Medschool Pet Peeve #1

You know, you meet all kinds of different people in life. 

Like, I came across the kindest, funniest and most dedicated bunch of Specialists but I also got to meet the most egoistic, brutal, and angry ones. Baru 3rd year ni, belum habis lagi pun. Who knows what sort of people I'll encounter by the time I'm in my Final Year? (2.5 years to go InsyaAllah)

It's only my 4th posting and I can't even begin telling you how often I see House Officers getting terribly scolded right in front of us, and by us I mean students?


.....and how often do I picture myself being in their shoes after I graduate one day?

The thing is, we, Medical Students will also develop the same sort of fear. Dah kalau hari hari clerk patients pun menggeletar sebab takut tak sempat, sebab takut kena marah, mana tak nya? Present case pun suara tak keluar.

Padahal, when you think about it, they're not even your patients. You don't even have any sort of authority over them. Belum apa apa, dah takut. Macam mana tu?

And indirectly with these sort of Lecturers, you tend to do things out of fear. And I personally will go every day to the ward thinking - "Ish tak faham betul la aku lecturer/specialists yang garang garang ni. Kalau tak garang I'm sure I can still learn things"


Of course, this doesn't apply to all the Specialist I have met/will meet. Just a distinctive few.



Hmm. Here's a different story -

My first 3rd year posting was Internal Med, so we were posted to this one hospital. Most of the House Officers we met during this posting were very friendly and helpful and willing to teach and answered our questions but we can obviously sense we are not welcomed at this hospital. 

So during one of our BST sessions, I told Dr Mai - "Dr, Houseman(s) sini tak friendly sangat. Apa apa kitorang tanya diorang taknak jawab and diorang takde pun nak tunjuk ajar ke sikit sikit" (to be read in a sad tone because it was only my first few weeks of my first posting you see)

Dr Mai's answer was simple and one of the best answers that I'm probably gonna remember for the rest of my life - "Hmm. I guess, they forgot who they were kan? I guess they've forgotten their medical student days"

Meeting these sort of people, the nasty ones I mean, basically taught me to always remember where I came from. Where I started. So every time I get scolded for no valid reason or whenever I see an MO/HO/Specialist doing something that I don't like, I keep in mind to never be like them if (read:when) I am qualified one day, InsyaAllah.


And if one day I'll become one of the people I mentioned above, let this post still be around to remind me of my principles when I was a mere, foolish, timid 3rd year Medical Student who just started her O&G posting, still struggling to take a proper history from an Obstetrics patient.

In the meantime, a little perseverance will do :)

Z