A 'Rheumatoid' ward round

I am hanging around in UM these days until next Friday (Argh, jz reminded that i hvnt bought my Transnational ticket back!), and i only need to go Dermatology clinic on Tues and Fri morning to hunt for patients with psoriasis, this is part of my elective project to collect data from them in the form of interview with questionnaire.

Rheumatology (风湿病学) = mainly deal with clinical problems involving joints, soft tissues and allied conditions of connective tissues. The term rheumatology originates from the Greek word rheuma, meaning "that which flows as a river or stream" and the suffix -ology, meaning "the study of." abstracted from Wikipedia (many students find it very powerful!)

Actually i'm under Dr Amir, the only one UM rheumatologist available now :p ... Why am i wondering around in dermatology clinic?

Hmm...Dermato & Rheumato, what association? Thats my elective topic:

Teng teng teng teng..... (u hv to sing in that manner)

"Incidence of Psoriatic Arthritis among Patients with Psoriasis in Dermatology Clinic"

Yesterday was totally free, so I decided to follow Dr Amir in his round in the morning. Although there is a special ward/cubicle for rheumato patients in Ward 8TD, but many other patients are all over the hospital eg. geriatric, paediatric etc.. now i know why Dr is so fit, coz we keep climbing stairs and walk around like visiting UMMC :)

First case was a middle age man presented with prox muscle weakness and dysphagia. Dr showed us a few signs which are Gottron's papules (pic on the left), Mechanic's hands... sweat! luckily i got bring oxford handbook and flip through.. it is Dermatomyositis! First time saw it, I could bet it is not easily diagnosed coz the signs were not obvious, with only a few manifestation..

Second case was a young lady with SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) with atypical presentation, no butterfly rash, photosensitivity but the ANA & anti-dsDNA were positive. She got APLS (antiphospolipid syndrome) too.

There were 2 more SLE cases, one with jaundice and another one presented with a rare association, Dr said it is urticarial vasculitis. Urticaria-like lesions were seen on almost every parts of body (pic on right is an example of urticaria). There was also a chinese guy with pleural effusion and pericardial effusion. Water inside the heart is an emergency! But why there is water there? they are still working on it... Bilateral gouty arthritis on both legs was the next patient problem. He responded well to colchicine, and will be discharged once he could walk well. But his presentation was quite atypical too, coz usually it only involves one side.

Looks like many things are not that straight forward, sometimes totally memorize and rely on textbook is not the best approach, it is the experience that we need to collect along the way.

Sharing 2 very useful phone softwares!

For some time i have been using this 2 softwares in my phone, they are Oxford English Dictionary and Oxford Medical Dictionary. I found them somewhere in the internet quite some time ago. They proved to be extremely useful for student like me, who needs help in some English words, and more importantly, medical words and drugs details!

• Oxford English Dictionary - Contains any words u can find n think of, with very good and detail explanation. For beginner and also pro users :p


• Oxford Medical Dictionary - This is fantastic! Any medical jargons, terms, syndromes, rare diseases, and even drugs! It never fails me :) The drugs even has its functions, uses, side effects, trade name etc. Very useful to refer, and during questions in ward round!
  

Why they are good?

1. Comes in java file, works on simple phones, all Sony ericsson even old models eg. K500i can works! Most nokia phones also no problem, runs just like a game file.
2. Small in file size, Easy to use and Fast.
   
3. Free!
   

Just download the file and send to ur phone via bluetooth or memory card.

Now u can search any words or medical terms or drugs immediately in a handy, fast, powerful and simple mobile phone, just like a PDA phone, without spending any cent!

Note: This is just for sharing with friends. strictly NOT FOR SALE! Once the software is installed on ur phone, it cannot be sent to others, u need the original file to install on a new phone.

'Pek Chek' with express bus

"Konsortium is my airasia.." heard this from my fren not too long ago to describe how fast and convenient the express bus from kl to penang. (never take airasia, but its the economiest airline in m'sia)

Do u think so? i dun agree with that, mayb it was good that time..

Taking express bus does not give much good experience to me, too many problems and uncomfortable, i have no choice but to take it..sigh. Recently the price raised for 30% since Raya till now, even in normal weekdays. RM35 PG-KL, that was Super VVIP price in the past. Not to mention the price (since petrol n diesel cost are sky high), the service of this company disappointed me many times

1. Never punctual during departure
2. The staffs at station with poor attitude (Ask which bus never answer!)
   
3. Poor directive for passenger (that bus going where?wat time?)
   
4. Drivers chatting loudly and smoking
5. Malfunction chair, hv to keep straight or flat the whole journey!
   
6. Stop at rest tol too long!
   
7. Recently the bus will drive into Taiping to refill diesel, got once it took 30 mins!
8. Stop 2-3 times at least
   
9. Drive slowly sometimes (I dun ask for speeding, but driving at 80km/hr is not express at all)
10. The last 2 times i took were KL back to Butterworth, 2.30pm bus reached jetty at 8.30pm, 6 hours! (my family were waiting me for dinner, and i still need to take ferry!)
11. My juniors who took Transnational at 3pm on the same day, arrived even earlier at 7 smth.
    

Poor public transport service causing ppl to abandon it, if my saga is not that old, i would rather drive back if there are enough people to share. PG-KL still not so bad, KL-Butterworth really disappointing. I asked the driver that day about entering Taiping to refill, he replied it is company policy, what to do?

I seldom take Transnational, but there are counters in UM and University Hospital. I dun have to go or ask frens to buy tickets from Pudu earlier with this good accessibility available. So I think i will give a try on transnational next week when back, AND we will see any improvement or not.

Transnational has RM0.10 extra charge for insurance, kinda weird :p

Another thing i dislike is, the condition in pudu station. So many foreigners, so many ppl shouting, the smokey air, the narrow space, and the high risk of stealing! Not to mention the traffic condition there during peak season, you'd better go earlier if u dun wan to waste ur Airasia!

Why S'pore has excellent public transport? not we dun have the facilities, but its about the attitude, the education, the system, lack of improvement and competition.

Starting my 2 months elective

STILL, many ppl dun understand our system, maybe we are the 1st batch to go thru the new syllabus as guinea pig :p

Ppl always ask,"what year are u now? last year?"

I think 4th year and 5th year is kinda overlap little bit. In the new program of 4th year, we are divided into 3 big groups, rotating between:

1. 4 minor postings (A&E,ENT,EYE,ANAES) - 8 weeks
2. Elective - 8 weeks
3. PCM & O&G - 8 weeks

After that will continue with 5 major postings - Paeds, Medicine, Surgery, Orthopedic, PCM & O&G. This will continue till 2010, ending with my MBBS Final exam.

I have gone thru 4 minor postings, and all of them are cool! They are relatively more relaxing lar compared to major postings. Now stepping on elective period lor.

Basically now is holiday for me..hehe! For this 3 weeks i gonna do research in UH about psoriatic arthritis, together with chen yit. On the 4th week, I will go Taiwan for a month lor! Gonna do attachment at Tzu Chi Hospital in Hwa Lian, Taiwan.

Tomorrow I'm gonna back to KL to do the study lor, but i believe most of the time is still free..wondering what to do leh? coz i only need to present at the dermatology clinic for tues and fri morning. Btw, my topic is about the incidence of psoriatic arthritis among psoriatic patient in dermato clinic.

CLHS family pics

These photos were taken last year & earlier this year. I promised to send u all a copy, but somehow could not get to. Seniors who are working now, if u accidentally come here, kindly refers to the other colleagues asap!


My lovely buddies: (from left) Kean Sim, Dr. Chow, Dr. Lim, Lay Teng, Dr. Tan, Li Keat, Me, Shao Yin & Dr. Lim


Chung Ling juniors and seniors :)


Shu Chien's line ++


Tatt's line ++


Joe's line


My line again!


Another ocassion earlier this year at Yuan steamboat


My buddies with the most number :0


The most $$ dinner with Jin Keat & Chee Toong at San Francisco Steakhouse, Midvalley


During convo of ji keat

Some rojak videos in the past..

Thanks to Chern Ling of reminding me about the video.. through out these years i had a few chances of designing some video for certain funtions. They are not of those professional clips, but the content inside tells better of what happened these years.. After many times of pc format and file transfer, luckily some of these videos are still with me. By uploading here at least i still have my very last copy if i'm under virus or trojan attack!

My first video was created during form5 school assembly, kinda crazy doing such movie clip in front of students and teachers! haha..but its very funny and i believe its the memory of our very own batch of frens :)


March 2003-Combined movie clips to give passion and excitement. First time doing so kinda noob :) it was shown during school assembly, and i was pleased with the good response, at least from students..hehe (teachers might not think so :p)


Jan 2006-Malam Kebudayaan (Cultural Night). The video clip was designed and shown during the opening of Malam Kebudayaan held in 6th college, University Malaya. I love this clip coz it comprises of multi-races, cultures, and the cool ending with Lord of the rings & Narnia, to show the 'Power of Unity'. The background songs are nice, so keep ur ears clear :)


August 2006-6th College Merdeka week (minggu kemerdekaan) video. Taken in 6th college to show the students creativity and effort in decorating the college compound, also to be contested as part of the competition among all colleges in UM. I was the cameraman using the college old DV cam lolz!


May 2007-MUNUS Sport Games. MUNUS(Malaya University and National University of Singapore) is an exciting sports carnival between the 2 Uni's medical students. It is held once every year taking turns either in UM or NUS. The video was shown during the closing ceremony to show some photos flashback and result of each competitions. Ending with pirates of carribean (hot that time :>) and prize giving, to UM!


March 2008-CRP (Community Residency Program). This is a project for all 3rd year Medical students with the purpose of learning research and studies, also exposure to the rural areas. We were separated to 5 districts in Pahang. My group was in Raub and it was a great memory! The video shows the activities and places we visited that time. Shown in closing in district office and review in faculty.

Apart from these, there are still some videos created for other events but i d lost it, they are War Disted created for my fren chenn yih, the opening video during Kedah Matric Chinese New Year celebration and the video for graduation day in secondary school (i think it was distributed in VCD). I guess CRP is my last time having the chance to play around with the audio and visual stuffs, busy for study and lots of other stuffs, my lovely video software 'Pinnacle' also duno thrown where d.

Do they refresh some of ur memory? drop ur words here to share oo.. ^ ^

Looking for medical books?

Here is a cool website to check out, recommended by my fren tatt

http://book4medstudent.blogspot.com/
Many medical books available inside as softcopy, from year 1 to year 5, and from core to specialised subjects. KIV some links are broken, so remind the manager :)

Welcome to my first blog site :)

Hello friends! I'm Chuan Huan, currently a 4th year medical student from University Malaya.

I am inspired to create a blog (my very first one..so kinda noob) after exposing to my senior who is working now in hospital. Telling and sharing my stories with others is something new and fresh for me, but i feel it is a very good way to share and keep contact and keep updated with my friends.

I not sure how people can get here, but writing something here keep me remind of what i have been gone through so far. I am glad to see my senior Rui Lun who is also same secondary school with me Chung Ling, having a good life as a fresh Dr in practice. Drop by at his happening blog to check out! http://medicboyz.blogspot.com/

These are some of my photos during secondary school life..

Where is me? obviously the one in center, smiling in wide teeth :)

Taken outside my class corridor 5SAS

This photo reminds me of my teen-age-years.. I was one of the committee in graduation magazine in charge of multimedia stuff, coz i like taking photos that will keep the moment crystal clear!

'a picture tells a thousand words'..rite?

I always wish to share those exciting moment with others, recording down myself as a precious memory. But to start holding a pen and write on a paper sounds stupid for me..haha :) I have to admit that the advance in technology allow more people to communicate. Writing in front of laptop is simply more comfortable for me, and i love the audio n visual effect and interaction in it.

Watch I'm not stupid 2 before? The blog of the boy reflects its importance now :)

SO.. i'm just another medical student who is struggling for studying-life. What else to say? suddenly i feel to much to tell, too much to say, coz every moment i went thru was full of memory..

Starting as a chubby boy in primary school, trained into a dark volleyball player (n fit! hehe), involved in many activities in secondary school, organizing events in matriculation, and extending my life in UM medical school. Many happiness, sadness, passion, touching n love in each and every part of them!

Form 5 Birthday party at Gurney Red Box!

Pantai kerachut with my good friends

As MC in matriculation CNY nite

Celebrating birthday in KMK (Kolej Matrikulasi Kedah)

Taken at UM DTC during 1st year

Many things in the past I would like to share, mayb i should start with my 1 year old pic, but thats boring la rite.. I will keep update the latest and something interesting to my dear friends.

Btw, to all my good friends, no matter where you all are now, Hong Kong? Russia? Taiwan? India? Afganistan? haha joking lar.. wish our friendship forever. Dun forget our batch back to Chung Ling. I hope this website is still working, although i very seldom update it :) http://clhs.vze.com

Have a nice day!