The most poisonous animal

So I was following rounds when Dr Goh, a medical specialist, upon seeing a snake-bitten patient, asked:
"Did you know what is the most poisonous animal on earth?"
I looked at the MO and he looked at me. Neither of us gave any answer, hoping it was rhetorical.
"It's human."
I was thinking of spider, snakes, scorpions...
"If you were bitten by human, even the most advanced antivenom or vaccines won't be very effective for the treatment."
At first I thought he was saying it figuratively but then I realised he was telling a fact from medical point of view.

Figuratively speaking, though, I think we are the most dangerous creature on earth.

Kerana aku selalu lupa #14

Pernah terfikir tak kenapa orang kafir zaman dulu tu beriya-iya tak nak masuk Islam? 

Sebab mereka tahu apa maksud syahadah. 

Apa yang datang dengan syahadah. 

Komitmen yang perlu mereka berikan. 

Mereka tahu Islam bukan perkara main-main. 

Tapi kita sekarang?

Hmm.

Sampai wujud ayat,

"Islam hanya pada nama."

Once you get into something, commit. 

O you who have believed, enter into Islam completely [and perfectly] and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy.   - 2:208

I'm working on it.  

Kismis?

I think there's something wrong with my brain. Call me paranoid, but I keep forgetting things these days. Today I left my file somewhere in the hospital. I'm guessing it will be either in the store or ward. So right now I can't do my work hence the blogging. The other day I was nearly scolded by my preceptor because I forgot to pass her message to the staff nurse, and I lost the note she made for her. I deserve to be scolded actually.

I tried to make notes and to-do list. I downloaded "Do It Tomorrow" apps on my android. It helps, but not much. I'm always missing something.

I'm thinking memory problem, or maybe I'm just not focused. Maybe I'm not meticulous enough.

I'm naturally not a very careful, detail-oriented person. I always see the big picture rather than the small details. I still remember when I bumped into a friend, and she asked about a friend of mine, "Alaaa yang banyak jerawat tu." I was like, who? "Siapa yang banyak jerawat?" When she mentioned his name, then only I realized , "Oh haah.." I was not aware of the acne problem till that time when she told me (but it's quite obvious, according to my friend).

This is a major crisis, since in my line of work we really have to be detail-oriented. We can't afford to make mistakes. It's literally a matter of life and death.

It's even affecting my social life. I forget dates. Birthdays, anniversaries. Which usually piss people off. Sorry, everyone.

I have to pay more attention to details, be more focused.

Lets do that. Lets try our best.

Anyone with tips for a better memory or keeping focus, feel free to comment!

Baby

Early this morning I was awakened by a call from a dear friend. She told me she had a big news to tell. 

Still half-asleep, reluctantly I said, "Go ahead, what is it?" 

"You want to try and guess first?" she asked. 

Then it came to me, "Are you pregnant?" 

She laughed. Which confirmed my suspicion. 

"I can't believe it. Right now it must be a lump or something, since it is still too early. But I just did the test once, so I better go and see the doctor to confirm."

Alhamdulillah, I am so happy for her. If it is true that a baby is on the way, I better start saving from now. For future niece/nephew(s). :)

The one & only photo of baby me.

"Dialah yang menciptakanmu dari tanah, kemudian dari setitis mani, lalu dari segumpal darah, kemudian kamu dilahirkan sebagai seorang anak, kemudian dibiarkan kamu sampai dewasa, lalau menjadi tua. Tetapi di antara kamu ada yang dimatikan sebeum itu. (Kami perbuat demikian) agar kamu sampai kepada kurun waktu yang ditentukan, agar kamu mengerti." - 40:67

Human creation is a miracle. I remember I once told someone that marriage is important, particularly for "kemandirian spesies":  
"If I did not get married, I'd be wasting such a good genetic make-up." Haha. :P

Kerana aku selalu lupa #13

One fine day,

I fell in love.

I was happy.

Until,

I found out everything about that love is a lie. 

Every.

Single.

Thing. 

Now that I know the truth, 

I have to let go. 

But,

letting go is never easy.

I'm struggling.

I'm haunted by memories.

I want to let go. 

I need something better. 

I need something real.

I have to fall hard for The Real Love.

Hard enough that I can let go.

God willing. 

"So in letting go, the answer lies in love. Fall in love. Fall in love with something greater. Fall in love with the Real thing. See the Mansion. Only then, will we stop playing in the dollhouse."  - Falling in Love with The Real Thing, Yasmin Mogahed.

Click on the quote. It describes exactly the struggle I'm currently facing. I just had to share.

TDM recap

This is going to be another boring, work-related type of post. Read at your own risk. :P

TDM = Therapeutic Drug Monitoring.

To put it simply, TDM is the monitoring of drug levels in the bloodstream so that it is maintained at the effective concentration - neither subtherapeutic nor toxic. If you want to know more click here.

Pharmacokinetics knowledge is thus very, VERY important in TDM, which is the reason why I was so nervous when I first started TDM attachment at Hospital Seberang Jaya (HSJ). HBM does not have a TDM department, no surprise there, so I have to go all the way to HSJ from BM which takes around 30 minutes in the morning due to bad traffic. I'm really, really bad at pharmacokinetics back in university, so I was nervous of the 4 weeks attachment.

Surprise, surprise, it was not as difficult as I thought! The calculations are (ehem) pretty simple once you understand them. I guess I never really bothered to seriously study them before, which is why I was really "blur" with all those calculations. It was a miracle that I passed the degree exam, Alhamdulillah. The TDM boss in HSJ is nice. Thanks to her, I will consider to apply for TDM after completing my PRP year.

To fellow PRPs who have yet to attach for TDM, do study the calculations for aminoglycosides, vancomycin, digoxin, theophylline and phenytoin as these were among the most common drugs monitored. Note: renal adjustment, correction for hypoalbuminaemia...anddd who am I kidding? You guys are way better at pharmacokinetics than I am. Haha. TDM is not all about the levels and calculations though. It is better if you have had your clinical attachment beforehand since you will then be more familiar with patient's condition when monitoring. I had a difficult time when monitoring patients' conditions with the little clinical experience that I have. Note: indications and dosing regime for antibiotics, drug interactions which may affect the measured levels, signs and symptoms of toxicity...etc.

I will end this post with a quote from my TDM boss,

"Treat the patients, not the levels!" - Ms Ooi

Told you this is boring.  

Macam ombak.

Turun.

Naik.

Turun.

Naik.

Turun.

Naik.

Turun....

Apa yang macam ombak?

Imanku.

:(