Brand new environment with a brand new "life"

I seem to have disappeared from the virtual world for the last few weeks.

My life outside Medicine has come to a halt ever since I took my first step into the local hospital here, since it's a 5.5 day week, and I have to work on Sundays on alternate weeks too. My typical daily life has become so routine - wake up, go to work, eat, work, go home, eat, study, sleep. My concern everyday is "I must make sure I sleep 8 hrs a day" just to save myself the agony of dragging my sleepy body out of bed the next morning. No more shopping, no more movies, no more meet ups, and even the word "pak tor" has ceased to exist (gotta admit that it's frustrating).

And my sleeping habit has never got better, sleeping at 10.30pm sharp, and getting up at 6am.

My job is a whole new experience compared to that in the UK. Here I am serving my own fellow countrymen, hence, a greater sense of closeness, but there comes with it new challenges and frustrations.

I can no longer take histories in English when clerking the little old lady. Thank goodness I have help from my other colleagues who can speak other languages, and I would count myself very lucky if I get one who can speak Teochew to me, yet understand me when I reply/question in Mandarin.

Then I have pitiful patients who simply don't have a home, and their being in hospital is like a wonderful thing to their family, and all the drama starts when you start ringing their family up to inform them that the patient is fit for discharge and querying when they'll be able to take him/her home.

The drugs being used here are different from the UK too. It's a torture for me, because it drastically hinders my ability to manage a patient on the spot. Many times, I prescribe drugs I would use in the UK for a particular situation, only to be told my the nurses/pharmacist that they don't know/don't have the drug I prescribed. And trade names are used here more often than generic names, something I dread most, since I'll end up wasting time checking up what the generic name of that drug is. It's simply weird how I tend to find it easier to remember generic names rather than trade names which are more simpler to remember.

I start my ward rounds at 7.30am, before my Consultant comes round. It's amazing how these patients get up so early in the morning, because they all tend to be sitting up in bed, all ready for me to examine them. And I never fail to always greet them with a loud "Good morning!!!!" with a smile, no matter how sleepy I am. It brightens my day when they respond back with a smile. Serving these elderly people can sometimes be a real joy, and the older they are, the more grateful they are towards you when you are doing things for them, no matter how small.

Ward round is the most happening time of the day because I have a brilliant Consultant guiding me. He's extremely knowledgeable, and ever willing to impart his knowledge and skills to his juniors. When he does so, I can sense his excitement through his very warm smile, and this increases my enthusiasm of wanting to read up about the topic and find out more. I never have to be shy to ask him questions, and I must thank my lucky star to have a mentor who would so willingly sit down with me in front of the computer to teach me how to analyse results. It also makes me happy when I have learnt something from me, and be able to apply it onto another patient who comes in, afterwhich it does pleases my Consultant that I have done things right.

My other colleagues are brilliant as well. I don't have to feel shy asking for help/advice, and my nurses are like the best nurses I can ever get. It's been so much of a joy having them with me in the battlefield, that sometimes I wonder if they feel the same way working with me too.

The only point which can be improved is it'll be better if the other medical colleagues in my team were more humourous, noisy and crappy. I'm basically full of crap, but I tend not to do so if I don't know certain people well. Besides, it's a team of guys, so naturally a distance is kept. Things would be better if we were closer to one another, and enjoying lunch together etc.