Random

Multiple times I was faced with patients with HUGE juicy veins but which I am unable to cannulate. This makes me feel very incompetent. Besar giler pun takleh ke. I find that cannulation is a random success probability for me. Sometimes I can do it but most times I can't. I prefer venepuncture (taking blood). That is why every time I see a "jelco resite" on the whiteboard I cringe.

I like to make conversations with patients so that I don't come across as being too abrupt. I don't want to be the in-out-finished kind of doctor. So I ask them how they slept last night and how did their meal fare. During the first few days of surgery this sort of backfired because surgical patients are usually nil by mouth (fasted) before surgery so no point asking how their meal was. Hahaha. Malu je when they say "Oh I can't eat". Nampak sangat saje nak make conversation.

I find that nurses are soooo nice once you remember their name. They'll treat you so well. Not that they remember my name so I guess it only works one way. I am just the surgical intern or pager #248. 

I also find that they are very punctual and uptight about their "tea breaks". In the middle of the shift, they will all save 1-2 nurses go out for a tea break i.e. dinner/lunch. Tension makcik. Nothing can be done at this time. They can't be disturbed while they're having their break. We have to be the ones who get the urine bottles if patients want to urinate and I don't even know where those things are kept! We answer the ward phone, get water for patients to drink, talk to relatives. I don't mind doing this but it is not my job. I have my job to do plus the nurses' job when they go on break. They don't do my job when I'm on break - oh yes, we don't have breaks.

They work 8 hour shifts yet are allowed to take 2 breaks in this shift. One 15 minute break and one 30 minute break. What about us doctors?? Even for shifts as long as 14 hours there's not even an allocated time for a break where we cannot be disturbed. In the toilet crapping, praying, eating, sitting down one's bum for the 2nd time that day we could be paged non-stop. I spend my working hours suffering burning epigastric pain due to hunger yet I'm made to feel guilty if I even stop to eat a muffin for sustenance. Imagine if suddenly the doctors couldn't be paged for one hour each day. Mesti kecoh semua orang.

Tomorrow is my last day doing the evening shift. I am going to miss this job. I really loved it. Hehehe. I love the sleep-ins in the morning and coming to work at 2pm. I could do all sorts of things in the morning. The work is not as stressful as ward work that the morning interns do. Next week I'll work in the morning again and hubby is on the evening shift.

What I won't miss is sending Layth to kinder. He still bawls when I send him. Apparently when hubby sends him to kinder he just has a few tears running down his face. Glad to delegate that duty to hubby now. Tak best la kerja nih.

So, I'll be back to early morning starts, ward rounds, meeting consultants, making referrals, kene marah sana sini, pagers bleeping non stop and of course; cycling to work. Huhu. Now in the cold and dark morning too. Dah malas sebab dah manja sangat naik kereta. :p