Insane

I know talking something bad behind people is not good.. but this lady.. I really can't stand her. She is far rude than I can imagine. What do you think when someone said students from one university are all 没家教? Gosh!!!!!

Looking for helper! 2

Refer to my previous post, I need someone to help me recruit patient when I am away. But this time, the motive of "looking for helper" will be changed to "looking for good colleague" for me! Apparently, my boss went for an international congress last week, and it was a very very fruitful trip for him (and for me too, I got more things to read >.<). Now it is no more temporary RA we looking for, but we have one year funding for two important projects which going to be started soon. These two projects are collaboration with multiple centre, and high probability to collaborate with overseas institution/big pharmaceutical companies. Which mean, findings from these two projects higher chance to get published once completed. So, whoever of your friends/relatives/colleagues who wish to do science based project-specific job, with stable income, better cv record in future, exciting life like me, please contact me! =)

Looking for helper!

Who is interested to work with me in the hospital? I need a hand to help me collect sample when i am away to uni for my molecular works. My colleague is going to leave in 2 weeks time, i shall return to my usual working hours, sit in the office to wait for patient to come and get sample. That isn't a good thing for me, from my 6 months experience i can tell that patient just don't come if you purposely wait for them, they will only come when you are away (to uni, while picnic or while you're sleeping)!!! My nightmare will be back again, because i can be called anytime when i am running the gel. Ok, what should i do? Of cause is to take out my car key and rush to GH (30-40 mins drive) from uni. If i don't go GH immediately, patient won't be given any medication while waiting for me to collect the blood (he will die!). If i go just like that, leaving my gel or any lab work abandoned there, do you think it is possible? And sometimes i even worry that i may run into an accident or caught by police, because i ever break my record to reach GH from uni in 20 mins time just because of the patient! That's my situation now. Who can help me?

I can tell you all the benefits working with me:

1. I am friendly and helpful. My colleague only work here for 1.5 months (while helping me spin blood, most of her time is to prepare her own proposal to do Masters in somewhere else), i still share all the knowledge i have in that project to her.
   
2. I won't discriminate, jealous any race, gender, age group of people.
   
3. I am honest, and i won't backstab anyone.
   
4. I can give you snacks, homemade bakeries and fruits from home, sometime
   

And some benefits working in hospital just like me:

1. You can have an exciting life
   
2. You can learn many things, even you are just here for 1.5 months
   
3. You can access to doctors and nurses so easily, and if you have heart attack, no need to wait for ambulance, because the cardiologist is just next door of you
   
4. You have a chance to travel and to attend workshop/conference (government is very kind to give training for the staff)
   
5. You can know many people
   
6. You can have tea time anytime
   
7. You can have free masks and free Influenza vaccine here
   

Lastly, i am serious, whoever of your friends/colleagues/relatives, who are in Kuching looking for temporary RA job. Please contact me, really. Thanks!

Start of August

A busy month. Because i am very unprepared so i am not sure whether i can get my reagents and things ready before mid september for my training. Sigh.. gonna be more tough when really want to involve myself in research life.

Btw, early august and in this week, everyday scolded by my crazy manager. I don't know what happen to her, but she is just so bad mood that she liked to scold me anytime she felt want to scold people. Monday she asked me to shut my mouth when i was trying to help my new colleague to explain to her about my colleague's problem. Tuesday, she asked why i didn't off aircon on night time after finish work. I said i off and make sure everything off before i go back, she said i didn't listen and obey. Wednesday, when i just reach my office from UNIMAS and about to go for my lunch, she asked why i left my poster inside the room, "You thought that room is your rubbish room ar!". Ok fine, then afternoon i have a chat with a vendor about the equipments i bought from him. After the meeting, she came over to me again " I told you many times, this is your responsibility to on the aircon on daytime, off the aircon on nightime.. why just now you so happily talked with Mr xxx, why you never realized to on the aircon. i don't care, if the aircon didn't on, and the freezer beeps again (because of temperature rise), then your samples spoil, so i don't care" Siao one.. do you think because of the aircon didn't on, the -20 freezer temperature will rise and spoil your samples?

Let me explain, because the -20C freezer was beeping at night time due to the ice blockage inside the freezer compartment. So she thought it is due to the heat from the room temperature (you see we're 365 days summer, so it is very hot everyday). She then decided to on the aircon on daytime to avoid the freezer from beeping, and off the aircon in night time (because night time not so hot mah). She appointed me to take this responsibility. Ok, i admit i didn't really obey her (sometimes i forgot, sometimes i think not necessary), but what's the point that she talked about this and that everyday, when she already put on the notice to tell everyone? She purposely wait for me to on the aircon ar? even i wasn't in office this whole morning?

Weird lady. Siao Po!

Endnote and SPSS

Last weekend i went to a 3 days workshop in UNIMAS for Basic Biostatistic course. Basically, attending this workshop just to give me a brief idea of how to conduct basic statistic analysis using SPSS and also learn to use the citation program called EndNote.

I heard from one of the UNIMAS lecturers that this speaker, Dr. Lin Naing is one of the best statisticians in public health science. Just feel fortunate to have this guy as the workshop speaker because i learned alot from him, though only portion of basic things but is enough for me at this moment. At least i know different tests in SPSS and what are they used for certain reasons.

The most exciting part will be the EndNote. I never know about this program until i joined GH last year. And i've totally no idea what is this until today. It is actually a citation program, maybe not perfect as i heard from others that it didn't actually search all the web databases. Nevertheless, as long as it is useful to cite the reference for us, then we won't be so headache when writing thesis or article. Another thing is this program can actually provide different publication format if you wish to publish in certain journals. For example citation format for article to be published in Brit Med J is different for other journals, and EndNote can help you to cite according to certain format "automatically", you no need to re-type the whole reference.

I haven't got time to revise all that i have learnt, hopefully i won't forget all these useful lectures. This is the only workshop i attended so far (after i joined GH), which i think is worthy. ^^

GCP exam

Two weeks ago, i attended a workshop namely Good Clinical Practice at Hilton's Hotel, Kuching for 3 days. At the end of the 3 days lectures, all participants including me have to sit for an one hour test which the passing grade is about 80-90%. Only when we pass then we are eligible to get the certificate.

What is so important about this certificate that all clinicians, nurses, medical technicians, pharmacists and researchers are encouraged to have one. Especially in recent years, the trend of doing research has begun in ministry of health in Malaysia, so people show interest of doing clinical trials and research. This 3 days workshop probably can tell why, what and how clinical research is conducted under global and Malaysia ethic regulation.

Compared to basic science research which doesn't deal with human property, clinical research will be more complex when dealing with the regulatory requirements. Some countries like China will take about 3-6 years just to convince the ethic committee to approve for their clinical study. As you can see, any party in a clinical research, regardless of the investigator himself, sponsors (usually those pharmaceutical companies who seek for the clinical site to conduct clinical trials) and regulatory board all have their own roles, they must always remember and to make sure the patient's right is protected.

It sounds pathetic if we want to swallow the whole bucks of regulatory requirement before to conduct the clinical research. Through this GCP workshop, we're given brief ideas of the regulation requirement for the clinical research, as well as some exercises. It was quite fun when doing the exercises with the rest of group members (we were assigned to different group since day 1), and can know who had been concentrate during lecture and who hasn't.

I think some people didn't realize that will be an exam after the workshop, so some looked panic. The exam took 1 hour and got 40 questions. I personally thought the questions were ok, except for some pharases that quite confusing. Luckily i done an online GCP mini test last year, so i found some questions were quite similar.

Last night i was informed by my boss that.... Yea, i pass. LOL, so i got another certificate in my closet again (the last certificate i got was the hall of frame to reach the Mt. Kinabalu peak).

=)

Suspected H1N1 cases

One more suspected case admitted to Sarawak General Hospital this morning, now they reset the H1N1 alert where most places are blocked to access again.

This is not a good news for me because:
1) Higher chance for Malaysia to get a confirmed H1N1 case (Since Thailand has two now), and then i maybe will be quarantined because i will be very blur enter one of the infected areas in hospital, then maybe my family, colleagues, friends... it will be severe far beyond my imagination now

2) Lower chance for me to enroll patient for my project, patients rather go to private hospitals which don't have any H1N1 case. Sigh...

So is better the case don't be confirmed case.

Big flu

I am having big flu now...

15 mins to go before i can clock out and go home..

aww.. hope it won't get too serious tonight...

or maybe a new patient to be enrolled tomorrow will cure me..

sigh... how i wish i can start my molecular work in unimas dy, instead of waiting patient to be enrolled every day in hospital that's full of viruses and pathogens. Got a bad feeling that i won't get all my samples before deadline.. O.o"

Life in gh after 7 months

Today is a day to celebrate my 7 months working life in Kuching after my graduation on last August. Time flies, I never realized how fast is the time pass by while I still thinking what to achieve during my 10 years life, yet 1 year is going to end. Means I still have 9 years and 5 months to go to reach my goal.

In these 7 months, I absorb a new knowledge to extend my understanding on heart disease and its physiology. I remember during my form 5 and form 6 biology, I hate to study the chapter about heart and its everything. Yet today, I am working with a cardiologist. I even swear not to touch molecular biology work again when I had an unforgettable bad experience during my 3 months internship in one research centre. Yet today, I am towards the molecular biology branch and the deadliest EtBr again.

At this moment, I haven’t really think if there is any future plan extended from this study. Will I going into PhD life, just to put a Dr. salutation in front my surname? Or do I really passionate to do more researches in science or in this field? These remain no answer yet. I still need to think.

To conclude my 7 months working in GH, I learn more than I imagined about it before I took up this job. From literature review, product purchasing, bargaining for free products, re-learn the basics of molecular works, learn from other researchers, network tactics until these few days, I seek and learn from patient, try understand the doctor’s writing on case note, swallow the drug’s name, learn to see ECG graph etc. I shall be thankful to those who willing teach me. But before I can swallow all these, i hardly get myself concentrate whenever I am inside a ward when a sick people is in front me and the doctors are doing CPR to save life, and when patient’s relatives crying outside worrying about their beloved one.

Btw, i would like to apologize to those in wards if anything i made have upset or disturb you. I knew you're busy and no time to bother me, but thanks because of the helps given.

After all, it’s just part of my working life in GH.

visit to A&E

I going to visit A&E (Accident and Emergency department) regularly started by today, to remind doctors and nurses about the enrollment of patients into my project.

Got a mix feeling every time i visit this place. Because when there is emergency case, everybody will be busy, and it's not so right to stand btw one of them and to tell them what i want. Even if they listen, don't think they will recall what i said after this.

Btw, every time i came into the ward or A&E, feel so sorry to those patients who in pain. I do hope that the nurses and doctors there will help to recruit patient for this study, since every research is meant to improve life and make things better. Who doesn't want to understand the disease better, and discover a good quality treatment for those in sick?

It's one of the difficulties to collect sample in hospital. Unless, to be friends with them so they can easily know you and help you. =)

Still a long way to go, especially i have to worry about my patient enrollment and to troubleshoot my RNA extraction at the same time.

Picture: microplate reader etc

It has been weeks since i promised to upload the photo of the new microplate reader that arrived in my hospital lab. There you go:

From left to right: Little red basin, microplate washer, microplate reader,
PC and centrifuge

And the FINEPCR's shaker incubator, next to it is the -20 degree freezer

As you can see, it is a pretty small lab, and the only space for me to do the bench work is the space where the little red basin stands (first pic). Aww, kesian me!

First week of 2009

A new year, a new start

I already passed the date to initiate my project, and it's kinda upset me and is a really bad news to start my new year. Never mind, still troubleshooting so that can start the project as soon as possible.

This year will be a packed year for me, and everything is planned before 2008 ended. Hopefully can achieve one by one before the dateline.

A good news to share is the microplate reader, washer and the shaking incubator has finally came to my workplace in hospital. Just can't believe, such a small space in this hospital so called lab can fit in these instruments. Thanks to the technicians who helped to install them.

lol. By the way, i just realized i have no space for me to do the bench work with all these instruments compacted together in a small room.

Will share the photo in future.


Wen Ni

Miaow Miaow in the office!

One cat hidden on top of our office roof, and because it is too fat, the ceiling cannot tahan its weight and fell down at last. The cat is therefore must be very surprised it can find a mystery place, with very clean, cozy and nobody environment, where no other cats can find it.

"wow, nice place wor!"

So it decided to have a look, and it slowly go round the whole place, from front to back, from this corner to corner, and it found that "what a heaven! a place with air con is on all day: it can enjoy the windy air and bye bye the hot and humid roof; it can climb here and there, with so huge space and sleep on sofa chair !; It can have so many foods to eat (if it is able to open the fridge door or use its claws to open my biscuit container!); and there is nobody can chase it, no other cat can bully it..."

It thanked God, and spent a good sweet night in this so called heaven. Zzzzzz.

"Wahhhhhhhh"

But Who Knows! It realized that good things never last for so long, and that were people came in to its new home. It started to get feared, scared and panicked! By its common sense, it tried to find a way out, but it was so panicked until so stupid that it ran to a closed window and tried to break the window.

After tried for several times for cannot breaking down the window, the cat showed us an innocent but full of hatred look: like we're the bad people that ruin its wonderland. We opened the front and back door, and go back to our work desk, hoping the cat can go out by itself.

After 2 hours leaving the door opened, the cat still there and hiding at the back of fridge. We can't help so ask technician to catch the cat. They got the cat into a cage, and i say goodbye to this panicked cat.

Also pray for it can live longer, because the technician told me he wants to panggang this cat and make satay. Eeeeew!

Awaiting

It has been a while since we first plan our project (which is going to be my Master project at the same time), and because i don't have any experience in purchasing lab accessories and preparing own protocol, i often got problem in making decision.

Now still have one month left before we start collecting sample, yet i still cannot be sure whether the things i ordered is it enough, or is it needed, or may be i miss out other important things which i need to buy?

I hope when the time come to officially start the work, it is not going to be a mess in my hand. Aargh, i am so worry and so hope the January don't come too early!! Can anyone give me free sample of lab items because anything free i want to accept, and i don't have money anymore to allow me buy anything else!!

The conference

I was back, finally.

This whole month wasn't a good month for me, i fell sick again and again!

Last weekend went to KL to attend the conference. The conference is big, and held in a grand luxurious big hotel in Sunway. It's just next to Sunway Lagoon.

Photo taken from the hotel

But not as crowded as we thought of, in fact, it's quite empty. Don't know how much the money that organizer has put on.

Empty seats everywhere

Forget about how luxurious, how comfy the place is, and how nice the food they provide, all for a while the conference was aim to share clinical research ideas. For big people, they wanted to make money. So, they invited some drug companies join them as exhibitors, and invited top speakers from NUS, UM and other institutions to chair the symposium.

For me, my task was to networking and learn more about the legal act, ethics, protocols and etc that concern about the clinical research, which my company is aiming to. In fact, i got to know somebody, like the head of department from other states, key persons in CRC kl and etc. Speak about the knowledge part, it's abit dry. Especially in legal act part, most speakers were telling us the things that we actually can access to thru their homepage.

Instead of hoping them to share some research ideas and present their research data, this conference trip had upset me. Most speakers pinpointed to us why Malaysia is a good place for clinical trial industry, yet they didn't show us how to do and make us towards this way. Apparently, the conference talked more abt on administrative parts, the research works became less concerned.

Despite all these, i must say i did learnt something from this conference. Especially in new definition on: Pharmacogenomic, Good Laboratory Practice, and SOP. Thru this conference, i finally get to know that it's not easy to run a clinical practice research, somemore to incorporate the Basic science together with Clinical research is a tough task for all of us.

Anyway, things must change and we should follow the step of our global countries. If other people can do it, why not us. Again, i do wish the similar conference for next year can be run better, at least to investigators and student researchers like us, to feel we're worth to pay the air fares to join.

World Heart Day'08 at The Spring

This morning i worked as volunteer for World Heart Day' 08 Health Screening exhibition at The Spring shopping mall. I arrived there ard 830am, and not ready with any warm up yet, slightly near 9 o'clock, i can see the crowd lined up at the registration counter.

It was abit mess at the early start, and the people supposed to line up and wait for their turns, instead of this most of the crowds came to the test counters themselves after registration. Just take as example, mine counter (measure for Body Mass Index: BMI) should be the last second counter for all people after they taking the blood pressure, total cholesterol and glucose tests. Yet, most crowd thought (or confused?) the exit entrance is the first entrance, so they all rushed in to mine counter to take their BMI measurement. The normal flow route should be as below diagram:


Anyway, this little mess finally getting controlled and we can get our "customers" have their testing one by one in fair, and more discipline manner. During this health screening, most of the nurses from SGH cardiac clinic, some pharmacists and some from our CRC department were the volunteers. The main aim of this exhibition is increase the public awareness of cardiovascular risk, therefore through this health screening we believe it can help the public know more about their health status, based on blood pressure, cholesterol level, obese etcs as these factors can indirectly affect the most population with heart disease. With that, the exhibition even sent a few doctors as consultants for our "customers" after their health screening. These doctors would explain and suggest the way to avoid if the "customer" is in high risk.

Anyhow i feel this exhibition has succeed as more and more people nowadays are getting aware about their health. Like today, though 75% above were elderly, we had some young adults to spend some time to join this free health screening. This is good.

I also measured mine at the end of today's health screening. My blood pressure is normal, just the pulse rate abit too high (May be i get too excited?), normal cholesterol (4.8 mm Hg) and glucose level. I sastified all these results, except one thing: my BMI! Can you imagine, it was just 16.4! It's nearly underweight category if i have it below 15. And my waist only 60 cm. O.o''

My plan over the weekend

It has been a while i didn't update my blog. I just too lazy. =) Recently is quite busy with ammending the proposals, and preparing the relevant documents for my master application in unimas. Hope i can get my proposal finalized by my boss and apply it on next week before i continue my another busy week.

Next week from Fri to Sun, i'll be the volunteer for the World Heart Day'08 community project at The Spring shopping mall. Basically i'll help out for the registration and welcome people for cardiovascular screening. As since the World Heart Day is far concerned to increase public awareness of heart disease, so we have this free cardiovascular screening for the first 300 ppl who register. The screening will help to check your cholesterol level, blood pressure and other lipid levels (i.e. LDL, HDL etc). The main aim of this screening is to let the public knows their risk of getting heart disease, thus after all this checking, it helps public know how to change their lifestyle so as to avoid the risk.

After the cardiovascular screening on Fri and Sat morning (from 9 til 12pm), one public health talk will be organized as well, in Swinburne Sarawak campus on Sat afternoon (18th oct), 2pm. Both speakers are from cardiology department SGH. Besides, a jogging campaign (Walk A Mile campaign) at MBKS, Kuching on Sun morning (19th Oct) also included as one of the functions of World Heart Day'08 community project, and i think i'll go for it too, just to grab my free t-shirt and healthy breakfast! lol.. jk jk.

On sun after the jogging campaign, i will rush for my flight to KL for 3 days conference. I shall be back to Kuching on 22nd Oct night, and then start my normal routine working life on the next day. Aww, it's gonna be a tiring week, anyway it's worth to sacrifice for it.

For those of you who are in Kuching that time, join us for any of the functions. And for those you're not, remember to join any similar functions in your place, especially the health screening one. It's time to take care our health, we're actually not that young anymore. Haha.

Prepare for my little adventure

I was lucky to hear a Doctor presented his published works, past conference presentation and his lecture notes that designed for his medical doctors to me this afternoon. Is quite honour (i should say) to know things more than the one i learnt in uni.

End of this week, i submitted my proposal draft to the boss, and i already receive my next task, which is to do more reading and reading until i get a better idea what i am going to do for my project.

But, it's kinda interesting to expore things in medicine, and indeed, today i learnt about what is "Acute Coronary syndrome", how the doctors diagnose and treat it etc etc. That's cool. Yeah, i should start loving this job, the very first thing i should have (i.e. the passion!) to start my coming research adventure. =)

Over expensive

I just come back from lunch, what surprising was i had a little bihun, plus two little curry-breast meats and one vege, that kind of mix-meal can cost me RM 4.90! and that was without drink. The food considered so-so and such small portion didn't even filling me. I will be hungry an hour later, for sure. And, impossible it was so delicious that it can cost that expensive.

I'm not sure whether that's because of the inflation crisis, but if it does happen, how could it be happen inside a General Hospital compound? That's ridiculous, when u open a canteen and u going to supply food for those poor patients, yet that's so expensive that even i also dun think i can afford with.

RM4.90 for a lunch, if that happens to be my everyday lunch meal, how much i got to spend for my lunch only in this Hospital in a month?

I just dun feel happy, if it's with large portion that's ok. But with that small portion i took also that expensive. It's over value lah. Awww.

Traffic jam?

It's a cold morning, i got to wake up early to work. My working hour is from 8am till 5pm, but i reach here 710am every morning since my first day of work, because want to avoid the heavy traffic jam.

The traffic inside and ard the hospital compound is heavy, sometimes when go out too late (i mean after work), you will get stucked in hospital compound for at least half an hour. Don't know why recently Kuching people become so rich, even the petrol price rise, inflation rate rise, they still afford to buy a car. I can see in this hospital with over 2000 staffs, that is almost everyone has their own car even the compound is so small. I didn't see that is such thing called car pooing in Kuching, rarely if you see once.

By the way, i didn't drive to work everyday. My dad, perhaps the best in this world, willing to send me to work every morning. Not with the purpose not to add more pollution to our lovely Kuching, it's just that my family still don't believe i can drive safely to work. That's all because i once drove my car onto a divider when there's very early morning, and that was zero cars in road. How unbelievable!

I'm enjoy to sit tightly in car to let others drive, like i'm the boss. But that's something i dun like, i will be bored if can't go out from my workplace when it's a long 2 and half hour lunch break on every friday! If that's a choice, i think i want to drive to work on Friday only, so that i can escape and go home sleep for at least 1 hr then only come back to work.

And ya, i think it's time to support our very own Public Transport, --- the Bus. Maybe when my grandpa comes to Kuching for his follow-up medical check up, i'll follow him to ride bus becoz the place he goes for medical check-up is actually the place i'm working now.

One thing that's so coicindence is, my boss is actually my grandpa's doctor. =.="