Current Situation
OK...this is how things are for now...I am now in India and it is much worse compared to my expectations...The word running through my mind when I saw the place was,"fucccckkkkkkk".Its like a fucking desert. ALRIGHT! I know i am not supposed to curse here but fuck man. However, I am starting to adapt to the place and beginning to like my room. The seniors are so so so helpful and friendly which I am very glad about and the food are tasty as well. Well, we hear rumours that people engage in food poisoning and so on but I am still fine after drinking there teh tarik and bandung. Well the nicest place I went to so far is the library. Its really huge. Besides that, the lecture hall is just few metres away from my hostel, so I can actually wake up 5 minutes b4 class begin and still can get there in time. Now its really dusty and hot down here but there is one thing which wonders me here...my hands do not sweat here..People who are close to me should know how much my palms sweat normally.
B4 reaching here:
Well on the way to KLIA, I forgotten to bring the bankdraft so have to make a U-turn and go back home to retrieve it. Later, reached there and saw Kumar, checked in and then Ian came all the way from Kota Damansara..and to my surprise i saw Ping Syen, Pin Sze, Siow Cherng and Mei Sin. Well THANKS to all who came. Then my sis was playing wif them and we took few pictures. Then it was time to leave..my sis was hugging me and i saw Mei Sin and Siow cherng crying. First time i passes the departure gate and then went into the waiting lounge. Then finally board the plane, and they serve alcohol in it but my frens did not alliow me to drink..bloody hell...
In India:
reached bangalore at nite and took a bus filled wif fucking mosquitos to central park hotel where we stayed for the nite. In the morning when I woke up, It was DAM DAMN cold...i put 3 layers over me and I was still shivering. Then later we departed to Mangalore..It looks like a desert in the movies..the n we took a 2 hr bus ride to MANIPAL...and it sux
Mixed Feelings
Today was kinda bz. I went to get the bank draft with my mum and then went to 1U to buy kettle and travellers pouch. For the past few days I couldn't really sleep cos as soon as I lie down on my bed, I think bout the future in India and in my house after i leave. My feelings are mixed. After my grandmother visited me on sunday, she told me in hokkien."mai kek sim(dun susah hati) mai kek sim," i nearly broke into tears. Mayb i jz a too senstive and emotional soul. But I know in the end things will come out well as I mould my own future and I am gonna make it a great one!
Wisdom from Patch
Notes for Concerned Medical Students
by Patch Adams, M.D.
Medical education can be a stressful experience. For some, the academics seem gargantuan, for others the costs are stifling. But the most disconcerting feedback is the feedback that is centered around a depression and anxiety over the kind of climate in which health care is practiced in today's society. It is hard to find a joyous service-oriented practice in hospitals. So often it appears that economics and management come before patient care. Competition seems to be more the style than cooperation among health professionals.
This guide is created for the medical student who wishes a thrilling, joyous, heartfelt medical education in exuberant anticipation of a life in service to humankind.
Inherent in helping others is an intoxication of self-satisfaction in a garland of intimacy. The keys here are to assert your own motivation and to respect your wisdom... indeed to be bathed in the self-confidence that you can make your life a delightful adventure. We offer a few suggestions here to make your education a highlight of your life. Please share your feedback, suggestions, and dialogue with us and your contemporaries in creating a medical celebration.
- Don't wait until you are on the wards to practice and develop your interviewing skills... start now! Interview everyone with as great a depth as you dare. Medicine's fundamental thrill is intimacy. Find that kind of demeanor in yourself that delights others so they tell you their tales Be ecstatic for the gift that people give you in love, trust and intimacy. Find a way to let this journey together stimulate you and fill you with the excitement of a new friend.
- As you explore the glorious mechanisms of your body and life, let it electrify you in wonder and curiosity. Never get complacent over the miracle of life. Live in awe. Let this be the focus of your education...not your grades, which tell you nothing about the kind of doctor you will be. (When I was in medical school, I told them never to notify me about my grades unless I failed... which became very freeing.)
- Do not let the cost of education paralyze you. It is a privilege that you are so fortunate to be in school. When you finish you will pay your loans back as soon as you can. If you choose service-oriented Medicine, its gift is payback enough until funds come in. Don't let the debt trap you in a repugnant practice. Here creativity and exploration make great playmates. There is no debtor's prison. Community support can be key here.
- Cultivate intimacy with the health professionals and professors you respect. Invite yourself to their homes. Establish a thriving dialogue. Ask to come into their practice. Reach out for the same intimacy with aides, orderlies and nurses as you do with doctors and patients. The word here is friendliness, wherever you go in life; it will make your day thrilling.
- Please have support groups. Support in study. Support in play. Find like minds and fantasize your medical interests and futures. Practice being very deep and intimate with each other. Hold nothing back.
- Please get involved in the politics of Medicine from the very beginning. Belong to the American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA), American Medical Student Association (AMSA), Office of Student Representatives (OSR) of the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), etc. Go to the meetings, especially the big ones, and talk with everyone. There is gold everywhere. Many are thinking about the same things you are. Your fantasy Medical practice may sprout in this climate.
- Yes, fantasize your most outlandish Medical fantasy. Your degree in Medicine is the freedom to choose exactly how you want to practice. The only limiting factors will be your fears and imagination. Band together and soar.
- Focus on Medicine as service. Medicine as a business is hurting everyone. The rewards in Medicine are in helping others and in self-discovery. Giving is an intoxication, intimacy is a by-product. Brace yourself for an avalanche of love.
- This is a whopper. Have outside interests! You are not a doctor. You are a person who has studied Medicine. You are all of your other interests just as well. Nurture all of your loves. Experiment with ways of integrating your interests with you Medicine. Weave these interests into the relationships you have with your patients. Be open to learning things from them... you will love the bonds that form.
- Finally, do not sacrifice your family for your Medical career. What you learn in keeping your family vibrant will serve you greatly with your patients. Please cherish your significant others, your lovers, your children, your parents, and feel the great health their love fives you. See your friends as a part of your family.
Anyone can be a dr.!
A doctor can be simply defined as a person who holds a MBBS or MD degree. That means as long as you finish your five year course and pass all the exams, you can call yourself a doctor. BUT that also means that as long as a student puts all his time in studies, he is a doctor! BUT WHAT IS THE POINT! The main things about doctors is not the grades which matters, it is how you handle your career professionally and see beyond what you learn as the disease-symptoms-cure materials. We must take into consideration the feelings and emotions of patients and not simply give them medicine just to heal a certain illness. There is more to studies that knowing how the body works!
