There goes my day

It was really a busy month for me in late November until middle of December. I was away from the hospital most of the time because of meetings. So many meetings to attend. I have to do adjustment to my daily work activities including my clinics and teaching commitment to year 5 UPM medical students. Last Friday, I took them for bedside teaching in replacement of the last class that I missed. There were 5 students, 2 Malays and 3 Chinese. I took them to the first case. It was a neurology case. My patient that I really like and love. I asked for anyone of them to volunteer to do the physical examination. Suddenly, one the student told me that they have done the case with Dr.Amir, my paediatric cardiologist. Well I said " Even though you have done the case, its doesn't mean that you have learned everything about the case and you don't want to know about the case anymore. Very well children, in view that you have known the case so well because Dr.Amir has taught you so well, please show me that you can do this case excellently". One of the girl volunteered to perform the physical examination over 8 minutes on that patient. It was a neurological examination. As I thought, I could see she fumbled and didn't know where to start and what to do. The physical examination was a total disaster as if she had never done it before. As a fifth year medical student, she failed to elicit the muscle tone, reflexes and strength for both upper and lower limbs. She failed to check for any signs that could have helped her in determining the possible causes of the neurological deficits in the patient. Whatever things that Dr.Amir have taught them a day before didn't seem to get into their grey matter. We spent almost one hour with that case. All the time, I was trying to dig and dig for the answer. I asked questions but I have to answer them back. What I can say is that, their basic knowledge is terribly poor. Lack of practice and reading on top of a concrete mind set. Too far being critical. We just did one case but I felt I lost all of my power. I choose another case, a respiratory case, an Indian baby. Another girl volunteered to do it and the rest of the students observed how she did it. I sat on a chair while I was watching the girl's performance. Suddenly I over heard the two Chinese students were talking to each other in Chinese ignoring me and the rest of their friends as well as the patient's mother. They were having a conversation that I didn't really know on what matter. Both of them didn't even care and respected me as a teacher. My eyes turned round and big. I was mad and very angry. Obviously I scolded them with a undefinable voice. It is not that I hate the language but the situation is not right. We were in the middle of class, a formal setting. They should be using a language that everybody understand, Malay or English. They were so insensitive. They are free to speak any language they wanted else where but not in the class. Its really make me angry and fuming. I told them off and asked them to apologize to their friends and the patient. I don't know whether this is a product of one Malaysia or what. My mood to teach disappeared suddenly. I remembered what Iya told me a few weeks ag0. She complained to me that her Chinese friends in class asked question to the lecturer in Chinese ignoring the rest of the students who didn't speak mandarin. To her surprise, one of the lecturer answer them back in mandarin. The rest of the students who didn't understand were puzzled and asked each other for the meaning. She said she hated it. She didn't expect it to happen in the university. What type of teacher is this? Some more, its happened in UPM, Universiti Putra Malaysia. How could that be? However she said, there was this only one Chinese lecture scolded the student for asking question in mandarin. He also said the same thing that I said to the students during my class. I feel that I want to make a formal complaint to the Dean or VC. We are not preventing other races to speak their mother tongue languages but use them in a proper situation. Please respect your other colleagues. Please be a little bit sensitive. I think the students should be taught on manners and social respect toward their friends and teachers. The university should do something about it. Unless they don't really care and think that it is a small matter. Well, for me I hope it won't happen again during my class otherwise I chase them out..............