And here I am again.. After two-entry silent spell, I'm back with a small note to share..
*Sigh*
June is leaving as July will come.. For many, this may not make any comprehensible sense.. In fact, putting it in the middle of the year, with sun of summer marking the holiday season has begun, what is there to complain about?
Indeed, it would be to the doctors working in this very country who would understand my statement.. Shall I share? Will do so.. June would be the mark of an end of a year's session and July is tagged as the new season.. Fresh baby-face graduates will be sent to their designated hospitals for their first placement as interns.. Same goes for SHOs and registrars, but more so merely as a change in place (and, likely too, pace) of work.. To make it short and understandable, it'll be a whole new team all together.. Only the consultants will stay in the hospital..
New registrar, new SHO's, new interns.. New faces, new team, new friends, new experience..
But still it doesn't explain the gloomy statement of mine above..
Another sigh..
Let me share my little experience.. July 2006 marked my debut as a healthcare professional in this country, and even more, as a mark of ambition well-achieved.. Yet, little do people know that pride had to be yanked aside to learn despite holding the ever-dreamed of MB BCh BaO! The learning curve was a steep one.. The hands-on was the difficult part as well as the application of 'what we know' to 'what we'll do now'.. Putting in a small drip for a sick patient was very hard indeed, with sweat pouring and heart pounding, to prick a frail unwell man with the tiny needle.. But it has to be done.. And I learn by doing and learn by doing it again and again.. Experience makes a big difference - the more you do, the more you learn!
After a few tries, it didn't feel so hard after all..
The team you're with does make a different.. A nurturing working environment is what helps.. I was blessed with a nice one.. I thank Pat, Brendan, Paul and Tamam for making my first 3 months an easy learning experience for me.. The nurses in the ENT ward were great too.. Sharon and Anne-Marie (CNM's - 'ward sisters') made it easy in the ward.. In fact, it was all smooth flowing with the Respiratory and Endocrinology teams.. Thanks to the reg's and SHOs (Mikey P, Rory, Chris, Shah, Edel, Nina, Babiker, David, John).. Wow, that all flew so fast! And at the end of one year as an intern, I hardly realized, not until then, that how much I had learned about medicine, about being a doctor, about being a team member, about LIFE..
Of course, there were ups and downs.. But it's not the ever-intention to reminisce on the lows, and as I clearly mentioned in my first entry - this is not a HATE-page..
Long story put short, my first SHO appointment was in January this year.. Again, new job, new team, new place, and new intern.. A subordinate? That was new too! Roisin was great.. Pleasant girl to work with, very hardworking.. And then Aidan.. Another great chap.. Soft-spoken and very professional.. Both very intelligent.. Having the two as my first two interns was one memorable experience.. Taught me how to delegate work between me and the interns, taught me how to be in command and look after my subordinate.. I think I did quite okay.. However, I feel I've failed miserably as a teacher to my subordinate.. Sorry, guys.. *sob, sob, sob* But, hey.. Good memories are there to cheer me up.. The 'Jumper' would probably be the best! Hehe.. Ask Aidan or Tom..
Anyway, I wish the best of luck to Roisin and Aidan, who are going to
One common ‘ritual’ among doctors here is the dinner.. End of June would be the general period for dinners to happen.. Almost every team would have their own dinner scheduled.. Also quite common that the dinners do not include the consultants.. Reason? Who knows.. Maybe the formality would be different when the boss is around, maybe the gossip to tell and share would be somewhat ‘not appropriate’ to tell.. Or maybe it’s just because the team may never be together again as each will walk different paths, and this dinner will commemorate a year of joy and pain endured together as one unit..
The Palliative Care team dinner was held at Copper ‘n’ Spice Indian restaurant.. Quite a posh one, I may say.. Food was great! It was more a farewell and good luck dinner for all of us.. Faith is now in Australia – such a lovely and helpful lady.. Jay will be going to Galway – we will miss his wonderful sense of humour.. Roisin will be going to psychiatry as part of her GP training – I wish you the best for your wedding! And Faisal will be going back to the Regional for more fun and actions with Dr Peirce.. As for me and Haji, we’ll be staying and we will be welcoming the new clan coming in July.. (Unfortunately, Haji accidentally deleted the dinner pics – tough luck..)
And then the Fraser-Meaney-Skelly dinner.. Venue : Meal Mazza, Castletroy.. In attendance : The bosses! Still a great dinner.. Lots of fun and laughter.. (Still waiting for the pics from Masood) That may well be the last time I’ll see Aidan and Roisin, my two first interns, before the fly southbound..
Alas.. It is hard to say good bye and farewell.. But, as mentioned, new friends await, new challenges will come and new experiences are meant to be learned.. Can we say this farewell is a downer? I don’t think so..
Auld Lang Syne.. Old long since.. Whether we sing the lyrics or hum to the music, it does not matter.. We reminisce the time spent together, the laughter shared and the tears we cried together.. We part this day for another journey and we pray someday our paths will cross again, and we’ll sit in the sun, with a cup of tea in our hands and we share the stories again.. And remember the days..
Indeed, June is coming to an end and July is approaching fast.. We say goodbye and thank you to all, and we say welcome to the new crew.. We will get along together and we will be good friends.. And the cycle continues..
As the Irish would say (and so was the name of our farewell reception in Milford), Slán Go Foill..
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