Mastodawn

My New Year’s Eve – 2025

Related Posts:

31st December 2025. I was NOT oncall.

It was a Wednesday and it was a normal working day. Hence, at 7:45am, I left to work as usual and was there by 8am. It was the New Year’s Eve. I thought that maybe, just maybe, there would be less patients in the clinic.

The day started off smoothly. Surprisingly, there were many patients who came for their follow up followed by additional patients (the defaulters and walk-ins) but it was manageable. We went about our day, seeing each patient and when lunch time came, we went for our lunch break.

At 2pm, we went about our work, seeing patients as usual and I was taking my time with each patient. The patient load in the afternoon shift was lower compared to the morning shift and both my colleagues were done with their patient load.

Suddenly, a staff nurse barged into my room saying that there is a massive accident that just occurred nearby, 2 patients were already brought in and 2 more were on their way. They called in all available doctors (which were only the three of us) to help out.

I told my colleagues to head out and help out first while I rushed through the consultation of my final patient. After that, I rushed to the tiny Emergency Room of the clinic. My colleague who was oncall on that day was already attending to a child. I went over to the other patient, an old lady and did my primary survey and fast scan.

She was desaturating badly under room air and needed oxygen support. She had an open skull fracture, multiple abrasion and laceration wounds over her face, upper and lower limbs as well as rib fractures and on top of that, her left leg appears shortened and she has a closed fracture over her right lower limb.

I didn’t think that we should proceed with an x-ray at our clinic even if we had the facility at that time, the best would be to send them straight away to the hospital because she could deteriorate further any time. Thankfully, her GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale) was full.

I was focused on my patient, stabilising while referring her to the specialists of various specialities as well as the emergency physician that when I finally got ready to transfer her out that I noticed the child that my other colleague was attending to. The child’s right arm was crushed and the distal limb of his right arm was pale and his right lung was obvious till mid-chest.

Just how in the world is he still awake? The poor child was crying out in pain…

Judging by the state of his and my patient’s injuries, it was definitely high impact.

The story was, the whole family were travelling back from Miri to Kuching. Both the parents were sitting in front and the father was driving whilst the two children and their grandmother were sitting at the back.

The father claimed that he was not speeding but as he was about to make a u-turn at a junction, he claimed to have hit the curb and the car turned many times into the other lane before finally stopping and the grandmother and one of the child were thrown out of the car.

It sounded like a very high impact collision. Thankfully, the parents and the other child were well and unscathed.

We had to transfer both patients in two separate ambulances to the Red Zone of the Emergency Department at Hospital Bintulu as one ambulance could only transport one patient at a time.

Upon arriving, I met my colleague and friend at the Red Zone of the hospital. After we have handed over to the medical officers and specialist in the Emergency Department, we headed back together. However, upon reaching back, there was another patient who came in who was extremely tachypnoiec.

Oh, here we go again… Another Red Zone referral…

We stabilised the patient and referred her to hospital again. The clock was already showing 10pm when we left. The journey to the hospital takes about 45 minutes to an hour for each journey and the both of us have yet to have our dinner. This time, I choose to accompany her for the referral, mainly for emotional support and also in hopes of stopping by McDonald’s to get a takeout.

Yes, we did stop by McDonalds after sending the patient safely to the hospital and yes, we used the ambulance and went through drive-through.

By the time we left, it was already 11pm. The journey takes around 45 minutes to an hour and it was raining heavily. At this point, I was wondering if we would end up celebrating New Year’s in the ambulance.

Me and my friend ate in the ambulance on the way back while we joked and exchange oncall stories. Thankfully, we reached a little before midnight. The day was completely unexpected, not to mention tiring but it was nice to have spent it with a friend.

It’s still the beginning of 2026, so if I’m not too late, Happy New Year!

If you are travelling anytime soon or in the future, do drive safely, stay within speed limits especially if it is raining. Remember to get your car and tyres checked before any long distance journey and NEVER drive under the influence.

Stay safe always!

About Me | Privacy Policy | Contact Me

#article #Articles #bintulu #Blog #blogging #clinic #collision #dailyprompt #dailyprompt1829 #dailyprompt1833 #dailyprompt1834 #dailyprompt1836 #dailyprompt1838 #dailyprompt1839 #dailyprompt1841 #dailyprompt1843 #dailyprompt1844 #dailyprompt1853 #dailyprompt1943 #dailyprompt1948 #dailyprompt1951 #dailyprompt1953 #doctor #doctorSLife #emergency #emergencyDepartment #generalPractitioner #healthcare #housemanship #Malaysia #medical #medicalOfficer #Medicine #newYearSEve #oncall #sarawak #writing

The Theoretical Doctor Jan 12

Reflection: 2 Months As A Floating Medical Officer

Related Posts:

At the time of writing this article, I’m on leave which I took from the 1st of October till 15th of October, which my Head of Department (HOD) was more than kind enough to allow.

I needed the break, perhaps it was an adjustment disorder on my side but I was struggling. Physically, I caught up, I showed up and I was there but mentally, I felt left behind and lost and on most days, I was low.

Perhaps, it was out of tiredness as I have just recently off-tagged and in combination with my low mood, I felt demotivated and in general, felt that I have lost my love for medicine. I decided then that clinical life in the hospital was not for me. True, we were lacking doctors in various departments and hospitals in general across Malaysia. However, during that time, even if there enough manpower, I don’t think I would still want to continue.

I tried looking on the bright side, tiny things as well as the positive aspects of things to help me to get through the day.

Firstly, I’m thankful to be in a subspeciality department instead of the bigger and more hectic departments, I think I would have broken down within the first week itself. Secondly, I was in the department with the sweetest and kindest bosses who were more than happy to teach or lend a helping hand when needed. We are small in number, yes. But it felt like being part of a family.

I was happy, the environment was good, kind and non-toxic. However, mentally, I knew that this is not my place.

This further saddens me as I have always looked forward to being part of this lovely department. Yet, I knew, it’s just a matter of time before I slip and broke down. My body knew that I wouldn’t last long here nor do I foresee myself handling the complex and complicated cases here. If my interest is not here, how would I even make it through to specialise?

Amidst the business and my mind and body trying to keep up with the steep learning curve place before me, I was unable to view my options or to consider other departments.

I was just done in general and sadly, I wouldn’t be able to fulfil my quote in my medical school yearbook, I feel myself losing my will every single day nor do I find the strength within myself to serve.

Sadly,“sometimes what we like is not necessarily what is suited for us”, a fellow colleague told me and that hit me hard. I had no interest in other departments either or practicing in general at that point. All I could think of at that point was to quit and to hand in my resignation letter. After all, I have successfully completed my 2 years of internship / housemanship training. I can still locum if I wanted to. But of course, I didn’t enjoy it either. All I was ever passionate of was to teach. Thus, I considered changing my field and entering university as a lecturer did not sound appealing either as I did not like research at all.

Thus, after much contemplation, I approached my Head of Department (HOD) to validate my 30-day-resignation letter. My HOD is another kind soul who enquired to know what prompted me to come to such a decision. She signed my papers but advised me to consider changing departments instead of quitting.

However, at that time and at that current state of mind, I was fixed on my decision. Hence, the following week on a Monday, I submitted my 30-Days-Notice of Resignation, only to have it retracted the following day. Although I have handed in my 30-Days-Notice, a part of me felt a tinge of regret and sadness. Somehow, some part of me did not want to leave but I could not see any way out of this virtual box that I appear to be caged in.

My colleague and my parents played an important role in my decision to retract my resignation. Instead, despite my limited amount of leaves left for the rest of the year, I chose to take some time of work. Perhaps it was due to tiredness that contributed to my rash and impulsive decision.

On the 1st of October 2025, I took the first flight out and then throughout my leaves, I locummed at several General Practitioners. Remember when I said that I did not like locum either? This time, I decided to give it a second try and to keep an open mind.

The first GP I locummed at was a rather chill one with only 3 cases being seen throughout the whole day. The subsequent GPs were hectic and had multiple procedures, literally from the beginning of my shift till the end. In all of those times, I was the only doctor in the clinic. In my previous experiences, I have locummed at clinics which had 2-3 resident doctors.

Honestly, I don’t know how I managed to pull it off. Despite the hecticness and the patient load, I found myself looking forward to return and I enjoyed talking, listening and consulting the patients. It was fun. Slowly, I found myself enjoying and falling back in love with medicine and practicing medicine and thinking on how I could improve myself to serve better.

Then, I realised, perhaps venturing into family medicine might not be such a bad thing. True, there is abundant of family medicine doctors now and lack of doctors practicing in the hospital but that doesn’t mean that they are still not needed. Sadly, as much as I want to force myself to carry on and stay practicing in the hospital, I knew that it is not meant for me in the long haul or for me to last for even a year.

The opportunity to specialise is there but how can I continue if I can’t even see myself as one, or even have the inspiration?

Suddenly, the plan and my pathway seems clearer and I’m more than ecstatic to embark on my next journey. It was definitely the rest that I needed. To think and to reflect. If I were to stick to this journey, how can I do so for the long haul and at the same time, enjoy it?

I hope that in months or years to come, the decision to stay is the right choice. Perhaps, I still need time to discover my interest in this vast field. At times, I wish that it can be simple and that I would know what or which department I’m fitted to or destined to specialise in.

About Me | Privacy Policy | Contact Me

#Articles #Blog #blogging #dailyprompt #dailyprompt1826 #dailyprompt1828 #dailyprompt1829 #dailyprompt1833 #dailyprompt1834 #dailyprompt1839 #dailyprompt1841 #dailyprompt1843 #dailyprompt1852 #dailyprompt1944 #dailyprompt1946 #dailyprompt1948 #dailyprompt1949 #dailyprompt1950 #dailyprompt1951 #dailyprompt1953 #doctor #doctorSLife #healthcare #hospital #hospitalLife #hospitalUmumSarawak #kuching #Malaysia #medical #medicalOfficer #Medicine #plasticAndReconstructiveSurgery #plasticSurgery #plastics #sarawak #sarawakGeneralHospital #surgery #writing

The Theoretical Doctor Jan 10

My FIRST SOLO Oncall Shift As A Floating Medical Officer

Related Posts:

My first solo oncall shift was on the 17th of August 2025 a few days after I have completed my tagging period.

I had a passive oncall on standby just in case things got out of hand, which is a good thing. However, I was adamant to try to survive on my own as if I only had myself and the specialist. Thankfully as well, it was on a weekday which meant I was able to reach out and ask for help if needed and the others would be able to assist if needed or advice me.

As usual, morning rounds, followed by peri rounds. The role as an oncall medical officer of the day is to update the progress of the patients in the specialist’s WhatsApp group as well as to upload any latest wound pictures, if any.

The day was rather busy with rounds and in between I would receive calls from Klinik Kesihatan (Community Clinics), usually requesting a clinic date. Thankfully, no referrals yet.

After rounds, I headed back to the ward to complete any pending joblists before heading into the operating theatre (OT) for a patient that was awaiting her call to OT.

During that operation, there was a referral from the Emergency and Trauma (ETD) Department, referring a case of laceration wound over the forehead for a 3 year old boy.

The medical officer at the ETD was kind enough to assist in taking the bloods as well as admitting the patient. My colleague on the other hand came to check in on me after her day in the clinic and attended to this kid.

After the first operation, the following case was called which was the 3-year-old kid. I have always enjoyed being in the operating theatre, or any hands on procedures.

Despite knowing that I should be conserving energy, instead, I proceeded to carry on and after the second op, I entered an ongoing flap operation next door to assist.

Another referral came for a laceration wound over the forehead for an Orthopaedic patient who was post-operative and transferred to ICU. Apparently, it was missed when the patient arrived at the Emergency Department as he suffered multiple opened fracture and was posted for operation immediately. Thankfully, he was intubated and sedated and I was able to perform a bedside toilet and suturing for him.

By the time I was done, it was midnight. I went back to the oncall room to shower and change for the night. I would usually change into scrubs again if I were to be oncall, just to be on standby in case I was needed immediately.

I did not sleep that night, it just felt wrong as the flap operation was still ongoing since 8am.

I went in again to check in on them, however, I was not needed at that time. Thus, I kept a fellow colleague company.

At 2am, I returned back to ward to complete the planned discharge of a patient and started my morning review. Thankfully, I did. In between, I was referred a new case of another kid who suffered another laceration wound at his right eyebrow. Thus, counselled the parents, obtained consent and admitted the patient.

After that, I was requested to collect bloods or bags packed cell for the patient who was still ongoing operation. When the commotion was done, I returned to continue my early morning reviews.

By 4am, I went back inside the operating theatre to check in on the ongoing operation. Technically, still far from done. Scrubbed in to assist with harvesting the skin for split thickness skin graft and refashioning of the affected limb.

At 8am, we were finally done. The operation officially lasted for 24 hours. All of us scrubbed out and I changed out of my attire to return to ward and follow rounds.

During peri rounds, a patient was called to OT and I entered organ as I dislike peri rounds. After the OT, all of us were just beyond tired and I went home for the day.

No doubt, it was my first “solo oncall”, it did not feel lonely at all as since there was an ongoing operation, physically, I felt comforted knowing that there were people nearby and felt more like a slumber party instead.

And the most important part… I survived it!

About Me | Privacy Policy | Contact Me

#article #Blog #blogging #dailyprompt #dailyprompt1804 #dailyprompt1813 #dailyprompt1819 #dailyprompt1826 #dailyprompt1828 #dailyprompt1829 #dailyprompt1834 #dailyprompt1838 #dailyprompt1945 #dailyprompt1949 #dailyprompt1950 #dailyprompt1953 #dailyprompt1955 #dailyprompt1956 #doctor #floatingMedicalOfficer #healthcare #hospitalUmumSarawak #housemanship #kuching #Malaysia #medical #Medicine #oncall #plasticSurgery #plastics #sarawak #sarawakGeneralHospital #surgery #writing

The Theoretical Doctor Jan 7

My First Day As A Medical Officer In KKM

Related Posts:

Housemanship or Internship for Doctors in Malaysia lasts for a duration of 2 years, upon completion of our medical school journey.

For some, they began shortly upon graduation whilst for others, they took a gap year.

I submitted my application to pursue my internship in the Ministry of Health, Malaysia (Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia, KKM) shortly after my graduation but did not actually begin till 6 months later in 2023. Two years later, thankfully, I’ve completed and fully registered with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) and possess a valid Annual Practicing Certificate (APC).

Post housemanship, I went on a 3-weeks-break and on the 21st of August 2025, I reported for duty as a Medical Officer.

Upon my completion of housemanship, one would have to go through a “floating period” of maximum 6 months prior to receiving their placement in whichever department, hospital or state of choice. Usually, the floating period occurs in the same hospital that one had completed their housemanship or internship in.

Thankfully, I was offered to float in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. However, I was diving into the world of Surgery with no experience or knowledge in basic suturing.

During my first day, I reported for duty at the Hospital Director’s Office to receive my “floating” placement letter, checked my remaining leaves and proceeded to Burn Ward of Sarawak General Hospital.

The Burn Ward.

I’ve had good memories previously as a House Officer here and I was beyond ecstatic as well as relieved to be accepted into this department which is filled with understanding and helpful bosses.

I was then given orientation by one of the medical officers, clerked a burn patient that was just admitted and spent most of my time accompanying a fellow friend who thankfully is in the same department. Considering it was my first day and a rather slow one, I was able to return home at 5pm.

There’s just so much more that I have yet to learn. Hopefully, I’ll have both the mental and physical strength to push through.

Thankfully, the environment is one that is filled with love and encouragement.

About Me | Privacy Policy | Contact Me

#article #Articles #Blog #blogging #burnWard #dailyprompt #dailyprompt1805 #dailyprompt1826 #dailyprompt1829 #dailyprompt1852 #dailyprompt1946 #dailyprompt1949 #dailyprompt1950 #dailyprompt1951 #dailyprompt1953 #dailyprompt1954 #dailyprompt1955 #dailyprompt1969 #doctor #doctorSLife #hospitalUmumSarawak #housemanship #kuching #Malaysia #medical #medicalOfficer #Medicine #plasticSurgery #plastics #sarawak #sarawakGeneralHospital #writing

The Theoretical Doctor Jan 6

My First Day Of Locum And As A Medical Officer

Related Posts:

A locum or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfils the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy.

– Wikipedia.

The first time I ever tasted or ventured into locum or a so-called “part-time doctor” was on the 3rd of August 2025.

At that time, I was back in my hometown and on a 3-weeks-break post housemanship / internship at a small private clinic, yet to officially begin as a Medical Officer.

While I was in medical school, I would occasionally hear this term “locum” from my fellow seniors or batch mates, lecturers, parents or even friends of my parents. However, in order to locum, one would need to be fully registered with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) and possess a valid Annual Practicing Certificate (APC). In short, I had to graduate medical school, finish my internship or housemanship first, then only am I able to dive into this.

Thus, upon acquiring my full MMC and APC licence, I was looking forward to locum. Looking forward to it as well as nervous to dive into this. Thankfully, I had just completed my final rotation in the Emergency and Trauma Department.

In the Emergency and Trauma Department, there are various zones in which the patients would be triaged into in terms of presenting complaints, severity and their vital signs. The least critical in severity would be triaged into Green zone. The Green zone is similar to a clinic setting, thus, it gave me some idea on the type of cases I would be expecting.

My first locum was just 3 hours long, from 7pm till 10pm. I figured that since I am just starting at that time, it would be better to start with minimal hours in order to get used to it and also.. if I would enjoy it.

The clinic was quaint and small but equipped with basic necessities and a scan machine. The only thing that it did not have, was an x-ray facility. The moment I sat down, the patients kept coming back-to-back. As soon as I was done with one, another came.

For a first-timer, I felt it was equivalent to the Green Zone in General Hospital whereby the cases were always there but the patient load was manageable.

However, I was extremely scared.

Mainly afraid that I might accidentally jeopardise the patient’s safety in terms of mismanagement. Thankfully, by 9:30 pm, the clinic assistant stopped accepting new patients and prepared to close the clinic.

For a first experience, it was a good one despite it being rather terrifying for me.

But, we all have to start somewhere and build our confidence, don’t we?

About Me | Privacy Policy | Contact Me

#article #Articles #Blog #blogging #clinic #clinicLife #dailyprompt #dailyprompt1804 #dailyprompt1828 #dailyprompt1833 #dailyprompt1839 #dailyprompt1843 #dailyprompt1853 #dailyprompt1855 #dailyprompt1861 #dailyprompt1862 #dailyprompt1942 #dailyprompt1946 #dailyprompt1947 #dailyprompt1948 #dailyprompt1951 #dailyprompt1953 #dailyprompt1959 #doctor #hospital #hospitalLife #houseOfficer #housemanship #johorBahru #locum #locumTenens #locuming #Malaysia #medical #medicalOfficer #Medicine #writing

The Theoretical Doctor Aug 20, 2025

Life After Offtag In Emergency & Trauma | Housemanship Diaries

Related Posts:

The tagging hours in the Department of Emergency & Trauma is from 7am till 10pm, for a total of 10 days and one off day per week. There are no assessments required to off-tag, only hours required to cash in.

During our tagging season, we were not allocated for night shifts as well.

For me, tagging in this posting felt like an eternity. I remembered counting down my days before I would finally “offtag” and be switched to regular working hours. I also remembered being extremely exhausted at the end of my shift, wondering how did my fellow colleagues managed to pull through.

Tagging in this posting as compared to the other postings was considered less stressful as we were not required to arrive early for morning rounds. We merely had to arrive on time and upon the end of our shift, we leave, as compared to other postings where we would stay back almost every time, cash in “unpaid overtimes.”

Finally after 10 days of tagging, I officially “off-tagged“.

So how was life after that?

Much better. Thankfully.

Regular hours in the Emergency & Trauma Department meant working a 12-hours shift per day with an off day per week and a single night shift.

Basically, we had to ensure that in total, we had to meet the total 60-hours shift per week.

Thus are the timings for our respective shifts:

AM Shift: 7am – 7pm
PM Shift: 10am – 10pm
Night Shift: 10pm – 10am

If you have read my articles on “The Joy Of Working The Night Shift As A House Officer” as well as “My Favourite Time Of The Day At Work“, I mentioned that I absolutely love the night shift. The disadvantage of working the night shift is that we are usually alone and the night shift can be rather unpredictable.

However, it is not the same for me in this posting. Out of the shifts listed above, my favourite is the AM shift, 7am till 7pm. Initially, getting up for work at 7am is tough especially after working the PM shifts back-to-back. But after the initial morning sleepiness wears off, the day proceeds as usual and we return home at 7pm which is nice.

Life after offtag in this department ensured that I had adequate rest prior to my shift starting. No doubt, it is a 12-hours shift every time, we usually arrive and leave work on time as compared to other postings.

Nonetheless, I was still exhausted after every shift. Perhaps it was due to the accumulated mental and physical stress throughout the previous five postings that when I am finally blessed with extra rest, I am still tired.

If you are still in the tagging phase, be it in this department or others, please stay strong. Remember that it doesn’t last forever, it is merely over a certain span of days or weeks.

Keep showing up, keep doing the good work to the best of your strength and abilities and keep moving forward.

About Me | Privacy Policy | Contact Me

#article #Articles #Blog #blogging #dailyprompt #dailyprompt1812 #dailyprompt1829 #dailyprompt1833 #dailyprompt1834 #dailyprompt1843 #dailyprompt1853 #dailyprompt1854 #dailyprompt1862 #dailyprompt1863 #dailyprompt1936 #dailyprompt1943 #dailyprompt1947 #dailyprompt1950 #dailyprompt1951 #dailyprompt1953 #dailyprompt1954 #dailyprompt1957 #doctor #emergency #emergencyAndTrauma #family #health #houseOfficer #housemanship #life #medical #medicalOfficer #Medicine #mentalHealth #offtag #trauma #writing

The Theoretical Doctor Aug 18, 2025

Surviving 10 Days Of Tagging | Emergency & Trauma Department

Related Posts:

My tagging days in my sixth and final rotation, Emergency and Trauma Department, lasted for a total of 10 days which was from the 11th of April till the 23rd of April 2025. This is excluding our one “off day” for the week.

Did I manage to last throughout the tagging days?

Not quite.

I did take a sick leave during my second week of tagging. The reason was that I was just extremely tired.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The tagging hours in the Emergency and Trauma Department is from 7 am till 10pm, just in other postings.

The good thing about this department is that we do not need to do morning reviews. Thus, coming way early prior to our shift is unheard of. We merely come and leave on time.

However, considering that it is the Emergency Department, things are unpredictable whereby things could be quiet one moment and hectic the next.

Hence, on days which burn, it can be extremely tiring. But, completing these tagging days are a must and so on slow days where the hours seem to pass by really slowly, I make it a point to have an “hourly toilet break“. On busy days, it may be the only time that I am given a chance to sit and breathe.

On top of that, I made sure I took my lunch and dinner break. Not because I was hungry as I was used to having my meal for the day after work. It was merely my way of spending my time during my tagging days.

At 10pm, the shift is over and I leave, even if the floor is busy because the following day my shift begins at 7am again.

Finally after 10 days of “tagging“, I have finally off-tagged and shifted to “shift hours“.

Photo by Andrey Grushnikov on Pexels.com

There are no assessments in order to off-tag. as there were in other postings, which is a good thing. However, tagging in this posting felt long and seem to went on forever for me. Perhaps, this was because I was mainly tagging alone as I entered a month later than my fellow peers.

Nonetheless, I was glad to be done with this schedule and shift back to a regular 12-hours shift.

About Me | Privacy Policy | Contact Me

#article #Articles #Blog #blogging #dailyprompt #dailyprompt1826 #dailyprompt1828 #dailyprompt1833 #dailyprompt1834 #dailyprompt1836 #dailyprompt1839 #dailyprompt1841 #dailyprompt1843 #dailyprompt1855 #dailyprompt1860 #dailyprompt1861 #dailyprompt1865 #dailyprompt1948 #dailyprompt1953 #dailyprompt1954 #dailyprompt1962 #doctor #emergency #emergencyAndTrauma #hospital #hospitalLife #hospitalUmumSarawak #houseOfficer #housemanship #kuching #Malaysia #medical #Medicine #sarawakGeneralHospital #tagging #trauma #writing

The Theoretical Doctor Aug 15, 2025

My Last Shift As A House Officer in Medical | Housemanship Diaries

Related Posts:

At the time of writing this article, I am no longer in my Fifth Rotation, Medical but already in my Sixth Rotation, The Emergency and Trauma Department and at the same time, due for my last shift in my Sixth rotation as well as being a House Officer.

Looking back, my last shift in the Medical Department seemed ages ago.

However, I remembered that I was night shift at that time and was at Male Medical Ward (MMW).

My duration working in this ward was around 3 weeks. However, it was my least favourite as compared to Medical 3, Medical 4, the Infectious Disease (ID) Ward or being part of the Perimedical team. The superiors were alright but it was the vibe of the ward in general that I found unsettling that I can’t quite place my fingers on.

The night shift in Medical is from 8pm till 9am. However, on that day, I recalled leaving home at 6:30pm to go to work as we were not allocated any “long day” shifts.

“Long Day” or “LD” are those who work from 7am till 10pm. Thus from 6pm till 8pm, prior to the night shift person coming, there is a 2 hours gap which is filled by them.

On that week, there were no “Long Day’s” and everyone had the opportunity to return home at 6pm. However, who would fill in the “2-hours gap”?

Thus, I remembered me and my colleagues at that time coming into a mutual agreement and compromise that one person would stay till 7pm and the night shift person would arrive an hour earlier at 7pm.

It was a good compromise except there would be nobody to accompany us till 10pm and usually their help is valuable. Those hours till 10pm can get rather hectic at times.

I remembered arriving around 6:45pm and started receiving handover from the AM teams and was cautioned to lookout for a particular patient in the acute cubicle who was rather unstable.

Upon finishing our handover, the Medical Officer on-call for that ward arrived and things started to go hectic.

I can’t exactly remember what happened but I was on my feet the whole time and did not begin my “coming mornings” till 3am.

Thankfully, I was still able to complete them before 5am and the morning bloods were out in the system on time.

That morning during my post night shift, I was “summoned” for minimal bloods which I completed immediately. Usually during my post night shift, I would remain within the sights of the “AM team” and offer to help out where I could.

But I remembered at that time that I was completely spent. I decided to rest in the House Officer’s room and take any bloods a little later prior to my shift ending, if there were any.

Surprisingly there were none after that. I recalled seeing a junior taking the blood of a patient as I was exiting the ward and asked him as to why he did not just ask me.

He claimed that upon arriving for his morning shift, I looked rather spent and after I left to take a short break in the House Officer’s room, he just did not want to disturb me. After all, he said, it was only one patient.

I was touched and grateful. It was a small gesture. However, it’s small, simple things that sometimes touches you.

After that, I clocked out for the last time as a House Officer in the Medical Department.

About Me | Privacy Policy | Contact Me

#article #Articles #Blog #blogging #dailyprompt #dailyprompt1804 #dailyprompt1833 #dailyprompt1839 #dailyprompt1841 #dailyprompt1844 #dailyprompt1853 #dailyprompt1858 #dailyprompt1861 #dailyprompt1865 #dailyprompt1878 #dailyprompt1881 #dailyprompt1885 #dailyprompt1892 #dailyprompt1895 #dailyprompt1903 #dailyprompt1949 #dailyprompt1953 #dailyprompt1954 #dailyprompt1955 #dailyprompt1956 #dailyprompt1963 #doctor #hospitalUmumSarawak #houseOfficer #housemanship #kuching #lastShift #medical #medicalPosting #Medicine #sarawak #sarawakGeneralHospital #ward #writing

The Theoretical Doctor Aug 15, 2025

Jobs That I’ve Had

Click here for more articles & daily dose.

What jobs have you had?

Teacher

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

My first job that I’ve ever had was as a Teacher.

I had just completed my STPM which is a form of pre-university course in Malaysia, equivalent to that of the UK A-Levels and I was waiting for my results.

At that time, I was on a holiday with my parents and was perusing through Facebook when I came across an advertisement on a job offer at a nearby language centre, looking for an English Language teacher.

Without any expectations, I applied for it. At least, I’d have some exposure and regularity prior to entering Medical School in September that year.

Shortly after I returned home, I received a call and an email responding to my application. I went for the interview session and was soon called back and offered a job to which I accepted.

Barista

Photo by Barcelona Albertus on Pexels.com

My second job, I was a barista at a coffee shop as well as worked at the cash register of a store, both at the same time during my first and second year of medical school after which I stopped and subsequently used to work as a waitress for an F&B company. That was my third job. My second and third jobs were jobs mainly to earn extra cash after classes amidst my free time.

Looking back, I probably should’ve just focused on my writing.

Junior Doctor

Photo by RF._.studio _ on Pexels.com

My fourth and current job is working as a junior doctor at Sarawak General Hospital. I still am one since I started practicing in 2023 and is currently going through my sixth and final rotation (at the time of writing this article) before finally receiving my full APC or license to practice independently both in government or private sector.

Am I ready for it? Certainly not.

However, somehow I haven’t quit and I kept pushing through. I don’t know how or why and before I knew it, 2 years has flown by.

Click here for more articles & daily dose.

YouTube | Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook | Spotify

About Me | Privacy Policy | Contact Me

#article #Articles #Blog #blogging #dailyprompt #dailyprompt1819 #dailyprompt1834 #dailyprompt1838 #dailyprompt1839 #dailyprompt1841 #dailyprompt1853 #dailyprompt1854 #dailyprompt1858 #dailyprompt1863 #dailyprompt1884 #dailyprompt1948 #dailyprompt1952 #dailyprompt1953 #dailyprompt1955 #dailyprompt1957 #dailyprompt1959 #dailyprompt1971 #doctor #hospitalLife #houseOfficer #housemanship #jobs #medical #medicalOfficer #medicalSchool #Medicine #partTime #work #writing

The Theoretical Doctor Jul 10, 2025

The Most Enjoyable and Tiring Day In Medical 3

Related Posts:

I can’t remember which day it was but it was probably during the weekend or a public holiday as I remembered that I was allocated on call who was in charge of this ward.

I was allocated to “General” on that day and was I was alone at that time. I remembered sitting at the other end of the ward at around 11am when one of my colleagues who was allocated to be covering the “Neuro” patients went to have lunch.

The medical officer on call at that time, a rather “happy-go-lucky” and rather jovial person struts into the respiratory cubicle and asked if there were any house officers available?

To which I responded, we’re right here and he came over. He asked for the person who was in charge of the front cubicles which happened to be my colleague who went for lunch. I asked what’s wrong, is there anything I can help with?

He casually replied, nothing much, just walked in and saw a patient’s pulse oximeter reading 70% under room air. Then he laughed.

Me and my friend who happened to be there at that time were shocked and rushed to the patient. True enough, the pulse oximeter reading was 70%, well, 68%. Oddly enough, the patient seemed rather comfortable and not tachypnoeic. In fact, he was surprised as we crowded around his bed, looking concerned.

I asked him if he was having any difficulty breathing which he was not. Thus, our first instinct was probably the machine was faulty and proceeded to check with another vital signs machine.

This time, it was 65%.

I proceeded to take full set of bloods while my medical officer was writing his review and my friend attempted to call my colleague.

I ran his arterial blood gas and it showed Type 1 Respiratory Failure. Considering he did not have a baseline during this admission, we do not know if this was near his baseline or a sudden deterioration.

We called the Peri ICU team and referred the patient for non-invasive ventilatory support (NIV). Imagine, not knowing why this long stay patient was ever here in the first place to summarising the reason for admission down to his current progress. It turns out, he was due to be stepped down to a district hospital for continuation of antibiotics.

Well now, he can’t.

We transferred hum to the acute cubicle for closer monitoring while awaiting the Peri ICU team.

While awaiting, my medical officer decided to check on a patient who was handover to him for afternoon reviews.

This lady was in her 60’s and was admitted for left pleural abscess, meaning there’s pus in her lungs and for this patient, the whole left lung was completely filled. Clinically, she seemed well, speaking in full sentences and laughing to her family members as well in the morning.

In fact. I was even taking her bloods that morning only to have it splashed all over me after attempting to fill the blood culture and sensitivity bottle.

I recalled walking past her as I made my way to the front of the ward and she seemed alright. However, the moment me and my medical officer oncall stood in front of her. She desaturated an started being tachypnoeic.

Well, here’s another one.

There goes the next referral to the Peri ICU team for intubation and also Urology for emergency suprapubic catheter insertion as we attempted to insert a urinary catheter multiple times but failed.

Now, all these events happened very fast but at the same time, time flew by fast. The second patient was intubated and we inserted a femoral venous catheter. My medical officer then wanted to excuse himself to settle the pending discharges in his other ward. However, the first patient wasn’t saturating well under NIV and needed to be intubated.

There goes another intubation as well as another femoral venous catheter insertion. Finally, after all the chaos, things began to finally settle down.

I proceeded to trace my coming mornings, considering that I was the only one in charge of “General” that day and nobody would be helping me. Finally, I proceeded to begin my oncall reviews. This was around 8pm by that time.

After completing my in all reviews with intermittent disturbance in between. I proceeded to aid my friend in preparation of her coming mornings.

It was close to 11pm, I was just clearing my stuffs and getting ready to go when a nurse informed me that a patient seemed rather tachypnoeic.

Annoyed and tired, I attended STAT to find a patient sitting at the side of the bed with his BiPAP machine unlatched and hanging at the side of the bed. The patient beside him then told me, he removed it himself an hour ago.

Boy… Why am I not surprised?

This is another impending intubation.

At this rate, I might as well not leave anymore.

The day was busy enough. I sometimes wonder why is it that we feel guilty to even desire to return home on time? To walk out with the family members watching us finally ecstatic to return home for the day while their family members are stuck in the hospital?

Back to that patient, I didn’t left him gasping on his own of course, I fixed back the BiPAP machine, took an arterial blood gas and alerted my night colleague and medical officer oncall to which they attended STAT.

Thankfully, the following day, I was allocated as night shift. Thus, despite returning home late, I was able to sleep in and recuperate a little before returning back to work that night.

It was a busy day but considerably a rather fun one considering that I happened to work with a rather jovial medical officer oncall and my colleague stayed back to accompany me despite her shift being till 6pm.

Working with certain people definitely helps alleviate some of the pressure of the day.

About Me | Privacy Policy | Contact Me

#article #Articles #Blog #blogging #dailyprompt #dailyprompt1804 #dailyprompt1826 #dailyprompt1833 #dailyprompt1834 #dailyprompt1838 #dailyprompt1921 #dailyprompt1939 #dailyprompt1941 #dailyprompt1942 #dailyprompt1946 #dailyprompt1947 #dailyprompt1948 #dailyprompt1949 #dailyprompt1951 #dailyprompt1953 #dailyprompt1954 #dailyprompt1955 #dailyprompt1957 #dailyprompt1959 #dailyprompt1963 #dailyprompt1971 #desaturation #doctor #enjoyable #hospitalUmumSarawak #houseOfficer #housemanship #kuching #medical #Medicine #sarawak #sarawakGeneralHospital #tiring #writing