It has been a long time since I written in my blog. For the first time at work, I've been busy. I'm currently in my internal medicine rotation as an intern and it's been a constant stream of labour. I've been admitting patients, left, right and centre. I've been setting intravenous drips and taking arterial blood. Even after two months in the job, I'm still incapable of setting up BiPAP/CPAP/ventilators for people who have difficulty breathing or setting up drug drips for atrial fibrillation. I know that last sentence may have flown over some people but just let me say that I should be able to do that.
Also for the past two months I have been miserable. I saw my psychiatrist last week and I related to him that I have been feeling depressed since I started my final rotation. I don't mind the workload in internal medicine but the difficulty of the situation coupled with some really nasty superiors doesn't make it better. Perhaps it is the anxiety of having to go to interviews and get a job which has led me feeling more sad. Or it could be the impending future, having to take on more responsibility, rising to become a resident and still don't know anything or give a crap if a patient lives or dies.
It is not like I don't have matters to write about - my misery in internal medicine and having to deal with psychosomatic symptoms when I'm on-call, like chest discomfort, palpitations and muscle cramping, my forthcoming future and having to sort out things such as buying a car and pay taxes, how Playboy Playmates look great but when you hear them speak you know they don't have two brain cells which you could bump together and Susan Boyle.
But right now I'm not that enthusiastic about writing about anything. I rather keep surfing the internet and watching "Red Dwarf" episodes, which I have managed to watch the entire back catalogue. I've gone into the mode where being stationary is comforting.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Frustration
I had the most frustrating few days in my life...
Firstly I was reported for looking at Japanese models (fully-clothed) on the internet at the computers in the K2 Doctors' Common Room by a male doctor. I don't know his name and all I know was that he was in the surgical field since he was dressed in green OT attire and was middle aged.
The next day (Friday) I was called by my supervisor to meet him and in my opinion was inappropriately treated. My supervisor didn't ask for my side of the story. He made me feel like a sexual deviant, saying "Are you so stressed that you have to look at these photos?" He asked me how my job interviews were going, which I don't think is relevant to the matter. Now he's linking my work performance to this incident and asking members of staff to monitor my performance in the ward. I'm really thinking about taking this matter further and asking somebody higher.
Then on Sunday I had one of the worst on-calls in my short career. I only got to have dinner for 15 minutes (no lunch or breakfast), I didn't sleep at all and I got two patients started to deteriorate on me - one with septic shock and one with a drug overdose in the ward.
Sometimes I think this job is not worth the effort...
Firstly I was reported for looking at Japanese models (fully-clothed) on the internet at the computers in the K2 Doctors' Common Room by a male doctor. I don't know his name and all I know was that he was in the surgical field since he was dressed in green OT attire and was middle aged.
The next day (Friday) I was called by my supervisor to meet him and in my opinion was inappropriately treated. My supervisor didn't ask for my side of the story. He made me feel like a sexual deviant, saying "Are you so stressed that you have to look at these photos?" He asked me how my job interviews were going, which I don't think is relevant to the matter. Now he's linking my work performance to this incident and asking members of staff to monitor my performance in the ward. I'm really thinking about taking this matter further and asking somebody higher.
Then on Sunday I had one of the worst on-calls in my short career. I only got to have dinner for 15 minutes (no lunch or breakfast), I didn't sleep at all and I got two patients started to deteriorate on me - one with septic shock and one with a drug overdose in the ward.
Sometimes I think this job is not worth the effort...
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Against your own kind (part two)
I got a reminder the other day as to why I don't like Mainlanders...
I was riding the hospital lift down when it stopped at one floor. Somebody graciously kept the door open whilst everybody in the lift waited for whoever it was to enter the lift. It seemed that nobody was going to enter the lift until we saw a kid dragging an adult into the lift. The adult was oblivious to the fact the lift had arrived, as she was 'talking' on the phone. I put 'talking' in quotation marks as the woman was actually shouting down the phone.
I often comment on the volume of Chinese people when they talk but this woman took the biscuit in terms of voice intensity. She really didn't need the mobile phone to talk to the person since that person would have heard it anyway, even hundred of miles away.
So how did I know this woman was from the Mainland. Apart from the usual clothing & facial features, she was shouting in Putonghua, or whatever dialect she was speaking. I have no qualms about people speaking Putonghua. I think the Chinese language is beautiful. I know Putonghua (or Mandarin for my Western friends) is actually easier to learn, with fewer tones to learn and the spoken and written language being exactly the same, unlike the Cantonese dialect. So why is that when I hear anybody speak Putonghua to me, I still roll up my eyes and curse in English? Like a lot of Americans and British people who go on holiday abroad who think everybody in the world understands English, many Mainlanders expect all Hong Kong Chinese people to understand Putonghua just because they are Chinese. I'm sorry to say that I don't understand Putonghua and talking to me in Chiuchow, Fukien or whatever dialect you should choose will not make me understand what you are saying.
I don't expect people who come to Hong Kong to all speak Cantonese. There are many expatriates from Western countries who come here to live and work. I expect not one of them to speak conversational Cantonese. Yet they can manage to get somebody who can speak the local language to communicate with essential people, such as in restaurants, services and in the health sector, to acquire whatever they need. It seems people from Mainland China are incapable of doing this. Somehow they just keep shouting and shouting and expect you to understand.
Which leads me on to another point why I'm extremely prejudice towards Mainlanders - manners. For some reason Mainlanders have never ever been taught to be polite towards other people. I've been trying to explain it since I've noticed this. My parents keep telling me it is a cultural aspect but I seriously don't believe that. One thing common to many cultures is the lack of greed and the basic awareness of "Love thy neighbour like thy self". I know that phrase is Christian in origin but other religions, from Islam to Buddhism, share the same belief.
Neither it is a socio-economical problem. I know many people in England who are not well off and they manage to be courteous and kind. Plus I know many Mainland businessmen who are well off and are just as rude as a British football hooligan. Somehow the basic manners are just not instilled into Mainlanders. They just don't seem to say 'goodbye' at the end of a phone conversation. They don't let people off lifts or trains first. I don't think it is a regional aspect either. The Koreans and Japanese are very polite. I love one aspect of Japanese life - people are generally looked down upon if you are seen talking on your mobile in a train carriage. I hate it when people shout down the phone so the whole of the train can hear. Why is it that the Chinese people are incapable of talking quietly? I cannot have a conversation with my dad without having my hearing tested afterwards. This has lead me to stay away from holiday resorts where Chinese people usually reside to ensure I have a quiet holiday. You can tell Chinese tourists from a mile away - they have no manners and cannot speak quietly.
Maybe I'm just a snob and extremely condescending. I expect everybody to have good manners and know how to say 'excuse me', 'thank you' and 'sorry' in the language to wherever they go on holiday. I look down on people who cannot give up their seat in the bus or train to the elderly and disabled. I expect patients to listen to me and understand what I'm saying, even in my broken Cantonese. I wish everybody who at least not consult doctors for the trivial of things, that common colds and flu do not require a doctor to prescribe medication which can be bought at a pharmacist.
Prejudices have no place in the world but we all have them. I think if everybody was born perfect, we would never make the effort to improve. So why is that I'm willing to acknowledge my faults but other people are not capable of doing so?
I was riding the hospital lift down when it stopped at one floor. Somebody graciously kept the door open whilst everybody in the lift waited for whoever it was to enter the lift. It seemed that nobody was going to enter the lift until we saw a kid dragging an adult into the lift. The adult was oblivious to the fact the lift had arrived, as she was 'talking' on the phone. I put 'talking' in quotation marks as the woman was actually shouting down the phone.
I often comment on the volume of Chinese people when they talk but this woman took the biscuit in terms of voice intensity. She really didn't need the mobile phone to talk to the person since that person would have heard it anyway, even hundred of miles away.
So how did I know this woman was from the Mainland. Apart from the usual clothing & facial features, she was shouting in Putonghua, or whatever dialect she was speaking. I have no qualms about people speaking Putonghua. I think the Chinese language is beautiful. I know Putonghua (or Mandarin for my Western friends) is actually easier to learn, with fewer tones to learn and the spoken and written language being exactly the same, unlike the Cantonese dialect. So why is that when I hear anybody speak Putonghua to me, I still roll up my eyes and curse in English? Like a lot of Americans and British people who go on holiday abroad who think everybody in the world understands English, many Mainlanders expect all Hong Kong Chinese people to understand Putonghua just because they are Chinese. I'm sorry to say that I don't understand Putonghua and talking to me in Chiuchow, Fukien or whatever dialect you should choose will not make me understand what you are saying.
I don't expect people who come to Hong Kong to all speak Cantonese. There are many expatriates from Western countries who come here to live and work. I expect not one of them to speak conversational Cantonese. Yet they can manage to get somebody who can speak the local language to communicate with essential people, such as in restaurants, services and in the health sector, to acquire whatever they need. It seems people from Mainland China are incapable of doing this. Somehow they just keep shouting and shouting and expect you to understand.
Which leads me on to another point why I'm extremely prejudice towards Mainlanders - manners. For some reason Mainlanders have never ever been taught to be polite towards other people. I've been trying to explain it since I've noticed this. My parents keep telling me it is a cultural aspect but I seriously don't believe that. One thing common to many cultures is the lack of greed and the basic awareness of "Love thy neighbour like thy self". I know that phrase is Christian in origin but other religions, from Islam to Buddhism, share the same belief.
Neither it is a socio-economical problem. I know many people in England who are not well off and they manage to be courteous and kind. Plus I know many Mainland businessmen who are well off and are just as rude as a British football hooligan. Somehow the basic manners are just not instilled into Mainlanders. They just don't seem to say 'goodbye' at the end of a phone conversation. They don't let people off lifts or trains first. I don't think it is a regional aspect either. The Koreans and Japanese are very polite. I love one aspect of Japanese life - people are generally looked down upon if you are seen talking on your mobile in a train carriage. I hate it when people shout down the phone so the whole of the train can hear. Why is it that the Chinese people are incapable of talking quietly? I cannot have a conversation with my dad without having my hearing tested afterwards. This has lead me to stay away from holiday resorts where Chinese people usually reside to ensure I have a quiet holiday. You can tell Chinese tourists from a mile away - they have no manners and cannot speak quietly.
Maybe I'm just a snob and extremely condescending. I expect everybody to have good manners and know how to say 'excuse me', 'thank you' and 'sorry' in the language to wherever they go on holiday. I look down on people who cannot give up their seat in the bus or train to the elderly and disabled. I expect patients to listen to me and understand what I'm saying, even in my broken Cantonese. I wish everybody who at least not consult doctors for the trivial of things, that common colds and flu do not require a doctor to prescribe medication which can be bought at a pharmacist.
Prejudices have no place in the world but we all have them. I think if everybody was born perfect, we would never make the effort to improve. So why is that I'm willing to acknowledge my faults but other people are not capable of doing so?
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Against your own kind (part one)
I like to think I'm an open-minded person, willing to accept people for their beliefs and behaviour. It should come natural for me, having lived in three different countries (although very Westernized in nature) during my childhood and having been surrounded by people from various nations during my school years, first in an international school and then a boarding school. Additionally several years with depression has allowed me to experience what it is like to be a psychiatric patient. I find it especially difficult to comprehend why doctors and medical students still hold some stigmatization of psychiatric patients.
Yet I do have one prejudice in life. I am ashamed to admit it but I whenever I meet people of this nature I instinctively roll my eyes and look down upon them. It's not Mormons or evangelists I despise. I can understand their intentions in spreading the word of the Bible, even though they might piss off some people along the way with some ill-advised methods. I can tolerate Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester Unitd fans, knowing football fanaticism is a delusional state which very few can escape from. All football fans think their team is the best in the world and will religious defend their club to the extremes of insanity.
The kind of prejudice I usually infect is somewhat strange - I'm prejudice against people from China.
Yes, I'm racist towards my own race. I would have to clarify my prejudice. I'm somewhat look down on people from Mainland China. I don't have any problem of people generally from Hong Kong, although people who know me well know I don't like Hong Kong compared to other countries. I get along fine with any Chinese people who were brought up abroad, like USA or UK, seeing they have a similar background and upbringing compared to me. Neither am I belittling the achievements of the Chinese and their culture. I have a great respect for Chinese arts, thinking the youth of today have no appreciation for such things with the bastardification of the Chinese language. I know the Chinese people invented paper money, the printing press and fireworks in the past, showing they were light years ahead of their Western counterparts.
Yet whenever a Chinese person starts talking Putonghua to me, wherever it is a patient or a doctor, I just automatically think, "Go back over the border." I know I shouldn't be thinking like this way. I'm a great believer of open borders. People should be allowed to immigrate/emigrate to other countries for political, social or economic reasons. In fact I'm a benefactor of such immigration policies, having become a British citizen and my brother can claim Australian nationality if he wanted to.
There are some people who take liberty with these immigration policies. One example is right here in Hong Kong. Pregnant woman from Mainland China come to Hong Kong to give birth, so their child can benefit from free health care and education. I'm sure USA suffer from the same problem with Mexican mothers and some other countries probably have the same dilemma. Yet the problem continues up the ladder, with people from China coming to Hong Kong, intending to find work but just winding up on the dole, claiming benefits and living in free housing. They never intend to find work in the first place. I know a vast majority of Mainlanders do actually get work, finding the kind of employment Hong Kong people don't want. It is the minority who give the majority a bad name.
What really gets on my nerve about Mainlanders is the behaviour and manners... which I will write about next time because I need to calm down before I past out due to excessive anger.
Yet I do have one prejudice in life. I am ashamed to admit it but I whenever I meet people of this nature I instinctively roll my eyes and look down upon them. It's not Mormons or evangelists I despise. I can understand their intentions in spreading the word of the Bible, even though they might piss off some people along the way with some ill-advised methods. I can tolerate Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester Unitd fans, knowing football fanaticism is a delusional state which very few can escape from. All football fans think their team is the best in the world and will religious defend their club to the extremes of insanity.
The kind of prejudice I usually infect is somewhat strange - I'm prejudice against people from China.
Yes, I'm racist towards my own race. I would have to clarify my prejudice. I'm somewhat look down on people from Mainland China. I don't have any problem of people generally from Hong Kong, although people who know me well know I don't like Hong Kong compared to other countries. I get along fine with any Chinese people who were brought up abroad, like USA or UK, seeing they have a similar background and upbringing compared to me. Neither am I belittling the achievements of the Chinese and their culture. I have a great respect for Chinese arts, thinking the youth of today have no appreciation for such things with the bastardification of the Chinese language. I know the Chinese people invented paper money, the printing press and fireworks in the past, showing they were light years ahead of their Western counterparts.Yet whenever a Chinese person starts talking Putonghua to me, wherever it is a patient or a doctor, I just automatically think, "Go back over the border." I know I shouldn't be thinking like this way. I'm a great believer of open borders. People should be allowed to immigrate/emigrate to other countries for political, social or economic reasons. In fact I'm a benefactor of such immigration policies, having become a British citizen and my brother can claim Australian nationality if he wanted to.
There are some people who take liberty with these immigration policies. One example is right here in Hong Kong. Pregnant woman from Mainland China come to Hong Kong to give birth, so their child can benefit from free health care and education. I'm sure USA suffer from the same problem with Mexican mothers and some other countries probably have the same dilemma. Yet the problem continues up the ladder, with people from China coming to Hong Kong, intending to find work but just winding up on the dole, claiming benefits and living in free housing. They never intend to find work in the first place. I know a vast majority of Mainlanders do actually get work, finding the kind of employment Hong Kong people don't want. It is the minority who give the majority a bad name.
What really gets on my nerve about Mainlanders is the behaviour and manners... which I will write about next time because I need to calm down before I past out due to excessive anger.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
In the doldrums
I don't know why or how to explain the situation but I'm miserable. I'm not enjoying life at the moment but I cannot find a reason why I should be hating my life. To paraphrase a fine author, Nicky Hornby, from his famous book "Fever Pitch", I have a good job, in reasonable good health and family plus friends who like me. So why should I be in the doldrums?
Could the job application situation be the problem? All the interns are talking about the inteviews they are having right now and I know I have to wait for the Family Medicine interviews, which are later than other specialties. I'm not worried about getting an interview, or even a job. Probably I'm just fed up of my fellow house officers talking nothing except their job prospects.
Yet even that cannot really explain why I'm so lacklustre in my job. The workload is not that excessive and I'm able to manage quite contently. Yet I don't get that satisfaction anymore of helping people or doing something to impress other people. Basically I stopped caring about anything. I may have even pissed off another professor in a different department, bringing the number of specialties I have officially pissed off to three (four if there is an official complaint and they have to talk to my head).
I'm even losing interest in the hobbies I used to love. I don't watch movies so often anymore, at home or even in the cinema. I just want to stay at home and forget about society & civilization. I don't follow the NBA anymore, having no interest or time. Probably the difference is I'm pointing my interests into other areas, such as cooking and British comedy.
I wish I could get out of this rut but something about me likes being in here...
Could the job application situation be the problem? All the interns are talking about the inteviews they are having right now and I know I have to wait for the Family Medicine interviews, which are later than other specialties. I'm not worried about getting an interview, or even a job. Probably I'm just fed up of my fellow house officers talking nothing except their job prospects.
Yet even that cannot really explain why I'm so lacklustre in my job. The workload is not that excessive and I'm able to manage quite contently. Yet I don't get that satisfaction anymore of helping people or doing something to impress other people. Basically I stopped caring about anything. I may have even pissed off another professor in a different department, bringing the number of specialties I have officially pissed off to three (four if there is an official complaint and they have to talk to my head).
I'm even losing interest in the hobbies I used to love. I don't watch movies so often anymore, at home or even in the cinema. I just want to stay at home and forget about society & civilization. I don't follow the NBA anymore, having no interest or time. Probably the difference is I'm pointing my interests into other areas, such as cooking and British comedy.
I wish I could get out of this rut but something about me likes being in here...
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Goals and dreams
Two events recently passed me by without incident. The first was my twenty-eighth birthday, where curiously enough I was on-call. The second was Valentine's Day.
So why do these two days have any relevance to me? When I was in my teens, I had many goals and aspirations I wanted to achieve. Yet very early on in life I knew I wouldn't accomplish any of these dreams. I didn't take sixteen GCSEs or six A-Levels, although I got pretty close. I didn't get into Cambridge (but I'm in some ways I rather glad I didn't). At this stage I'm pretty sure I won't win the Nobel Prize in Medicine & Physiology or receive an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, even though there is still plenty of time for me to start on that screenplay I always keep in the back of my mind.
There is still one aspect of my life I haven't mentioned. I said to myself I would get married by the time I was twenty eight years old. Even though I technically I have a year left, I don't think I will be achieving this in the next twelve months or any months after that.
I know I whinge and blog about this subject constantly but I have to face the facts. I have a very small social circle, mainly consisting of doctors. I don't really want to marry a doctor, mainly due to the fact that doctors only talk about medicine. I do want a life outside of the medical field and can't face the fact if I go home I could be faced with my medical small talk. Neither do I have much time to date either. I rarely go out to pubs, nightclubs, social occasions or parties, so the opportunity for even a one-night-stand is not remotely even in my hemisphere.
What makes the situation worse is my criteria. I wouldn't say I'm picky or particular. I'm not like most men who want a lady with beautiful looks and a great body (although that would be nice) or is extremely wealthy. Unfortunately the lady I want is not your typical Hong Kong woman. I would like a Western upbringing and the ability to speak English fluently. I want an open mind in all areas. Yet the ability to find a lady like this seems to be difficult if not non-existent.
I really have given up. I have resorted to living the rest of my life as a bachelor.
So why do these two days have any relevance to me? When I was in my teens, I had many goals and aspirations I wanted to achieve. Yet very early on in life I knew I wouldn't accomplish any of these dreams. I didn't take sixteen GCSEs or six A-Levels, although I got pretty close. I didn't get into Cambridge (but I'm in some ways I rather glad I didn't). At this stage I'm pretty sure I won't win the Nobel Prize in Medicine & Physiology or receive an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, even though there is still plenty of time for me to start on that screenplay I always keep in the back of my mind.
There is still one aspect of my life I haven't mentioned. I said to myself I would get married by the time I was twenty eight years old. Even though I technically I have a year left, I don't think I will be achieving this in the next twelve months or any months after that.
I know I whinge and blog about this subject constantly but I have to face the facts. I have a very small social circle, mainly consisting of doctors. I don't really want to marry a doctor, mainly due to the fact that doctors only talk about medicine. I do want a life outside of the medical field and can't face the fact if I go home I could be faced with my medical small talk. Neither do I have much time to date either. I rarely go out to pubs, nightclubs, social occasions or parties, so the opportunity for even a one-night-stand is not remotely even in my hemisphere.
What makes the situation worse is my criteria. I wouldn't say I'm picky or particular. I'm not like most men who want a lady with beautiful looks and a great body (although that would be nice) or is extremely wealthy. Unfortunately the lady I want is not your typical Hong Kong woman. I would like a Western upbringing and the ability to speak English fluently. I want an open mind in all areas. Yet the ability to find a lady like this seems to be difficult if not non-existent.
I really have given up. I have resorted to living the rest of my life as a bachelor.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A week of hell...
I'm glad I'm on leave for this, after the ongoings of the previous seven days. I don't know where I should begin describing a week's worth of bad luck.
One of my medical officers is on leave and added to the fact one of my fellow interns was also on leave, the workload rose like the world's recent hatred for bankers. Having to be on-call three times in six days doesn't help focus your mind either, especially when one of those nights happened to be an awful piece of bad luck. Usually there are only three to four male admissions per day whilst I admitted eight men who clearly were unlucky or not careful enough what they were doing.
On the same night or should I say in the early hours of the next morning there were two emergency operations which needed to be performed. The first operation, a closed reduction of an elbow fracture, was simple enough. The other operation was much more complicated - an above knee amputation for a demented elderly man who has severe leg contractures at his hips and knees. It required me pulling the patient's legs apart so the main surgeon could get access to his whole leg for nearly an hour before disaster struck. Whilst trying to put his scalpel back into the kidney dish, the surgeon accidently cut my finger.
Simply cutting your finger in normal life is not really much of a fuss but don't forget I work for a government organization. That means one thing - paperwork. I had to report the incident as an injury on duty and get myself seen to by a doctor even though I could have cleaned and dressed the wound myself. I had to get my blood taken and get it taken again in a few months time, just in case I get infected with a blood borne infection such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV. Even though it is unlikely, since the patient has no history of these infection, it still has to be done. Working in a bureaucracy means everything has to be noted, reported and catalogued. People working in hospitals don't dread the complications of surgery, they just dread the administration afterwards such as the extra forms which have to be filled in or having to report the findings in the next meeting.
I'm just glad I'm on leave this week. I hope my fellow interns are coping without me. I tried to help by typing up progress notes for a majority of patients on my last day before I left for my break but I happened to be on-call on that day as well and could only do some of the male patients as well as all the female patients. Hopefully for their sake nobody has to be discharged so when I get back I get to do it.
Nowadays I'm just relaxing at home whilst sorting out my own life's administration - filling out my intern logbook, sorting out photos I have taken, filling out my residency post application and so forth. It's a bit pathetic when you are so busy you have to perform these tasks whilst you are on leave. Yet when I'm working I'm just too tired to sort out these details.
Right now I'm just enjoying myself at home, playing Lexulous online and trying out new recipes...
One of my medical officers is on leave and added to the fact one of my fellow interns was also on leave, the workload rose like the world's recent hatred for bankers. Having to be on-call three times in six days doesn't help focus your mind either, especially when one of those nights happened to be an awful piece of bad luck. Usually there are only three to four male admissions per day whilst I admitted eight men who clearly were unlucky or not careful enough what they were doing.
On the same night or should I say in the early hours of the next morning there were two emergency operations which needed to be performed. The first operation, a closed reduction of an elbow fracture, was simple enough. The other operation was much more complicated - an above knee amputation for a demented elderly man who has severe leg contractures at his hips and knees. It required me pulling the patient's legs apart so the main surgeon could get access to his whole leg for nearly an hour before disaster struck. Whilst trying to put his scalpel back into the kidney dish, the surgeon accidently cut my finger.
Simply cutting your finger in normal life is not really much of a fuss but don't forget I work for a government organization. That means one thing - paperwork. I had to report the incident as an injury on duty and get myself seen to by a doctor even though I could have cleaned and dressed the wound myself. I had to get my blood taken and get it taken again in a few months time, just in case I get infected with a blood borne infection such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV. Even though it is unlikely, since the patient has no history of these infection, it still has to be done. Working in a bureaucracy means everything has to be noted, reported and catalogued. People working in hospitals don't dread the complications of surgery, they just dread the administration afterwards such as the extra forms which have to be filled in or having to report the findings in the next meeting.I'm just glad I'm on leave this week. I hope my fellow interns are coping without me. I tried to help by typing up progress notes for a majority of patients on my last day before I left for my break but I happened to be on-call on that day as well and could only do some of the male patients as well as all the female patients. Hopefully for their sake nobody has to be discharged so when I get back I get to do it.
Nowadays I'm just relaxing at home whilst sorting out my own life's administration - filling out my intern logbook, sorting out photos I have taken, filling out my residency post application and so forth. It's a bit pathetic when you are so busy you have to perform these tasks whilst you are on leave. Yet when I'm working I'm just too tired to sort out these details.
Right now I'm just enjoying myself at home, playing Lexulous online and trying out new recipes...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Stuck in the middle of you
One of the most amusing things has passed me by this week. One of our medical officers is admitted to our ward as a patient for an injury. I cannot say anymore due to confidentiality issues and my fear of being beaten up by the aforementioned doctor but at least he's getting the best attention.
********
There is a lot of tasks during internship which I don't mind performing. The clerical work is fine, such as typing up discharge summaries and writing prescription orders. I even like blood taking & intravenous catheterization, probably due to some sadomachoistic tendencies I have.
Yet there are some tasks we interns do not like. Performing ECGs are the prime example. ECGs take a considerable amount of time to perform, entailing numerous leads which seem to tie themselves into knots and requires the patient to lie completely still for one single ECG reading. That is difficult if the patient is a child or mentally unsound. I had this problem with a granny who came in with a fracture of the hip. Unfortunately she also had dementia and every time I put the chest leads on the patient, she kept pulling them off. It is the same with kids when I was in my last rotation - the buggers could stop squirming and crying.
Another task I hate performing is liaising with other doctors. This happens when I have to book any urgent investigations or consult other departments for their expert opinion. Unfortunately the house officers are the middlemen in the situation, having to convey what his/her medical officer wants from the other doctor. Sometime this entails a good amount of guess work since the medical officer doesn't write/state why he/she orders the investigation/consultation or the house officer doesn't think the investigation/consultation is necessary.
Then when the investigation/consultation is conveyed to the other side, the house officers get chastized for ordering a ridiculous investigation or consulting the doctor for such a minor problem, even though it was not their decision to make.
Please don't shoot the messenger for bring the message. Shoot the person who wrote the message.
********
There is a lot of tasks during internship which I don't mind performing. The clerical work is fine, such as typing up discharge summaries and writing prescription orders. I even like blood taking & intravenous catheterization, probably due to some sadomachoistic tendencies I have.
Yet there are some tasks we interns do not like. Performing ECGs are the prime example. ECGs take a considerable amount of time to perform, entailing numerous leads which seem to tie themselves into knots and requires the patient to lie completely still for one single ECG reading. That is difficult if the patient is a child or mentally unsound. I had this problem with a granny who came in with a fracture of the hip. Unfortunately she also had dementia and every time I put the chest leads on the patient, she kept pulling them off. It is the same with kids when I was in my last rotation - the buggers could stop squirming and crying.Another task I hate performing is liaising with other doctors. This happens when I have to book any urgent investigations or consult other departments for their expert opinion. Unfortunately the house officers are the middlemen in the situation, having to convey what his/her medical officer wants from the other doctor. Sometime this entails a good amount of guess work since the medical officer doesn't write/state why he/she orders the investigation/consultation or the house officer doesn't think the investigation/consultation is necessary.
Then when the investigation/consultation is conveyed to the other side, the house officers get chastized for ordering a ridiculous investigation or consulting the doctor for such a minor problem, even though it was not their decision to make.
Please don't shoot the messenger for bring the message. Shoot the person who wrote the message.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
A year for heifers
Big elaborate decorations adorning every store you see with staff giving out the traditional greeting. Visiting relatives you haven't seen for a year and realizing, when you meet them, why you don't see them for one year. Eating traditional food that you wouldn't eat at any other time of year. Receiving boxes of chocolates as presents when you hate chocolate.
Sounds familiar doesn't it?
I'm not writing about Christmas, although I could be doing so. I'm actually writing about the Lunar New Year, which has just passed. I'm rather glad it is over. I'm not a great fan of holidays. There are just too many people at one time and I don't have relatives whom I don't want to meet. It's not that I hate them. I just don't have anything in common with them and rarely have anything to talk about with them. I spend the least amount of time at the dinner table and more time in front of my cousin's TV playing "Gears of War 2" on his Xbox 360.
I know it sounds sadistic but I'm glad I could work on one of the three public holidays. At least I got some unexpected 'lai see' from people I don't know and from some people I do know. I know I don't need the money but who doesn't like money when given to you free with no strings attached?
Well I'm glad the Lunar New Year is over for one year. I'm just dreading the next celebration in my life...
Sounds familiar doesn't it?
I'm not writing about Christmas, although I could be doing so. I'm actually writing about the Lunar New Year, which has just passed. I'm rather glad it is over. I'm not a great fan of holidays. There are just too many people at one time and I don't have relatives whom I don't want to meet. It's not that I hate them. I just don't have anything in common with them and rarely have anything to talk about with them. I spend the least amount of time at the dinner table and more time in front of my cousin's TV playing "Gears of War 2" on his Xbox 360.
I know it sounds sadistic but I'm glad I could work on one of the three public holidays. At least I got some unexpected 'lai see' from people I don't know and from some people I do know. I know I don't need the money but who doesn't like money when given to you free with no strings attached?
Well I'm glad the Lunar New Year is over for one year. I'm just dreading the next celebration in my life...
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Getting into the groove...
I am more or less settling into my post as intern in the orthopaedics department. The hours are not harsh but I just have to wake up to perform ward rounds at 7:20 am with my medical officer, who happens to be visiting for six months from Argentina. This situation means I have to do some extra duties than is normally expected, such as translation between the medical officer and the patient and being a middle-man in helping the medical officer understand the hospital's way of working. At least this doctor is very nice and teaches me how to perform a proper neurological examination.In fact all of the doctors are nice in orthopaedics. I'm currently attached to the spine team and the sports team. I asked to be attached to these teams for various reasons. One of the fields I'm considering entering is sports medicine, so being with the sports team lets me know what I need to know. Also I'm interested in join the department as a resident, which means making myself notice to the head of the department, who is head of the spine team. I hate playing politics but I know I have to play the game to get ahead in life.
In that respect, I already sent out my cover letters and CVs for job applications. I have decided to go for family medicine and, as mentioned, orthopaedics at my current hospital. I have already received my first rejection, from the orthopaedics department. The letter said they are only receiving applications from April onwards, so I'll try again later. I'm still waiting for the replies from the family medicine. If the orthopaedics letter got through, hopefully the other cover letters were received by the respective doctors.
********
Speaking of politics, it was great to see the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America. It was also great to show Barack Obama fluffing his lines. That shows he's human after all. It also shows how influential conspiracy theorists are, since Barack Obama had to be sworn in again in private later to quell the suspicions that he wasn't President.********
The other big political story I want to mention, since I haven't blogged for quite some time, is Israel. I don't know enough about the Israel/Arab situation to claim to be an expert but I have learnt enough from history that peace cannot be achieved by the total annihilation of a race or a group of people. Israel cannot achieve peace for themselves or for the region if they try to kill every Palestinian on the face of the earth because there will always be retaliation and revenge. Both sides need to sit down and compromise (a very important word) if they want to achieve peace for both their people.
The outside world, especially the West, have got to stop feeling guilty about Israel and start clamping down on Israeli aggression. Israel are no longer the bullied, they are the bullies. People have to realize if you are criticizing Israel, you are not being anti-Semitic.I don't care which side kicked it off this time around. The brave person is the one who admits he or she has to sit down and talk. That will take courage.
********
Seeing a patient die in front of your eyes is not the most pleasant experience one goes through. In the past when I was a surgical intern, I didn't know enough about the patients to have an emotional attachment so I wasn't so upset when I had to certify their death.
This time around, there is one particular patient under my care where it is heart-wrenching watching the person die. It is quite obvious this patient has cancer and since the way I'm talking about him/her, it is terminal. What makes it more upsetting is the circumstances. The person has quickly deteriorated in front of my eyes. The patient was admitted at the beginning of this month and in the past three weeks the patient has quickly deteriorated in front of me and there is nothing we can do for him.
Also the patient has such a loving family and friends. Every day the family visit the patient and there is quite a large extended family and friends who visit the patient. Literally at least 10-20 people visit the patient each day. It is bad that the patient cannot see the daughter get married or the son graduate from university. Unfortunately we cannot pick who can live or die - that is God's duty.
I don't know how I feel when the patient dies. Hopefully is later rather than sooner, for the family's sake that they can have more time with the patient.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
The future
I get more and more depressed when I log on to Facebook each day. Everybody I know seems to be going to weddings or actually getting hitched. Some part of me is a bit miffed for not being invited but another part of me knows I don't the person that well to get invited. I probably wouldn't attend the wedding banquet anyway. I don't like weddings. They are extraordinary large lavish affairs with a real lack of intimacy for the guests. If I get invited to a wedding, roughly 90% of the guests I wouldn't want anything to do with and I don't want to talk about medicine all the time with my fellow doctor peers.
I'm more saddened about my current marital status. When I was sane and not despondent about everything in life, I wouldn't have cared if I remained single for the rest of my life. It is not the end of the world if you stay a bachelor for the rest of your days on this Earth. Now that feeling for companionship and yearing for human relationship is eating at my soul like a dog gnawing on a bone. Soon or later there is going to be nothing left and I dread to think what I will do then, such as marry the first woman I see.
People I know are also studying for professional examinations and undergoing endless preparation for interviews. I'm at the stage in my internship when I have to decide what specialty I want to continue with for the rest of my career. Currently no specialty holds a special place in my heart which can interest me, which makes me want to be a doctor.
At this moment in time, it is a process of elimination for me...
But committing my life for another six years doesn't entice me at all. The alternative is going private, which I hate since I don't have the experience or the knowledge and I hate to be a mercenary.
I really don't know about my future... and some part of me doesn't care enough to do something about it.
I'm more saddened about my current marital status. When I was sane and not despondent about everything in life, I wouldn't have cared if I remained single for the rest of my life. It is not the end of the world if you stay a bachelor for the rest of your days on this Earth. Now that feeling for companionship and yearing for human relationship is eating at my soul like a dog gnawing on a bone. Soon or later there is going to be nothing left and I dread to think what I will do then, such as marry the first woman I see.
People I know are also studying for professional examinations and undergoing endless preparation for interviews. I'm at the stage in my internship when I have to decide what specialty I want to continue with for the rest of my career. Currently no specialty holds a special place in my heart which can interest me, which makes me want to be a doctor.
At this moment in time, it is a process of elimination for me...
- Radiology: Out of the picture (both metaphorically & literally). I know nothing about anatomy and I've already peeved off half the radiology department at one hospital, seriously affected my job prospects.
- Surgery: Not bad but I don't think I can handle the politics and the male personalities. You need a lot of self-confidence, bordering on arrogance, and I don't think I have guts to perform the job.
- Ophthalmology: Again, no interest.
- O&G: Pregnant woman? I still want to stay heterosexual, so no thank you.
- Paediatrics. Definitely not. The prospect of dealing with screaming kids and anxious parents is not one which entices me.
- Family Medicine: Being treated like shit for the first two years doesn't entice me. I've heard stories about family medicine trainees being treated like secondary house officers in various localities and I don't think I can put up with that.
- Anaesthesiology: At one point I wanted to do this job but for some reason I lost interest. Maybe it is the people involved in the job.
- A&E: I don't think I have the mind to work fast enough for Casualty.
- Microbiology & Pathology: Don't think I can consider a whole life of staring down microscopes.
But committing my life for another six years doesn't entice me at all. The alternative is going private, which I hate since I don't have the experience or the knowledge and I hate to be a mercenary.
I really don't know about my future... and some part of me doesn't care enough to do something about it.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Christmas holidays
I have been fortunate enough during this internship rotation to be able to choose when I could have my designated leave. Since my last long leave was in mid-September, I decided to keep my leave for the end of my current rotation, around Christmas time. It was also very fortunate my leave coincided with my brother's return to Hong Kong, so I would be able to spend some time with him. It has been almost three years since I last saw my younger brother Jeremy and he has not changed one bit. He's still the slacker I remember him as.
It's great to have my brother back home. At least my mum can bother him now instead of what she normal does and bothers me whenever I'm home. Jeremy has also bought me some presents from old Blighty - Cadbury Roses & Quality Street chocolate, DVDs of British TV series and an nice Arsenal mug.
Currently I'm in the second day of my leave and haven't been doing much. On my last leave I went to Kuala Lumpur and I decided to spend this leave at home, since I didn't want to organise another holiday and I need to start saving money (thanks to those wanker bankers in America). Most of the day is spent surfing the Internet, watch downloads on my laptop or DVDs on the plasma screen TV plus playing darts. My dad bought a dart board not so long ago and I've been chucking those spears since. It's more difficult than it looks but hopefully I'll be good enough to be playing in pubs soon.
It's great to have my brother back home. At least my mum can bother him now instead of what she normal does and bothers me whenever I'm home. Jeremy has also bought me some presents from old Blighty - Cadbury Roses & Quality Street chocolate, DVDs of British TV series and an nice Arsenal mug.
Currently I'm in the second day of my leave and haven't been doing much. On my last leave I went to Kuala Lumpur and I decided to spend this leave at home, since I didn't want to organise another holiday and I need to start saving money (thanks to those wanker bankers in America). Most of the day is spent surfing the Internet, watch downloads on my laptop or DVDs on the plasma screen TV plus playing darts. My dad bought a dart board not so long ago and I've been chucking those spears since. It's more difficult than it looks but hopefully I'll be good enough to be playing in pubs soon.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Hectic calls and designated leave
Not much happening in my life now. Still very sexually frustrated. I had the most hectic call on Sunday. Usually we admit about six children each day at PYNEH. On Sunday it was about sixteen children. On Monday all our wards were full - the first time it has happened in my three months here. It has calmed down a bit over the past two days. I'm sure children will continue to be admitted to our wards, it being the season of rotavirus gastroenteritis, asthma exacerbations and parental anxiety about the cold. I'm sure anybody reading this who works at Queen Elizabeth Hospital think that is their usual day, to admit sixteen kids per day but I hope for their sake it isn't.
Thankfully I'm not on call ever again on the weekends, at least not until my next rotation. I'm on call on Boxing Day but apart from that, it is just weekday night calls. I'm looking forward to the next few days. I've got my first ever full free weekend - from Friday night till Monday morning. That is a rarity in my profession. Next week is my designated leave, so I'm looking forward to some rest, relaxation and internet pornography. What I actually need is a full body massage but I need to go somewhere relatively inexpensive and not very seedy (i.e. not Shenzhen).
I'm nearing the end of my time at PYNEH paediatrics. I have learnt a lot but the most important thing I have picked up from my time here is that I won't be doing paediatrics. These three months has just reaffirmed I don't like kids that much to be subjected to their crying and whinging for the rest of my life. I have the utmost respect for my current paediatric medical officers who can go through all that but not me. I don't know if I could go through another three months of paediatrics, which I have to do if I decide to pick family medicine as my specialty.
Thankfully I'm not on call ever again on the weekends, at least not until my next rotation. I'm on call on Boxing Day but apart from that, it is just weekday night calls. I'm looking forward to the next few days. I've got my first ever full free weekend - from Friday night till Monday morning. That is a rarity in my profession. Next week is my designated leave, so I'm looking forward to some rest, relaxation and internet pornography. What I actually need is a full body massage but I need to go somewhere relatively inexpensive and not very seedy (i.e. not Shenzhen).
I'm nearing the end of my time at PYNEH paediatrics. I have learnt a lot but the most important thing I have picked up from my time here is that I won't be doing paediatrics. These three months has just reaffirmed I don't like kids that much to be subjected to their crying and whinging for the rest of my life. I have the utmost respect for my current paediatric medical officers who can go through all that but not me. I don't know if I could go through another three months of paediatrics, which I have to do if I decide to pick family medicine as my specialty.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Intern nervous breakdown - Episode 2
I thought I could get through my internship without having a nervous breakdown but it was too good to be true. The previous nervous breakdown was caused by my inability to take blood from an elderly patient. This time the cause was the grief I got from the medical officer on-call.
I would like to state most of the medical officers in my current hospital are very nice. They don't scold me much if I do things wrong and when it is possible try to teach me when I do go wrong. Yet there is always one bad apple which spoils the crop. This person has a Jekyll and Hyde personality about him/her. Sometimes this person is OK but all of a sudden can turn on you. This medical officer always bitches about everything I do when I admit a patient. If it is not a poor management order, it is my clinical skills. If it is not my clinical skills, then it is my attitude.
I don't mind being told off and I do admit I'm not totally enthusiastic about paediatrics. Yet there is way of telling people instead of screaming and pointing at the management order, saying "This is not good enough!" There is a tactful and considerate way of telling interns what they have done wrong and maybe they will learn if you don't scream at them so much.
Why is it so many senior doctors forget what it is like to be a medical student or an intern? Have they risen to such lofty heights in their white towers? I never have been in favour of the Gordon Ramsay method of teaching people, that is to scream at them and humiliate them. I always been in favour of making them feel part of the team. If a junior team member does something wrong, tell them off but make sure they learn what they did wrong.
I often wonder if I will continue in this job. I'm seriously thinking about not joining any training after my internship has finished.
I would like to state most of the medical officers in my current hospital are very nice. They don't scold me much if I do things wrong and when it is possible try to teach me when I do go wrong. Yet there is always one bad apple which spoils the crop. This person has a Jekyll and Hyde personality about him/her. Sometimes this person is OK but all of a sudden can turn on you. This medical officer always bitches about everything I do when I admit a patient. If it is not a poor management order, it is my clinical skills. If it is not my clinical skills, then it is my attitude.
I don't mind being told off and I do admit I'm not totally enthusiastic about paediatrics. Yet there is way of telling people instead of screaming and pointing at the management order, saying "This is not good enough!" There is a tactful and considerate way of telling interns what they have done wrong and maybe they will learn if you don't scream at them so much.
Why is it so many senior doctors forget what it is like to be a medical student or an intern? Have they risen to such lofty heights in their white towers? I never have been in favour of the Gordon Ramsay method of teaching people, that is to scream at them and humiliate them. I always been in favour of making them feel part of the team. If a junior team member does something wrong, tell them off but make sure they learn what they did wrong.
I often wonder if I will continue in this job. I'm seriously thinking about not joining any training after my internship has finished.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
"Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; it is an abomination."
Note: I don't have many things to write about daily life right now. Work right now is pretty mundane and with my fellow intern on holiday for the next week, I predicting it will be more mundane and hectic. Nothing is going on with my love life because I don't have a love life. I'm still whinging about having no sex or girlfriend (in that order). I've been meaning to write about the topic of homosexuality for a long time, so here goes...
I have always been irked by how Christians interpret and use this quote from the Bible in daily life. This is the leading problem I have, not with my faith or Christianity, but with other Christians. There are some people who say we should believe everything in the Bible but tend to ignore other more atrocious or ridiculous parts, for example the acceptability of selling your daughter into slavery and not being able to eat pork and seafood. And wasn't the whole point of Jesus dying was that even if we sinned (for example having gay sex) we would still go to Heaven? And that quote says nothing about lesbian sex
I will agree with Christians there should be no same-sex marriages. Marriage is a religious concept. However there should be equal rights for same-sex couples as there are for opposite-sex couples, so civil unions should be allowed. I'm glad there are some countries such as United Kingdom and the Netherlands who endorse but I'm disappointed with the failure of Proposition 8 in California. I'm in favour of same-sex couples being allowed to adopt children or being allowed access to in-vitro fertilisation. Maybe they will be better parents than those fathers who leave their kid behind or the mother who tends to have sex with anything straight and those heroin.
And why does it matter which way somebody's sexual compass points? As long as you're not doing anything to hurt other people and isn't morally wrong, I don't care what you are doing in your private life. I should state I'm not gay but I'm into bisexual women.
I'm actually very surprised at how many famous people are homosexual. I came across the Pink List by the Independent, a list of the top 100 most influential homosexual people in UK. Reading down the list, it does make for interesting read. I had my suspicions about Russell T Davies, the man behind "Queer Folk" and the recent revival of "Doctor Who", but it is very difficult to confirm unless somebody actually says in an interview "I'm homosexual" which they shouldn't do since it is nothing to do with the general public. I'm also glad there hasn't been such a reaction by the British public, especially parents, towards having a homosexual behind a family classic such as "Doctor Who" or that there have been many homosexual elements in the new "Doctor Who" such as same-sex kisses or homosexual actors (e.g. John Barrowman, Mark Gatiss, etc.)
Some people you obviously know are homosexual, such as Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Elton John, Alan Carr, Graham Norton and Stephen Fry. I'm a surprised about Sandi Toksvig, who I listen to religiously on "The News Quiz" being a lesbian. I also like to see homosexuals not being stereotypical - Matt Lucas of "Little Britain" fame is an avid Arsenal supporter. Yet sport and male homosexuality is still one barrier to be overcome. Just look what happened to Justin Fashanu and John Amaechi when they came out of the closet - one took his whole life and one caused Tim Hardaway to say "I hate gay people." You don't hear about prominent male athletes being homosexual. Some keep it secret all their lives or only come out after their playing career is over. Obviously the view from sportsmen is as neanderthal as from Christian society.
Obviously we need to educate people more about homosexuality. I don't mind you don't like gay or lesbian people but don't let this affect your daily life.
I have always been irked by how Christians interpret and use this quote from the Bible in daily life. This is the leading problem I have, not with my faith or Christianity, but with other Christians. There are some people who say we should believe everything in the Bible but tend to ignore other more atrocious or ridiculous parts, for example the acceptability of selling your daughter into slavery and not being able to eat pork and seafood. And wasn't the whole point of Jesus dying was that even if we sinned (for example having gay sex) we would still go to Heaven? And that quote says nothing about lesbian sex
I will agree with Christians there should be no same-sex marriages. Marriage is a religious concept. However there should be equal rights for same-sex couples as there are for opposite-sex couples, so civil unions should be allowed. I'm glad there are some countries such as United Kingdom and the Netherlands who endorse but I'm disappointed with the failure of Proposition 8 in California. I'm in favour of same-sex couples being allowed to adopt children or being allowed access to in-vitro fertilisation. Maybe they will be better parents than those fathers who leave their kid behind or the mother who tends to have sex with anything straight and those heroin.
And why does it matter which way somebody's sexual compass points? As long as you're not doing anything to hurt other people and isn't morally wrong, I don't care what you are doing in your private life. I should state I'm not gay but I'm into bisexual women.
I'm actually very surprised at how many famous people are homosexual. I came across the Pink List by the Independent, a list of the top 100 most influential homosexual people in UK. Reading down the list, it does make for interesting read. I had my suspicions about Russell T Davies, the man behind "Queer Folk" and the recent revival of "Doctor Who", but it is very difficult to confirm unless somebody actually says in an interview "I'm homosexual" which they shouldn't do since it is nothing to do with the general public. I'm also glad there hasn't been such a reaction by the British public, especially parents, towards having a homosexual behind a family classic such as "Doctor Who" or that there have been many homosexual elements in the new "Doctor Who" such as same-sex kisses or homosexual actors (e.g. John Barrowman, Mark Gatiss, etc.)
Some people you obviously know are homosexual, such as Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Elton John, Alan Carr, Graham Norton and Stephen Fry. I'm a surprised about Sandi Toksvig, who I listen to religiously on "The News Quiz" being a lesbian. I also like to see homosexuals not being stereotypical - Matt Lucas of "Little Britain" fame is an avid Arsenal supporter. Yet sport and male homosexuality is still one barrier to be overcome. Just look what happened to Justin Fashanu and John Amaechi when they came out of the closet - one took his whole life and one caused Tim Hardaway to say "I hate gay people." You don't hear about prominent male athletes being homosexual. Some keep it secret all their lives or only come out after their playing career is over. Obviously the view from sportsmen is as neanderthal as from Christian society.Obviously we need to educate people more about homosexuality. I don't mind you don't like gay or lesbian people but don't let this affect your daily life.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
"Ambitious but rubbish"
I miss top quality TV. Here in Hong Kong the local channels and programs are not my cup of tea. There is this constant stream of TV soaps which bore me to death. It is usually the same formula with the same bad jokes and undramatic storylines.
I'm more partial to the UK comedy panel show, such as "Have I Got News For You", "Mock the Week", "QI" and "Never Mind the Buzzcocks". I don't really like sitcoms, especially the ones from USA where they have to insert audience laughter into the program. If a joke is funny, people will automatically laugh. We do not need to have cues to when and when not to laugh.
That is not to say I don't like USA shows. I know sometimes I come across as condescending towards the way of life in USA but I do like some aspects about America. I do like "The Daily Show", "Frasier" and "The West Wing". I do like cheerleaders, not just for their beauty but their ability to dance well and hold careers at the same time. I'll write about that in another blog entry. Since Barack Obama has been elected presidenta of USA, I think more people (like me) will be a little bit warmer towards the USA.
With that said I do enjoy the return of "Top Gear" on the screens. I can't wait for the programme to turn up on local screens. I will have to wait for a year before ATV World does it. I also cringe at the subtitles they put up on the screen. Most of you know I cannot read Chinese and it wouldn't matter to me but the person who does the subtitles must be the most stupidest, laziest person ever and I tell you why. Even though most of the subtitles are in Chinese, the name of the cars are in English. Yet they can't even get those names right. I think I saw the name "Camaro" spelt differently six times in the same programme. Even if you can spell it right, you can at least check the spelling on the internet or something.
My mother has commented the Chinese subtitles are not that good either. Sometimes the subtitles are a literal translation of what is being said. If I said "spanking the monkey", they will literally write "spanking the monkey" in Chinese in the subtitles instead of "masturbating".
Now I know why people download programs from the internet - the quality of their local TV must be appalling to resort to this measure.
I'm more partial to the UK comedy panel show, such as "Have I Got News For You", "Mock the Week", "QI" and "Never Mind the Buzzcocks". I don't really like sitcoms, especially the ones from USA where they have to insert audience laughter into the program. If a joke is funny, people will automatically laugh. We do not need to have cues to when and when not to laugh.
That is not to say I don't like USA shows. I know sometimes I come across as condescending towards the way of life in USA but I do like some aspects about America. I do like "The Daily Show", "Frasier" and "The West Wing". I do like cheerleaders, not just for their beauty but their ability to dance well and hold careers at the same time. I'll write about that in another blog entry. Since Barack Obama has been elected presidenta of USA, I think more people (like me) will be a little bit warmer towards the USA.
With that said I do enjoy the return of "Top Gear" on the screens. I can't wait for the programme to turn up on local screens. I will have to wait for a year before ATV World does it. I also cringe at the subtitles they put up on the screen. Most of you know I cannot read Chinese and it wouldn't matter to me but the person who does the subtitles must be the most stupidest, laziest person ever and I tell you why. Even though most of the subtitles are in Chinese, the name of the cars are in English. Yet they can't even get those names right. I think I saw the name "Camaro" spelt differently six times in the same programme. Even if you can spell it right, you can at least check the spelling on the internet or something.
My mother has commented the Chinese subtitles are not that good either. Sometimes the subtitles are a literal translation of what is being said. If I said "spanking the monkey", they will literally write "spanking the monkey" in Chinese in the subtitles instead of "masturbating".
Now I know why people download programs from the internet - the quality of their local TV must be appalling to resort to this measure.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
"Three men walk into a pub..."
Over the past few years I have been drifting away from movies and more into comedy. I remember watching "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" when I was kid in England and loved the mix of American, Canadian and British humour on offer. Whilst at boarding school I remember watching the repeat of "Have I Got News For You" and loved the show for the wit and political satire.
My love for comedy was rekindled thanks to Youtube. I find old episodes of "Have I Got News For You" online and it is great to watch classic episodes such as the Angus Deayton scandal or recently the Brian Blessed episode. Through Youtube I have also gotten to like "QI" and "Mock the Week", which are probably my two favourite shows.
I am partial to British humour, for its wit and sarcasm, the cynicism and the political satire. That is not to say I don't like American humour. The USA are best at stand-up comedy (which I love) and sitcoms (which are not my cup of tea). Everybody in school loved "Frasier" for its wit and there is no better political satire on TV right now than "The Daily Show", with Jon Stewart being the best at his job.
So why am I writing all this? Last Friday I went to my first comedy gig. I like to say it was unusual place to hold a comedy gig - a curry house - but the Punchline Comedy Club have been doing this gig for years. They have comedians I have seen or heard of, such as Paul Sinha (who shows that doctors can be funny) and Mark Watson. This time around I only really heard of one of the comedians - Andy Parsons from "Mock the Week". I like his kind of humour; it is more along the lines of wit. He was very funny on the night but a lot of the jokes I have heard before as I download all the episodes of "Mock the Week" and watch them again and again and again.
That is not to say the other two comedians - Mark Walker and Russell Kane - weren't bad. They were bloody hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard for ages. In fact I laughed so hard, I was coughing too much at the end and the lady in front of me was probably scared I had tuberculosis.
As an obsessive compulsive, I tend to categorize comedians into what kind of comedy they do. Obvious categories include the impressionists, which include Darrell Hammond from "Saturday Night Live", Jon Culshaw from "Dead Ringers", Rory Bremner from "Bremner, Bird and Fortune" and Hugh Dennis from "The Now Show" and "Mock the Week". There are comedians who use bad taste and political incorrectness as their main weapons, such as Jimmy Carr from "8 Out of 10 Cats" and Frankie Boyle from "Mock the Week". Comedians such as Jeremy Hardy, Mark Steel, Ian Hislop and Jon Stewart use political satire in their work. Sean Lock, Russell Howard and Johnny Vegas are the ones who think of ridiculous ideas and just make them funny. So there is fun for everybody.
Next time I will probably like to see a comedy gig where I do not know the comedians, so I don't have any preconceptions.
I also have advice for anybody wishing to attend a comedy gig. I thought this piece of knowledge would be obvious but apparently, after attending the comedy gig last week, it is not. If you don't want to be picked on or you have an obvious trait which can be picked on such as having a manic laugh, being old or being American, don't sit in the front where the comedian can see you.
My love for comedy was rekindled thanks to Youtube. I find old episodes of "Have I Got News For You" online and it is great to watch classic episodes such as the Angus Deayton scandal or recently the Brian Blessed episode. Through Youtube I have also gotten to like "QI" and "Mock the Week", which are probably my two favourite shows.
I am partial to British humour, for its wit and sarcasm, the cynicism and the political satire. That is not to say I don't like American humour. The USA are best at stand-up comedy (which I love) and sitcoms (which are not my cup of tea). Everybody in school loved "Frasier" for its wit and there is no better political satire on TV right now than "The Daily Show", with Jon Stewart being the best at his job.
So why am I writing all this? Last Friday I went to my first comedy gig. I like to say it was unusual place to hold a comedy gig - a curry house - but the Punchline Comedy Club have been doing this gig for years. They have comedians I have seen or heard of, such as Paul Sinha (who shows that doctors can be funny) and Mark Watson. This time around I only really heard of one of the comedians - Andy Parsons from "Mock the Week". I like his kind of humour; it is more along the lines of wit. He was very funny on the night but a lot of the jokes I have heard before as I download all the episodes of "Mock the Week" and watch them again and again and again.
That is not to say the other two comedians - Mark Walker and Russell Kane - weren't bad. They were bloody hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard for ages. In fact I laughed so hard, I was coughing too much at the end and the lady in front of me was probably scared I had tuberculosis.
As an obsessive compulsive, I tend to categorize comedians into what kind of comedy they do. Obvious categories include the impressionists, which include Darrell Hammond from "Saturday Night Live", Jon Culshaw from "Dead Ringers", Rory Bremner from "Bremner, Bird and Fortune" and Hugh Dennis from "The Now Show" and "Mock the Week". There are comedians who use bad taste and political incorrectness as their main weapons, such as Jimmy Carr from "8 Out of 10 Cats" and Frankie Boyle from "Mock the Week". Comedians such as Jeremy Hardy, Mark Steel, Ian Hislop and Jon Stewart use political satire in their work. Sean Lock, Russell Howard and Johnny Vegas are the ones who think of ridiculous ideas and just make them funny. So there is fun for everybody.
Next time I will probably like to see a comedy gig where I do not know the comedians, so I don't have any preconceptions.
I also have advice for anybody wishing to attend a comedy gig. I thought this piece of knowledge would be obvious but apparently, after attending the comedy gig last week, it is not. If you don't want to be picked on or you have an obvious trait which can be picked on such as having a manic laugh, being old or being American, don't sit in the front where the comedian can see you.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."
Sir Winston Churchill was right about democracy. Not many people actually go out of their way to listen to all the policies of the candidates running in an election and on voting day make an informed decision on which candidate they are choosing. Most of the voting population have made up their minds months beforehand, or even years as they are most likely to stick to the party they have been voting all their lives. I'm probably guilty of the latter fact. I would vote for Liberal Democrats in UK or Democratic Party in Hong Kong. In all fairness these political parties are on my wavelength. We need better human rights for minorities, such as homosexuals, ethnic minorities and the poor. We need to tax the rich more to help the poor. We need to do more for the environment.
I say this on the weekend before the US presidential election, which will have repercussions on the world and not just on USA. Yet there are 10% of the US population who think Barack Obama is either a Muslim, an Arab or a terrorist and they think all of those kind of people are the same thing. I often think democracy was designed by stupid people for clever people and communism was designed by clever people for stupid people. Democracy is a simple idea of one person - one vote where you need clever people to make informed decision to elect who is the leader. Communism needs stupid people to believe the state is important and ensure all decisions are made by the leaders.
I want Barack Obama to win the presidential election. Yet I cannot show favourtism, especially to an election I cannot vote in. I just want people to read all the facts and on Tuesday tick the right box based on what they have processed and not leave their decision based on the charisma of the politicians concerned or believing the media/advertisements all the time.
I say this on the weekend before the US presidential election, which will have repercussions on the world and not just on USA. Yet there are 10% of the US population who think Barack Obama is either a Muslim, an Arab or a terrorist and they think all of those kind of people are the same thing. I often think democracy was designed by stupid people for clever people and communism was designed by clever people for stupid people. Democracy is a simple idea of one person - one vote where you need clever people to make informed decision to elect who is the leader. Communism needs stupid people to believe the state is important and ensure all decisions are made by the leaders.
I want Barack Obama to win the presidential election. Yet I cannot show favourtism, especially to an election I cannot vote in. I just want people to read all the facts and on Tuesday tick the right box based on what they have processed and not leave their decision based on the charisma of the politicians concerned or believing the media/advertisements all the time.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Bawling and wailing
It is the second aspect of paediatrics I dislike, behind the irrational thinking of parents. I hate when children crying. I should correct myself; I don't like the continuous crying of children. Of course it is natural to cry when you unexpectedly get hurt. I don't mind this type of crying if it doesn't occur for too long.The type of crying I cannot stand is when I am examining a child and when I place the hearing component of the stethoscope on the chest, the child starts bawling like I just stabbed him/her in the chest. I know children associate a medical examination with the consequences of having a needle stuck in you and blood being taken. Yet it is useless to cry at this stage. There is no pain (at this stage) when you are being examined and the child's parents are already there if they need help. If crying is supposed to deter the doctor from examining you, it is not going to stop us from examining children.
It is the same with blood taking. I know sticking in a needle will hurt and you will cry when the needle goes in. Yet at some point children will have to learn when one is admitted into a hospital, it is inevitable blood will have to be taken and it will hurt. It is useless crying out for your parents to help you since your parents are outside and not running into save you.
If there is something I am impressed about the situation, is the capability of children crying. The intensity, duration and frequency of their crying have made my eardrums totally damaged.
Next time I'm going to work I'm bringing earplugs or might as well just listen to my mp3 player.
Monday, October 20, 2008
A new flavour of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream... the Credit Crunch
Whatever you like to call the current situation - the economic depression, the global downturn, the dreaded 'R' word - it is here to stay for us for a while and it will affect us all. For the first time in my life I have to be interested in economics and finance.
I hate having to focus on anything remotely linked to money. When I first heard bankers, estate agents and insurance agents losing their jobs due to the poor financial climate, the first thought which crossed my mind is: "Good". I don't really have much sympathy for people who chase money and have no morals to living their lives. I say this even though my brother works for a large bank. They have enough money in their own accounts to get by without having to claim unemployment benefits. What peeves me off is how the governments of the world are reacting. They are bailing out these banks and businesses by giving them money. This money is probably gained through the taxes of hard-working people. I know I'm a socialist but I hate this idea. You don't have to nationalize financial institutions - just let them die. People have to accept once in a while there will be a downturn in the economic climate. Shares will have to go down as well as up.I don't think many people grasp these concepts about shares, bonds and funds. They think these magical objects will earn them loads of money if they chuck enough money at it. Many people don't just take a serious interest to go and research what they are investing in. This was the situation when the Lehman Brothers bank collapsed, with many Hong Kong people wanting to claim back compensation regarding the stock they bought in the bank. I'm pretty sure the banks who sold them these stock properly informed them about the nature of shares but common sense tells you the price of shares will go down as well as up.
There was once upon a time when all you had to do with your money is put it in the bank. Nowadays you have to invest in shares, bonds and funds. Yet you do need a little knowledge before you decide which companies to invest in. There are people who use too much time in doing this, becoming too obsessed with the stock market, and there are people who use too little time, leading to bad investments.
Also you have to consider not just saving more but spending less - don't go out dining so much, use your car less and so on. Why don't people do that instead?
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Heart-breaking moments
At times it can be rather depressing working in paediatrics. You see all these kids become ill and it breaks your heart sometimes. It just not the medical problems you have to deal with - there are the social and psychological matters that arise when a little boy or girl gets admitted into hospital.
I like to state I'm a huge campaigner of human rights and I respect everybody right to have a child. Yet I feel this right is constantly abused when I see many children with bad parents. I honestly wish there was an examination prospective parents had to take to show they are competent enough to take care of kids. Doctors have to undergo medical training to acquire a license to practise and so lawyers. You need a license to drive a car or have a firearm. So why don't we have a license to take care of our most prized treasures - our children.
During my short time in paediatrics I have observed three types of bad parents:
1. The abusive parent
The abuse can come in a variety of ways: physical, sexual, spoken. I think every hospital with a paediatric department have children who are admitted for child abuse. The children can come in a variety of ages. I honestly don't know how adults can abuse unprotected children, especially their own flesh and blood.
2. The neglectful parent
These are the parents who couldn't care less whether their kid lives or dies. They occasionally take their child to a doctor but they don't care about the long-term management. They just leave their children to the TV or video games and don't really care about their academic achievements. These include parents who use their domestic helper as full time nannies and leave all the upbringing to these domestic helpers.
3. The overprotective parent
You might think being overprotective is not a form of bad parenting but I still think it is. These are the parents who don't let their kids go outside to play in case they get a cut or use the child's free time to engage in extra-curricular activities they don't like. These are the parents who constantly admit their kid into hospital just because they have a low-grade fever for a few hours, despite the accident & emergency medical officer tell them the risks of exposing the child to even more dangerous organisms in hospital.
I know parenting is difficult and not many people are taught what to do and where to go when things go wrong. I admit that I have no idea what being a parent is like. Yet there are people who want a child but have no idea what is entailed.
In the past two weeks I have seen two children whose predicament breaks my heart. For privacy reasons, I'm not allowed to mention their names or go into details about their condition. The first kid was a young boy who had been ill for two weeks with very vague symptoms - fatigue, vomiting. The boy was genuinely frightened about what was wrong with him. Turn out he had leukaemia. This is not what your kid have to go through - thinking about dying, which was probably what this young boy was thinking about.
The other kid was a young girl, a cute, adorable shy kid. She was admitted for recurrent headaches. I noticed in her medical records she was living in a hostel for youths. I asked her where her parents were and she came out directly with, "They both drug addicts." That was a shocking indictment to hear. You don't want any kid thinking their parents are bad, let alone come straight out with that statement.
Kids should never have to think about serious matters such as drug addiction and cancer. Children should be thinking about fun and jokes, not these matters. This is probably why I don't want to go into paediatrics full time. Like oncology it probably be too heart-breaking.
I like to state I'm a huge campaigner of human rights and I respect everybody right to have a child. Yet I feel this right is constantly abused when I see many children with bad parents. I honestly wish there was an examination prospective parents had to take to show they are competent enough to take care of kids. Doctors have to undergo medical training to acquire a license to practise and so lawyers. You need a license to drive a car or have a firearm. So why don't we have a license to take care of our most prized treasures - our children.
During my short time in paediatrics I have observed three types of bad parents:
1. The abusive parent
The abuse can come in a variety of ways: physical, sexual, spoken. I think every hospital with a paediatric department have children who are admitted for child abuse. The children can come in a variety of ages. I honestly don't know how adults can abuse unprotected children, especially their own flesh and blood.
2. The neglectful parent
These are the parents who couldn't care less whether their kid lives or dies. They occasionally take their child to a doctor but they don't care about the long-term management. They just leave their children to the TV or video games and don't really care about their academic achievements. These include parents who use their domestic helper as full time nannies and leave all the upbringing to these domestic helpers.
3. The overprotective parent
You might think being overprotective is not a form of bad parenting but I still think it is. These are the parents who don't let their kids go outside to play in case they get a cut or use the child's free time to engage in extra-curricular activities they don't like. These are the parents who constantly admit their kid into hospital just because they have a low-grade fever for a few hours, despite the accident & emergency medical officer tell them the risks of exposing the child to even more dangerous organisms in hospital.
I know parenting is difficult and not many people are taught what to do and where to go when things go wrong. I admit that I have no idea what being a parent is like. Yet there are people who want a child but have no idea what is entailed.
In the past two weeks I have seen two children whose predicament breaks my heart. For privacy reasons, I'm not allowed to mention their names or go into details about their condition. The first kid was a young boy who had been ill for two weeks with very vague symptoms - fatigue, vomiting. The boy was genuinely frightened about what was wrong with him. Turn out he had leukaemia. This is not what your kid have to go through - thinking about dying, which was probably what this young boy was thinking about.
The other kid was a young girl, a cute, adorable shy kid. She was admitted for recurrent headaches. I noticed in her medical records she was living in a hostel for youths. I asked her where her parents were and she came out directly with, "They both drug addicts." That was a shocking indictment to hear. You don't want any kid thinking their parents are bad, let alone come straight out with that statement.
Kids should never have to think about serious matters such as drug addiction and cancer. Children should be thinking about fun and jokes, not these matters. This is probably why I don't want to go into paediatrics full time. Like oncology it probably be too heart-breaking.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Lift etiquette
I know I whinge a great deal on this blog. I’m eternally sorry about this but this is the whole purpose of this blog – to get things off my chest and not to make everybody happy. Occasionally I write about good things such as television programmes I like. For this entry normal service will resume by me writing about how to use the lift (or elevator if you have bought up with American English) in an appropriate way.
It may seem such a minor point in life on how to use the lift but it just one of those things which annoys me. It is more prominent in Hong Kong, since everybody has to use a life in this metropolis of sky-rise buildings and the total lack of manners prevalent in this population. If everybody can use the lift properly, society will run much smoother.
- If the lift button has already been pressed, you don’t have to press it again. Why press it again? The lift won’t go faster to reach its destination. You only have to press the button again if you are uncertain if the button was pressed in the first place (such as the presence of a bad indicator light).
- Let people get out the lift first. This goes not just for lifts but for buses and trains. Letting people out will make more room for you to get into the lift/bus/train. You don’t have to worry – the lift won’t depart without you as most people think it will and if the door closes you can always shove you hand in or press the open button again.
- If you are getting out at the final floor (either the top or the bottom floor, depending if you are going up or down respectively), please make room for everybody else by moving to the back of the lift. It only makes sense since you will be the last person to get out of the lift and you shouldn’t be blocking the lift door like some big fat lemon.
- If you are at the lift buttons inside the lift, do the courteous thing and hold the lift doors if somebody is rushing into the lift and not close the lift doors just so you can get to your destination faster. How would you like it if somebody closed the lift doors on you?
- If you are at the lift buttons inside the lift, press the close button if everybody is inside instead of waiting for the lift to do it automatically, which can sometimes take ages.
- Be courteous and offer to press for somebody’s floor if that somebody cannot do it themselves such as the elderly who cannot see the buttons that well or people carrying heavy objects in their arms.
- If somebody at the back of the lift wants to get out and you are in the way, sometimes you do have to get out of the lift yourself so that person can pass. Don’t worry again – the lift won’t leave without you.
- Try using the stairs if you have to climb up one floor or down one to two floors. You will probably get to your destination faster if you use the stairs instead of waiting for the lift to come. I’ve seen too many health care assistants waste hospital time just by waiting for a lift when they only have to go down one floor. You only have to use the lift if you are going up several flights of stairs, you can’t walk that well (in the case of the elderly or physically disabled), you are carrying heavy objects or if you are pushing trolleys/hospital beds. You probably get some well deserved exercise as well.
All that I have written is basic common sense but nobody uses it. What I have written is based on ‘the good of society’ principle but most people operate on the ‘me first’ principle. So the next time you use the lift, keep these pointers in mind.
It may seem such a minor point in life on how to use the lift but it just one of those things which annoys me. It is more prominent in Hong Kong, since everybody has to use a life in this metropolis of sky-rise buildings and the total lack of manners prevalent in this population. If everybody can use the lift properly, society will run much smoother.
- If the lift button has already been pressed, you don’t have to press it again. Why press it again? The lift won’t go faster to reach its destination. You only have to press the button again if you are uncertain if the button was pressed in the first place (such as the presence of a bad indicator light).
- Let people get out the lift first. This goes not just for lifts but for buses and trains. Letting people out will make more room for you to get into the lift/bus/train. You don’t have to worry – the lift won’t depart without you as most people think it will and if the door closes you can always shove you hand in or press the open button again.
- If you are getting out at the final floor (either the top or the bottom floor, depending if you are going up or down respectively), please make room for everybody else by moving to the back of the lift. It only makes sense since you will be the last person to get out of the lift and you shouldn’t be blocking the lift door like some big fat lemon.
- If you are at the lift buttons inside the lift, do the courteous thing and hold the lift doors if somebody is rushing into the lift and not close the lift doors just so you can get to your destination faster. How would you like it if somebody closed the lift doors on you?
- If you are at the lift buttons inside the lift, press the close button if everybody is inside instead of waiting for the lift to do it automatically, which can sometimes take ages.
- Be courteous and offer to press for somebody’s floor if that somebody cannot do it themselves such as the elderly who cannot see the buttons that well or people carrying heavy objects in their arms.
- If somebody at the back of the lift wants to get out and you are in the way, sometimes you do have to get out of the lift yourself so that person can pass. Don’t worry again – the lift won’t leave without you.
- Try using the stairs if you have to climb up one floor or down one to two floors. You will probably get to your destination faster if you use the stairs instead of waiting for the lift to come. I’ve seen too many health care assistants waste hospital time just by waiting for a lift when they only have to go down one floor. You only have to use the lift if you are going up several flights of stairs, you can’t walk that well (in the case of the elderly or physically disabled), you are carrying heavy objects or if you are pushing trolleys/hospital beds. You probably get some well deserved exercise as well.
All that I have written is basic common sense but nobody uses it. What I have written is based on ‘the good of society’ principle but most people operate on the ‘me first’ principle. So the next time you use the lift, keep these pointers in mind.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
"We're experiencing technical difficulties at the moment..."
I won't be update this blog as often as I like over the next three months. Internet access at my hospital is difficult to come by. So forgive me if I don't answer your Facebook messages or emails as regularly as I can.
Also I won't be reading my SMS/text messages as often as I will. For some inexplicable reason, my hospital provides everybody with a Nokia 3G phone. I don't know why they don't get cheaper phones but they are pretty handy, coming with a MP3 player and camera. Basically I dverted my own phone number to my work number but it doesn't seem to divert SMS messages.
Also I won't be reading my SMS/text messages as often as I will. For some inexplicable reason, my hospital provides everybody with a Nokia 3G phone. I don't know why they don't get cheaper phones but they are pretty handy, coming with a MP3 player and camera. Basically I dverted my own phone number to my work number but it doesn't seem to divert SMS messages.
Monday, October 06, 2008
F*cking terrified for no reason
I'm currently settling into my new post as an intern for the paediatrics department . I don't know why but I'm so sh*t scared of paediatrics. My heart was racing a thousand miles per hour and I was having chest discomfort when I was on-call on Friday for no apparent reason.
I don't know why I should be afraid. All the nurses and medical officers are nice to me. The medical officers don't scold me if I keep calling them when I can't take blood or I can't insert a drip. The admissions haven't been too taxing either.
Probably I'm just traumatised by the paediatrics department of my teaching hospital, having gone through the specialty clerkship about four times.
I don't know why I should be afraid. All the nurses and medical officers are nice to me. The medical officers don't scold me if I keep calling them when I can't take blood or I can't insert a drip. The admissions haven't been too taxing either.
Probably I'm just traumatised by the paediatrics department of my teaching hospital, having gone through the specialty clerkship about four times.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Coming to an end...
Currently I'm finishing off my surgery rotation by being on-call. Guess I got the short straw for tonight. Thankfully I don't have to be at work tomorrow at my new place in paediatrics.
So what have I learnt from my past three months in surgery? Let's start off with the good stuff. The nurses have been very nice to me. Most of the nurses at my previous hospital were very nice to me with only a few bad apples. I'm not saying who or which ward but after I got the hang of things they were very nice to me. The nurses at D5 at the main hospital were very nice to me. You would think that being in a high-tempo situation like an admission ward would make them hormonal cows but the head of ward plus all their nurses were very good to myself and the other intern. They were so nice I treated them to my chocolate brownies!
I'm glad that I got to see many subdivisions such as colorectal, vascular, general, endocrine & breast surgery. I got to admit such varied cases such as cholangitis, acute retention of urinary and appendicitis in the admissions ward. Even though many people don't like to work in admissions since there is no continuing care and the turnover rate is quite high, with few patients lasting twenty four hours before being changed to another subdivision ward, at least I get to see a variety of cases instead of just seeing colorectal patients or neurosurgical patients.
With that said, I won't be doing surgery as my specialty. I don't see myself working those long hours and standing doing surgery all day long. The most surgery I probably will do in the future will be in orthopaedics or during family medicine. Also I'm just not compatible with the surgeon personality. Surgeons are usually headstrong and overconfident which borders on arrogance. Also it is mostly a male-predominant, jock environment with little room for emotions. Most of the surgeons I have met are nice but there are others who could use a little tact and consideration when talking to people.
I don't think I will be doing radiology either. I have ruined my chances already and I think my reputation will spread to other hospitals as well. Also I do want to have more patient contact and I don't think I will get that with radiology.
I'm not trying to offend people by saying I don't like this specialty or I don't like that specialty. It's just a personal opinion. I know a lot of people who want to go into surgery or radiology, but it is not for me. I know a lot of people don't like psychiatry but I really like it.
Well I got three months of screaming kids to handle... wish me luck (lots of it).
So what have I learnt from my past three months in surgery? Let's start off with the good stuff. The nurses have been very nice to me. Most of the nurses at my previous hospital were very nice to me with only a few bad apples. I'm not saying who or which ward but after I got the hang of things they were very nice to me. The nurses at D5 at the main hospital were very nice to me. You would think that being in a high-tempo situation like an admission ward would make them hormonal cows but the head of ward plus all their nurses were very good to myself and the other intern. They were so nice I treated them to my chocolate brownies!I'm glad that I got to see many subdivisions such as colorectal, vascular, general, endocrine & breast surgery. I got to admit such varied cases such as cholangitis, acute retention of urinary and appendicitis in the admissions ward. Even though many people don't like to work in admissions since there is no continuing care and the turnover rate is quite high, with few patients lasting twenty four hours before being changed to another subdivision ward, at least I get to see a variety of cases instead of just seeing colorectal patients or neurosurgical patients.
With that said, I won't be doing surgery as my specialty. I don't see myself working those long hours and standing doing surgery all day long. The most surgery I probably will do in the future will be in orthopaedics or during family medicine. Also I'm just not compatible with the surgeon personality. Surgeons are usually headstrong and overconfident which borders on arrogance. Also it is mostly a male-predominant, jock environment with little room for emotions. Most of the surgeons I have met are nice but there are others who could use a little tact and consideration when talking to people.
I don't think I will be doing radiology either. I have ruined my chances already and I think my reputation will spread to other hospitals as well. Also I do want to have more patient contact and I don't think I will get that with radiology.I'm not trying to offend people by saying I don't like this specialty or I don't like that specialty. It's just a personal opinion. I know a lot of people who want to go into surgery or radiology, but it is not for me. I know a lot of people don't like psychiatry but I really like it.
Well I got three months of screaming kids to handle... wish me luck (lots of it).
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Expressing one's own opinion
DISCLAIMER
The views expressed on this blog are the opinion of solely the writer and does not represent the views of anybody else. What is written in this blog is not meant to offend anybody and if this is the case, the author of this blog apologizes in advance.
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I feel I had to write the above disclaimer after an incident with one of my blog entries. It was a nasty surprise when I got back from my holiday in Kuala Lumpur. I knew it would be tough getting back to work after a holiday, especially since the other intern in my ward was taking his scheduled leave, but I wasn't prepared for what was in store.
I'm not going to blog much about my trip to Kuala Lumpur. All I did was see some sights and shopping. That was the intention of the holiday and it was fulfilled. I didn't take many photos either since I'm that kind of tourist. Most of the time was spent in shopping malls remarking how Hong Kong is so expensive, especially with the same foreign food like Waitrose's orange marmalade or fennel. Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok are still way ahead of Hong Kong in being termed 'a world-class city'.
When I got back to work, I was asked to see the head of our department. I didn't know what it was about but I knew it was something bad. Every time you see the headmaster is not for a good incident. Maybe a patient complained about my attitude or I did something wrong in the management of a patient.
Eventually I got to meet the head of department. It was regarding a complaint. Yet it was not from whom I thought it was. One person who I don't know and who's identity was not revealed to me complained about my blog entry 'A match made in hell'. They commented the blog entry was sexual discrimination against female radiologists.
Let me just re-iterate what I said to my head of department and to the public relations officer (who I spoke to today). The views expressed in my blog are a personal private opinion and do not represent the views of other interns, surgeons or anybody else for that matter. Even if I don't like a particular person or if I work for a friend, I will give 100% in my work and will maintain a professional relationship with my colleagues whom I work with. The comments in the blog are suppose to be sarcastic in nature - I truly don't think female radiologists' ovaries have been affected by radiation. That is just the way I write and who I am in real life - ask the people who know me best. I'm not sorry for expressing my views of what I think of female radiologists through the brief interaction I have when booking urgent investigations. I am sorry for offending anybody with my blog - this is not my intentions.
I do have some opinions of this incident (which are the opinions of this writer and not meant to offend anybody):
1. I am disappointed that one of my 'friends' passed this along to other people without confronting/facing me about the comments I made.
2. I am disappointed by the person who made the complaint for not confronting/facing me about the comments I made.
3. I am disappointed with the accusation of 'sexual discrimination'. Obviously the person who read the comment about female radiologists neglected to read the paragraph before regarding my view of male surgeons. I don't have any male surgeons making any complaints.
Please if you do have comments on my blog, please don't hesitate in contacting me. But please state who you are. I honestly find it cowardly if you don't reveal yourself.
The views expressed on this blog are the opinion of solely the writer and does not represent the views of anybody else. What is written in this blog is not meant to offend anybody and if this is the case, the author of this blog apologizes in advance.
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I feel I had to write the above disclaimer after an incident with one of my blog entries. It was a nasty surprise when I got back from my holiday in Kuala Lumpur. I knew it would be tough getting back to work after a holiday, especially since the other intern in my ward was taking his scheduled leave, but I wasn't prepared for what was in store.
I'm not going to blog much about my trip to Kuala Lumpur. All I did was see some sights and shopping. That was the intention of the holiday and it was fulfilled. I didn't take many photos either since I'm that kind of tourist. Most of the time was spent in shopping malls remarking how Hong Kong is so expensive, especially with the same foreign food like Waitrose's orange marmalade or fennel. Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok are still way ahead of Hong Kong in being termed 'a world-class city'.
When I got back to work, I was asked to see the head of our department. I didn't know what it was about but I knew it was something bad. Every time you see the headmaster is not for a good incident. Maybe a patient complained about my attitude or I did something wrong in the management of a patient.
Eventually I got to meet the head of department. It was regarding a complaint. Yet it was not from whom I thought it was. One person who I don't know and who's identity was not revealed to me complained about my blog entry 'A match made in hell'. They commented the blog entry was sexual discrimination against female radiologists.
Let me just re-iterate what I said to my head of department and to the public relations officer (who I spoke to today). The views expressed in my blog are a personal private opinion and do not represent the views of other interns, surgeons or anybody else for that matter. Even if I don't like a particular person or if I work for a friend, I will give 100% in my work and will maintain a professional relationship with my colleagues whom I work with. The comments in the blog are suppose to be sarcastic in nature - I truly don't think female radiologists' ovaries have been affected by radiation. That is just the way I write and who I am in real life - ask the people who know me best. I'm not sorry for expressing my views of what I think of female radiologists through the brief interaction I have when booking urgent investigations. I am sorry for offending anybody with my blog - this is not my intentions.
I do have some opinions of this incident (which are the opinions of this writer and not meant to offend anybody):
1. I am disappointed that one of my 'friends' passed this along to other people without confronting/facing me about the comments I made.
2. I am disappointed by the person who made the complaint for not confronting/facing me about the comments I made.
3. I am disappointed with the accusation of 'sexual discrimination'. Obviously the person who read the comment about female radiologists neglected to read the paragraph before regarding my view of male surgeons. I don't have any male surgeons making any complaints.
Please if you do have comments on my blog, please don't hesitate in contacting me. But please state who you are. I honestly find it cowardly if you don't reveal yourself.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
A match made in hell...
Having been back at the main hospital for nearly three weeks, I have observed many things. From all the paperwork to cover your own arse medicine, it's been an eye opener.
One thing that hasn't surprised me is how stereotypical doctors' personalities can be. Take for example the typical male surgeon. This is a person who usually is condescending, heartless and emotionless. "Constructive criticism" and "tact" are not in their vocabulary. I have met many male residents in surgery who just look down on your and scold you for not doing something write. They can put it a bit more tactfully but I don't think that is in their nature. These are the jocks you had in high school or secondary school, who's self confidence borders on arrogance.
Another typical stereotype is the female radiologist. I have to book urgent CT & ultrasound scans all the time. Most of the male radiologists are constructive and considerate at rejecting my requests. Yet when I get a rejection from a female radiologist it's like going to the Antarctic - cold & frightening. What does radiology do to women to make them not smile? Does all that radiation fry their ovaries into secreting abnormal hormones which make them into cold cucumbers? Or does all that power of rejecting men (& women) goes to their head?
Either way I now know I'm not going into surgery and radiology.
One thing that hasn't surprised me is how stereotypical doctors' personalities can be. Take for example the typical male surgeon. This is a person who usually is condescending, heartless and emotionless. "Constructive criticism" and "tact" are not in their vocabulary. I have met many male residents in surgery who just look down on your and scold you for not doing something write. They can put it a bit more tactfully but I don't think that is in their nature. These are the jocks you had in high school or secondary school, who's self confidence borders on arrogance.
Another typical stereotype is the female radiologist. I have to book urgent CT & ultrasound scans all the time. Most of the male radiologists are constructive and considerate at rejecting my requests. Yet when I get a rejection from a female radiologist it's like going to the Antarctic - cold & frightening. What does radiology do to women to make them not smile? Does all that radiation fry their ovaries into secreting abnormal hormones which make them into cold cucumbers? Or does all that power of rejecting men (& women) goes to their head?
Either way I now know I'm not going into surgery and radiology.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Paperwork, signatures & ink stamps
I've just finished my second week as the house officer of the Surgical Admissions ward. Already I'm starting to feel a bit despondent about being a doctor.
I don't mind working the long hours associated with being a doctor. In fact I rather crave working, since there is nothing for me to do when I return to my room in the intern quarters. My laptop cannot play DVDs for some reason despite having the capability to do so, there's no internet connection so I cannot surf for porn and I can only take so much reading of "Pride and Prejudice" each night. Most of the time I'm just too tired to do anything active and I just fall asleep at ten o'clock at night after having a shower and brushing my teeth.
I don't mind being at the whim of the nurses either. There are a lot of tasks nurses can perform but legally cannot since they are not qualified to do so. They cannot write prescriptions or order CT scans despite knowing what it is entailed. That is where my signature and my ink stamp comes in. I accept there is much I can learn from experienced nurses about the running of a ward and what protocols and procedures need to be followed.
I don't mind my superior either. Most of the consultants & senior medical officers are nice. It's some of the residents I cannot stand. There are two resident surgeons who are obnoxious, condescending twats but I'll leave that to another blog entry, just like how I like to comment how female radiologists are such bitches.
What really gets me is the amount of hospital bureaucracy and CYOA (cover your own arse) medicine that is being practised. There are a few examples I like to share with any readers out there:
I don't mind working the long hours associated with being a doctor. In fact I rather crave working, since there is nothing for me to do when I return to my room in the intern quarters. My laptop cannot play DVDs for some reason despite having the capability to do so, there's no internet connection so I cannot surf for porn and I can only take so much reading of "Pride and Prejudice" each night. Most of the time I'm just too tired to do anything active and I just fall asleep at ten o'clock at night after having a shower and brushing my teeth.
I don't mind being at the whim of the nurses either. There are a lot of tasks nurses can perform but legally cannot since they are not qualified to do so. They cannot write prescriptions or order CT scans despite knowing what it is entailed. That is where my signature and my ink stamp comes in. I accept there is much I can learn from experienced nurses about the running of a ward and what protocols and procedures need to be followed.
I don't mind my superior either. Most of the consultants & senior medical officers are nice. It's some of the residents I cannot stand. There are two resident surgeons who are obnoxious, condescending twats but I'll leave that to another blog entry, just like how I like to comment how female radiologists are such bitches.
What really gets me is the amount of hospital bureaucracy and CYOA (cover your own arse) medicine that is being practised. There are a few examples I like to share with any readers out there:
- Whenever somebody is admitted to the Surgical Admissions ward, the interns have to fill out a sheet pertaining to which specialty the patient has to be under. If the patient has probably peeing, he/she goes under the urology team. Unfortunately these forms are really constrictive with little space to elaborate on the patient's condition. Also we still have to fill out these forms even if the medical officer has taken a history already. It's a stupid practise that seems only to happen in surgery to the best of my knowledge. Sometimes I can't be bothered to ask the patient a second time how's his poo is and just fill out the form based on the medical officer's notes.
- Whenever a patient has a condition, there are some investigations we have to order despite the chances of them occurring are non-existent. For every person who comes in with chest pain, we have to order cardiac enzymes & CK-MB to rule out a heart attack. Anybody who comes in with tummy pain has to have his/her amylase checked to exclude acute pancreatitis. Even if the person banged his head a few days ago and comes in complaining of just dizziness the interns have to go down to the CT room and order a brain CT just to exclude any bleeding, despite having examined the person thoroughly. When did we rely so much on tests and not on our clinical judgement having asked a complete history and performed a thorough clinical examination?
- Medical officers send us to order urgent CT scans despite knowing the chances of succeeding are remote. Why? Because they are scared of their seniors asking why they didn't TRY to book those urgent CT scans if they don't. Nobody wants to take responsibility for the patient. When nurses inform house officers of a change in the patient's condition, they don't really care about the patient's condition. They just want the responsiblity of the change in the patient's condition off their hands and into the doctors. They just want you to say the phrase, "I will check on him/her."
- Everything has to be documented. Whenever you see the patient, look at his/her investgation results or do anything to the patient, you have to write it down, put your signature next to it and then put your ink stamp next to it just to make sure. Even if the patient has a perfectly normal chest X-ray which for no apparent reason was order, I still have to write down, "CXR: NAD" in the patient's progress notes.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Stupid patients
I'm rather glad the Olympics are over. It has been a very good Olympic Games, with Michael Phelps & Usain Bolt being the top stars. I just hope the changes that have been made for the Beijing Games will keep - the sporting venues are used instead of being left abandoned to disuse & the pollution levels are kept low. I also hope the local channels beef up their coverage next time, with presenters who actually know what they are talking about instead of pretty faces who have only two brain cells.
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Even during my first week in the Surgical Admission ward, you get to see the most absurd of admissions coming in. When the Typhoon Nuri hit Hong Kong on Friday, there was this elderly lady who was blown over and suffer multiple abrasions including a knock to the head. The police didn't know who she was since she didn't have any identification on her and she was so confused she couldn't say her name. Eventually when her condition had settled she could say her name and her husband could be bought over to properly identify her. When I was setting her drip, all she was saying was, "I got hit on the head... how did that happen?" to which I replied, "There's a typhoon out there and you were blown over." I couldn't actually say what I was really thinking which was "You silly cow! Why did you go out in a typhoon?" Thankfully her condition was stable and she was mentioned in the news.
Even more absurd is the elderly man who scratches his butthole with a toothpick and then is surprised to find his bleeding out of his arse. Or what about the woman who dislocates her jaw for the second time but waits twelve hours to go to hospital despite being in considerable pain?
Really I think there is evidence for creationists to prove that evolution doesn't exist.
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Even during my first week in the Surgical Admission ward, you get to see the most absurd of admissions coming in. When the Typhoon Nuri hit Hong Kong on Friday, there was this elderly lady who was blown over and suffer multiple abrasions including a knock to the head. The police didn't know who she was since she didn't have any identification on her and she was so confused she couldn't say her name. Eventually when her condition had settled she could say her name and her husband could be bought over to properly identify her. When I was setting her drip, all she was saying was, "I got hit on the head... how did that happen?" to which I replied, "There's a typhoon out there and you were blown over." I couldn't actually say what I was really thinking which was "You silly cow! Why did you go out in a typhoon?" Thankfully her condition was stable and she was mentioned in the news.Even more absurd is the elderly man who scratches his butthole with a toothpick and then is surprised to find his bleeding out of his arse. Or what about the woman who dislocates her jaw for the second time but waits twelve hours to go to hospital despite being in considerable pain?
Really I think there is evidence for creationists to prove that evolution doesn't exist.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Working through the storm.
I'm currently at work today as intern in the Surgical Admissions Ward, even though I'm not supposed to be. Since there is a typhoon heading straight towards Hong Kong, only on-call doctors are required to be on duty. This means the on-call doctors have a lot more work to do, since there will be people admitted today despite the weather. This is a ridiculous rule that applies to house officers, since us interns are living right next to the hospital, barely 50 metres away. There might be a slight threat of us being blown over but I still think it is negligible.
I came into work because I know somebody will be swamped with work and I'm too nice a guy to allow that to happen. I know it is a huge character flaw in Hong Kong that will be exploited. My admissions ward partner didn't come in today, despite living next to me in the quarters. He has an exam in October, so he needs to study and he was on-call the last time a typhoon nearly hit Hong Kong. So I can forgive him for not coming in today. However the intern who is supposed to be on-call for the Admissions ward today says he's not coming in until 18:00. That means the on-call medical officer for admissions is being swamped.
Also many of the nurses were surprised that I was in. Most of them were grateful I was in but there were a few who said I shouldn't be there since I'm not covered by the hospital. That is really the attitude of most hospital staff - to not hold responsiblity for any actions. Everybody doesn't want to work on the day of a typhoon. Nobody wants to hold responsibilty so nurses tell house officers when a patient's condition changed. I really don't like that attitude and in the era of litigation & claims & insurance, it really prevents good medicine from being practised.
I came into work because I know somebody will be swamped with work and I'm too nice a guy to allow that to happen. I know it is a huge character flaw in Hong Kong that will be exploited. My admissions ward partner didn't come in today, despite living next to me in the quarters. He has an exam in October, so he needs to study and he was on-call the last time a typhoon nearly hit Hong Kong. So I can forgive him for not coming in today. However the intern who is supposed to be on-call for the Admissions ward today says he's not coming in until 18:00. That means the on-call medical officer for admissions is being swamped.
Also many of the nurses were surprised that I was in. Most of them were grateful I was in but there were a few who said I shouldn't be there since I'm not covered by the hospital. That is really the attitude of most hospital staff - to not hold responsiblity for any actions. Everybody doesn't want to work on the day of a typhoon. Nobody wants to hold responsibilty so nurses tell house officers when a patient's condition changed. I really don't like that attitude and in the era of litigation & claims & insurance, it really prevents good medicine from being practised.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Even more Olympic criticism
So far this Olympics hasn't been marred by too much controversy. The Chinese government has effectively suppressed any demonstrations or protests by limiting them to certain areas and putting up so much bureaucracy in the way that it is virtually impossible to successful apply for a permit to protest.
There haven't been many doping offences either. Only one major doping offence that concerned a medal has appeared. So far it has been a relatively clean Olympics and I hope it stays that way. Let's hope we don't get another Marion Jones or Ben Johnson incident.
I'm still hating my local TV station's biased towards the Chinese during the Olympics. As I said before the media should be unbiased and impartial during coverage of any news, whether it is news, sports, business or entertainment they cannot put their opinions in. I say this after Liu Xiang pulled out of the 110 metres hurdles. The channel treated it like somebody important has died.
Another thing I don't like about the Olympics is how some participants swap countries just to compete in the Olympics. I just think it is wrong. You should be proud to represent your country at the Olympics. Even though I think patriotism is blind and irrational, there are times when it is warranted. Lots of Chinese athletes who couldn't get into their national team go to your countries to compete for them, including Hong Kong. There should be a rule, just like in football, that you can only represent one country during your lifetime (apart from when countries break apart like the former Yugoslavia and USSR) and you should have lived in your adopted country for at least seven years.
I'm just glad the Olympics are coming to end soon - I don't think I can stand any more Chinese propaganda at the moment.
There haven't been many doping offences either. Only one major doping offence that concerned a medal has appeared. So far it has been a relatively clean Olympics and I hope it stays that way. Let's hope we don't get another Marion Jones or Ben Johnson incident.
I'm still hating my local TV station's biased towards the Chinese during the Olympics. As I said before the media should be unbiased and impartial during coverage of any news, whether it is news, sports, business or entertainment they cannot put their opinions in. I say this after Liu Xiang pulled out of the 110 metres hurdles. The channel treated it like somebody important has died. Another thing I don't like about the Olympics is how some participants swap countries just to compete in the Olympics. I just think it is wrong. You should be proud to represent your country at the Olympics. Even though I think patriotism is blind and irrational, there are times when it is warranted. Lots of Chinese athletes who couldn't get into their national team go to your countries to compete for them, including Hong Kong. There should be a rule, just like in football, that you can only represent one country during your lifetime (apart from when countries break apart like the former Yugoslavia and USSR) and you should have lived in your adopted country for at least seven years.
I'm just glad the Olympics are coming to end soon - I don't think I can stand any more Chinese propaganda at the moment.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The off-season: West Bromwich Albion
I finally made it to the last team and I was only on day over my limit. Assisting in my analysis of the last team West Bromwich Albion is the fact I haven't seen them play, not even yesterday against my team Arsenal.Out of the three promoted teams, WBA are the most likely to stay up. They have the attacking power to score enough goals whilst they have consolidated their defence during the summer. Hopefully Tony Mowbray can do the job.
GK: Dean Kiely, Scott Carson, Michael Danek
Getting Carson was a real coup for WBA. An England international with Premiership experience under his belt and still relatively young, West Brom can have two good goalkeepers hopefully keeping the goals out.
RB: Carl Hoefkens, Gianni Zuiverloon
Really I have no idea about these two players. At least Mowbray has two players for this area.
LB: Paul Robinson, Marek Cech
Probably a better area for West Brom. Robinson has Premiership experience and was courted by other Premier League clubs during the summer. In the first game against Arsenal, Cech was pushed into left midfield, maybe indicating he may be there for the rest of the season.
CB: Leon Barnett, Neil Clement, Shelton Martis, Abdoulaye Méïté, Pele
Recruiting Meite was vital - none of the other players bar Clement has played in the top flight. This is where Mowbray may have to recruit more players than he needs and fast.
WG: Chris Brunt, Graham Dorrans
A lack of wingers could lead West Brom to play a defence style of 4-5-1. Chris Brunt is the most likely to shine in this area.
CM: Robert Koren, Jonathan Greening, Kim Do-Heon, Filipe Teixeira, James Morrison
With Greening, Koren and Morrison in the centre, the middle of the park is a solid area for Mowbray. We still have to look out for Kim whilst Teixeira might leave.
FW: Roman Bednar, Ishmael Miller, Craig Beattie, Sherjill MacDonald, Luke Moore, Bartosz Åšlusarski
Probably the most crowded area for West Brown. Only Bednar, Miller and Moore could take on the Premiership whilst the rest are just too bad or unknown to me. Most like they will play 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 with Bednar partner the other young striker.
Summary
In: Winger x 2, Forward x 2
Out: Martis, Beattie, MacDonald, Åšlusarski
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Olympic burnout & overexposure
Unless you have been living on Mars for the past few years, the Olympics are being held in Beijing for the next two weeks. Already I'm sick and tired of the Games.
I'm not usually a great fan of the Olympics. There are a number of things wrong with the whole Olympic movement. I hate that the Olympics have to sell themselves out to companies like Coca Cola and McDonalds just to make themselves viable. The whole Olympic ideal is to be "stronger, faster, higher" and I don't think you will be doing that consuming soft drinks and burgers.
I also don't like the way the Olympics are treat by viewers. Everybody uses the Olympics for blatant country bashing; to say one country is better than another. Let's face it, you can't watch an event if there isn't anybody from your country competing. We all great when our country wins but try to make excuses when our country loses - we can never applaud the fact that our country's athletes were beaten by better athletes. In the modern age when war has been phased out (almost), the Olympics is our substitute for war.
Taking this idea that "our country is great" is the host nation itself, China. Politics and sports are not supposed to mix but China are just doing that with the Olympic Games. They are using the who event to show the world just how great they are, just glossing over the act that they have a poor human rights record, they only could just manage to hold the Games by shutting down all the factories & taking away half the vehicles off the road and they don't do much in the world politics such as matters dealing with Sudan, Burma and Zimbabwe. Why am I not surprised that they used a little girl in their little propaganda? Just read this article from BBC News and you know what I'm write about. I just hope Great Britain don't go down the same road with London 2012.
What is much worse than China using the Olympics Games as a propaganda tool is the local media coverage of the Olympic Games. Most of the Olympic Games is being broadcasted on TVB Jade, a local Chinese TV channel. Unfortunately the word "unbiased" is not what I would describe their coverage to be. I understand you will broadcast all the events China and Hong Kong are taking part. However to hear in the commentary "this just shows how great China is" or "Come on China!" is not what I want to hear. The media is supposed to be impartial, non-partisan and professional, not some crazed sports fan who has the microphone. They are not supposed to impose their own views on the event. I have heard BBC commentary on sports when England are playing. I was in USA when the Atlanta Games were on. I have never heard any of the commentators going throughout the whole coverage saying how great the nation is.
I remember eight years ago in the Sydney Olympics when one Hong Kong female TV 'reporter' (I use the word 'reporter' lightly when in essence she is a TV 'personality') when one Chinese athlete won (I think it was in the swimming events). I could hear was her screaming in delight that a Chinese swimmer one and I don't think she got a question in because she was so excited. That's when I started hating TVB's coverage of the Olympics and wished for more professionalism. If I was in Britain, at least I would be listening to seasoned sports commentators or ex-professionals who can string a sentence together. Unfortunately I'm in Hong Kong and I get TV 'personalities' and actors commentating on the Olympics. I'm sure they could find some former athletes who could commentate on the events instead of getting Dodo Cheng or Hakken Lee (yes, those are their real names).
I was going to go on about how competitors would rather compete in the Olympics than represent their own country but we still got two weeks left of the Olympics. I can rant and rave later about that.
I'm not usually a great fan of the Olympics. There are a number of things wrong with the whole Olympic movement. I hate that the Olympics have to sell themselves out to companies like Coca Cola and McDonalds just to make themselves viable. The whole Olympic ideal is to be "stronger, faster, higher" and I don't think you will be doing that consuming soft drinks and burgers.
I also don't like the way the Olympics are treat by viewers. Everybody uses the Olympics for blatant country bashing; to say one country is better than another. Let's face it, you can't watch an event if there isn't anybody from your country competing. We all great when our country wins but try to make excuses when our country loses - we can never applaud the fact that our country's athletes were beaten by better athletes. In the modern age when war has been phased out (almost), the Olympics is our substitute for war.
Taking this idea that "our country is great" is the host nation itself, China. Politics and sports are not supposed to mix but China are just doing that with the Olympic Games. They are using the who event to show the world just how great they are, just glossing over the act that they have a poor human rights record, they only could just manage to hold the Games by shutting down all the factories & taking away half the vehicles off the road and they don't do much in the world politics such as matters dealing with Sudan, Burma and Zimbabwe. Why am I not surprised that they used a little girl in their little propaganda? Just read this article from BBC News and you know what I'm write about. I just hope Great Britain don't go down the same road with London 2012.
What is much worse than China using the Olympics Games as a propaganda tool is the local media coverage of the Olympic Games. Most of the Olympic Games is being broadcasted on TVB Jade, a local Chinese TV channel. Unfortunately the word "unbiased" is not what I would describe their coverage to be. I understand you will broadcast all the events China and Hong Kong are taking part. However to hear in the commentary "this just shows how great China is" or "Come on China!" is not what I want to hear. The media is supposed to be impartial, non-partisan and professional, not some crazed sports fan who has the microphone. They are not supposed to impose their own views on the event. I have heard BBC commentary on sports when England are playing. I was in USA when the Atlanta Games were on. I have never heard any of the commentators going throughout the whole coverage saying how great the nation is.
I remember eight years ago in the Sydney Olympics when one Hong Kong female TV 'reporter' (I use the word 'reporter' lightly when in essence she is a TV 'personality') when one Chinese athlete won (I think it was in the swimming events). I could hear was her screaming in delight that a Chinese swimmer one and I don't think she got a question in because she was so excited. That's when I started hating TVB's coverage of the Olympics and wished for more professionalism. If I was in Britain, at least I would be listening to seasoned sports commentators or ex-professionals who can string a sentence together. Unfortunately I'm in Hong Kong and I get TV 'personalities' and actors commentating on the Olympics. I'm sure they could find some former athletes who could commentate on the events instead of getting Dodo Cheng or Hakken Lee (yes, those are their real names).
I was going to go on about how competitors would rather compete in the Olympics than represent their own country but we still got two weeks left of the Olympics. I can rant and rave later about that.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
The off-season: Stoke City
Like Hull City, Stoke will be struggling to stay up this coming season. They were hard to beat in the Championship with the impregnable defence but in the Premier League they will need more than that to stay up. I really don’t think they will be able to stay up if they continue with the squad they currently have.GK: Steve Simonsen, Thomas Sorensen
Getting Sorensen will help bring some solidarity in between the posts. This is a goalkeeper who has experience with Aston Villa, Sunderland and Denmark. Simonsen may have been given a chance but I think Sorensen will start in goal at the beginning of the campaign.
RB: Andy Griffin, Lewis Buxton
Griffin might be an experienced right-back with Newcastle United, Portsmouth and Derby but I don’t think he has the capability to be a Premier League right-back. Clearly Tony Pulis will need recruiting in the upcoming weeks.
LB: Carl Dickinson
I have never heard of Dickinson which doesn’t say much about his playing ability. Even if Dickinson is an unfound treasure playing in the lower leagues, Stoke will still require a back-up left defender in Dickinson falls foul to any injuries.
CB: Leon Cort, Ryan Shawcross, Andy Wilkinson
In Cort and Shawcross, Stoke have two up and coming centre backs. They maybe have fantastic ability but experience is still wanting. Tony Pulls will need to bring in another centre-back, preferably somebody with experience.
WG: Liam Lawrence, Danny Pugh
Not a great line-up - a Manchester United reject and somebody who couldn’t make the grade with Sunderland. I actually think Lawrence is underrated and shouldn’t have been booted out of the Stadium of Light by Roy Keane. I still think Pulis needs to recruit a natural winger.
CM: Glenn Whelan, Salif Diao, Rory Delap, Seyi Olofinjana
Probably Stoke’s strongest area with Premier League experience with Diao & Delap plus natural flair in Olofinjana and Whelan. I don’t think Stoke will require buying players in this area.
FW: Richard Cresswell, Ricardo Fuller, Dave Kitson, Vincent Pericard, Jon Parkin
Probably not the most impressive line-up in the Premier League. None of the players actually lit up the Premier League or are twenty goals per season strikers. Fuller is chronically injured whilst Kitson was not prolific in the two seasons when he was playing in the Premier League. It will require more goals to keep Stoke City up. Even Pericard, who has played for Juventus and Portsmouth, is not in the frame.
Summary
In: 1 x Right-back, 1 x Left-back, 2 x Centre-back, 2 x Wingers, 1 x Forward
Out: Buxton, Phillips, Parkin, Pericard
Monday, August 04, 2008
The off-season: Hull City
Hull City will be in the top flight for the first time in its history, which stretches back more than a hundred years. So forgive me if I state I know nothing about how the team play or what kind of players they have. Phil Brown, who used to be Sam Allardyce's number two at Bolton before going off to Derby and failing there, will have a hard time keeping them up. In the back of his mind he knows the team won't stay up. He will have to wait out this season, pick up the parachute payments and try again the season afterwards to consolidate themselves in the Premier League.With that said, he does seem to be attempting to stay in the Premier League from some of his summer signings...
GK: Boaz Myhill, Tony Warner, Matt Duke
Bringing in Warner gives Hull City some Premier League experience between the sticks. Although Myhill is a keeper with international experience with Wales, he's still relatively inexperienced and will be facing top strikers every week. Don't be surprised if Warner starts to be in the goal during the middle of the campaign.
RB: Nathan Doyle, Bernard Mendy, Sam Ricketts
It will be a straight fight between Ricketts & Mendy for the number two position. Doyle may move on but he's still young.
LB: Andy Dawson
Dawson still is the only left back on the squad, so it won't be a surprise if Brown recruits a more experienced left-sided defender to back-up or even displace Dawson.
CB: Michael Turner, Anthony Gardner, Wayne Brown
Hull needed to bring in a defender with Premier League experience, so bringing in Gardner on loan was a good find. They still need to bring in another central defender.
WG: Ryan France, Richard Garcia, Nick Barmby, Craig Fagan, Peter Halmosi
This is where Hull have an abundance of wealth. With Nick Barmby being the experience they need, it will alow the likes of Garcia, Fagan & Halmosi to attack without fear. France is most likely to leave though.
CM: Ian Ashbee, Geovanni, Bryan Hughes, John Welsh, George Boateng
Brown has got the best idea of bringing two veterans in the likes of Geovanni & Boateng to be the centre of midfield. It looks like club veteran Ashbee will have to take a back seat whilst Welsh needs to rediscover the form he had at Liverpool.
FW: Caleb Folan, Dean Windass
If Brown doesn't recruit now, he won't be in the job come Christmas. Goals keep you up and he doesn't have any strikers of worth. It's difficult seeing where the goals will come from for Hull City at the moment. Folan didn't exactly light the Premier League up with his previous club Wigan Athletic whilst Windass will be used sparingly due to his age. Phil Brown will have to invest in a striker with Frazier Campbell, last season's top striker for the Tigers, staying at Manchester United for the immediate future.
Summary
In: 1 x Left-back, 1 x Centre-back, 2 x Forwards
Out: Doyle, France, Welsh
Friday, August 01, 2008
Running around like Mike the Headless Chicken
I'm really thank I have been posted to my current convalescence hospital. Compared to other hospitals, the workload is lighter. I don't have to admit many emergency patients which would require asking a proper history and performing a thorough clinical examination. Most of the patients I admit are transferred from the main hospital for convalescent care or are having elective surgery. Therefore most of their details are already on our electronic database and only requires a cut & paste approach. Of course for each patient I do ask how they are doing and assess their condition but it is much easier.
Most of the blood taking is performed by the nurses but I am proficient in taking blood, since I need to do it if the nurses can't, for example if they can't find a peripheral vein, for cross matching blood and when a blood culture is required. Most of the other stuff the nurses can do but usually require the house officers' signature. Interns do get ridiculous calls from nurses just to say what the blood results were and they require the interns to do nothing, just so that they are informed. Basically the nurses are covering their arses and shelving responsibility to the interns, in case something goes wrong.
Since I'm based around four floors in the current hospital, most of the time I'm running around like a headless chicken try to do all my tasks. One manages to sort out which is necessary and what can be left to a later time but I do manage to get off work at a reasonable hour, if you call six o'clock a reasonable hour. If fact I don't mind working to late. I don't have nothing much to do in the evenings. I'm just thankful I don't HAVE to revise or study when I get back in the evenings. Eventually I will have to study, since I can't remember how to read an ECG or what to do in particular situations but that will come later. Most of the evenings I'm bored to death now. Initially I had videos to watch on my notebook. Now I've run out of videos to watch and can't download any on the hospital internet networks. So I'll have to wait until I get back home to retrieve my videos. I can't be bothered to go out since that requires money and I can't watch a movie every day. So far I have resorted to buying some books and now am engaged in the fierce rivalry between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett (prize to the first person who knows which novel that comes from).
At times I'm grateful I am busy and at other times I wish I had something to do... like now.
Most of the blood taking is performed by the nurses but I am proficient in taking blood, since I need to do it if the nurses can't, for example if they can't find a peripheral vein, for cross matching blood and when a blood culture is required. Most of the other stuff the nurses can do but usually require the house officers' signature. Interns do get ridiculous calls from nurses just to say what the blood results were and they require the interns to do nothing, just so that they are informed. Basically the nurses are covering their arses and shelving responsibility to the interns, in case something goes wrong.
Since I'm based around four floors in the current hospital, most of the time I'm running around like a headless chicken try to do all my tasks. One manages to sort out which is necessary and what can be left to a later time but I do manage to get off work at a reasonable hour, if you call six o'clock a reasonable hour. If fact I don't mind working to late. I don't have nothing much to do in the evenings. I'm just thankful I don't HAVE to revise or study when I get back in the evenings. Eventually I will have to study, since I can't remember how to read an ECG or what to do in particular situations but that will come later. Most of the evenings I'm bored to death now. Initially I had videos to watch on my notebook. Now I've run out of videos to watch and can't download any on the hospital internet networks. So I'll have to wait until I get back home to retrieve my videos. I can't be bothered to go out since that requires money and I can't watch a movie every day. So far I have resorted to buying some books and now am engaged in the fierce rivalry between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett (prize to the first person who knows which novel that comes from).
At times I'm grateful I am busy and at other times I wish I had something to do... like now.
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