By a small twist of blessing from the Almighty, I'm sitting comfortably on the bed right now, having just finished my mug of green tea, composing my second blog post of the day (is this some kind of a record? haha). The past two weeks have been a major eye-opener for yours truly, a complete starter kit of experience on life's greater picture awaiting me in the near future.
I have gone through ten days of 'tagging' so far, which means I come to work before 7am and finish officially at 10pm (but my average is 11.30pm, the latest being 2.30am!), with unofficial breaks for prayers and meals in between accordingly. Tagging serves as a period of time to familiarise yourself with your workplace- how the whole system operates, how to fill in the plethora of forms, how to manage the ward, what is expected from you, etc., etc. In medical department, the usual length is 14 days, which means I have four more days to go before being slotted into the shift roster like other more seasoned housemen.
Morning shifts here start from about 7am (official time is 8am, but housemen always arrive earlier to review the patients before the medical officers come) and finish at 5pm (though I've never seen anyone in my ward going back at 5. haha. earliest would be 6). Nights shifts begin at 4pm, where the overlapping one hour serves as the 'passover'- for the night-shift houseman to be briefed about that day's patients- and finish at 10am (again, nobody goes back at 10am. usually 12pm).
My worry for now is to handle the night shifts- during the day we have like 5-6 housemen to manage the ward, at night there will be only one of us to take care of the entire ward. Of course, there'll be the medical officer on call, but they won't be in the ward all the time, as their responsibility is even greater- 3-4 wards (or more, I'm not sure) altogether. So you don't want to piss your MO off by calling them every half an hour for something they will deem as trivial. And if you get the really nasty ones, they'll tell you straightaway not to disturb them before morning comes (one of my senior HO was told exactly this during her first night shift).
The first five days of work was simply indescribable. I have never been so... 'blur' in my entire life! The whole place was chaotic and everybody was just rushing here and there to keep the old rusty ward from falling apart and the MO in charge of HOs was on leave so I didn't get a proper orientation and was just told to ask anything if I didn't understand. It meant bugging people every five seconds so in the end, I tried to figure some of the things out by myself, which took a whole lot longer than it normally would. I was moving at a humiliatingly slower pace than the snail which was so against my nature and it terribly frustrated me. The others were well into their housemanship and have become so competent and I felt like I was thousands of light years behind them. It was not a good time for me, and I knew the feeling had escalated to an alarming level when I walked past a ward cleaner once and seriously thought of switching jobs with her.
Luckily I've got a home to return to, and even if I don't, I know I have Allah to turn to. I kept telling myself that everybody went through the same phase, and it would all come to pass. Slowly, I got the hang of the basics and things got better. Then, the heavy and lengthy working hours kicked in. Working for almost ten days straight without break was taking its toll on my body; dinner at midnight had become a routine (I even fell asleep whilst eating once -.-), and I just didn't have the time to study after finishing work. I got all stressed out again, and even shed tears after talking to my mum at work, right in the middle of the ward. haha.
But Allah is Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim... Al-Mujib... He has promised in the Quran,
"Verily, with every difficulty there is relief." (Al-Inshirah: 6)
The next morning on Friday, as I was reviewing one of the patients with my MO, he asked me how long I have been tagging, and then told me to take the weekend off. Take the weekend off! I almost couldn't believe my ears. Thank God I had my mask on so he couldn't see the stupid grin plastered all over my face.
So that explains how I get to write two happy posts in one day. :D Tomorrow I'll be going back to work, but inshaallah with much better spirits and perspective. Please pray for Allah to ease me and all of us in everything we do. :)
ps: Today, 4 Sha'ban 1433, is my birthday! ^_^
Sunday, June 24, 2012
A Wedding Wish
One of my dearest friends, Erfa, is getting married this Saturday, and I, being the busy bee, won't be able to attend (if only Teluk Intan were ten minutes away...) :(
There are but a few people in this whole wide world whom you just 'click' with upon first meeting(s), and for me, she is one of them. We share a lot in common, and she is like the most easygoing person I know- the kind of person who will take your troubles away simply by being around them.
We have steadily kept in touch over the years, most recently when she suddenly had to come and spend a night in Kuantan for work and I happened to be home alone that very day because my parents and brother went for umrah and my sister was on call at the hospital. It was truly a blessing from Allah, as I was quite worried about spending the night on my own. That was when she broke the news of her wedding, which had been decided just a few days prior, and was going to be held in just a little over two months.
I have so many things I love about this beautiful friend of mine, but I'm compelled to highlight on her wedding ideas here, particularly because it has become such a distressing issue in our present-day society. I love her determination in going against the wedding-of-the-year craze by choosing the simplest options in every way possible, amidst strong resistance from her own mother. ;D From choosing her own, simple wedding dress (nice but not the kind that you'll subsequently hang in your wardrobe forever 'cos it's too fancy- and expensive- for words) to limiting the number of hantarans to making invitation postcards (my favourite- very original, economical and eco-friendly!), she just WOW-ed me. May Allah bless your efforts and make your marriage full of barakah. :)
Many people today spend close to a fortune for their weddings which is just, mildly put, unnecessary. You want to start your married life with an abundance of blessings, but how can you have that when you've ruined your wedding day with overdone extravagance and display? It really is disturbing when I see, read, and hear about how obsessed many people are with having the perfect wedding for themselves. It's a testimony to the magnetic lure the material world has got on us present-day Muslims. Some are plagued by worries of their relatives' and friends' impressions and expectations, which indeed can be ruthless. It is hard to change old-age mentalities, but we are an awfully blessed lot of people- we have the Quran and Sunnah to abide by, and if we hold on tight to them, the rest- all the worldly burdens and worries- will be lifted from our chests, inshaallah.
"Marry those among you who are single, or the virtuous ones among yourselves, male or female: if they are in poverty, Allah will give them means out of His grace: for Allah encompasseth all, and he knoweth all things."
An-Nur: 32
To Erfa- Barakallahulak, wabaraka alaik, wajama'a bainakuma fikhair!
.JPG)
There are but a few people in this whole wide world whom you just 'click' with upon first meeting(s), and for me, she is one of them. We share a lot in common, and she is like the most easygoing person I know- the kind of person who will take your troubles away simply by being around them.
We have steadily kept in touch over the years, most recently when she suddenly had to come and spend a night in Kuantan for work and I happened to be home alone that very day because my parents and brother went for umrah and my sister was on call at the hospital. It was truly a blessing from Allah, as I was quite worried about spending the night on my own. That was when she broke the news of her wedding, which had been decided just a few days prior, and was going to be held in just a little over two months.
I have so many things I love about this beautiful friend of mine, but I'm compelled to highlight on her wedding ideas here, particularly because it has become such a distressing issue in our present-day society. I love her determination in going against the wedding-of-the-year craze by choosing the simplest options in every way possible, amidst strong resistance from her own mother. ;D From choosing her own, simple wedding dress (nice but not the kind that you'll subsequently hang in your wardrobe forever 'cos it's too fancy- and expensive- for words) to limiting the number of hantarans to making invitation postcards (my favourite- very original, economical and eco-friendly!), she just WOW-ed me. May Allah bless your efforts and make your marriage full of barakah. :)
Many people today spend close to a fortune for their weddings which is just, mildly put, unnecessary. You want to start your married life with an abundance of blessings, but how can you have that when you've ruined your wedding day with overdone extravagance and display? It really is disturbing when I see, read, and hear about how obsessed many people are with having the perfect wedding for themselves. It's a testimony to the magnetic lure the material world has got on us present-day Muslims. Some are plagued by worries of their relatives' and friends' impressions and expectations, which indeed can be ruthless. It is hard to change old-age mentalities, but we are an awfully blessed lot of people- we have the Quran and Sunnah to abide by, and if we hold on tight to them, the rest- all the worldly burdens and worries- will be lifted from our chests, inshaallah.
"Marry those among you who are single, or the virtuous ones among yourselves, male or female: if they are in poverty, Allah will give them means out of His grace: for Allah encompasseth all, and he knoweth all things."
An-Nur: 32
To Erfa- Barakallahulak, wabaraka alaik, wajama'a bainakuma fikhair!
.JPG)
Fantastic Four: me, Nabihah, Mutheerah and Erfa, the last time we met in March.
Another exemplary wedding with lots of happiness and good food!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
A Goodbye Note
"... And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him]."
-Ali Imran: 159
The above verse rang through my ears on my way back from work last Friday. By some reasons, I have chosen medicine as my first posting- arguably the busiest department in the hospital. After taking some time to let the fact sink in, I feel that I've made the best decision (or at least a good decision)- I hope to learn as much as I can for the next four months and come out a better person. To quote a couple of speakers at the induction course, "We don't expect you to become superheroes. We just want you to become safe and competent doctors". Also, "Welcome to the ministry of health, not ministry of hell!" haha. I'll try my best, inshaallah... let's all try our very best in whatever we do, and leave the outcome to Allah, the best of planners.
Goodbye Facebook.
Goodbye Euro 2012.
Goodbye Eid holidays.
(I'm not complaining, I'm quite excited actually. ;D But sesiapa yang berkenaan, tolong la bagi match updates at least. hehe)
ps: Welcome to the latest additon to Pelindung Pantai safari- Lettew and Vam-Vam! :D
Lettew
Vam-Vam
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