Friday, April 28, 2006
The First Time
Today is my 11th day in bukittinggi. I like staying here, but tomorow I think I have to comeback to padang, some bussiness have to be finished and borrowing books from my colleagues.
I still remember when I firstly arrived in Bukittinggi and my senior, SY,MD who previously stayed in Bukittinggi, introduced me to the hospital's members, they were shocked seeing me, that I am a woman. They always said...this is the first time..(woman from surgery department comes here). In bukittinggi my duty day is...every day for 24 hours. I get off-day in the weekend, but my consultants here have a hope that I don't use my weekend too frequent..hehe..
So, when they called me via phone (usually by a connection from an operator) and I answered the phone, they asked me back, is this the number of Surgery's Resident? Then I answered, Yes. You are speaking to Dr. Jini. Then they asked again, "A girl?" I answered again, Yes. and they always ended their questions with.."This is the first time..."
I was the chairman for my class when I was in my 7th semester. I think I was the first girl in my medical school who was elected to be the class' chairman..(hmm chairwoman). When there were any problems about my class, my lectures always asked, where is your chairman?Then when I was showed up, they always asked back with question.."A girl?"
Also when I wanted take a drum class, my instructor said, "Is it you who want to learn drumming?"
Is it prohibited for a girl/woman, playing drum, being a chairman, being a surgeon?
Of course not, but women seldom do that, so the people see us, who do this, as a rare species..
I am not sure about this one, am I feminist or not.
When I was in kindergarten, 5 years old, I have a friend, a boy, who were very naughty, and always disturbed and made my friends crying. So, When I was saw him, I said like this to my heart, "You can make all of those girls crying, but not this girl." that words affected me much. When I was in Elementary School, If I have a friend who tried to disturb me, I fought him back. Sometimes, if I couldn't do at school time, I made a promise to meet him after school..hehe..
But, actually I have good relationship with the boys..I am not a man hater, but i just don't want to be dishonored.
When I was in Junior High School, I began to like rock music. And people saw me as a stranger. It was very rare at that time girls like rock music and my favorite were the hardest ones. I like Rock not to make myself becoming different with other girls. Because I like it. I still remember when i firstly heard Queen, in elementary school and I felt peace in my heart. So with my elementary school uniform, I went to the music store and bought Queen's cassette. I think it was not an usual scene in the '80s...hehe.
My Sister dislikes Rock very much..hehe.
When I was in the Senior High School, people still saw me peculiarly. One of my friend said, I really want to see the moment when you fall in love. Will you still play the rock music?
I also have a friend who just moved from Jakarta at that time and gave me a comment like this: Even in Jakarta I rarely saw a girl like you..
I never see myself, that I have to beat men, and being the first...But I like to compete with men, because people always said man is the strongest, woman is weak, so they can't do as best as man can do. It's true that woman is more weak than a man, if you talk about power. But in the quality of working, it is not true at all. If you want to have a good quality of working, you have to improve yourself quality, so it is very individual. That's why sometimes I work with two things in my head, to do the best I can do and show people, a woman can do this also.
Am I feminist with this goal of working?
(But I like surgery and rock, learning to play drum not to compete with men, just because I LIKE THEM from my heart)
I think the person who has a big role of my character is my father. My father always told me not to be affraid to anything and doing the best you can do in working. When I was told my father I want to be a surgeon, my father said to me, I think being an orthopaedist or urologist is the best for you. Then I said, an urologist? Don't you know that if I am being an urologist, I have to contact with my patients' penises? Then he said, it's not a problem, how about the men's Gynecologist? You are in the same position...My father is very cool..hehe..
My mother told me, that she was almost quitted her education in college when she was getting married to my father. Then father told my mother, you have to finish your education. And my mother finished it and continued it until she got her PhD. She is the first Woman professor of Andalas University's Animal Husbandry Faculty.
Maybe this kind of education has led me to be the first timer person, the stranger and whatever it is called..
But to say you frankly, I never feel what I am doing right now is something uncommon. It is other people always say to me..
Monday, April 24, 2006
Bukittinggi
Most of my seniors said, it is nice to have a duty in Bukittinggi. I realize it after almost a week staying here. During this time, I've done one debridement, seen and involved an operation of External fixation of open fracture in cruris, appendectomy, Laparatomy, Thorax tube-WSD and venous cutdown...Something I rarely do in Padang or just being as an assistant. It is just like this, in Padang you are taught and in Bukittinggi you are practiced it. The big question, why I don't feel any fear to do it? Maybe because I am alone, No seniors beside me, that makes me becoming independent?
This little bird is trying to fly high...and higher.
I hope Allah always protect me in my path. Ameen.
Something that makes me discomfort is my loneliness. There are not any of your friends, talking and laughing your foolness...when I think of it, I miss Padang. I don't feel any homesick..(an otaku like me always need comics/manga/anime. I 've bought many of them, so I always feel at home everywhere, if there are tons of comics there)...but something is lost. My friends in Padang.
I hope this loneliness doesn't affect my duty in Bukittinggi. I think I have to come back to Padang every week and visit the emergency building, seeing my friends..hehe.
I miss spongebob squarepants too..hehe. No Global TV here.
Let's talk about another topics.
My friend zora will go to Aceh to have a PTT.
I talk to Yos, that Oma (zora's nickname) is following him, because she is not letting her grandson (Yos) to be alone in Aceh..hehe.
Many of my friends go to Aceh to have PTT (like Yos used to do). Because the total times of PTT in Aceh is shorter than any places in Indonesia. The Regular PTT takes time 2-3 years, nut in Aceh it is just for 6 months! So many people are interested in going to Aceh.
It is different with me. I continue my education (General Surgery) not longer after my graduation (less than a year), but some of my friends delay their education and working in clinics or hospitals. Then when they want to continue their education, the centre they go need a requirement, like PTT, because they have graduated more than 2 years. That's why many people choose go to Aceh to have PTT, so they can comeback and continue the education sooner. That's what zora wants to do. But I think it depends to the centres they want to go. Andalas University is not strict about this.
Ooops..my time is over. Okay, I have to get back to hospital.
See ya next time..
*Appendectomy = popular in Indonesia as operasi usus buntu. Usus buntu's latin name is Appendix vermiformis
Friday, April 21, 2006
Water,water,water
It has been two days!
I wanna take a baatthh..
...................................(10 minutes after this, Jini is lifting litres of water from another room to her room..hehe..)
I love my room in Achmad Muchtar Hospital. It is not too big, not too small. Ideal for one person.To say you frankly, this is not my first arrival in RSAM (the nick name for Achmad muchtar hospital). In my senior clerkship i was going to this place about 7 times. I was shared with other co-assistants, so sometimes there are 5-7 of us sleeping in the same room. Right now I am sleeping alone in my room. I got only lunch and dinner in my clerckship, but as a resident I also get breakfast. The weaknesses of my room is the bathroom. there is something wrong, so the water it's hard to flow to my bathroom...(sigh)
Thursday, April 20, 2006
A gift
I am in Bukittinggi now. It has been three days.
The first experience I got two days ago was when I wanted starting an operation and washed my hands, I got a "Hibiscrub" shot to my left eye! ( I think it's not a pure hibiscrub, but a mixed between hibiscrub and savlon). I felt pain, itchy and hard to open my eyes. Then my consultant talked to me that I had to check my eye to an opthalmologist. The result of the 'Slit lamp' examination is...my eye is okay, especially is my cornea. He gave me 'xytrol', a corticosteroid agent+antibiotics. It was a gift for me..hehe..
I don't know how to describe my feeling right now. Wow, I am alone, without any guard from my seniors (It's not 100% true..). Actually I still can consult via mobile-phone. It's a little bit strange, but until this time still I can handle any kinds of patiets' problems in the ward.
I hope everything is okay for these 2 months..
Last April 17th was my brother's birthday.
I just want to say "Happy Birthday"..
See ya in the next post.
* Hibiscrub = anti bacterial+anti fungus, a liquid soap-like for washing hand before an operation
*Slit lamp = a lamp used for opthalmologic examination. You can examine any aspect of eye, like conjunctive, cornea, fundus etc
Monday, April 17, 2006
The Janitor Room
In emergency building, we have four rooms for the residents of Surgery. One is close to the triage, the others are far. one of them is the janitor room.
You maybe wonder what is the speciality of janitor room that i have to mention it exclusively. When I came firstly to the emergency building, many people offered me to have another room beside the residents', bcoz I was the only girl. How should I contact with the others that all of them are men. But I never did that. I put my things in janitor room. So the function of this room at that time was the room for residents' things, like handycam, LCD player, PC notebooks, camera, and our private things. There are lockers. So you can imagine how hectic was the room.
Then my urologic consultant, DE, MD bought us band instruments. The janitor room became very hectic and it was very hard to walk in it. My senior told me to rearrange the room. So when i was in my duty day (that time i was the most junior), i asked the doctor's assistants (who had clerkship in Surgery's department) helping me rearranged the room. I had to move away one of the two tables to another room and changed the position of the lockers. That move made a larger space for our band equipments.
We were busy with the band activities until the karaoke player came after Idul Fitri..
Right now, we have band equipments, karaoke player, but my colleagues prefer karaoke player to band equipments, maybe singing with karaoke is easier than to play music tools.
The photos above are... Singing the karaoke together, RO,MD and ZI,MD..on last Sunday. I myself joined singing..sang Air Supply's Goodbye, Maddona's take A bow and 4 Non Blondes' What's Goin' On (YEAH..!), A solo guitar from ZI, MD..still wear the operation clothes...Solo Bass from YZ, MD. Jam session from YZ, MD on the bass and The Rolling Stone's Lover, FU, MD on the guitar...Those last two photos were taken last year.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
My photo
Yos told me in his e-mail that there's not any photo in my blog. So i put this picture, me with the operation clothes and hat. It was taken by my ownself, mobile phone camera. Actually that was designed for MMS, but the line was so bad. The time was a day before Idul Fitri day, 2.oo pm, my second day in hospital (duty day), the last day of ramadhan and no sleep at all at night. I was still worn the operation clothes, it was after an operation and waiting for next patient, a perforation of gaster. But the patient himself couldn't be operated since he got a very high level of Potassium in his blood. The anesthesiologist was refused to do him, because of the high risky. Then we sent him to the ward to reduce his potassium, but then he died at Idul Fitri day, 4.00 pm
Am i looking tired in this photo?
Because at the time i felt very sleepy and tried to smile..
Time to leave
My seniors, YZ,MD and FU,MD are surgeons now. Both of them pass the final exam. it's time for both of them leaving. we'll miss both of them..
I've told da yev to borrow me his books after his exam...hehe..
Hmm..next tuesday i'll leave padang for bukittinggi. The section exchanged is delayed for a week since we have new section in Muara Labuh hospital. last week i was worried about bukittinggi, can i do it alone? In padang my position is Jaga 1 (First Person) or the first line, accepting patients in emergency. i have 3 junior (2 classes) below me, but four seniors above me. They are, Jaga 2 (2nd person), Jaga 3 (3rd person), Chief Jaga (chief of the duty team) and Chief resident (they represent as our consultant), also there are consultants (our lecturers) who get their own duty day,one consultant, change everyday. In every centre in Indonesia the system of Surgery education is the same, resembling to military system. If we get patient, the most junior report it to the senior that directly above him. like me, i'll report the patient to jaga 2.Below me there are 2 junior who are jaga ikutan (followers) and a jaga 1. But i've already become jaga 1, before he came to Andalas, so if there's a patient he'll report to me .
The decision maker of our team is our chief jaga. But if he hesitates, he'll consult to chief resident. If chief resident hesitates, he'll consult to consultant. But, since we have duty day every 4 days, and i have stayed here more than a year, so i can predict about 90% the final decision (pre operative)
Something that i am worried about is my capability in operation. Though my seniors always said to me, how can you feel affraid, you can do the laparatomy (open the abdominal cavity)..
One of the higher technique of operation is opening the abdominal cavity (laparatomy) and closing it, layer per layer. Other like relating (anastomosing) bowel. Of course i can do a simple laparatomy, but anastomosing bowel well, i haven't any experience. then my seniors said, you have consultant above you directly, so never feel affraid about it..they will do for you
I feel like this one right now, i am a little bird, my mother has taught me to fly, actually i can fly but since this my first time to do it without mom beside me, so i am worried about falling to the ground..it's safe if there is an existence of your seniors (my seniors are my mom).. hehe..
Right now i am not worried about it anymore, it is just about time to leave, standing alone with your own power.
i have news from aceh. My good friend yos (actually his name is syamsul rizal, so from where is yos coming from???) is the staff of department of surgery of Syiah kuala/ Zainoel Abidin Hospital..it was a shocking news for me, but i am happy..finally.. (akhirnya lo masuk bedah juga..hehe..). So there are 5 future surgeons of class of 96's Andalas Medical School, my friend rizki rahmadian in Orthopaedics of hasan sadikin hospital Bandung (he's also new staff of andalas medical school, i hope he will be in our surgery department), Roni Eka Sahputra in orthopaedics of RSCM jakarta, Me and Ari Oktavenra of M.Djamil hospital Padang and Yos in Aceh. four of my friends are married to residents of surgery...
Because of this fact, outsiders always say like this to my class....in 96ers, if you can't be the surgeon, you can be with the surgeon..hehe..
Hey this the day of soccer's training but i write this post. Will my headmaster be angry to me?Osshhh..i'll come to karate's session tomorrow!*
OSH!
P.S.: my friend yos told me to put photos....i'll try. To say you frankly i just have one photo of my face..others are photos of the patients from operation..hehe..
* my headmaster is our karate sensei (teacher)
The life of a future surgeon
It has been a year and 4 months. I realize how true is his statement. When I was in orthopaedics section, there was an announcement from the province/regency/city government about being government employee. Since i was in the hospital at that time and the newspapers were sold out, so i decided to borrow my uncle's newspaper. I went to his home and brought the newspaper. later, I realized, my mother showed me the same newspaper with I got from my uncle. so i asked her did she buy it for me, bcoz i'd brought it from uncle's ...then my mother answered that ......I am nuts! Don't you ever know that we subscribe this newpaper??i felt very weak in all part of my body. how couldn't i know about it?Then my mother said, how busy were i that i didn't know the newspaper we subscribe.
It's true.
When i was in orthopedics, the operation start at 7.30 a.m. in the morning, so i have to come earlier, bcoz we have patients in the ward to be visited, then prepare the patient also the operation devices that when your consultant comes, he is just starting with washes the hands, wears the gown, desinfects the operation field and makes incision. Since we have so many patients and i am the youngest/ the lowest level, i write down all of daily reports. sometimes my seniors help me. But it is very rare. Every patient has his/her own problem...sometimes they are 30 patients. Although every each report is written short, but visiting them, getting know their problems, fixing the position of tractions, measuring the length and the width, writing the reports..and you do that alone, will take times 4-5 hours. So i do it after 2 pm, after the legal time, that makes me coming home late, about 8-10 pm. Sometimes i was very tired, i took a nap, then started visiting at 4 or 5 pm or even 9. So i could come home at 11 or 12 pm. at the morning, i have to come earlier too. So i spent times in hospital more than at home. That's why i never know about the newspaper at home...
I passed the test. I am now waiting for my employee registration number.
My schedule in this last 12 days.
Monday 4/3/06, 7.30 am-5.30pm hospital/outside. 5.30-7.30pm home. 7.30-11.30 hospital.11.30-tomorrow home
Tuesday 4/4/06 (duty day) 7.30 am - wednesday 4/5/06 8.30 pm hospital/outside. 08.00-10.30 pm home. 10.30- thursday 4/6/06 7.00 am hospital. 7.00 - 8.00 am home (take a bath). 8.00 am - 7.00 pm hospital. 7.00-tomorrow home
friday 4/7/06 7.30 am-11.30 pm hospital. 11.30 pm-tomorrow home.
saturday 4/8/06 (duty day) 7.30 am - monday 4/9/06 2 pm hospital. 2 pm- tomorrow home
tuesday 4/10/06 7.30 am -6.30 pm hospital/outside. 6.30-9.00 pm home. 9.00-12.30 hospital.12.30-tomorrow home
wednesday (duty day) 7.30 pm- friday 00.30 am hospital. 00.30-10.00 am home. 10.00 am- 7.00 pm hospital/outside.7.00 pm-8.00 pm home. 8.00 pm-12.00 pm hotel rocky (surgery's event)12.00-this time home and type this one..hehe..
Yesterday my colleague ( my junior, but senior in age, a father of a daughter) asked me, with your schedule right now, when is the time for your boy friend? I said I don't have any, I am very busy. I'll have it after "Hari Raya"..
Hari Raya is coming from Hari Raya Jepang (Hari rayo japang), the favorite words of one of my senior if he tried to tell an event that not sure to be happened/never happened..
Then he said, my cousin in Obstetric, is like you too, she's older than you.
Since i was in hurry at the time, i never reply his sentences
So i conclude my life right now in this writing..
I come to Andalas Surgery department as the first woman resident. Aceh, north Sumatra, don't have any. only sriwijaya of palembang has woman surgeon. So Andalas university is the second in Sumatra who has woman member and i am the person who make it happen. Many females avoid to be a surgeon bcoz of the schedule and many doctors, my colleagues always say these words, you should not waste your time by being surgeon, there are other specialists that is not busy.
I think, if you choose something it's not about busy or not busy, but it is about like and dislike. i love surgery, so even there isn't any woman in surgery, i don't mind to be the only one. (though right now it is added one, my junior). I am very busy, most of the times very tired, sleeping is a luxurious pleasure, sometime i have to steal the times of my schedule, still i love it and don't mind about it.
About boy friend, only the crazy ones looking for it, in the end it's about a husband and i am not crazy. I love my surgery, so anyone who wants to be with me has to compromise with it.
My lecturers said that many of women surgeon have divorced.
Still i am walking to surgeon.
I have a confidence, why this could be happen, many divorced, bcoz it is very hard for men seeing their wives just walk out homes and give their men less time. it is a little chance for me to get usual life like others (being mature and married)
I am maybe hard headed, but i don't mine if someday in the future i never find any man who can compromise with my life, that in the end i have to sick alone, died alone, i don't mind. This is my decision and you have to keep your faith. this is my life, the only one i have in this world, so i don't want anybody steal it from me.
So proud of it?
YES, I AM PROUD OF IT
and i enjoy it much.
anyone who read this, this is only my thought, and your idea is your freedom.
Thank for reading
Don't hesitate to criticize
I have to finish this and get sleep
(oops..1.44 am)
Tomorrow is continued baby...
Monday, April 10, 2006
One Last Breath
The baby I told you in my previous post were died in the morning. He was very sweet. He was also the nephew of my friend, a resident of Internal Medicine. I was sorry for her.
My intussuseption baby was getting better but it was no longer. Since we have experience in treating him, so my chief of my duty team told us to stay at home and wait for a calling, if his condition is getting worst.
Abut my duty day in saturday night, I made NEW RECORD!
We stayed and had surgery treatments for 46 hours! I have slept about 3 hours. There were so many patients and I even forgot how many of them. Let me count...hmm since I am still sleepy
right now, I can't count them...hehe
When I finished my operation 5 o'clock in the morning, i got call from NICU. My patient is 38 degree Celcius!So I went to NICU and try to reduce his therm. I slept at 5.30am, wake up at 6.30am and sleep again and an earthquake wake me up at 10am. Thank God it was just once.
The biggest fear of an earthquake for us (Padang people) is Tsunami. We are affraid if we get like the Acehnese. I still remember when we experienced so many eartquakes last year (I feel the ground is like a small ship on the sea for almost 2-3 weeks), people always ran to my hospital. So I always feel safe in my hospital, especially the emergency room building. That's why I never feel very worried if there is an earthquake when I am in the emergency building.
Hey, 11.15 pm, okay Jini, stop writing and finish your work.
Bye!
This one last breath for this post.
EEEHHH..
Friday, April 07, 2006
After...
So many topics.
Which one is the first?
Hmm, about my last duty day at tuesday. We got an intussuseption patient, a 7 month-old male baby. During my pediatrics surgery section, this was the sixth patient i've ever treated, and the most difficult one! my patient has an unstable body's therm. So my team decided to take care of him 24 hours in NICU (Neonatal and Infant Intensive Care Unit) and make a shift. Since I am in the pediatrics, so I got shift more than others. I think i spent most of my time in hospital longer than in home per day. Tired, very tired. Like today, i arrived at hospital at 7 am dan back home at 11 pm. My other patient, a post operation of Hernia Diaphragmatic got trouble this afternoon, he wasn't able to breath. The last decision was re-intubated him . I hope this work. I left him to my other friend.
To say you frankly, i don't like seeing kids in pain, very sick state..that's why i never intersted in being a pediatrician. But as a resident of general surgery, i have to learn pediatrics' disease. And of course have to contact with kids..
Again, i hope both of my patient are okay tonight..
(Sigh) tomorrow is my duty day again and i have a paper to finish. this time is 0.19 am. May Allah blesses me with good health and endurance tonight..
Continue about the rumours i've told before, finally it was proven not true. Our duty day is still every four days. But I got another shock story. I am going to bukittinggi! In bukittinggi i will work alone with no senior above me. Oh god, I got stomache when my senior told me about it. Can i do that alone? I never spend my time in urologic and oncology. God, blesses me with your power! And...Ganbarre! (Somebody out there, please say to me, ganbatte kudasai...)
Soushite, enough for today. i want to write down my paper, as soon as possible, because i need more sleep to face my duty day tomorrow. Having duty day in emergency room on saturday night means having an extra energy, bcoz so many accidents in the road (most of them got drunk and this is the point why i hate drunkard.)
Bye.
No energy in my writing?
Yup, that's true.
I am tired.
But have many works.
I have to be strong.
Hahaha..
Sayounara
Monday, April 03, 2006
Rumours
And also.......rumours! Our emergency duty day will be every 3 days! God!
Let me explain our schedule. Everyday, from 7-14.00, is the legal working hours.If we have an emergency duty day, it means from 7 o'clock today to 7 o'clock the day after today, every single patient that status as surgery's patient who comes to emergency IS YOUR DUTY. Duty means you do the patient from pre-operative to post operative. Of course, you also do the operation in Central Operation theatre that is scheduled a day before or go to Surgery's Clinics. So that's why, if i have a duty day, I'll spend my times for almost 2 days in hospital, with less sleep. Sometimes just 30 minutes. I always come home with just one idea, MY BED I MISS YOU!Hehe..
Outside this legal schedule, we have karate's session, every wednesday (7-9 PM) and every sunday (7-9AM), Badminton every tuesday and friday from 10 PM-end (usually 1 AM), and soccer every saturday from 4-6.30 PM. I just follow the karate (if i have the duty day, i miss this session). When i was in the 1st semester, i used to play badminton. But since i have to come home very late, my seniors told me to go home earlier for the sake of safety in road(they were very kind to me, maybe bcoz i'm the first woman resident..or just bcoz i'm woman?). When i was in Orthopeadics, i didn't have much time, so i never came for badminton. Soccer? My headmasters told me is very good if i can play soccer. He dreams of having a woman in our soccer team. I'm so sorry that running is my weaknesses...
the most juniors (first semester) are having duty day for every 2 days. i was counted my times when i was 1st semester, it is the same with worker, who work 7 days in a week, per day is 17-18 hours working. Can you imagine how busy were i at that time? And it was also added with the session (at that time karate was not existed yet). Very busy and tired...my bed is my heaven.
So if this rumours is right, what's the idea coming to your head about our life. Living with surgery is a very busy life..Surgeons said surgery is the 1st, family is the 2nd. (It is very mean, isn't it?)
But still, i love this work so muuuccchhh....