I obtained the following from a blog written by a Malaysian doctor(http://standup.blogspirit.com/). Its scary, the life of a doctor working for the government in Malaysia. To think that someday, I'll hopefully be one... sends shivers down my spine!

Malaysian Govt Doctors Criteria

Criterias for becoming a Malaysian Govt Doctor. Theres no need for an aptitude test. Students should consider these requirements:

1. No life outside medicine; this includes dating, sports, clubbing, chores for your parents and visiting the toilet

2. Not to live with your parents. Move out ASAP as they will never understand the ludicrous working hours that u go through. Furthermore, chores are not suitable for u as to rule No. 1.

3. Not to be married until completion of all 4 years of Govt Compulsory service as u will be transferred left and right to some of the most remote Govt clinics in Malaysia. Having wife and kids to follow you to your new working area may increase high level of stress on all parties. Furthermore, if your spouse is a Govt Doctor, he/she will also be transferred away from u and no matter what appeal is made, KKM will put up a deaf ear (unless u have big cables or of a certain skin color).

4. If married, no to have children until u finish all 4 years of Govt Compulsory service, as to which u and your spouse will not have much time for your child/children or they end up not recognizing u and refer the Indonesian maid as their mother (change in language patterns commonly follow).

5. To obtain life insurance once your govt service begins as there is not many claims for accidents during work. Don't be fooled, Doctoring in Malaysia is hazardous.

6. Able to withstand 36 hours of non stop work and stress without mistakenly labeling Left for Right or uvula for vulva (or Volvo S40)

7. To buy a car with complete safety features (like I'm doing) which includes multiple airbags, ABS, EBD, side-front-rear-top-parallel and diagonal impact bars and seat belts to ensure survivability if u are involved in an accident because your driving resembled a drunkard maniac after working in the hospital for 40 hrs non stop.

8. Constant supply of coffee

9. Nicotine Patch as u will have the urge to start smoking due to overwhelming stress

10. Interest in watching medical sitcoms such as House MD, Scrubs, ER, Grays Anatomy and Chicago Hope to inspire u to continue your life as a doctor as the exciting things u see on TV does not resemble the real life of a Malaysian govt doctor.

11. Not to have any pets or plants (not even cactuses) as u will have no time to feed or care for them and eventually all will end up in your mortuary.

12. Able to endure the stench of your own sweat as to when 36 hours "on call" does not permit u time to bathe or freshen up.

13. Able to carry on working without food or water over 15 hours. ( I was in OT for 16 hrs without food, water or bathroom breaks). If during fasting month, able to break your fast with “water for injection” as u had no time to buy food.

14. Able to come to work with fever/cough/illness or physical disability (sprained ankle etc) as to which doctors do not deserve MCs. (My MO was on crutches during rounds)

15. Able to stand scolding, destructive criticism, kiss ass behaviors, racial bias, finger pointing, scape goating, and in competency from your superiors.

16. Able to withstand the jealousy when your friends call u up for some fun and ur stuck in the hospital during on call.

The list goes on. These requirements should be sent out to all doctor wannabes and for them to determine if their life coincides with the Malaysian Medical Health service of doctors under KKM. I LOVE THIS JOB!

PDA?

Thinking about getting a Palm PDA. My dad’s got a Palm Zire 72, he’s had it since I first left in late 2004. At the moment, the PDA I’m interested in is the Palm Tungsten E2. It has a few advantages over the Zire 72, however it does lack a few of the extra features that the Zire 72 boasts.

Now, lets have a look at the advantages of the T|E2 (I’ll be naming the Tungsten E2 as this from now on). First off, is the new version of Documents on the Go professional edition that comes packed with it. It has the ability to read and edit Word, Excel and Powepoint files. Also, it has the ability to read Adobe pdf files. The Zire 72 has the deluxe edition of the software, hence without the ability to produce and read Powerpoint files. Second is the fact that the T|E2 has a longer battery life. That is self explanatory. Third is it runs the latest OS version of Palm, 5.4 Garnet as compared to 5.2.8 on the Zire 72. Fourth is the slick look of the T|E2 as compared to the blueish Zire 72. Also the price is somewhat cheaper, although here in the UK it will be quite difficult to find the Zire 72 in online stores anymore: it has been discontinued.

Now the drawbacks. First of all, the T|E2 does not have a camera and a voice recorder. The camera, though only 1.3 megapixels could be used to take pictures and videos. Secondly is the slower processor on the T|E2. The Zire 72 comes with a 312mhz processor as compared to only 200mhz of the T|E2. This would mean that multitasking would be better on the Zire 72 than the Tungsten E2.

Other than that, both are great products. I already have a Canon Ixus 50 to take pictures and videos.

I have a camera phone the Sony Ericsson W550i as well, that can record videos and capture pictures.

I have a Creative Muvo V200 mp3 player, with 1gb memory, which can also be used to record sound. So, there are redundancies in accessories here.

Therefore, putting all the disadvantages aside, I think that it would be reasonable for me to buy the Tungsten E2. Just for the added feature of Docs on the Go Pro, which can read and edit Powerpoint files. That alone should be enough for me. Plus the idea of being able to scribble my heart out without having to waste paper. Graffiti on the PDA, it is quite an addictive act... Oooh, and I can even play games on it…

I’ll be on the lookout for deals on eBay now. Trying to get the Palm Tungsten E2 for cheap. And it has to be new and packaged in a box. I don’t like second hand stuff…

Neuroanatomy is hardcore stuff!

This is the last module for the year. Neuroanatomy. A lot of people have said that it would be difficult, and it comes as no surprise to me that it is. Its actually not too bad considering the brain is just one organ, but its really, really, really complex. No wonder they left it to be the last module of our basic clinical sciences teaching. All the names, the terms, the functions, the mechanisms, they get all mixed together in the a small confined area, the brain. Its amazing. Its the work of God Almighty.

Pity those poor doctors who have no belief in a higher being: they can't explain it scientifically, so all they do is say how amazing and how fascinating it is, but they fail to consider that this is simply the Lords will. No amount of time, nor evolution of species could have made us become the brain-centred human beings we are now...

Anyway, exams are not too far now. I think I have to start motivating myself to work for the exams. May 8th, I hear, is the date of the 1st paper. Its February already, and this exam is gonna cover 1st year and 2nd year. Bummer!!!

Sheffield Games 2006

The Sheffield Games are just around the corner..as part of the organising comittee, it is thus my duty to promote the games to as many people as possible. Here is the official website:

http://www.smsa.org.uk/sg06

Sheffield Games 2006 Logo

The event will take place as the following :

	Venue :	CONCORD SPORTS CENTRE, Shiregreen Lane, Sheffield, S5 6AE 0114 257 0053
	Date :	18 March 2006
	Time :	0800 – 1900
	VIP :	1) Dr Syed Raisudin Syed Abdullah Director of Malaysian Students Department 2) En. Mohd Nazir Musa Education Attache of Malaysian Students Department
	Motto :	Unity through Sportsmanship

So, apa tunggu lagi...register yourself as soon as possible..I'm gonna have to start training if Sheffield's gonna have any chance of winning the 5-a-side football event.. Nak buat macam mana kan, dah star player..hahahah

A Useless Piece of toooooottttt.....

I’ve just about had enough if a player called Djibril Cisse. The France international striker, who 2 years ago was said to be the new Henry when Liverpool bought him for 14 million pounds, he’s been a disappointment. Even Peter Crouch, the lanky 6 foot 7 inch striker bought from Southampton this year has fared better.


Just now, Cisse showed once again just how annoying he can be. He missed a key chance to win the game for Liverpool against Manchester United. With the goal gaping, the shot over the bar. Its not the first time he’s failed. He’s been an almost constant failure since his arrival. To make matters worse, it was probably the worse performance of a Liverpool striker for as long as I can remember. No other Liverpool striker has ever played this poor, not even Karl Heinz Reidler in his short stint with Liverpool. And believe me, Reidler was awful.

Cisse can’t head the ball, he can’t keep the ball, he can’t even stop the ball properly. His only qualities are his lighting pace, a fierce shot (which rarely gets the ball on target) and his funky hairdos. If it were up to me, he’d have been out the door by now. But Benitez seems to want to stick to him. Good luck Benitez, you’re gonna need it to teach a grown man how to play football all over again. My advice: get rid of him while you still can.

PS – This was written amidst the frustration of Liverpool losing 1-0 to Man Utd at Old Trafford, courtesy of a last minute Rio Ferdinand goal. I hate them Mancs.

LOOK!!! New hair!

I had a niggling feeling that I wanted to trim my own hair, so one day, after class, I did it. Here it is, the new look.


Did you know that surgeons were actually barbers way back in old times? That's actually how surgeons got to become. Being a decent barber myself, I might just consider surgery some day, and may that day come soon. Until then, back to reality and the present: Medical School for another 3 1/2 years. Can't wait for the end!

Boredom

After a month of holiday, its back to classes again. It can be so amazing how you can feel so motivated yet so lazy at the same time. For me, the christmas holiday was a welcome break from all the books. For others, it was time to get working and prepare for exams. I don't have exams this January, hence, it was a true holiday for me. Yet, it just didn't feel right. You know how when you're busy with classes, you're always looking forward to the holidays? And then, when you're in the middle of the holiday, you feel so bored that you wish time would just move on, and the classes would start as soon as possible. Just so you can get on with it. That's how I felt.

You always think that way I guess, especially if you're doing a 5 year course. I've still got 3 and a half years to go. I can't believe that 1 and a half years have passed by so quickly. Yet, the long years staring in front of me do seem more daunting when I come to think about it.

I guess all this has to do with aims and what you set out to achieve for yourself. If you don't have a master plan of what you plan to do, then you end up being so bored that nothing you do can ever help. Sometimes I feel that way, no amount of sleep, football, tv or anything can help. You are just so lost and demotivated, you want things to go on already. So yeah, even though I don't have any exams now (Thank God), I actually wish I did. That way, I could spend my time better, with the pressure of exams helping to motivate me to work harder.

My exams are once a year, and that exam coming up in May is still 4 months away, but how I wish it were next week. Just so I have an excuse to work my ass off....

I hate banks

I made an appointment to apply for a credit card last week, and they told me to come today. So I went, and guess what they said: "We're sorry, but we can't make the credit card for you today". Idiots. It turns out I need a credit rating for my current account, where as in my case the rating was zero. I pointed out to them that I had money in my savings account, but No, sorry sir, it needs to be your current account... Now, why didn't anybody tell me this earlier? Idiots.

See, thats the problem of being an International Student in the UK. They don't trust you. No matter what you do, no matter how well behaved you are, they'll always find a means to tell you that they can't offer you this or that service, just because you're an International Student. I can't take this anymore. It's getting too annoying for my taking.. So that's a lesson for all you folks out there who really want to study here in the UK. My advice, you're better off staying put where you are. There's nothing special about studying overseas and being treated like trash. So there, I've said it. Thanks for reading.