Doc Ahmad Hajiri

  Internship ends in a few days (July 1 to be exact) and since March 22, we started the #Last100Days of Internship countdown. Those who are following my Instagram account would know that I have been posting random pics with the countdown numbers (see above photos). I tried my best to complete the 100 days but it was just so hard! haha. And now, who would have thought that we are now down to the last 50 days! It happened so fast! I can't even believe that the ten months of internship--no, the FIVE YEARS in Medical School is about to end! SubhanaAllah!  I do not even know what to feel right now. Should I be excited, because everything's about to end? Or should I be anxious and scared, because... well, because the daunting future that lies before me is certainly scary! (read: Board exams, being a full-pledged MD, too much expectations from everyone...) Still, as I keep on recounting the remaining days of internship, I just can't help but look back... those enume...

Assalamu Alaykum! For the 12th week of the year 2015, here are the things that happened: The Exam last Wednesday was O-kay, I think. Well it was not that easy, there were essay questions that requires some knowledge of the subject matter. We were provided with enough time for our reading materials anyway, so if we failed to learn those concepts, its on us. (Oh I miss answering essay questions after 3 years of multiple-choice scantron type exams haha). The recall-type MCQ ones are tricky as well. Huh, what's new with our exams anyway. Our Urban Community Medicine Rotation finally ended with our Final Reporting last Friday. It was not-the-usual all clinico-pathological presentation that we had in other rotations. Rather, it was more of a collation of 'creative' outputs from the four groups under ComMed for the last 2 weeks. Most of the group (actually all four of them) had video presentations (from laugh-your-ass-out funny videos to tear-jerking-MMK-style ones). O...

Assalamu Alaykum (Peace be upon you all!) Our one-month rotation with the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology for our ICC Training (OBGYN 250) finally ended today. It was indeed a wonderful experience, that 30-day madness trying to remember all those numbers (of what AOGs this test is requested and this condition wrecks havoc), the dragging days in the posts, and of course, the paper case protocols that never ended. Until today though.  We had our "oral exam" earlier--which in the end turned out to be an essay-type written exam (hey! when was the last time I took an essay exam?)--then followed by the 100-item, 17-page comprehensive exam. Too long? Naah, it was actually a pretty fair exam if you really did your part, which ehem I think I failed in doing mine... anyway, enough of that. After the 7-hour exam, we were all like: We Survived! My dear Nakama!!! (Originally from One Piece, all rights reserved to them :P) So, the first semester of the newly s...

Assalamu Alaykum! (Peace be upon you all!) Heya! Here we go again with the usual "I am sorry it took me so long to post here again" scenario which I believe I should already get rid of (-_-) Starting today! I never even have a "Date published" tags on my posts...so no one would really know how late I am. haha! But kidding aside, I think the dates really doesn't matter anymore... If I am writing these experiences and maybe some tips for the next ICCs*, the order of each rotation would not matter: for every block (all 8 of them) have different schedules, and perhaps different experiences as well. So I will just write what I have in my journals, keep them short and concise as possible (which I am really poor at by the way), and hopefully pray that someone would stumble on this blog and read it. haha.  Anyway, continuing our sharing of stories and learning experiences (?) as an ICC student... I see my calendar here that we are now in our 8th week as an ICC ...

Assalamu Alaykum! (Peace be upon you all) This is rather late, but I will post it anyway :) For the sake of documenting things here haha. Sorry I wasn't able to post much these days (imagine the gap from Day 1 to 10! haha). I just don't feel like there are still readers visiting my blog anymore :( Sad. anyways, here goes! Week 2: Anesthesiology Department Day 8, Monday: It's all about Pain Our second rotation as ICCs is in the Anesth Department for one week and the module title was "Intro to Pain" (huh! talk about subliminal messages, this must be some painful week).  The orientation on day 1 was quite chaotic, to say it frankly. But here are the things I got: During our one-week stay in the department, there will be a single lecture about "Pain"; we will be divided into two groups with five members each and will be assigned to different "posts": Acute Pain Services (APS), Pain Clinic at the OPD, the OPD-OR, and at the Post...

[Helpful for: All LUs/Year levels but not in all schools] Assalamu Alaykum! (Greetings of Peace!) Transcriptions or “transes” are the concise and summarized copies of the lectures by your professors. There should be some people who will do the dirty job of transcribing, and they are called the transcribers or in short: “Transers” Your class will usually divide you into groups of transers with three members each (some schools will have only two) and you will be assigned to a scheduled lecture for you to transcribe. It is then your responsibility as the transers to get the necessary and significant information discussed in the lectures. You also have to do your best to persuade your lecturer to give you a copy of their presentations and handouts. Some professors are generous while others are just plain, nasty ones. So you have to be prepared if you have to start from scratch for the trans. But this (starting from scratch) does not happen very often as you will also be ...

[Helpful for: LU3 and LU4 (1st and 2nd Year)] Assalamu Alaykum! (Greetings of Peace!) We will jump from the topic on “lectures” to one of the dreaded yet fun type of exams: the Kodachrome exams! This was supposed to be in the later part but knowing the schedule of the exams is already near, I have to push this post up the schedule in hopes of it to be of use somehow. Disclaimer! I am not the best guy to give you these tips, but because no one is doing it, then what’s the trouble of doing it instead? Haha! So what is a Kodachrome exam? This one goes back in time immemorial when medstudents are still using the real kodachrome machine where pictures of specimens (usually tissues) will be projected on a white screen. (In LU4, you will experience using a real kodachrome machine thru Dr. Dimacali’s lectures in pathology :D). Nowadays we are using the overhead LCD projectors with the ever-so-convenient MS Powerpoint presentations where digital copies of the specimens wi...

]Helpful for: All LUs/Year levels] Assalamu Alaykum! (Greetings of Peace!) Being a medstudent means attending to seemingly endless classes: from boring lectures to eye-popping histo-labs and neck-breaking cadaver dissections. What is the purpose of the word “student” anyway if you don’t attend those classes that will—ehem—prepare you in your future professional career? And so, as much as we lazy students want to skip all those classes, we cannot deny the fact that we really need them—badly need them. But hey! Not all classes will be full of boring 100+ presentation slides; there will also be some cool professors with cool ideas to make their lectures livelier. Ever attended a class where you played games all throughout? How about a whole 3 hours of lecture while standing? Or just sitting back and watch a good movie? (Although I hate the “reflection papers” after those films). And how about professors that suddenly throw firecrackers inside the room to wake you up? Haha...