Here is a list of interesting blogposts I came across in the last month since my last bloground.

Vagus recently relocated and blogs about his new job experiences:
Private Practice
Things that frustrate me
A mixed kinda day

I’ll take you home by Lostsheep
In A Difficult Position by Sawling
CSI Bukit Bintang: Pilot by Dr Frappucino

Darren had a few interesting thoughts to share:
The “Ada-ada” Syndrome
“Ada-ada” Syndrome (2)
Jonahness is appreciated

Threatened Insanity by Docyana
What is the different between doc and pharm? by CYtusm
Paperless prescription : Pro vs cons by fang

Referrals Gone Awry by Chiam
Extreme negativism!! by Cindy
True stories that are too good to be true by Adeline

Aisehman 4: screw-up fundings by Pilocarpine
What they lack is common sense by dytia
Of Wine, Worms & Mice: Dreams of Immortality… by Dr David Quek

I will end the blogrounds with a hilarious one from Jimbo which reminds us that you can never be too careful about your spelling!

It’s been awhile since I last blogged and even longer since the last Blogrounds, but I came across some interesting blogposts recently to share with you.

You speak English? from Cindy
And on the subject of English or rather Manglish:
Engrish! by Jimbo
Manglish by Spinosum
Parkir by Cytusm (apparently that is a word in Bahasa Indonesia)

Wow!!!! you’re so hardworking by kingkongdoctor
JMO –> Medical Officer by Chiam
The Dumping Syndrome by Darren

Extreme Prejudice by Fibrate
Million Dollar Question by Darren
Black out by Pilocarpine

Life is so unpredictable by fang
Where to publish? by Cytusm

It’s been more than 2 months since my last Bloground, and I recently discovered that some of our doctor blogs seem to have disappeared during that time! Let’s see what some of our doctor bloggers have been up to.

Darren has been very inspired to blog recently and came up with some interesting posts on a New Syndrome called Hypo-money-ism, some Slow learners who were brought for assessment and what makes a Perfect Surgery HO. Pilocarpine shares his thoughts on the recent Induksi that he went through, and the shocking tale of how patients are sometimes not properly assessed by the clinic counter staff.

Cindy relates how sometimes one needs More patience when dealing with difficult and ungrateful patients. Kingkongdoctor reminds us how one must be prepared to give up Precious Hours of sleep when we are on call.

Jin Khang finds that there is a Huge Divide between the life of an House Officer and that of an Medical Officer. Steve also finds the life of a Medical Officer is Better than Gold. Of course that also depend on where you work as well as Docyana still finds herself Hanging on and ranting on.

YYYap ponders whether the grass is really greener if you cross over to the private sector. Just ask Eve who talks about how stressful it can be to be a GP when you come across patients like this demanding one or this consultation that wasn’t.

Vagus blogs about the interesting Suitcase Sign, and about a patient who brought a box full of medical records with him, complete with cart! Fibrate shares her thoughts on Lofty Goals and Whiny Doctors, and what happened during a recent Fire Drill.

Jimbo talks about the Retail Therapy he had when he was sent to the KL International Book Fair to buy books for the school’s library — with an Unlimited budget! I will end today’s bloground with an inspiring post Jimbo did some time back on Rural Medicine. Now this is what we should be teaching all our medical students!

It’s been a month since my last Bloground and it looks like the Don’t Jail Doctors Blog Campaign is on the front page of quite a number of our blogs. Thanks go out to Doc Chan, Pilocarpine, Yenjai, Bernard, Fibrate, Chang Yang, DrRizad, Fooji, Jimbo, Mott and Yan for their support. As I mentioned in my home blog, do join our Don’t Jail Doctors Cause on Facebook as well, and try to get the word out to as many people as possible.

Chiam shares his thoughts as he comes to the end of his O&G posting. Kingkongdoctor tends to get a little anxious before he goes on call which he terms as the Pre On-Call Syndrome. The adrenaline rush helps during the call, but what he enjoys most is the feeling of accomplishment post-call.

Although Adeline is trying not to blog about work, she somehow ends up with a work-related post as life at the moment is work, eat, work, eat and sleep (in that order). She must have been really hungry while assisting in that laparotomy and cystectomy! Steve questions what can one houseman do, when going on call together with 2 “jonahs”.

Eve blogs about an interesting patient who had to be shown the difference between abdominal muscles and fat. Yenjai illustrates how patients sometime bargain for discounts (yes, in a GP clinic!)

Jimbo tells the tale of a patient with some Side Effects, where a miscommunication nearly led to an embarassing moment. Unfortunately some other doctors communicate all too well with patients, but with Unkind Words. Do check out Mafeitz’s account of The day the ceiling collapsed — sure hope no one was injured!

UKDoc blogs about the difficulty of making a decision about the resuscitation status of a terminally ill patient. Looks like we are not the only ones experiencing difficulty in communicating with some of our migrant workers, as Lostsheep encounters The language barrier. He also shares his thoughts on Cancer and guilt.

Vagus rambled on a Friday night some weeks ago, wondering what patients really prefer their doctors to be. Last but not least, Antatosh shares his Thoughts on the Journey of a Cancer Patient.

My personal thoughts are that if we (as cancer patients) are able to overcome the negativity of a cancer diagnosis, and continue to live (and for some even die) with grace and dignity, we will have already won the victory against cancer. Some journeys with cancer will be longer, and others short, but what matters most is how we walk that journey. That journey need not be filled with angst, bitterness, ‘why me’ questions, denial, rage, depression, or even in some cases an unrealistic pursuit of a cure/long life. We should not allow fear of the dreaded ‘C’ word to dictate how we live our lives. Rather, that journey, no matter how long or short, can be a path filled with courage, acceptance, love, hope, faith, peace, joy, fellowship, serenity, a sense of purpose, grace and dignity. We and our loved ones did not choose to be ‘afflicted’ with cancer, but we have a choice of how we deal and cope with this difficult diagnosis. I pray that God will grant us the courage to choose our paths wisely, the hope to live a meaningful/purposeful life, and the inner strength to live (and die) with dignity.

Welcome to the New Year 2008 Edition of our MMR blogrounds. As expected our doctor blogs are full of posts about the year gone by and the year to come. Mafeitz and Amir Fuad talk about their resolutions for 2008. Docperineum reflects on 2007 and prefers not to make resolutions, but rather make plans for 2008.

Kingkongdoctor blogs about a fruitful year. Adeline talks about learning balance in her working life over the previous year. Ian shares a quick reflection of 2007.

Su Ann wonders Where are we going for the upcoming year. Saw Ling shares her thoughts on the year gone by, and the year to come.

Dytia gives us a summary of 2007 and Spinosum recaps what happened in 2007. Palmdoc is gratified that they listed the purchase of the Treo 680 as one of the highlights of the year (best thing she bought according to dytia!) and would like to remind all of you that the Treo 680 Year End Promotion is still going on, with an update for the new year coming soon.

New Year greetings also go out from George, Yenjai, Eve, Cytusm and DocChan. Vagus shares his highlights of the year and the many things he has lined up for the year. I don’t think anything can beat 2 upcoming weddings of your own!

Fibrate is spending the end of the year busily Spring Cleaning, but took some time off to post her thoughts on Letting Go for 2008. Jimbo’s new year resolution is simple yet tough to carry out at the same time, although I seriously doubt whether he really needs to lose any fat!

Going back a little in time, Cyanide blogs about different opinions on blood taking. Kingkongdoctor feels junior doctors need to have the right mindset and be prepared to work hard, rather than demanding minimal and stress free work.

Docyana and Dr Frappucino both share their thoughts about how to deal with a close relative falling sick. Jimbo blogs about how sometimes we just need to follow our Gut feeling.

Lostsheep shares a touching tale and another of Christmas cards. He also talks about instances when we sometimes make treatment decisions which goes against our better judgement. Greenpasture blogs about the weekly burden that he bears with regards to surgical procedures on his patients.

Eve is blogging again, and tells an interesting tale of a Blogging patient. Pilocarpine likens being on call to a Battleground.

whenever we’re on call
as a houseman, we feared new cases
as a medical officer, we feared referred cases
as a specialist, we feared problematic cases and incompetent medical officers

I guess we just have to gird our loins, put on our armour and go forth into battle for the year. Happy New Year everyone!

I just realised that it’s been nearly a month since the last Blogrounds, as I guess I have not been inspired to blog much recently. Anyway here are a few blogposts that caught my eye over the last month — apologies if some of them are pretty outdated posts.

Cindy blogs about a most welcome Change, as she moves on from O&G to Surgery. I guess it really means a lot when your Consultant actually smiles at you and includes you, the “humble houseman”, in discussions during ward rounds. Chiam has been having a rough time in O&G especially since he has been Confirmed to be a Jonah. Still, it doesn’t stop him from looking at life humourously, even to the point of Dreaming of how things should be

Pilocarpine laments about Funny people (admin) who make strange decisions when posting doctors. Docyana experienced a scare recently when she was Cuai and lalai while driving post-call, but thankfully did not come to any harm. Perhaps it might be a good idea to consider taking public transport home post-call.

Docyana also talks about the sometimes difficult decision whether to Actively resuscitate or not. Fang also shares his views on Aggressive Vs Conservative management of patients. Cytusm wonders whether some of our public hospitals have unwittingly become Charity Hospitals.

Yee Ling is feeling rather disappointed with some of the Primadonna house officers that she has encountered recently. Dr Frappucino shares an interesting story about a frequent encounter that gave him Goosebumps!

UKDoc blogs about how sometimes Trust has to be earned among colleagues. Vagus talks about Sharing Stories, when he had a follow-up visit from a cancer survivor who regularly meets, counsels and encourages cancer patients and their families.

Talking to doctors, sometimes you get an overly logical, evidence-based, methodical perspective (which is alright, after all we have to base our treatments on science, not hearsay). But sometimes, being overly logical probably doesn’t allow much for hope, faith or miracles. Sometimes, we need to hear from the patients to remind us of things that are possible.

On a lighter note, YYYap shares his thoughts on the Thrills of parenting. Jimbo has been trying very hard to turn off people’s appetite for some local gastronomic favourites like Cendol, Tau Sar bun and Noodles. The latter post inspired Cytusm to share some personal encounters with Ascaris.

Today is World AIDS Day, and Jimbo shares a minute of silence in remembrance of them who have passed on. On a related note, he was attending an AIDS Conference recently and posted some interesting photos of the Dessert served.

Condom cupcakes anyone?

Here’s a round-up of some interesting blogposts made during the last 3 weeks. Some of our busy housemen are moving on to their next posting — Adeline is Moving ahead, while Cindy is Running that extra mile. Jel is going Onward to Surgery and talks about Surgical Life.

Chiam has been having a tough time in Obstetrics and finds himself missing out on Friday Night Delights. Caroline opines that the only way to get over low mood is retail therapy and getting some Pampered bliss.

Fooji reminesces about what he wanted to be while growing up, and wonders where he is heading next. Saw Ling blogs about people who share Too Much Information and embarass one in the process. Su Ann finds her practising certificate A heavy card to carry, and shares some experiences from her First day in her new job.

DocPerineum is coming back soon and has mixed feelings about how he will be adapting to work in Malaysia. Mei wonders if she gets Too emotional about patients, but feels it makes her more human.

Yes Addy, you’re right… I am emotionally attached to my patients. But I don’t believe it makes me a bad doctor. I believe it makes me human. It makes me their friend. It makes me…A better doctor.

UKDoc shares his thoughts on Clinical Trials and wonders whether they can really help patients who feel they have Nothing else to lose. Lostsheep shares a bittersweet tale of Last wishes, and ponders on A series of unfortunate events.

Spinosum laments about encountering Difficult Parents in the course of his work. Fibrate blogs about Inappropriate referrals in Yours Vs Mine. She also shares her thoughts about Acute Cardiac Arrest.

Jimbo talks about one of his pet peeves ie. bad doctor’s handwriting in Medical Calligraphy. He also blogs about 2 very different patients — one who was Old and Foolhardy Vs another who was Young and a Fighter. I shall leave you with some inspiration from Hidden Stream who shares with us his artistic thoughts on Perseverance.

The biggest news item around since our last Bloground has been about the First Malaysian in Space. Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, a trainee orthopaedic surgeon from HUKM had the honour of taking a trip to the International Space Station about a week ago. Quite a number of our doctors blogged about this historic event, namely Doc Chan, Raymond, Jimbo, Mafeitz, Draston, Edina Monsoon, Cytusm and Tru-Asian.

Cindy shares More thoughts about work, with an interesting list of her newly acquired non-medical skills since she has started housemanship. Kingkongdoctor wonders whether there are an overflow of doctors nowadays. Not according to Steve, who has been Loaned out as a HO to the Medical Department during the Raya break.

Saw Ling had a Scabies scare recently when she encountered a patient with an unusual rash, which thankfully turned out to be Seborrhoeic dermatitis. Speaking from personal experience, EBB (emulsion benzyl benzoate) works great for Scabies. She was also Shaken by a thankfully minor accident while driving home after a busy call. I’m sure we know of others who have experienced accidents post-call. Perhaps Su Ann’s suggestion of taking public transport home after a busy call is one we should seriously consider. Su Ann also blogs about how It’s hard getting people to understand what it means to be a doctor.

Vagus has been feeling rather Stressed recently, with upcoming specialty board exams and two conferences to attend. We would like to wish him all the best in his upcoming exams. UKDoc reflects on the Reality of his job as a head and neck surgeon.

Lostsheep blogs about how much Running he has been doing throughout his medical career. He also talks about his recent Transition to uncle-ship. Jimbo laments about some of his HIV+ patients who are unfortunately Young and Ignorant (can I add Clueless as well?) It’s interesting to note that serious posts like that garnered only 8 comments compared to 69 comments when he blogged about a Mousetrap and asked for advice on how to get rid of a mouse!

Palmdoc earlier blogged about the MMR on Facebook, and it looks like more doctors have since joined our Malaysian Medic group. (99 at last count) Fibrate blogs about being a Facebook Junkie and I share my own thoughts about being Addicted to Facebook. And if you think you are spending too much time of Facebook, here are some tips on How to Quit Facebook

It’s been awhile since the last Bloground so let’s have a look at what our doctor bloggers are up to. Kingkongdoctor has come to the end of Surgery posting and talks about the need to have a Wooden heart rather than a Glass heart to survive housemanship. Cindy also shares her thoughts after slaving 3 months as a House Officer, sadly concluding that one’s opinion and feelings (as a HO) are non-significant. Chiam has also finished his Medical posting and leaves for O&G with some upbeat thoughts about his totally inspiring and interesting posting.

Kingkongdoctor also blogs about why patients Escape from the hospital. Chiam talks about the thrill of taking an ambulance ride When sirens call. Check out his blogpost for some cool pictures of the modern well-equipped ambulance, probably not one of those reported about here. Photophobia blogs about 2 recent encounters with road accidents.

Dytia shares what it’s like to truly care for her patients, and laments how some of her HOs do not seem to care enough about their patients. Pilocarpine reminds us of the necessity to provide proper Documentation of our patients. Mafeitz blogs about his encounters with Labour Pain, and the wonders of epidurals. Yenjai encountered a patient who accused her son of being Cruel when trying to curb her diet.

UKDoc is feeling just plain Tired trying to beat deadlines after deadlines, thanks to the cancer waiting targets. Lostsheep is also feeling bogged down due to Bureaucracy and interference at work. He also shares some interesting thoughts about A sacrificial decision. Docperineum shows us his talents in not only delivering babies but in Drawing them.

I just realised that the Bloground so far has been full of doom and gloom, so better move on to lighter news. Cheng Hiang has migrated over to WordPress.com, and we share his joy at his new Registrar Job. Vagus had an amusing patient encounter regarding Men and Testosterone. Jimbo talks about the importance of getting your BM terms correct when explaining procedures to patients, else it might turn out to be a Punch Line. He also shares a Confession and laments about the lost art of handwashing!

Finally, when the going gets tough, perhaps it’s time to reach out for some chocolate and enjoy some Sweet, Sweet Life. Cheerio till the next Bloground!

It’s been 2 weeks since my last Blogrounds so I guess it’s time for another one. The focus the last 2 weeks has been on the Special Merdeka Palm Treo promotion for Malaysian doctors and medical students. This special offer was also highlighted by Doc Chan and PalmoAnaest who rightly called it too good a deal to miss. Just ask our doctor bloggers who have been busy having fun with their new toys — Spinosum, Fibrate and Jimbo (who got not only one but 2 new toys!)

Meanwhile, our House Officers have been busy slogging as usual. Jel has been busy with EoD calls, and has since stopped hoping for a “good call” as that seems to make the “jonah-ness” worse! Chiam reminds us all about the dangers of needle prick injuries and the precautions one needs to take. Caroline had a Lucky Change when she exchanged her Merdeka call for an earlier one.

Kingkongdoctor shares his thought on what happens when there are Too many monks around. Interestingly enough, although I am quite a banana, this is one of the few Chinese sayings that I have heard of (in Cantonese though). Cecilia is all excited about her First and Second Caeser. Coincidentally DocPerineum blogs about his First LSCS…. of the day! I guess it does not get any less exciting especially when faced with potential complications.

Fang laments that about thieves in the hospital. Looks like there’s an epidemic and Fibrate and Saw Ling blogged about the same problem some time back. Photophobia shares his thoughts in a touching post on Enduring Love. Fibrate gives us some tips on History Taking.

On to some amusing patient encounters. Vagus talks about an important lesson in Geriatrics 101, namely Beware of opioid use in the elderly. Lostsheep reminds us that problems with the one’s sex life does not mean the same thing to different individuals, as he found out when his patient complained of Losing Stamina

Two of our doctor bloggers experienced first had what it’s like to be a patient — Sbanboy when he came down with Acute Conjunctivitis, and Cytusm when he checked his Fasting lipid profile. Hope you both get better soon, the eyes and the LDL respectively. Until the next Blogrounds, Happy Blogging!

It’s been quite awhile since the last Bloground, so thought I’d do one on the special occasion of our 50th Merdeka celebration. We start off with a round up of Merdeka posts from Ian, Bernard, Mafeitz (Happy BlogAnniversary as well!), Jimbo, George, Cytusm, Shah, Spinosum, Edina Monsoon, Fibrate and yours truly.

Heartiest congratulations go out to Spinosum and his missus on the Arrival of their Baby daughter. Fatherhood so far has been awesome, and Spinosum has been enjoying his paternity leave.

Shahieddah managed to go online after a month of housemanship. It’s good to hear that she’s settling in well and enjoying her work. Adeline has been working hard as usual, and shares a typical day of work with us. Chiam blogs about how Experience counts, and how practice makes perfect.

Shah tells a long tale of a Jonah call. Fibrate laments how we seem to be a Complaint Nation, and how working in a busy government hospital leaves one very little time to write papers or build up one’s C.V.

Pilocarpine discovers that being an M.O. is a different kettle of fish. Docyana gets irritated with the ugly Malaysian — those who spit or litter indiscriminately and feels parents should teach good habits to their kids from young. Her car also suffered the misfortune of getting hit-and-run. Speaking of accidents, George speaks from personal experience and asks the question “Were bus rides ever safe?”

Doc ponders on the Law of diminishing returns and applies it to private practice. Yenjai doesn’t know whether to Laugh or cry when encountering gullible patients who believe in just about anything. Jimbo reminds us how important it is to get the terminology correct whenever delivering a speech either in English or BM

Lostsheep finds that not only patients but doctors as well tend to Blame the Dark Arts of Radiotherapy for every possible medical problem. UKDoc has been a very Busy Tua Lokun lately, made worse by the UK cancer waiting time targets. Lostsheep feels this Bureaucracy and interference has both its good and bad points. Vagus shares with us the rewards in doing Volunteer work, and ends our bloground with this thought:

Volunteer if you ever when the chance. You get more than you give. Really.

Another 2 weeks have gone by and it’s time for another Bloground. Let’s take a look at how our house officers are faring. It looks like Jel and Cindy can only manage to update their blogs when they have Another 2 days off or go Back to the nest. Adeline shares with us Another lesson learnt and a Semi Post-call thought.

Chiam shows off what is probably the most luxurious housemen quarters in the whole country which is Fit for Royalty, in the new Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah AS which looks pretty impressive. Let’s see how long it takes for things to start leaking or the ceiling panels to fall off. Chiam’s On leave at the moment, and looks like he’s making up for all the movies he’s missed so far! Kingkongdoctor talks about Foreigners in the ward, while Cecilia tells us how nice it feels to be appreciated.

Caroline blogs about her Lost and Found stethoscope. Steve has finally escaped from the “hellish posting of Medicine”, and is Getting some life back in life. Photophobia is very glad to have finished A Year of Doctoring, with many lessons learnt and many stories to share.

Saw Ling finds herself a Stranger in A New Place after finishing her Foundation Year One. Su Ann shares how it is very Stressful Living and working in Singapore. Mei came across some medical students in the hospital recently which reminded her of her Medical school days.

DocPerineum enjoyed the rewards of a Happy patient, while Lostsheep had a patient who had an interesting problem while taking A walk on the beach. Vagus reminds us that our first rule should be Primum Non Nocere – First Do No Harm.

Mafeitz opines that an intensive course that tries to cramp a lifetime worth of knowledge in two weeks is just Mission Impossible. Sbanboy shares with us great photos from his recent trip to Siem Riep. Raymond talks about his shift from HTAR to his New work place in UMMC.

Spinosum finds that Time Flies and it’s been a month since his last blog update. Fang reminds us that Passing motion does matter to a lot of patients…. and sometimes give headaches to the attending doctor. Jimbo laments how HIV patients face a lot of stigma and discrimination, and sadly are sometimes treated as Less than Animals (even by medical staff).

On to some sad stories. Fibrate blogs about a crime that was committed in her ward in broad daylight — a house officer had her purse and bank account book Stolen from the doctor’s room. Coincidentally on that same day, Saw Ling together with 3 other collegues had their purses stolen, again from the doctor’s room. I guess it’s always safer to carry everything with value on your person, inconvenient though it may be. Anyway glad to read that Saw Ling is feeling Better Now. Abby’s Mummy also shares this Sad Case about what happens if you fall seriously ill while on holiday and do not have any health insurance.

Yenjai sometimes Beh Tahan when he comes across patients with handwriting that is worse than the infamous “horrible handwriting” of doctors. He also reminds us not to underestimate people nor judge them by appearances. Eve shares another two hilarious GP about the patient who just could not stop talking (A4 size list of complaints no less!), and the very shy patient with a very strange request

Heartiest congratulations go out to Edina Monsoon on her Convocation Day. Congratulations also to Prometheus for getting a photo featured in the Star thumbnails. Have a look and vote for him! Lastly Doc blogs about a Reunion of sorts, and shares an important lesson.

Q : did i learn anything from this meeting?
A : yes – no one can predict the future.
how do i know? because RY, who fooled around the most in class, footed the bill for the dinner-cum-karaoke session & the 2-nite stay at the 5* hotel apartment for everyone. oh, did i mention that he is now deputy chairman of a public-listed company & has a flame-red ferrari and E brabus in his porch?
it’s amazing what chocolates you can find in a box.