Discharged surgically after 4 months of training under the awesome Surgical Department in Hospital Taiping...
Been learning alot and just hope that my knowledge acquired throughout these 4 months will be adequate to save lives while Im working as a MO next time in only-God-knows-which district hospital.
Its time to move on to my second rotation of training as House Officer, hoping that I will still keep my spirit high, continue to learn & pick up essential knowledge & skills, and continue to care & feel for my patients. Anybody can become a good Dr who provides the correct management. But sometimes, what the patient needs can be much more than that, they need motivation, they need listening ears, they need jokes & laughters, and they need love.
Regarding their own diagnosis, they need explanation, because this is their body, their life. Once in a while I will see patients coming for follow-ups in clinic due to some malignancy, but upon asking whether they know what findings were the investigations done to them, its quite surprising that they were either given ambiguous answers or totally hidden beneath the truth! Honesty is really important, at least to me. Breaking bad news is hard, but it needs to be done, so just do it with lots of sensitivity and care towards their feelings. Being honest is being fair to them.
One thing that I learned after working as a Dr in the past 4 months, is that we can provide the best care & management, but patient still dies, simply because this is how life progresses. However, we must be vigilant enough to identify any correctable abnormalities and to correct them. If it's beyond our ability to manage, do not be afraid or ashamed to ask your superior/MO from other departments. Do not let the patient dies just because of your own ego of not asking.
Took my end of posting off days. I think it is worth to take off after each postings. Life isn't just about working. I do admit that sometimes I care for my patients but forgot to care for my beloved family & friends. And of course not to forget some me-time, for self-reflection and mind rejuvenation. So far I have no plans at all on how im gonna spend my EOP off days, Im simply enjoying the freedom, not tying myself up for anything.
Well its already quite late at night, time to get some quality sleep, and if Im still alive & breathing next morning, lets see how Im gonna spend my day! Isn't it sounds awesome??
:D