MTAC Pharmacist?!

Argh~~!!

I don’t wanna be an MTAC pharmacist~!! *Cries*

Ahh~ Just for fun~! *Grins*

Back To Kindergarten

Back home early today.. Not feeling very well.. Feeling absolutely pissed at the head nurse at D4.. She made me feel like I was back at kindergarten..

During our ward round this morning, Dr. KFK asked me to find the dosage of IV Ceftazidime and the frequency of administration for a renally impaired patient and that I did.. I found that ceftazidime should be given EOD to a prient with the CrCl of <10 mL/min and at a dosage of 500mg.

Tried finding alternatives for that.. Guessing it would be for G-ve bacteria, IV Ceftriaxone maybe? Asked Dr.G.. He said, yeah, IV Ceftriaxone could be used.. So I went off to find info on IV Ceftriaxone for renally impaired patients.. Found out that no adjustments are necessary..

Anyways, while I was away finding info at C3 where Fei and her drug info were, D4’s head nurse called Satellite A pharmacy to complain about me being AWOL! According to Mala, the Sr. had raised her voice saying that I went off without telling her and that when she asked questions, I kept quiet and just smiled…

No.1, NOBODY was dying so I’ve no idea why she was so frantically looking for me when I was away for 10 MINUTES and was at the next building! And secondly, she NEVER asked me anything and hello.. Since when am I ever QUIET??

All that happened was Dr. KFK was looking for me, walking fast towards the back of the ward, when I was next to her all the time and I didn’t bother to shout “Hey, I’m here!” or wave my hands in the air to catch her attention! And the sr was like.. “Aiyo, kenapa tak cakap apa-apa?” Easy.. She wouldn’t have heard me if I didn’t raise my voice!

Anyways, Dr. KFK later told me that it was to cover for Burkholderia pseudomallei, the bacteria that causes meliodosis.. So the choices were only between Imipenem and Ceftazidime but the former covers a broader spectrum of bacteria.

Later, I went off again, this time to come home since my time-off had been approved orally.. Told Mala to call May if anything.. Went to ward supply to get my stuff and to fill in the time-off form only to receive a call from Mala telling me that D4’s head nurse was once again complaining that I went AWOL!

Like WTH! Does she expect me to inform her of where I go everytime I leave the ward?? Am I suppose to notify her whenever I go to other wards for bedside counselling?? Do I need to tell her when I’m off to get discharge medications for patients?? It’s like she’s expecting me to ask for permission to go wee-wee! F**k that b**ch!

I’ve this weird feeling she’s gonna complain about me to the KPF.. And she’s totally gonna add her own spices to which would be my poison! Sigh.. Just my luck I guess.. If I were to stay back in HSA and if I get to be a ward pharmacist, I hope I won’t be in charge of the worst medical ward known to pharmacy!

When Night Turns Into Day

Currently doing my night shift at A&E pharmacy.. Today is my 4th day of my 5-day night shift.. One more night to go and I’m back to working normal office hours i.e. 8AM – 5PM rather than 10PM – 8AM.. Thank God! So glad there’s internet here..

Though my biological clock has been altered, somehow, my brain still isn’t working.. It’s like there’s this mechanism thingy that tells my brain to stop working after midnight.. Apparently, most of the doctors on-call here have the same problem.. Judging from the prescriptions they write.. Antibiotics for viral fever, high dose prednisolone for too long a duration, etc..

The worst thing is, no matter how many times you tell them that this or that should be this much or should be taken for this length of time, they’d say ok, change the next few prescriptions then go back to prescribing wrongly..

I made some mistakes myself.. Worst being wrongly commenting on a TDM paracetamol poisoning case to which I found out myself the following night.. And had to make everything right the following morning.. A mistake I would have never done during normal office hours.. At 3AM, anything can happen..

Lotsa patients come to A&E after 1AM everyday.. Mostly for illnesses or medical problems of little to no urgency.. Dispensing PCM, actifed, piriton, benadryl and antibiotics is practically routine.. It’s basically the same medications over and over again..

The most mistakes doctors at A&E make have to do with patients under the age of 12. Most of the dosages given are too high for their age or their weight.. Wrong frequency for antibiotics, MVT syrup, and pushing it for promethazine.. It’s scary to think we might cause harm to these kids or worse.. Just like that kid who was prescribed with T.PCM 1GM QID.. Passed away after the 3rd dose.. Normal dosage for adults but for kids, fatal..

And like I said, no matter how many times we tell them, they still continue to make the same mistake.. Again, it’s because the brain just refuses to work coz it knows it’s time to sleep.. We usually tapper down the dose if it’s too high but with reference, of course..

Wards seem to love to indent after 10PM although they know they could borrow some stock from other wards before they properly indent from the pharmacy during office hours.. A&E pharmacy doesn’t house all drugs available in the hospital.. So sometimes, we’d have to go to ward supply to get the medications to be supplied to the wards.. Now that’s scary…

Imagine walking all alone along a long, not-so-well lit, empty corridor, to get to a big, dark, secluded room with padlocks which take ages to be unlocked and which always seems so eerie and somehow makes your hair stand on ends when you enter it in the wee hours of the night.. Don’t forget… I’m talking about a hospital… *Shudder*

Gosh, I hate night shifts.. I’m really glad this is my final week of night shift throughout my whole PRP year.. Don’t think I can stand it anymore.. Moreover, I haven’t been having enough sleep for the past few days because of the construction going on upstairs of my apartment and with all the phone calls I’ve been receiving while I’m sleeping.. It’s really taking a toll on my mind and body.. Been having migraine for sometime now coz of my lack of sleep..

Anyways, I guess that’s all for now.. Sorry I haven’t been updating my blog for sometime.. Been terribly busy with work and all.. Will be going to Penang next week to celebrate my birthday with Kelvin.. Also meeting up with Jason and May.. Hopefully I’ll have some nice pics to post up then..

Till next time.. Ciaoz!

My Series Of Unfortunate Events

Have you ever had such bad luck that even when you try to look at the bright side of it, it doesn’t really help? Or have you ever had a series (and I do mean a SERIES) of unfortunate events that gave you sleepless nights and health related problems?

Well… I had.. And it was just recently.. By recently of course, I do mean a couple of days ago.. Till yesterday I think.. At least I hope it ended already…

Hmm.. Where should I start?

I’ve been under a lot of stress lately with piling workloads of not so long ago to which I keep putting off coz I can’t seem to find the time to do them, tons of new incoming ones both compulsory and those which have practically nothing to do with me but I’m forced to do them anyways, upcoming forensic exam which I have to retake since I failed the first time around, research which I’ve yet to touch (again because 24 hours a day isn’t enough for me), biased surroundings, backstabbers… you get the picture..

Anyways, all this stress I built and didn’t release eventually led to me suffering from acute gastritis which lasted for 5 days and still ongoing.

On the first day I of my gastric attack (and my series of bad luck), I was having a bad hair day and I couldn’t find clean socks in the morning and I actually asked “Could things get any worse?”.. Lo and behold.. It did!

Anyways, when I had my first gastric attack,  I went to A&E.. I was in terrible pain (the kind which made you wanna end your life coz you just couldn’t stand it) and stupidly enough, I allowed them to make me wait! I could’ve easily gone through other channels to be placed in the yellow zone straight but noooo.. I had to follow protocol and was made to wait at the green zone despite me being in obvious pain!

Because I couldn’t stand it anymore (seriously, I was about to fall of the chair), I went to one of the SN and asked her if I could see a doctor ASAP.. Which I did.. So anyways, the doctor diagnosed me with gastritis (btw, I didn’t know it was gastritis coz the only other time I got it was way back in uni and it wasn’t as bad) and I distinctly heard her instructing the SN to give me a jab of IM Tramadol STAT.. She said it would ease my pain.. No gastric meds, nothing.. Except for that on the Rx slip..

So anyways, because I was only given IM Tramal — without metochlorpramide or anything else for that matter — I reacted very badly towards it.. I started to have very severe projectile vomiting and a bad case of diarrhoea.. Not to mention light headedness and SOB! But the pain at my epigastrium was still persistent and getting worse! Thank God Kelvin was there to send me home.. I wouldn’t have made it back myself..

Anyways, I came home and after more vomiting and diarrhoea and freaking Kelvin out with how badly IM Tramal was affecting me, I went off to sleep.. I guess Tramal made me sleepy as well.. *Shrug*.. But the sleep did me good.. My gastric pain went away during that period of time..

Before I move on to what happened next, lemme just tell you something.. It’s still within the scope of my story of course.. Just adding a lil information so you’d catch on with my story..

I live in an apartment building, as most of you might know.. So obviously, anything that happens upstairs, downstairs, left or right, I would be able to feel/hear.. Anyways, I live on the 20th floor.. The 21st floor is the penthouse floor and the management is currently doing some extensive renovation upstairs.. I guess you can imagine the noise and tremors everytime they knock or drill the walls and stuff..

So ok, back to my story.. I had this dining table made of glass with one of the metal legs a lil shaky and construction work was going on upstairs.. Very loud, very hard knocking.. I’m sure you know where I’m heading to with my story.. Yes, I was rudely awaken (shocked, in fact) by a loud metal sound followed by a loud CRASH!!!

I went out to find this…

Broken pieces of glass

Stuff on the floor

And that’s only 1/4 of it.. The rest were spread all over my apartment! No place was left “glassless”.. Little pieces here and there.. Gosh! Never in my life have I seen so much broken glass!

You know what the weird thing was? The construction work has been going on for quite some time now and suddenly they’re banging the walls hard enough for my table to fall and break.. WHILE I was conveniently sick at home??? At least I wasn’t in the living room when that happen or who knows what else could’ve happened? Even then, my room still had lil bits of glass here and there and I still managed to cut myself at a few places lols! I had to clean the mess up myself too coz I couldn’t let the cleaners in since I told Kelvin I wouldn’t be needing my house keys (which were in his car).. Coincidence much??

Anyways, Kelvin came back after work and after helping me clean the remaining pieces of glass, he brought me to HSI’s A&E coz I was still in a lot of pain.. Since I wasn’t given a gastric regime earlier.. I went through 2nd triage pretty fast and I was given the IV Ranitidine.. Oh no, my series of unfortunate events doesn’t end there! The SN was trying to get the drug into my veins but she poked me so many times, she eventually gave up.. And got another SN to administer IV to me.. Which, thank goodness, was a success!

Left hand -- lotsa pokes, not successful

Turned out like this a few hours later..

Right hand -- Successful at first try -- After "brutally assaulting" my left

I got an MC for the next day and only went back to work the following morning.. Again, I was hit with bad luck.. Unfortunately for me, I can’t blog about it here since I could get into a whole lot of trouble and all.. Blogs being blogs.. *Shrug*.. Anyways, I had another gastric attack and so I was at work for only half a day and MC-ed the next day as well.. Mum fetched me from JB and brought me to Segamat Hospital for checkup.. But there’s nothing interesting to tell about there.. Except the doctor couldn’t believe that PHARMACISTS have loads of stresses too! Lols!

Again, my series of unfortunate events did not end there.. I had other problems when I went home.. And again, I’m compelled to NOT talk about it.. Me being me and all.. I guess I set my standards high at what I publish for people to see..

Kelvin has gone for induction course for two weeks at Melaka.. So I won’t have anyone to turn to in JB for the next 2 weeks should my bad luck continue.. Tomorrow might be another “eventful” day since I seem to have blocked all the bigger, better roads coz of my procastination, only to have me walk straight into my own grave.. I’m just reaching out for a shovel just in case I need to dig it myself.. We’ll see how tomorrow goes..

Still, I guess my luck isn’t as bad as this guy’s..

Fish on the highway!

Saw this accident while on the way back to JB earlier.. There was a lorry with broken glass, and half-dead fish “jumping” on the highway.. Caused a terrible jam BTW..

Till next time~~ Ciaoz!

Quickie~♥

Hey all~ Been awfully busy these past few weeks.. Wait.. Make that MONTHS! In other words, sorry I haven’t been updating my blog.. Kelvin said he forgot I even had a blog! (-_-”) (Some boyfriend! Hmmph!)

Anyways, I thought I’d just steal a couple of minutes from my ever-so-hectic schedule to share a couple of pics with you guys to let y’all know that I’m doing just fine~! (^^) I’ve yet to blog about  Rendezvous Part II but somehow.. I don’t think that’s gonna happen in the near future.. Hmm…

CNY with my family~!

CNY with Kel's family..

CNY BBQ with my colleagues..

Valentine's Day~♥

PRP Orientation @ Kulai Hospital

BTW, I went to paediatric ward today to clerk a couple of cases for TDM.. Seeing kids in crying in pain, with tubes coming out from all over, and not being all hyperactive and smiley faced like how kids should be was really heartbreaking..

You could see the sadness in their parents’ eyes and you’d know from their expressions how much they wanted to take their kids’ pain away if they could.. It’s really unfair how life is treating those kids.. I could only wish there was more I could do..

I guess that’s all for now.. Hopefully I’ll have more time to blog in the near future.. Cheers~!!