Venipuncture

Definition: Jamming a needle into someone's (another meddie's) arm and praying that you really hit a vein.




Puncturing a vein would result in haematoma (mine won't go away for a few weeks), an artery (a nice red fountain), a tendon (intense pain), the median, radial or ulnar nerve (loss of sensation/function or both)



Ignorance is bliss.




I felt strangely patriotic after that, because my arm ended up speckled in Malaysia's flag colours. Red, yellow, blue and white.



Too bad we couldn't bring back vials of our own blood. That would have been cool. Ah well.

Breast Examination

a.k.a. "how to stare at examine and prod akwardly at palpate female assets without being an actual pervert"










Tons of good clean fun for the kids. Or not.

Who's this old guy?

One week to exam, so I'm desperately hitting the books. After about an hour of studying in the library, I decided to take 5 and have a short stroll to relax. Guess who I saw? Some old white bearded guy in an off-white suit. With a bunch of eager-looking college staff following him around. Naturally curious, I went to take a closer look.

As I suspected, he wasn't just a random person coming for a visit. I learnt from a staff member that he was Sir Chris Bonington, a mountaineering legend and adventurer in Britain. Apparently, he led many expeditions up Everest, K2, and other dangerous peaks over the past 40 years. Plus, he's still climbing after all these years! And I read his book 'K2-The Story of the Savage Mountain' a long time ago. Pretty inspiring. So, yeah...on to photo op time with shameless me..



The famous Chris with the not-so-famous Chris


Looks can be deceiving eh? I guess I should give climbing a try when I have the time. Probably not K2 or Everest. Mount Kinabalu anyone?

Back in the fray

It's been a long while since I last blogged, and I apologize for the hiatus.

Anyway, it's already into my fourth week of 2nd year medicine. It's pretty much the same as what I had last year, only with a smaller bunch of meddies, plus 60 fresh-faced 1st years. I'm already starting to feel a tinge of regret for leaving some of my close pals behind in Melbourne.

But alas, due to inevitable financial reasons, here I am, smack in the middle of bustling Bandar Sunway, hopefully awaiting the moment when I can finally swear the Hippocrates Oath, and then get treated like sh*t as a hapless intern. Its worth it, I repeat to myself. Just worth it.

As the new university campus is still under construction as of now, the only faculty available is, you guessed it, the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Everyone else will move in by the next semester, July being my best guess. In my opinion, the facilities in the new Malaysian are comparable to those in Clayton, except for the damn plastic lecture theatre seats. Everything is brand new and shiny. I do miss the sickly sweet smell of cadavers back in Clayton, as these are replaced by plastinated (think petrified like in Harry Potter) human beings in the new campus. Prodding the brain with my fingers didn't feel too special, as the cadavers are literally part-plastic and part-organic!

Lectures, tutes and pracs are conducted in the same way here, with local professors-cum-doctors replacing their Australian counterparts. The lecturers are more accessible to students and are way more flexible compared to some of the more jaded and weary professors we had back in Clayton campus. It's a plus in a way, and hopefully it'll stay that way in the future.

I'll be having my clinical visits soon (tomorrow!). And my biggest challenge here is yet to be overcome, more specifically dealing with patients who may or may not speak English. After all, I'm a banana...the species of Chinese incompetent with their mother tongue. I can just imagine myself interviewing my patient:


Me: Good morning, Mrs Tan. I would like to ask you a few questions. Would that be fine with you?

Mrs Tan: You ask me for what? Oke lor.

Me: Thank you Mrs Tan. Firstly, what brings you here?

Mrs Tan: My husband drive me here la.. Why u ask??

Me: Uh, sorry...I mean, what are you here for?

Mrs Tan: Ni hui zhiang hua yu ma? Wo de tu zhi hen tong.

Me: Erm..(long pause)..tu zhi tong....you mean your stomach hurts? I'm sorry Mrs tan, I can only listen to Mandarin, cannot really speak.

Mrs Tan: Aiya, ni bu hui zhiang hua yu? What lar...even three year old can speak better than you! Not malu one! And you call yourself doctor summore! -_-"

Me: :-(

Damn! I only had experience interviewing Aussies. I guess I've got a lot of learning to be done. My Malay is still functional, and my next stop, Tamil! Wish me luck cos I'm gonna need it.

Remembering 2006: Monash Anatomy Museum

Welcome to the Monash University Anatomy Museum, off-limits to anyone else to the uni but medical and science students. Here's a sneak peek.

Not for the easily disturbed.

Good if you're curious..

Click on the pictures for a larger view.




The anat museum hosts a variety of human specimens (couldn't find a better word) ranging from plastinated models to wet specimens preserved in formaldehyde solution. Hence the sweet smell emanating from the museum.





The preserved head and upper torso. I can't seem to determine his/her gender. May be disturbing to some. But gives me a sense of peace, if not dignity.





Upper limbs in various stages of dissection. Students usually gather around here post dissection for a de-briefing and summary by the facilitators. This is when you start asking questions if you have doubts.

Short reflection: 2006, Melbourne

Recycled from my old blog, 16 Dec 2006



It's been a while since I returned from Melbourne. A short year by my standards I suppose, but what a year! A flurry of warm friendships, ridiculous cramming, lecture-skipping, drunken nights, online shopping, jaywalking and other such pursuits. And what have I gotten out of it you say?


you know that already




male-burn city




the usual drunk bastards :D



Plenty.



Throughout this year, I'm aware that I've changed in some aspects. I have all but lost my sense of competitiveness, a legacy of the early years dad hounded me over my results. So, no more Mr. Kiasu, for now. However, I'll keep in mind not to let complacency take over....Rome wasn't built in a day you see..




"narcissism is necessary...don't barf just yet!"



Personal appearance and taste in clothing, something that has taken a back seat in my life for ages, ahhh..that's becoming more important. A taste of something better, courtesy of the likes of armani or versace...has left me quite smitten. And you can bet I'll be back for more.



Just kidding there!...i'm not that into that sort of excess. Very metro. Not forgetting my obvious lack of mullah, or "something-that-rhymes-with-honey". But as you can see, i'm sadly becoming more superficial. and hating myself more for that....the angst! :P




Sad to say, I think I've gotten more cynical over these months..my pal calls it maturity...i'd think otherwise. I'd see the negative side of things...a departure from my usual rose-tinted view of the world. Politics,events, policies, mostly from my home county..leave me flustered and irritated. Same goes for matters closer to heart..friendships, relationships, God..Don't give me that half full half empty crap. I NEED rehabilitation! X-(




And, God, not forgetting God,......who brought me there...watched over me...provided...fed....though I still have unresolved doubts and issues...there's still unmovable faith...ahh, faith, that's what keeps me moving on.



Oh yea, let me also announce a vacancy for a personal back scratcher. The humid weather has left me itchy...very itchy. Scratch my back and i'll scratch mine!

Dissection Revisited

This excerpt was taken from my old blog, dated 22 Sep 2006.


There has always been a morbid fascination among people (including yours truly) concerning death. As a medical student, death is something I have to come to terms with, and most physical experiences I have dealing with this would be in the dissection hall. In small groups around a cadaver, we would learn a lot about human anatomy through observation of dissection by the demonstrators. Following that, we would be the ones dissecting, but not rarely without disasterous results :P


To be honest, I was initially rather disturbed by the place in general, even a touch disgusted by it. The place seems to have a rather peculiar aura emanating from it, not least from its distinctive smell. The sickly sweet aroma of formaldehyde barely masks the underlying stench of decay and faeces, especially when approaching the cadavers. Buckets below the dissection trays serve to collect bodily fluids and excess formaldehyde solution. Rows upon rows of body bags serve as a grim reminder of how ephemeral life is.



Months pass by, with the dissection hall losing its initial shock factor and mystery. The smell is something I got used to, as with "carving" skin, fat and fascia with the scalpel and prying them apart with my fingers. The often confusing task of identifying muscles, nerves, and blood vessels provides me with a sense of detachment from what, or more appropriately who im working on.


The cadavers are devoid of much dignity, with intimate members fully exposed and some with split or missing heads. Body details such as manicured fingernails and tattoos are eerie relics of a life once lived. The only thing that seperates them from us is time.



Contrary to the perceptions of most people, you do not often lose your appetite after dissections. As dissection times are placed before, say, luchtime or dinner...you tend to get hungrier during and after dissections. In fact, some medical students go on to say that "the smell of formaldehyde makes people hungry!" 0-o

In retrospect, this ongoing experience makes me think twice about donating my body to science. While I really look up to those who have made the decision, I doubt that they will be pleased with what they see...but I guess they wont be living by then anyway. It brings a new meaning to the saying "ignorance is bliss".

I truly hope this brings some insight into what goes on here in the dissection hall.