Glorious Beginnings

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoThere's something almost unreasonably pleasant about a Monday that knows it's the start of a short week. The calendar had done us a proper favour — Aidil Adha falling on Wednesday and Thursday meant this was essentially a two-day working week dressed up in five-day clothing. The kind of arithmetic that makes even the most reluctant Monday feel like it's already leaning towards the weekend.

Better still, Irfan lands on Wednesday morning. The thought of that sat warmly at the back of everything today, a quiet countdown ticking away beneath the usual routine.

I had a medical student shadowing me this week, which always shifts the texture of the day slightly. You become more conscious of the rhythm of things, more inclined to narrate what you'd normally just do. We started with a proper tour of the hospital — the kind of walkabout that reminds you how sprawling the place actually is when you're not just moving between the same three corridors on autopilot. There's something grounding about seeing familiar spaces through someone else's eyes. You notice things again. The light in certain stairwells. The particular hum of a department finding its Monday legs.

Before lunch, there was a procedure to get through, which we did with satisfying efficiency. Then the afternoon was given over to clinic, and the hours folded into one another the way they do when you're properly occupied — not rushed, exactly, but purposeful. The kind of pace where you look up and realise most of the day has already happened without you noticing the seams.

By the time I left, the sun was doing that thing it does in KL when it decides to show off — not the punishing midday glare, but something warmer, more generous. Late afternoon light that turns everything slightly golden and makes even the car park look cinematic. I drove home bathed in it, windows down, the city softening around me.

There's a particular quality to a day like this. Nothing extraordinary happened, nothing worth a headline. But the whole thing hummed along with a kind of quiet rightness. A good start. A student finding their bearings. Work that moved at exactly the right tempo. And at the end of it, sunlight pouring through the windscreen like the day was wrapping itself up with a bow.

Two more working days, then the long weekend opens up. Irfan arriving. Aidil Adha. The prospect of slow mornings and unhurried afternoons. Sometimes the anticipation is its own kind of pleasure — knowing that the good bit is coming, and that the getting-there is rather lovely too.

The week, short as it is, feels full of promise. And if Monday is anything to go by, it intends to deliver.

Heavy Rain

The SMART Tunnel has been closed for the last 3 days and there was no sign of it being opened. It has been consistently raining heavily by late afternoon and today, the heavy downpour hit me hard while driving home from my lecture in Kelang. I thought of ex aping early, by leaving the hospital before 4. By the time I reached Puchong, it started to rain and I made the mistake of driving into town rather than endure the carpark that was MRR2.

Halfway in, I saw the message that the SMART tunnel was closed for flood mitigation operation. Oh dear! I only managed to reach home just after six. A solid couple of hours in the car. Certainly not good for my sanity I would've thought!

Cikgu! Oh! Cikgu!

I had an early start last Thursday. A lecture starting at 8 am. It was fine for me but the turn up at the beginning was, should I say, had potential to get bigger! I was used to start on the dot, and really did not mind students trickling in after. I was a student once, and we occasionally had other priorities - I got married in my Final Year, so you can guess what my views on things were. Always an eye at the big price, should I say.

But that was not the theme of this piece, even though I was playing the Cikgu role then. During lunch, while rushing in between my Day Care and a meeting, I heard a voice calling my name. And it was not the way I used to her it. MOHD HARIS FADZILLAH! That was my full name, and the name I was called back at MRSM. It turned out to be my old History teacher from my Terendak days. I did not recognise the lady until she introduced herself as Cikgu Azizah. Even then I had problem lacing her. Only when I got home to talk to Anita that I realised who she was - Anita went to the same school as well.

Apparently, her husband now run the new staff cafe at UMMC. She was still teaching in Negeri Sembilan I think, and was on leave that day when she saw me. I was sure we will bump into each other again from time to time. Anita said, it was not a surprise that people still recognised me as I hardly changed over the years. Once, I had a school-mate from primary who recognised me. Maybe it had something to do with my memory rather than anything else …….

Short Cases

I have just completed a three-day stint, assessing my Medical Students through short case examinations as part of their end-of-posting assessments. 44 students, 3 days. 15 students per session on average, when you have to locate the patients and material for discussion. It was hard work. The main issue was the venue. It was a general third class ward, and there were no proper place to conduct a proper assessment or engage in discussion. It was too noisy and loud. Patients, doctors and relatives were everywhere. Patients were hot and grumpy. Getting through the 15 students at 10 minutes each, even if we stick to the time, will set me back 2 and a half hour.

By noon, everyone was grumpy and the lunch trolley have already started its rounds. So planning was the key.

Planning .... and planningThe main obstacle I had was actually something very different. As I can’t bar the student from entering the ward, they were practically hovering around me, spying while I was performing assessment. Worst still, they had been practicing on the patients I planned to use, and by the time I got around to use them, they were already tired and irritated. Sigh! So, the students were smart after all. Smart enough to make my life miserable! And I was sure you won’t like a miserable examiner, or do you?

Thank you and see you next week

As I mentioned earlier, next week will be exam week in Kelang and with the Xmas break coming up, it was understandable that once the exam was done, everybody would start to shut down. Some have even made plans to return to Mum and Dad - the one from Cameron Highlands, you know who you are! Since I will not be taking any formal classes next week, the students asked me to join them for some afternoon tea. We did so at the nearby Pizza Hut - apparently at the only shopping mall in Kelang as they admitted so grudgingly.

I left my wallet at home, so I was not able to fork out any park of the bill. I did offer to clean the plates and mop the floor however. It was nice to chat with them in matters outside medicine for a change. They tried hard however to pry out any clues from next week exam, but I managed to resist it. So, to all of you, good luck and please calm down and not get too excited during the clinical short case. If you just follow the steps, all of you will be fine. I shall see you next week!