison with our parents' heyday.

On the other hand, it allows us medical graduates to permeate and diversify even further, instead of solely focusing on pure healthcare ie. medical officer in hospitals and clinics (talking about becoming specialist, subspecialist and subsubspecialist). There's alot more opportunities out there, right?

Hmmm.... its just a degree anyway, a gate to lifelong learning - as illustrated by him : 'learning from womb to tomb'.

By the way, currently there is a ongoing debate on healthcare reform in the States. Things got pretty heated until few made noises (and smear campaign) against the 'socialised medicine' practiced by many Europeans. I wonder how is it going to be here in the future...

Ramadan

Azam Ramadan kali ini agak ringkas, of course recycle azam tahun lepas:

-Khatam POPPH

-Khatam al-Quran, balik-balik terlepas 1-3 juzuk...

-Buka puasa di masjid, surau dan hospital

-Tambah kualiti dan kuantiti majlis ilmu

-Shopping buku lagi (sambung azam tahun lepas)

-Habiskan buku yang telah dibeli tahun lepas (wow mati aku)

-Banyak muhasabah dan buat tindakan

Bukan setakat cerita alkohol di Selangor

Mari kita tonton video ini:



While on an official visit to a Middle East sheikdom to finalize a major contract for a UK firm, the Minister manages to get himself into trouble on several fronts. Learning that the country is dry, he arranges for liquor to be available on the sly. When they are presented with an expensive 17th century antique bowl, Mrs. Hacker gets Bernard Woolley to get the object valued at less than £50 allowing her to keep the gift. When the Minister learns that bribes were likely paid to obtain the contract, he insists that there be a full public inquiry. A little reminder from Sir Humphrey sets things straight.

Part 2
Part 3

Hacker: Are you saying that winking at corruption is government policy?
Sir Humphrey: No, no, Minister! It could never be government policy. That is unthinkable! Only government practice.

Hacker: You're a cynic, Humphrey!
Sir Humphrey: A cynic is what an idealist calls a realist.

Salvaging Precious Data

Hard drives fail just like any other appliances. If you browse thru the specs, often it says something like MTBF 100k hours. That's 'Mean Time Before Failure'. Unfortunately extreme condition and prolonged operation makes 'aging' of hard drives accelerates.

Now the problem is, how to salvage all data residing inside the failed drive?

Since I'm avid Mac OS X user, I'd recommend DiskWarrior. However, my effort to recover my precious has yet to bear any fruits...

Pengajaran: Rajin-rajinlah backup dengan burn DVD!