Krabi-Day 1

A traveling post here. =)


Just finished my 4D3N trip at Krabi and I am back to Sandakan. Looking much more tanned now.

Holiday mood did not start until Saturday morning as I was still working on Friday and got my flight to KL on that night. 4 of us had travelled from different states to meet at KL and all of us were exhausted. Thanks to Ying Sin, we were able to crash a night at her place rather than at LCCT. Reached her place at 12 plus a.m. and need to depart to airport again at 5am.

Started to feel excited while flying from KL to Krabi. We have book shuttle service to pick us up from airport to resort. It was the first time where I saw the driver holding a piece of paper with my friend's name written on it and standing there at the arrival hall, just like the scenes which I normally seen in drama.=). The service was good, driver spoke minimum English but still we were still able to communicate with him. Here's the company which we have booked for the shuttle service. http://www.krabishuttle.com/

They replied you promptly and you can choose to pay the deposit either online or cash. We booked the return route with this company again and the driver was late (reached 6.30am instead of 6.00am). The great thing is he still manage to reach the airport at 7am as we wished.

First day in Krabi, we opted the 4-islands tour by long boat. It was a private tour which means we can have our own time exploring the islands. First island was the Tup Island where we were quite amazed by the sandbar which linked the island to another island nearby. We manage to walked across the route and it looked like we were walking on the sea from far. We considered to be lucky to be able to have a walk there as walking was prohibited later due to high tide. Here's a picture showing us.

Sandbar at Tup Island

Spent around 1 hour there and we headed to other island. Chicken Island got its name from its shape. We were allocated some time to snorkel nearby Chicken Island. Honestly I was slightly disappointed by the cloudiness of the sea as I couldn't see anything beneath the sea. There were small colourful fishes swimming around us and I somehow felt they were nicer to been seen above the sea rather than viewing underneath.

3rd island was Poda Island, the sand there was nicer than Tup Island and view was scenic. Seawater was quite clear and there were stalls selling food and a simple open bar there. However we did not snorkel here. Tourists here did not snorkel too and I guess it's not the hot spot. They were just chilling and relaxing like us.

Chicken Island

Fishes swimming around me

Poda Island

Our last stop was not an island actually. It was Phranang Cave. It was much more crowded compared to the previous 3 islands and we saw many long boats selling food there. Tourists were all around. We walked to the cave where there was a small altar with piles of penis-like sticks there. The Goddess is worship by locals there whenever they are out to sea to pray for their safety. As for the penis-like wooden sticks, I don't know the reason behind.

Long boats selling all kinds of food (even tom yam/fried rice)

Our 4-island tour ended at 4plus in the afternoon and we then headed back to resort. Our first proper meal was at a restaurant called Bussaba Thai Restaurant, it is recommeded by Trip Advisor and rated Number 2 (The number 1 was a Steak and Grill restaurant located just beside Bussaba). The driver tool some time to find it but it was totally worthy to be able to dine-in there. Totally love the atmosphere there and also the food! The portion was slightly smaller for us (wonder how the western tourist can have enough of such portion =P) and the prices were slightly above average but we really enjoy having dinner there.

The nice ambiance

Fried chicken with basil leaves, like the taste

Tom Yam!

My friends were exhausted after dinner so we headed back to resort even though it was very early. Hence marked the first day in Krabi.
I will write another post for my following days of travel later. cheers. =)

Toleration

Have been complaining wee too much recently, till a stage that I got too annoyed and posted a status on fb. Those who knew what happened knew I was indirectly (or directly?) blaming a person. =X
Felt bad to complaint too much, found myself very annoying and grumpy. There were certain days when I tweet-ed many emotional words (mostly with anger). I was pissed off by the attitude.=(. Grateful enough to have a housemate to bear with my grumbles recently. Glad that I am much better now even though the task is not fully settled yet.

Since I have choose to post that status , I should take the consequences of it. Colleagues knew about me got so mad about the person and somehow the person knew it. (Maybe I was really behaving really obvious for last week =X). The atmosphere between me and the person somehow got awkward last week, as I got too tense up and speechless. Well, the storm within myself has ended and now I feel like I am the bad one.=(.  Still, the unsettled work needs to be done by Myself and changing my attitude did help me in facing this. 

In less than 1 month's time I will be ending my prp. Towards the end and yet I have caused this issue. Thinking whether I am the one who was really bad to put a blame on the person but bearing all these with sudden push and expectations as though as I am the sole person doing all these was depressing. Struggling emotionally. What said was said, I couldn't care more. (Really?=/)

Babbling here just to express.

Off to bed.

Clinical?

Here I am, blogging again after previous updates (which was ages ago I know)..

Just finished my 1-week holiday and I am back to Sandakan. It was a simple yet awesome holiday for me.  As time goes, I learned to appreciate those little things which seem unimportant but truly warm me. Hanging out with friends which I have known since primary school (you’re right, since PRIMARY school), meeting up with other uni’s close friends, movie-dating with whole family, shopping spree, randomly changing the TV channels as long as I like (Yes I LOVE to do this) and the list goes down….all these moments count, these are the times which I treasure a lot. (Ok I am babbling now)

Trying to recall the days when I attached to clinical. From early May to end of June, I have attached to total of 4 wards. I know that there are differences between hospitals as my friends told me their clinical attachment lasted for 6 weeks. Anyway, I started my clinical in Male Medical Ward followed by Female Medical Ward, Paediatric, and ICU. Honestly I was stressed up during that period, but who doesn’t stress up? So I should not complain and try my best instead. 

This was the period where I found myself with serious lack-of competency. Knowledge wise I felt inferior but I learned as much as I could to perform my work.  I get to expose to various types of clinical diseases and their managements. One could not always manage two patients of same diagnosis with same approaches. I learned to think wider, or what we call it as treating the patient holistically. I tend to make judgments without taking into ALL considerations. For example, when need to be cautioned on patient’s renal dosage adjustment,   I need to consider on the disease itself as well as drug-drug interactions. Of course there are much more factors which we need to be concerned. Most of the times, it was ward pharmacists who noticed “something wrong” and made interventions with doctors.

Clinical is challenging, but interesting at the same time. The feeling of able to help patients who are suffering made the job worthy. Funny things or “special” patients do exist but it all depends on how I cope with and perhaps my attitude towards all these unexpected issues. Sometimes I do get tired, with the constant pressure which I put myself on; I did wish to end clinical attachment soon.

 I think part of the reason which I hoped to end my clinical soon towards the end of my attachment was because of the last ward I have attached toàICU. It wasn’t because of the work load or the people I have worked with there. Indeed I found other health care professionals to be very kind to me.  It was because I found myself to be “emotionally-unstable” when working there. I have seen intubated patients whom self-extubated and forced to be re-intubated, patient who was being tied up because of restlessness and aggressive behaviours, and patients with SVT or asystole who could not make it. All these made me to feel super helpless as a pharmacist. The most sensitive trigger factor for my fluctuating emotions was family members who visited the patients. I just couldn’t bear with them calling the patient’s names when patient was unconscious or sedated. The worst was the tears from family members, with the hopeless feeling that their loved one will be gone anytime. =(. Anyhow, attachment in ICU has taught me how multidisciplinary teams cooperate like how anaesthetic team discuss the management plan with Medical team. There is still so much more to learn!

 I admire all the ward pharmacists in hospitals (any hospitals), for their working spirits in performing daily tasks and their endurances. I think I would find clinical more interesting if there is no clerking-cases requirement. XD.  

Changing my topic away from my clinical attachment, I randomly bought a book written by Rhonda Byrne. Title with The MAGIC. I did not read The Secret  nor The Power written by her. Hopefully I will gain something from this book.  Saw a quote from the book, would like to end my post with it

“Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty”. I am in the progress of learning to complain less.

Cheers

熬夜

难得的熬夜

凌晨三点

听着歌曲

咀嚼论文

写着文字

继续“功课”

=)

March

Instead of studying for coming forensic exam, I am blogging here.

My attachments after out-patient was at Galenical Pharmacy, honestly it was like a “de-stressing” therapy for me as the workload here was much simple as compared to other departments. Compounding was kinda fun for me especially with internal preparations, I was more excited when compounding for coloured ones XD. The attachment during there made me realized that many of the internal preparations in out-patient were prepared by Galenical unit. GMP were important and I always remind myself to produce preparations as though as I am supplying for my loved ones. You wouldn’t want anything wrong with what you’re serving for your family or friends right?

Well, first week for External and second week for Internal marked the end of my attachment there.

Later on, I was attached to another in-patient pharmacy, which is located just 2 levels above the Galenical unit. Considered it as my second time in in-patient despite of different location and slightly different rules as compared to the previous in-patient pharmacy, I tried my best to be error-free.  New things learned were the TPN calculations and supply of cytotoxic medications. 

Sometimes we do get very busy settling all the medications supply based on drug chart but most of the time I was quite free to read up for forensic exam (utilizing my time well huh? bleh…most of the things I have read did not diffuse into my brain in the end).

With the attachments of these two departments, there gone another 6 weeks. Time really flies now. I bet I won’t have time to update time by time until I finish my attachment at clinical departments (which will be few months later).

My next station will be in Drug Information Service, so close to the out-patient pharmacy. I need to get ready to go back to the super hectic and tension atmosphere VERY SOON.>.<

That is the end of my unorganized post for this time.

p/s: Still praying for PEACE here. Things get kinda critical in other areas and RUMUORS do spread like virus, some were too suspicious but still “succeed” in creating havoc among people. =(.

Adaptation

Maybe this is the after-effect of working two night shifts consecutively; I am still awake in this time. Normally I would be sleeping in this hour. It feels like no matter how many hours I have slept back to replace the lost ones, my body and SKIN would not tolerate these easily. (Signs of aging huh…>.<)

Out-patient department is my current rotation; the working environment is way too different as compared to in-patient pharmacy. With the pharmacy just being renovated, staffs and pharmacists just being transferred here, relocation of medications and documents, and new shift system being implemented in January, the consequence is disastrous.(personal opinion).  Patients ended up waited for much longer as too much unfamiliarity and also problem of OUT-OF-STOCKs for many common medications. =/. 

I still need to learn a lot, still making Mistakes, still blaming myself for under-equipped with knowledge. 

Time passes really fast while working in out-patient pharmacy as all of us are always busy and the working environment is always hectic. It happened one day that there were way too many patients, the pharmacy was so congested that some patients were required to wait at the OUTSIDE of the pharmacy.

Speaking Hakka is a big challenge for me as it is a norm for Sandakan people especially the elderly to communicate in Hakka. I am a pure Hakka. But sadly, I did not know how to SPEAK. (Still grateful that I am able to listen and understand it). Well, I can still manage the simple ones (eg how many tablets for how many times) but when it comes to instructions of usage. Bleh…….my “tak-cukup makan” skill wasn’t able to handle this and I have to repeat many times in Chinese just to reassure to patients that they understand clearly.  In fact, I can speak Cantonese way better than Hakka, what a shame one me.

Sometimes I do get emo, but I know the pathway I am going through and I am searching for satisfactions in working everyday. Some colleagues are really helpful and nice. Patients too are nice to me. They often ask me whether I am from west Malaysia, maybe I have the look of “non-local”. =P

I have moved out from previous place and staying with a new housemate currently.It caused me to spend higher for my monthly expenses as I am staying more far away from hospital but it is worthy for me. New bonds made and old bonds (not so old also) remain. I cherish every new friend I get to know here. =)

Still hoping I will be better day by day. Be Stronger as time goes.

Till here then.  

Lost

Being in in-patient pharmacy only exposed how incapable and lack of knowledge am I. =(

I have forgotten a lot of things which I have studied and once memorized back in Uni time. What made things worse is I did not get to learn a lot of other things which I am suppose to know compared with other Uni's pharmacy courses. It is not a time to blame my course/my Uni. (In fact I am done blaming with the course.). It is time (too late for now) to buck-up myself with what I am lacking off.

Mistakes, mistakes and again mistakes really made me angry and shamed on myself of not being able to pick-up faster. There is no excuse that I am still new here being that it's my 3rd week already.

Negativeness is overwhelming. Confidence is collapsed. 

Can I just NOT pretend that I am tough enough for few days?=/

The fear for tomorrow may not be disturbing for now. But I am certain that I will ruin my tomorrow due to the serious error I have made.

In past, I will throw myself to bed and manage to sleep when feeling emo. Later on, the purposely-eat-a-lot habit kicked in when I am in low mood. But for now, it is worse as I tend to spend A LOT of money buying stuffs randomly (just happened yesterday) PLUS eat-a-lot.>.<. This is bad...

Pray for tomorrow. Pray for future.

Where will I be?