Monday, August 29, 2011

Journey to endevour Part 2


Who would have thought? Without FANZCA i can work in Australia. I can either now consider taking Part 2 with exemption from Part 1 as I've passed my Masters, or look for some short course that would complement my Fellow job there.
Lets get back to the story about applying for a job there. IELTS is a very important requirement. According to APHRA's rules, to work as a medical practitioner there, we have to fulfill getting 7 in all components.(IELTS band score has 4 components; Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking). So i thought, shouldn't be difficult isn't it? Hahaha well, if your english is not super excellent or if in 1119 exams you did not score A, berhati-hati di jalan raya!
I assumed that i should be able to fulfill that standard easily without practice. but boy was i wrong. I took the exams in two centers, British Council in KL and IDP in Subang. Initially, there were rumours that its easier to score in British Council centers. Unfortunately I've proven them wrong by passing in IDP rather than in British Council.
My total band score will always be 8 but i had to retake the exams because my writing component was 6.5 twice. missed by a mere 0.5! Sapa tak stress? Well, its my fault as well. I took it for granted and by not obeying formats here and there, i guess thats why i scored less than required. Ive never had any problems with the other components, consistently scoring at least 8. Listening was easy to score as i obtained full 9 in two last attempts.
Honestly, i nearly did not go to Perth because of this! and if it was because of the mere 0.5 points punyalah tak puas hati ! hahahaha
Moral of the story, to those who wants to apply; please sort out your IELTS first before asking for a job. The hospital admin is not an issue, it will be the licensing body which is AHPRA.

Another journey to endevour Part 1


It was confirmed last Friday. I will be going off to Perth this coming Sunday. Duration? Perhaps one year. Why? A Fellow job there.
I must thank Shakti for this. It was him who encouraged me to have a go at applying jobs in Australia. I was sceptical earlier, since I'm not in the FANZCA programme like most of them who are there now. It is possible for Masters of Anaesthesia holders in Malaysia to get a job in Aussie land because of our strong historical linkage in its training programme.
It all started in January when I said to him, ok fine. what should i do?He told me to just shoot emails to the heads of department around the country indicating my interest with my CV attached. I did exactly that and of course did not feel hopeful about it.In fact I only emailed to 3 HODs as I'm not too good in accepting rejections!
To my surprise, not long after that i had 2 email replies. And to my surprise they were very encouraging. I had thought it was for 2012 but the vacancies were for 2011! I was excited and had to choose between Royal Perth and Western Health in Melbourne. After a lot of thought, I chose Perth because the services they provide there were more suited for what my center is and will be. It was not easy to reject Western Health as he did actually call me up for a short interview. He was very nice but I guess i had to choose what was more suitable.
The bereaucracy of the Australian Health Regulation was very evident from the first day. I was warned by my HOD and it was what i concentrated on from the start. The paperwork is tedious and i was trying to play catch up because I only had few months to settle everything.
And then there was IELTS.. hahaha this I will elaborate on Part 2.

New toy


Got myself the ACER ASPIRE D257. A small enough netbook which would allow me to bring it around easily. I was bent for an ASUS ee but somehow the sales person in Digital Mall convinced me to get one of these. I must say he had done a good job because i am not easily swayed. He was in fact very resourceful and because of that i reckon i should trust him.
Transform and roll out? Hopefully to more meaningful blogging :)

Lessons of Ramadhan


Only an hour left before ramadhan is officially over this year. My kids are running around at maks with their cousin, the spirit of hari raya is certainly alive with them. My family by now should have arrived in Muar with Doya who just came back from UK yesterday with the entourage. As how it has always been, I'm at mak to celebrate eid with the family.
Ramadhan this time around is different from my previous ramadhans. Somehow it changed me ( i hope its a good thing..haha) i guess its the barakah of ramadhan. The reflections each day made me closer to god. My tarawikh this time is really different. I guess only now I am really feeling what ramadhan is all about. Previously, maybe the "penghayatan" was not there and the practice was just a routine. It is very difficult for me to explain; maybe it can't be done with words. It was sad that it is over with the last tarawikh performed last night. It was beautiful as it was done with my family as it was also the iftar together with everybody present. Doya came back and the family is complete. Hopefully we'll be able to take a full potrait of everybody this year.
Now the challenge will be to maintain the consistency of ibadah in my life. I must admit that I've neglected the importance of applying ibadah to whatever we do. Giving is certainly more rewarding than receiving and the effect is instateneous. The search for lailatulqadar was interesting and for the first time in my life, i really wanted to look for it. And i pray for its barakah to keep me in sound mind for the coming days.

Therefore my friends, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Maaf Zahir & BAtin.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

KamCheng Iftar 2011



Having iftar with my KamCheng friends is a must every year. I missed it two years in a row and nothing could have stopped me in attending this year's edition. Its getting bigger every year with more offsprings around and the younger ones getting older. The elders? not too old but definitely wiser!

Thank you Mal and Lily for being the excellent host in Sungai Long! I'm not sure when I will be ready to host this event but certainly something i would like to do.

Friday, August 05, 2011

UiTM cathlab.. officially in service


26 July 2011 was another chapter in the faculty history book. It was when the faculty started their invasive cardiac lab services. It was a proud moment especially for the dean as this is his pet project. I was there as well because Level 4 is my territory. The Dean wanted anaesthetist cover eventhough I was not informed nor in the minds of those who planned to start the services there. hahaha I had to rush from UM but nevertheless I was proud to witness the historical moment. Anaesthetists are essential to any OT/Invasive services that one wants to start. If anything goes wrong, who da ya call? Anaesthetist! hahaha Somehow, after many years of service, we are not really highligted as the core of medical services. I guess, we are just honest doctors - serving our patients and not attention seeking doctors! hahaha kononnya low profile la tu!
Kudos to Zubin ,Kamal and Effa - the young stalwarts of UiTM Cardiology with the commencing of Angio services in UiTM. Now.. lets just wait for our first case together.. haha ( not something that we should look forward to!) Now, its the CTS team next.. Adli & Abid :)




History makers of CTC UiTM




11 May 2011 was a historical day for the faculty. It was when we started UiTM's first ever surgery on UiTM's premise. After a long tiring battle of problems which was not of our doing, we managed to be the ones who will be in the history book.

I am glad that the things that we have been preparing for became a reality. It was not easy considering the team members; surgeons, anaesthetist, supporting staff who were mostly young ( haha.. i prefer this word) but nevertheless enthusiastic. Being the anaesthetist to give the first GA for our first ever patient in UiTM OT is a priviledge. I am sure Ramzi and Hashim ( the General Surgeons) were happy and proud to be there as well. I must thank all the nurses and supporting staff for their contribution for making the dream into a reality.

Of course, the main course would be our first CABG here. That is another big history to create and Insya Allah, it will soon be a reality.

pep talk


young team and talented


LMA je..


Kudos to Ramzi and Hashim for giving me a "unique" case in line with UiTM tradition!

Ramadhan realisation..

Its the fifth day of ramadhan today. It is a different ramadhan this year as for the first time since being married 10 years ago, we have a helper.(well, currently transitional phase as the earlier one decided to go back home). It is different because i don't have to be in the house anymore post iftar; as previous years it was just me and wifey. I can't simply leave home for tarawikh and leave her unattended to handle the kids isn't it? And that was our life as long as I can remember.
However, on the eve of ramadhan; i was very enlightened to be in the mosque to perform tarawikh. Honestly, initially i was only staying till 8 but something struck my mind to just remain there. Even if i went back home then, i really had nothing to do. PReviously, there was alwas an excuse eg to study, some work to do etc. but now, I''m done with my specialist degree and settling well.I realised I've not given my time so much to god,really! I've been so slack at this and that night i realised my shortcoming. I stayed till 20 which was not easy: the temptation to just go off was strong. I found my peace and it was lovely. I can't really explain but it was good to devote yourself for a while and i was glad i stayed.
Of course, the subsequent days i could not stay long but I am really determined to give myself to god more nowadays. My working life can be hectic - doing cardiothoracic list in UM gurantees late night back! I hope Ramadhan this year will transform me into being a better muslim.