Year 3 of Medical School

This is my room's shower. I know "hate" is a very strong word to use but never have I hated anything more than this shower. Not any parades, not any politician, nothing!


Normal showers dispense water in a steady and smooth manner.

My shower on the other hand is not normal. When turned on, it will first flow normally, but after a while it starts gusting out air at high speed with an occasional drop of water.

What happens during bathing time is that the shower will flow smoothly long enough to wet our bodies, shampoo our hair and soap our bodies. 

At the exact moment we intend to wash off the soap and shampoo, water is miraculously changed to air. We would be left stranded in the bathroom with soap running in our eyes and our tempers rise by the minute as we listen to the gushing air coming from the shower.

We'd get so pissed off that we eventually start cursing the shower. 

And in reply, the shower will shoot a bullet of water flying at such high speed that it leaves you gasping in pain upon impact. You wouldn't want that bullet of water hitting your softer nuts.. I mean parts of the body. 

Desperate to get the water flowing again, we would try all kinds of methods to make it happen. 

So with shampoo all over the body, we would do rain dances, go on our knees in prayer and even undergo rituals of sacrifice.

If the water actually does return, we would know there is a God up in heaven who loves us and has sent his only begotten son to die for us. 

But if the water does not return even after exhausting all the methods (which happens most of the time), we would have to resign ourselves to wipe the soap and shampoo off with our towels.

With the sound of the gushing air echoing in the background, we'd then sadly leave the bathroom stickier than when we first entered. 

The moment we step outside though, the gushing sound is replaced by the sweetest sound of water flowing smoothly and beautifully. But it quickly changes back to air at our very thought of going back to bathe again.

So yeah, that's my bloody shower...

A very short update: The 2010 batch of medical cadets are currently doing our clinical posting at Hospital Tuanku Mizan.

Year 3 consists of 4 postings which include: Surgery, Internal Medicine, Paediatrics and O&G. Each posting lasts 2 months.

So my group, group 3, has Surgery for our first posting.

Group 3 with the surgical professors: Prof Ahmed & Mr Anil

I find it interesting how surgeons are addressed as "Mr" instead of "Dr".

I also find it fascinating how the matron is like the queen of the hospital, bossing and ordering everybody about, protecting the welfare of patients with all the love of a mother and the ferocity of a tiger.

I am in awe at how the surgeon plays God in the operating theatre too. Confidently cutting and slicing, removing tumours and repairing damage, defying death right in the face.

I also kind of like how the ranks in this medical environment are directly proportional to one's knowledge. The higher qualified one is, the higher is the rank. So we actually have very competent and professional officers here. 

From left: Captain, Major, Major and Brigadier General

Long way for us, medical students to go though. But perhaps through tons of hard work and tireless dedication, we may one day be legends ourselves and inspire the younger generation. 

"If you aspire to inspire before you expire, first you would need to perspire" -Mr Ong Chong Wee,  ex-principal of St. Francis Institution-