a small pharmacist in a small hospital...

in a zapp...i spent a month in Hospital Gerik...really fast...

there are definitely major differences between working in a big state hospital compared to a humble district hospital...

a humble district hospital with 4 wards...only

but talking about "pharmaceutical care" that the lecturers kept repeating millions of times back in the university...i have more opportunity to practise here...perhaps it has nothing to do with the hospital...just that i'm no longer a very very lazy PRP but just a lazy FRP...

in Ipoh...it's either
i see their case and counsel them in ward...
or...fill their in-patient medication...
or...prepare their cytotoxic medications...
or...prepare their Parenteral Nutrition bags...
or...analyse and interpret their serum drug level...
or...find information for their attending doctors...
or...purchase their medication...
or...lastly...dispense medicines to them before they go back home...
its either...or...

at best we can do 2 of the above at one time...or 3 if we happen to dispense to the same patient we see in ward when relieve at the pharmacy counter...

here at this tiny little hospital...
i see their case and counsel them in ward...
and...check their in-patient medication...
and...find information for their attending doctors...
and...dispense to them at the counter
and...lots of time to counsel (i.e chit chat with) them at the counter before they go home...if i do the same thing at HRPB...definitely will be flooded by trays and medicines...

and...interpret their serum drug level...
tests were done in HRPB...and results do come with recommendations...but i'm no longer a PRP...so i can choose not to agree with them...heheheh

in short...here i can give one dragon service from beginning till the end...

the good thing here?
lots of time to learn and study...
time to pick up...again...the knowledge lost somewhere along the way...

the bad thing?
the other day i was following a case...until he had an acute exacerbation and transferred out to Ipoh...
there is a limit to what we can do here...thus a limit to what i can see in the ward...
but then...at ipoh...u can only see the patient during and after the attack...
here i can see before...still something different to learn...

but still...
no matter how hard we complaint about the chaotic large hospitals...
no matter how hard we bragged about the the peaceful small hospitals...
deep down we do want to return...because that is where we are from...Ipoh...

in case i have the opportunity...i want to return as a better me...

Finally...i'm away from home again...

announcement: my new workplace is a small hospital (75 beds) in a town (pop: 2000-5000) 2 hours drive at 120km north of ipoh...

yeap...my new posting is at Gerik (pronounced Grik) Hospital...

last weekend transported some of my stuffs there...
and to show my dear how wonderful and nice and rural and peaceful her dear's working town will be...

started working since tuesday...so much different to work in a small hospital...so much warmer...
the pharmacy staffs were welcoming...especially the pharmacists...

there are now 3 Mr Lims...luckily i'm not one...otherwise all the pharmacists are Mr Lim...would be very interesting if Lim Ming Teng was posted here instead...people will surely think he is Lim Ming Hee's brother...haha...but one look already know they aren't

(*my media player is playing wonderwall by oasis at the moment...damn i still love this song*)

thanks to another Mr Lim for helping me find a place to stay...really like that place...though a bit lonely and scary...but i prefer that way...

thanks to yet another Mr Lim for tumpang us to lunch...

to quote from Mr Lim the boss...a nice and small town...small hospital...lighter workload...no staff problem...just a bit far from Ipoh...but still travel-able...so far all are true...so far lah...

i'm taking over Miss Chan(the only female pharmacist there for the past 2 years)'s in-patient pharmacy and clinical...
congratulation Miss Chan on your big day!...and your new posting!...though we will only be colleagues for less than a month...but will definitely miss you...good luck to you!!!

so...with Miss Chan moving out...it will be all guys affair at HG...until another lady arrive to dilute the testosterone...

interested with my routine?
wake up...breakfast...WALK to work...cool eh...
finish work...go back rest...7.30pm go dinner with colleagues and friends...chitchat...go back read some book and comic...bedtime...end of a day...VERY interesting leh?
not to forget the badminton session...
well i can foresee things can get better once i transport my running shoe and camera and subscribe to wi-fi...

i'm glad to be part of the small family there...meet some new friends...very friendly friends...
so far i enjoyed my first week there...and i hope i can enjoy the rest of my time there until i got my transfer...dunno when...in the meantime...enjoy life as it is!!!

for those who don't know where on earth is Gerik...or have the very slight motivation to see how ulu the place is...feel free to visit me lar...

for all my dear friends at faraway "ulu" places...
take it positively...
take it as an opportunity to serve those who needed your knowledge and service much much more than mere dispensing...
take it as an opportunity to explore places that we never imagined living...
take it as an opportunity to leap out of that coconut shell...at least for once in our lifetime...

to fill my "free time"...i'd drafted my SKT (Sasaran Keriangan Tahunan) 2010:
1) go to Betong (thai border) to smuggle in Singha and super hot but tasty TomYam instant noodle...
2) to hike the Belum reserve forest
3) to visit Tasik Banding
4) to go wild boar hunting
5) to look for the best wild boar curry in the district
6) to visit Temenggor dam...if can lar...cos it's restricted area
7) lastly...quite a difficult task...to have a photography portfolio on Gerik...and, if possible, surrounding areas...

Finally...the last day of my journey as PRP...

when i started my blog...i used to start all my titles with "Finally..."
it is as if i had done waiting...and hence wanting to share the results here...
after a while...i stop doing that...
because the titles got a little less personal...hence "Finally..." is no longer relevant...

today...i'm doing it again...because it is personal...

Finally i ended my training at Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun (HRPB), Ipoh...today (30th Sept) was the last...

when i first got posted here...people were telling me this is a good place for training...
indeed it is...
there countless opportunities to learn...the seniors and experienced colleagues were ever willing to share...only thing is to ask...and a little initiative to learn...

learn to practise what we studied...
learn to work as a team...(not as a group)
learn to make friends...and avoid making foes?
learn to respect each other...and earning respect from others

as you can see...only 25% is related to that stupid degree...
the rest...it is personal...

looks like i'll have to end here...haven't write for sometime...got stuck here and there...
after this will have more time to write...

before i end...want to take this opportunity...to thank again all my seniors and colleagues for all the advice and help...really appreciate them...

FAQ:
1) my favourite department?
it has to be satellite 7...when i was there...no need to do paeds wards...
with mr kris, mr tan, kak shamala and kak ina...working under miss eng...in my opinion was the best team i ever work with in HRPB...of course with us little PRPs just make the team even better and interesting...haha

2) the department i enjoyed working the most?
it is a little different from the previous question...
i enjoyed working at FKP the most...
though it is not the easiest place to work...but the atmosphere and the interaction among colleagues...for someone as busy-body as myself...it has to be the most enjoyable place to work...as PRP...FRP don't know lar...haha
special thanks to all the FRPs there...
miss chong, miss wong, miss khor, miss yeap, miss ng, miss saras, miss chou, miss kat, miss munyan, also miss choo...for answering all our silly questions...
all the best to you all...just bully the new FRPs and incoming PRPs...no need give me face one...

we will meet again for sure...

back from an interesting workshop...

just completed a two-day workshop...officially pontenged work...yay...

it was my first workshop since started working...and it was a good one...an interesting one...lucky me
Research Workshop: Developing a Research Proposal & Tools...

it may sound boring...but for someone who did, and very much interested to work on a research project...this is a great opportunity to learn...

first of all...it was organised by Clinical Research Centre (CRC) Perak ...very experienced in conducting medical research...

and the speaker was the head of CRC Perak...a very good speaker...very experienced researcher and a very kind man...generous to share his knowledge...

the best thing about this workshop is the efficiency and the dynamic...
we started with very brief ideas...old ideas got killed off...and new ideas generated...
the brainstorming and the discussion were very productive...
first time participated in brainstorming session with professionals and experts in their respective fields...except me...

at the end...we have a handsome looking proposal...and a very workable research plan...
in just two working days...i think it's amazing...

best of all...it totally opened my eyes to the real world of medical research...every single details were look into carefully...must not compromise ethical issues and safety...
i hope from now on...whenever i read a medical journal...i will look deeper than the printed words and figures...

by the way...there are now reported human-to-human transmission of Influenza A H1N1...now i'm a bit worried...things may certainly get worse...i hope there will not be more human-to-human transmission cases in our country...