Packing Between the Lines

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoThere's a specific kind of tiredness that comes with knowing tomorrow is a half-day, and today isn't. The whole of it had a slightly restless quality — one eye on the clock, one eye on the beach that's still two sleeps away, and both eyes very much required for the actual business of getting through the hours in between.

Started with the MSH meeting, which is the sort of fixture that demands full attention and rarely gets a full audience — everyone present, half of everyone already somewhere else in their head. I'd like to say I bucked the trend. I did not.

Clinic ran long, deliberately so, on account of it being the last proper one before the week quietly empties out. Better to absorb the load now than leave it waiting, resentful, for whoever's desk it lands on next. It's an odd kind of front-loading — cramming the week's worth of attention into a single stretch so the rest can breathe. By the time the last patient left, the room had that particular hush that only comes after a long session, the kind where even the air conditioning sounds like it's exhaled.

Lunch broke it up nicely — a friend from the pharma side, off to Canada next month, which is one of those departures that still doesn't feel quite real even as the date gets closer. We talked about the move the way people always do before it's actually happened: logistics dressed up as excitement, excitement occasionally showing through the logistics. Cold winters, warm goodbyes, that sort of exchange. It's strange how a lunch can double as a small farewell without either party quite naming it as such.

Afternoon brought the long round, unhurried in pace but not in length, the kind that eats an afternoon quietly rather than all at once. By the time it wrapped, the light outside had gone properly gold, the sort that makes even a car park look faintly cinematic.

Home for dinner, which felt earned rather than routine tonight. And then — packing. Never my favourite chapter of any trip, mostly because it always reveals how optimistic I was about how little I'd need. Desaru doesn't ask for much: shorts, a book that will probably stay shut, sunscreen bought with good intentions. Anita, predictably, packs like someone anticipating four different climates and two unplanned formal events.

Tomorrow is a short round, mercifully, before the road to JB and then on to the coast. There's a particular pleasure in packing the night before a proper break — not the holiday itself yet, just the promise of it, folded neatly into a bag by the door. Lights off early tonight. The sea can wait a few more hours; so, thankfully, can everything else.

Academia at SGH

I remembered giving a seminar for Medical Officers back in 2010 with my team from UMMC back then. It was a Saturday whole day event teaching the basics of Haematology for those in Medical Training. It was very well recieved and the delegates came not only just from Kelang Valley but down to Seremban, Ipoh and Kuantan.

It was organised by the Me\alaysia Medical Association - MMA - and the venue was the MMA Headquaters at Jalan Tun Razak, opposite HKL.

The main entrance foyerThere were a few meeting going on at the same time ..The building had since been demolished to make way for the MRT Project. The Headquarters had been moved out of town to Bukit Jalil, and the events such as these were now held at hotels and other venues.

In Singapore, they were moving forward differently and investing in the future. Continuous Medical Educations or CME forms an integral part of lifelong learning in Medicine. It would expose the trainees to the rapid new development in Medicine as well as keeping the seniors in touch with the current thinking. The value of these CME should never been underestimated. And along those thinking, the MMA had now made CME points compulsory in attaining our yearly Medical practice licenses.

It would have been noce to have a central hub for these meetings such as in Singapore. There, each institution have their own centre for CME with modern facilities and centralised organisation of these events.

Our meeting that dayIt wasn't just facilities for medical talks, but a training hub for nurses and surgeons as wellThe plaque by the office. The facilities is less than a couple of years oldLast weekend, I was involved in a regional Haematology event and it was held at one of these facilities. Academia as it was called belonged to SingHealth who is the body who has Singapore General Hospital under its organisation. The location was smack in the middle of the NUS-Duke campus and it had everything you would need to run such events.

Imagine the cost savings in terms or venue rental, program development as well as the actual organisation. I was also sure that its running would be efficient as this would be their bread and butter. We don’t have to rent a 5-star venue anymore to run such events. Another advantage here was the MRT station was right nearby - another advantage Singapore has compared to us.

The event I attended was hosted by a Pharmaceutical company with inputs from the University. There did not have any hesitation to use the venue despite us staying is a 5-star hotel. They could have easily use one of the conference room at the hotel instead.

The NUS-Dule building just across the roadThere were a few artworks at the walls. This was one of them ...Heading to another room for the afternoon sessionWe had a few venues and services such as these when I was in UMMC but the facilities there could do with a bit of investment. The MMA Headquarters seemed out of town and organising events there would be a logistical drawback. I had delivered lectures at facilities in Sungai Buloh ran by UITM. Not bad at all, but again the venue was a bit of a challenge. I am sure HUKM also have their own venue, but having a venue was one thing, having a dedicated team to run and coordinate such facilities was another.

All in all, if there is a facility with a central location which can ran these events - which takes place at least on a weekly basis - such facilities would have plenty of mileage and with the right investment, it could throve and be a model for more venues such as these in each general Hospital. Imagine if HKL were to kick things off, with a state-of-the-art venue? I don’t think it is not doable ...

If we are serious about developing a national CME program, a robust venue is a must .... this will create an identity and will make things easier to move forward.

A Quick Hop

A bit of a change this weekend with an overnight trip down south to Singapore on Friday. Great that I would be back on Saturday evening and would have the Sunday to chill.

I was at the hospital early that morning to clear a few things before Anita dropped me at KL Sentral for early lunch. The journey to KLIA was tight as the train was full. Most of the passengers however went on to KLIA2. My flight was only half full.

Didn't pack muchThe train to KLIA was packedDelayed ...The schedule for the rest of today and tomorrow looked full. I would go straight to the conference venue from the airport, then to attend the faculty dinner before my pickup back to the hotel at 9.30 pm. I would only check myself in then.

It would be an early start tomorrow. Pickup would be at 7.30. My talk would be after the coffee break in the morning before being taken straight to airport for a 7pm flight.

En routeWaiting for my pick-up from the airport ...What should I do on Sunday then? There is a hifi show in town. Maybe I'll go to that ...

The Final Stretch

The MSH Annual Scientific Meeting was due to start in 5 days time and we were heading for the final stretch now. There were still last minute issues mainly on the technical side. It looks like I would be doing some tech stuff during the meeting to make sure everything would run smoothly.

To add to that, I would still be on call today. Praying that it would not be too busy as it would carry over for the next few days. I can see myself running around doing chores in the next few days. Hopefully things would be quiet by then.

Emails and letters had been the things which kept me occupied in the last few weeks and days. Once all were done and the meeting over, hopefully I could get some time off. Do a bit of photography perhaps ...

Praying that the meeting would be a successful one.

The Meeting

ASH stood for American Society of Haematology. Every winter, they have a big meeting - the last one I attended was in Atlanta in 2012. But travelling across the globe was not really my cup of tea especially with the thought of entering the United States. I was lucky to be flown in Business Class on my last visit. I couldn’t see myself travelling otherwise. The journey would be unbearable.

Luckily, every year, ASH came to Asia-Pacific. The update meeting was held in Brisbane 2 years back and this time around it was in Bali - hence my trip. They also held a trainee workshop from the day before the meeting started. The meeting proper lasted for a day and a half.

The talks were generally great but the question and answer session were rather long with many long-winded questions from the audience. I was well into my second day as I wrote this entry and was planning our travel to the airport for the flight back. We decided to take a cab straight to the airport but the worry would be that we would get jibbed again by the cabby.