Dec 14, 2016

1st day at the Hospital

I am left in tears. My nose all clogged up, and I was sniffling into the shirt I discarded. Today is definitely not a good day. All I wish is to have some good, long slumber that will whisk me into the night. I couldn't believe this is happening.


I start my day early. By a quarter after six, I departed from home to my hospital. It was roughly a quarter and an hour long drive, marred slightly by the traffic once I reached the city. The street that passes the hospital is the main one that connects the area and the heart of the city. But I still had some time, and thus I drove as leisurely (read: haphazardly fast) as I could and parked my car somewhere in the parking building on the third floor.



The hospital complex is huge and staggeringly confusing. Too many vehicles bringing so many people in and out of the hospital. The parking spots are full and the parked cars, from a distance, looked like dried fish lined all together under the basking hot sun. I was lucky to get a parking spot in the parking building where my car was covered from the sun and safer, I guess. I had brought almost all my stuff with me, and before I got my accommodation settled I had to leave all my things in the car.


There are 88 of us reporting in today. 88 lost lambs gathering in front of the administration office, waiting for them to open by 8 o'clock. Some of them were already there as early as 7 o'clock. Anyway, we were brought to an auditorium for documentation process. There were a lot of papers to cross your T's and dot your I's (LOL improper use of idiom here) I mean there were so many forms that we need to fill up the whole thing took the most of our morning.


I am so ever grateful to this unknown blogger who shared her tips when she started her housemanship. All my prepared documents are indeed, required by the hospital, such as copies of your penyata KWSP and penyata akaun bank (must have your name and account number on it). Please prepare both of these documents. Not to be a gossipmonger, but there's actually people who came today without having any bank account, let alone an account statement. Come on, man. Think! How else the government is supposed to pay you then?


Don't worry about the Aku Janji form - the hospital will give you the actual Aku Janji form for you to fill up. You can print one if you want but you still have to hand in the one that they gave you.


So I had my documents all prepared and all that, then I went to see the accommodation admin staff for my asrama business. The asrama is.. pretty much like a dormitory, complete with the boarding-school set of rules. Luckily they reined in the curfew part. I couldn't imagine the incredulous look on my face if I'm being told I have to be in my room before 12 a.m. The room that I shared myself with a friend is very dirty. It's like being in an abandoned building where you anticipate some ghosts popping out from the corner or from the drawer and shout "YIKES THIS PLACE SUCKS".




The tap water is of murky rust. The cemented floor has its own twelve layer of soot carpets, where in between there are enough grimes and dirt that can make Britain in industrial revolution look shiny and clean. The mattress is so appalling dirty I had half my mind to just burn it all down in the middle of the courtyard down below (my room is in the first floor). So much so that the room is in disarray that I have a terrible sinusitis from it. In fact, my teary eyes and my clogged up nose is definitely because of me entering that damned room.


Our afternoon slot was meeting with the Hospital Director, where we will be assigned for our first posting. Based on a few suggestions and advises, I selected to do Obstetrics and Gynaecology (sakit puan) as my first posting. Weird, huh? Due to the large number of housemen this time, the Director actually allowed us to choose which posting that we wanted, instead of being randomly chosen. But for the medical, surgical, orthopaedics and paediatrics, the number of vacancy is only 15 spots each. The rest will have to go to do ObyGyn. Well that's fine by me. So off I went, brazenly confident in choosing the post that have a much larger vacancy (29). That number alone should already ring some alarm bell in my head, but hey, at least I'm not doing Medical or Surgical. Hell no.


As much as I thought ObyGyn is relatively doable (definitely not the easiest or anything, pfft who am I kidding!) compared to rest, I've heard that my posting's specialists are not exactly a walk in the park. I never used the word 'malignant' before, but apparently such term is used to describe people who are very likely / much obliged / eagerly anticipating / with much pleasure to make a houseman's life like hell. And they are rumoured to be just as malignant as those you dared find! But maybe the actual problem is us housemen who are being so dumb dumb we kinda deserved it? Fingers crossed Pray to God for a lucky break, please.


Anyway, we finished at 5 pm and was told to meet our respective HOD tomorrow at 8 am. After the meeting was adjourned, I quickly went to my car and started to drive home. I don't think I am well enough to do some cleaning for my room today. Or tomorrow. Or anytime this week. THAT PIECE OF DWELLING need some divine intervention. That place needs to do some major hauling to revamp it in order to resemble some quality that qualify as a place for HUMAN BEINGS TO LIVE IN. I am so done with that place.


Oh, on last note, I will only start tagging next Wednesday! Hooray to me and to all of us! We will have a week worth of orientation and the weekends off. I guess the hospital really do have empathy by giving us the last days of freedom before throwing us with all the shits and the crazies they can muster and find here in this super packed place we call a hospital.


Cheerios, guys. I need some antihistamines before I hit the bed.
Good night.

2 comments:

  1. Hi dr. May i know how much you have to pay per month to stay in that hostel?

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    Replies
    1. I would say the rent is different for each hospital, so be wary. For mine, it's supposed to be half of COLA (elaun Bantuan Sara Hidup) + 75% of my imbuhan tetap perumahan.

      So it's like RM150 + RM225 = RM375.
      Hope that helps.

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