Program Pembangunan Keluarga organised by PUSPANITA HSDG

Last Saturday on the 30th October, HSDG PUSPANITA organised by my dearest friend Dr.Saraiza a wonderful informative programme for children and adult especially for parents on issues of parenting. How to become a responsible parents and how the children can be successful in their life. It was an excellent programme with lectures and activities. However, I was quite disappointed because the turn up was very poor. By right, the parents supposed to come together with their children but only very few came. No fathers. There were supposedly 100 participants registered but only less than 50 came. We invited 2 good and excellent speakers who almost always come up on Astro Awani. During the session and the lectures, from my observation, probably only less than 30% of them was paying attention and really listening. Most of the children didn't really bother. Sometimes they make fun of what was being said. Majority of these children belongs to the families who are staying in the hospital quarters. They came on their own. I really enjoyed the lectures given by the two speakers but at the same time I continued my observation, make my own analysis of the children's behavior. Some of the children I know their mothers and some I don't. Some how I know how are they being brought up. I can clearly see who are clever and who are not. I know I might be wrong but I do have strong feeling about it. Anyway, many people especially those from the quarters are not interested to get involve in educational programme like this. They prefer entertainment program rather than educational programme. We cannot force people to learn and improve themselves. They should have their own initiative to improve and learn from someone experiences by participating in a very good programme like this because if we want to read from books, it will just not going to work to some of us. All of us should remember that our minds are like parachute. They only function when open. Therefore, we must have an open mind to learn more and more because knowledge is so important for survival. We have to make the best use of time, we need to live each moment as if it is vitally important especially in gaining knowledge. In this situation, people bring knowledge to you but you don't want it. It is really a waste of an effort. I guess I have to accept that not all of us think and behave the same way. How are you going to live or the future that your creating is your own choice......hopefully it will be the right choice.......

4 just nice but 21 is messy

Almost everyday my specialists will tell me about how terrible the HOs nowadays. Previously we have only 10 HOs at one time to torture us but currently we have sudden influx of them. 50% of them are first poster, freshly from medical school. I have 2 general paediatric wards and one NICU, such a small unit. I am scared that soon the number of HOs will out number the patients. I keep telling our hospital director that we can't really teach the HOs properly because we don't have enough patients for them to learn. They are suppose to do minimum 8 calls by regulation but they only did 4 or five calls the most per month. Each HOs will be in-charge of the most 4 patients. Well, with that number of patients that they have to look after, they still can't even remember or know what's going on with the patients. The antibiotics the patient is on and the number of days that the patient already in the ward. Worst still, they don't even examine the patient to know the patient's progress. Don't ask about disease, forget about it because the normal values also they don't know. There are so many protocols and informations available in the ward for their day to day work but they hardly used it. Basically, they know nothing. Very poor basic medical knowledge, bad attitude, no pro-activeness, lazy and some of them worst, beyond economic repair. We do have the numbers but where is the quality. We really have a tough time teaching them. You ask questions, never get any answer. Silent or you have to answer yourself. Fine, probably, we need to teach them and show them the way. Yes, we did that with difficulties. We have to teach even the basic medical knowledge such as how to differentiate between stridor and wheezing, petechiae and purpura, pallor and jaundice, crepitations and rhonchi and many others. Showed them how to take good relevant clinical history and to do proper physical examination in which all these should have been taught in the medical school. By right, my job is to teach and guide them in applying their knowledge to the real patients. But the situation is so different because there is no knowledge or skill to apply. Whether we like it or not we still have to teach them otherwise the patients will be in danger. We can't be there to hold their hand forever. After 2 months, probably 1 or 2 will improve but the rest remained the same. DG advice us to treat them nicely and give them TLC. Yes, we did that as well but nothing happen. If we increase a bit of our voice, because one or twice or sometimes you lost your patience, the eyes start to turn red and some of them will just cry out loud. Every day during the rounds, my specialists and I keep on repeating again and again but it doesn't seem to get into their grey matter. I really don't know who to blame. The HOs themselves or the universities or the new medical curriculum? For how long that we specialists have to go through this?. Looking after 4 patients they said too busy and tiring. 4 calls is too many until they don't have a social life. Give them more, the parents will come and threaten you that they will make a police report for torturing their children. Teaching was taken as torturing. Nothing seems right. I continue to encourage my specialists and medical officers not to give up on the HOs. Keep reminding them that it is our duty and responsibilities to train and teach them but I don't know for how long. I am so scared to think about the future generation of doctors that will treat me when I get old or treating my grandchildren when they are sick. I wonder how they pass their exam in the first place. No doubt, as a lecturer or teacher, we want all our students to pass the exam but we shouldn't compromise on the quality. Recently, I was one of the examiner in the final medical professional exam of one of the university. During the examination, the external examiner from oversea whispered to me commenting on the students performance during the exam. He was shaking his head. My colleagues failed few of the students during the exam but to our surprise, all of them pass their exam. This is just because their continuous assessments are good and the final exam only carries 20% mark. It is not that I don't want them to pass their exam but we should have some standards for our future doctors. I wonder why in the first place we need to carry out the final exam if we already know that the students are already pass their exam prior to sitting it. Are we doing it just for the sake of fulfilling the requirement by the board. May God bless our children.