Lesson Learnt From a 'Religious and Respectable' Person

There is this perception nowadays, 'You must never trust a person who's too religious' among some of the people I know. Whether the majority of the world have this perception or not, that I have no idea about. So I decided to share my interesting experience with a so-called religious person because I suppose maybe some of you could relate to this experience of mine. 

One fine day, my friend and I bumped into this person who is a respected lecturer in a shop. We recognized him from a religious talk we attended and he was the speaker. Personally, I thought that he was very knowledgeable and some things he shared about God made so much of sense. Since we recognized him, we stopped and looked at him for a few seconds and then went on with buying groceries. I told my friend, 'Hey look, this was the lecturer who gave that talk the other day and he was really good wasn't he?' She agreed with me and after that, we jumped to another topic and wasn't really concentrating on him anymore. 

We then went to pay at the cashier and he was standing right in front of us. At that moment, all of a sudden, he turned to look at us and started asking us questions like if we were students from the campus he was teaching. We answered him politely and suddenly, he stopped and asked us, 'So do you think it is very funny to see a man who is very religious and pious looking?' At that moment, my friend and I were truly stunned because minutes ago, we were actually talking about him very respectfully and for some reason, he got that aura or perception or call it whatever you want about the both of us. 'No sir, of course it isn't funny and we weren't really laughing at you.' But the conversation went on for a few seconds and he ended his ADVICE with, 'That's alright girls. God is watching and he knows who is right and who is wrong.' Well to tell you the truth, I was extremely pissed off with that man because he had no right to accuse us like that especially when we did have much respect towards him for the way he spoke about religion. On top of it, he used to give us this weird stare whenever he saw us in campus. Even after all those years! 

I may not know much about religion, but I know if you are truly a devotee of God, you would not be bothered about matters like what people think about you because you know in the end, the deal is only between you and God. I also know that it is not at all polite to accuse people of doing something that they didn't. So just like that, my respect for that lecturer flew out of the window. JUST LIKE THAT. 

The reason I am sharing this incident is not to express my dissatisfaction towards the person involved but it is a reminder that perception can be very deceiving. You may perceive something as the truth but it really isn't. Without listening to the other person, you would never come close to the truth. I suppose nowadays it really isn't easy to find an inspiring religious speaker who is also good human beings. If you know any, please let me know as I am always eager to learn more about God. :-) 

Getting Out of Your Comfort Zones!

I came across this line a few days ago: COMFORT ZONES ARE BEAUTIFUL BUT NOTHING EVER GROWS THERE. 

From my experience (Well I am not 60 yet so I would say that my experience in life isn't that vast but I do have some valuable ones which I would always cherish :P), this line is so very true! The thing is, it isn't easy to get out of your comfort zone. I mean that is why it is called a COMFORT zone. So, sometimes you need a very strong will power to go out there and make it happen. 

If you just wait for someone to accompany you or for someone to get you out, you would be missing out on all the magic that is happening OUTSIDE of your comfort zone. So, DON'T WAIT. 

My comfort zone is a place where nobody stares at my scars. Basically, it means my comfort zone only consist of my family and close friends who are accustomed to my scars. I don't have to hide anything from them and I never have to answer the question, 'Whoa what happened to your hands?' So if I choose to just stay in my comfort zone, I probably would never get out of my house. I probably would just give up on my dreams and stay put in that wonderful zone where I could be at peace. But, is that really LIVING? Of course NOT. 

I agree that it can be a very difficult thing to do though. Few years back, I joined a medical camp in Cambodia. It was a very random thing that I did. One fine boring day at my hostel room, I just googled about volunteering for medical camps and found this website. I got myself registered even when I had all these negative thoughts in my head saying that maybe this is too much or maybe I wouldn't fit in or maybe this is a huge mistake. But you know what, it was one of the best decision that I made because during that camp, I met many wonderful people who taught me so much. I learnt to be thankful for whatever I have because I saw how the villagers there lived and it wasn't an easy life as they had limited access to healthcare facilities. I learnt to work in a team and my group mates were very knowledgeable and humble too. But do you think nobody stared or asked me about my scars? Of course 90% of the people I met there asked me about it. Even in their own local language. :P But I was alright with talking about it because the experience I gained surpassed everything else.

When you venture into new places, you learn to adapt and you become a more confident person because you faced a challenge. The need to overcome that fear makes you a stronger person. If you hate going out and talking to people, go out and do it. If you hate presenting a case in front of an entire audience, go ahead and do it. If you hate learning something new because you're afraid of being bad at it, that is fine. Just go ahead and do it anyway because believe me, that experience would be worth it. If the experience is rather embarrassing, that is fine because you would think back and laugh about it down the road. It could even be an interesting story for you to tell your friends or children. I know I have a knack for involving myself in humiliating situations but that's fine by me because I do laugh whenever I think about them and hey, laughter's the best medicine right? LOL.

Remember, you may be just comfortable right now but if you really want to be happy, GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE and who knows, whatever you really desired for may be right outside of that zone you're in right now. 

Health talk. I was terrified. :P 

My very nice MO. Would always be thankful for all his guidance during the camp. =)

We made a great team! 

Just for gags :P

SO TRUE! 

Expecting to Be Spoon Fed?

Expecting to be spoon fed aren't you? This question is very often asked by lecturers to students. I am sure that this applies not only to medical students. When I was still new to medical school, this question used to irk me because I used to think that I am after all new to this whole thing so yes I expect to be given some sort of guidance. But as I venture deeper into the world of medical school, it did hit me that the question was a fair one.

When you're asked that question, it really means that the lecturers would like their students to be more proactive in gaining knowledge, completing assignments and what not? A simple comparison between a proactive student and a student who isn't, who do you think would gain more? I am not saying that you should pretend to be all enthusiastic and proactive in front of lecturers so that you could impress them and get them to grant you high marks during exam. Of course, I have met my share of such people but that is just the world nowadays and that isn't exactly the point of this blog. :P

So, the question is as a medical student, how do you go about being proactive? It isn't that difficult really. Many would disagree but from my personal experience, it is very simple. All it requires is a little more of your precious time, a little more of interest, a bit more of courage and SLIGHTLY a little more EFFORT. BUT, it does require much of your will power. The will to not run off to your comfort zones the moment classes are over. The will to wake up earlier on some weekends to go to hospitals. The will to not procrastinate your preparation for final examination until the very last minute. When I say final examination, I mean your final clinical bedside exams which would consist of long and short cases.

When consultants and specialists ask you the question, 'Are you expecting to be spoon fed?', all they really want is for you to put in some extra effort by yourselves without solely depending on them to teach you all that you need to know to become competent and knowledgeable doctors someday. Do remember that they have more important responsibilities such as SAVING LIVES!

When they ask you this question, they expect you to:

1. Go to the ward. Clerk and examine as many patients as you can. Don't do this only when you're up next as a presenter for your group. Go in a group of 2 or 3 preferably. Then, discuss about what you have learnt from that patient's condition. Take turns clerking and examining patients. If possible, do this with time limit. I started doing this only in final year and I really have regrets for not doing this from the moment I started my clinical years. It will help not only to increase your knowledge about common diseases but also improve your presentation and examination skills. SERIOUSLY, START NOW. YOU WOULD THANK ME DURING YOUR FINAL YEAR. :P

2. Go to clinics and ward rounds. Ok I admit that I have skipped many of these sessions and I am not so proud of it. You may or may not get a good consultant during these sessions but if you do, believe me, you would never forget all the lessons learnt during those sessions. My friends and I had a good number of awesome HOs, MOs, specialists and consultants who were willing to teach us during ward rounds and at clinics. Of course, you wouldn't be lucky all the time. I remember once I did go through hell with this one specialist who was very unhappy about having students in her clinics. Well these do happen sometimes but don't let a few bad teachers ruin your thirst for knowledge. Sometimes, they might even remember you during your final examination and that helps to boost their impression towards you as an exam candidate.

3. When it is your turn to present, PLEASE do it for the sake of learning thoroughly about the patient's condition. Do it so that your group mates would gain as much as you. Don't do it for the sake of getting off the 'list of upcoming presenters'. Do your homework before you present. Don't just present blindly without knowing ANYTHING about your provisional and differential diagnoses. That really pisses off your lecturers/specialists/consultants. They could actually judge you from the way you present. Don't you think they would be more than willing to teach you if you show them that you are interested in learning about the patient?

4. Don't be afraid to go by yourselves and talk to the patients. Without practice, this is never going to be easy. I learnt this the hard way when I had a terrible time clerking a patient for my orthopaedic bedside examination during my FOURTH year. Yes, I was in FOURTH YEAR and I still had problems remembering what questions to ask and how to go on about the physical examination BECAUSE I was so used to having my friends help me out with these things during regular presentation. Yes it is important to have a good group of friends to discuss but it is equally important to be able to clerk and examine a patient by yourself. Always remember, during your final year bedside exams, YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. Don't get me wrong though. I am not saying that if there is a patient with excellent findings in the ward, go by yourself secretly and see the patient. THAT IS A BIG NO NO. Sharing is caring. Keep that in mind!

Hey I wasn't a perfect student and I learnt these things along the way. Most of them are based on personal experiences and mistakes that I have done. So, these aren't exactly rules of thumb. In the end, you know what works the best for you so it is entirely up to you whether or not to apply the above methods.

Alright then. My ranting ends here. :P

This used to motivate me whenever I needed a push :)