Spring's here, rejoice!

There's a couple of things to rejoice about.

1. I am incredibly happy to be back at Barnet, to be finally doing some hospital medicine, seeing pts or just doing practical procedures. To be back in the company of Mike, Mark, Jean and Carmen amongst all my other friends. And Im actually really starting to love all the people here and i think im actually going to be sad when I have to leave.

2. Spring is here. The weather is beautiful, temperatures just nice and there is sun for most part of the day!

3. Kiki is finally back home!

4. And im making full use of online shopping before I head back to Singapore :P

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to Me!

With the sun streaming in and Yes 933 playing in the background and sipping instant kopi (from home), I really cant ask for anything more can I? (:

Birthday celebrations had actually started a couple of days back, when my mum was still in town for a couple of days. We had a beautiful meal at one o one, which really is one of the best seafood restaurants in London (the scallop and pork starter is one not to be missed), and I was surprised with a little velvet cupcake from Lola's! My really sweet mum insisted I needed to have a cake just so I could blow out candles and make wishes.

Except for the slightly gloomy and wet London weather, I have a beautiful time yesterday as well. And I must say, the revelry in the streets thanks to St Pat's Day sure did make everything more fun and celebratory.

The boys brought me to a pub somewhere in Chancery Lane which really was no better way to start St Pat's Day and also we made our point that there's no time too early to start on a pint :P We had a sinful pub lunch at this nice quaint pub, Cittie of York, which serves a large selection of Sam Smith beers and ciders amongst many other drinks. Its a pretty large pub means that it makes a perfect friday night gathering spot after work, esp if you dont have any bookings and they have little booths that sits around 4 if you value some privacy for small group gatherings.

We then migrated to Prufrock, a coffee place along Leather Lane, who stars an award winning barista and coffee from square mile roast. They do no-frills, well-done coffee and you have a choice of filter coffee, espresso or espresso with milk. I had the espresso with milk and I must say its really one of the best coffee I have ever had- the coffee was smooth and slightly on the bitter side, without the acidic after taste. And it was like caffeine +++ and really did set my heart racing for a while. I would have liked my coffee slightly warmer though, but I think its just my very own personal preference (: The shop also had a really nice, hippie and friendly vibe to it, everyone there was incredibly friendly and you are allowed to sit there for as long as you like. And we did- sitting there discussing ethics and life and silly things. Also, for people who needs sweets to go along with their coffee, they also had a small selection of pastries from cheese cakes to brownies that would complement your coffee very nicely I believe.

Dinner was impromptu, but nice. Bring on spontaneity anytime!

I ended up letting K bring me out to a Japanese restaurant, Kyashii, at Upper St Martin's Lane near Leicester Square. The ambience there was really nice with plush white seats and large glass windows on the lounge level whilst the restaurant areas downstairs and upstairs had large long polished black corridors, with random private rooms and dining areas branching out from it. It kinda reminded me of the W hotel in Leicester Square. This place not only looks good but tastes good too. The sushis were well done- exquisitely made with a relatively generous portion and the Udon hotpot sure satisfied my cravings (: Moreover, with toptable you may just be able to snag yourself a good deal! (We had 40% off our bill which was great!)

Time for a shower, and to enjoy the sun!

10 things I will miss about London

As Spring approaches and London gets increasingly more beautiful by the day, the idea that (should I pass my finals which I very much hope so) I'm leaving here possibly for good is starting to sink in. It makes me sad, but yet I'm happy that I have spent some of the most formative years of my life in this amazing city. London has taught me an incredible amount of stuff, shown me so much, and shaped me in a way I never expected (be it for good or bad).

10 things I'm going to miss about London:

1. Good Food- from like really good Michelin Starred quality food, to world- class coffee, affordable yummy crepes and those cook-outs we have to recreate the dishes we miss from home

2. Cheap Cocktails- Yes, Im a convert. Im no longer a teetotal. Bring on that sexy lychee martini, peach bellini and my all time favourite (white) sangria

3. UCL- I will miss cruciform and that beautiful main building that never fails to take my breath away be it in winter or summer.

4. UCLH, Whittington and even, Barnet- Yes, the memories I have here may not be all hunky dory, rosy and good. But these are the places that have motivated a very lazy peish to work hard(er) because I have met people (colleagues, seniors, consultants and even patients) who have changed me tremendously. I want to be a great doctor, hopefully in both the eyes of my bosses, my friends, my patients and finally myself. I want to do more than just my job, I want to look forward to it daily, to remain incredibly excited about all the possibilities in my career and in my life and I want to remain true to myself. Hopefully, Singapore can maintain, if not better, this spark that my medical education here has fueled in me.

5. Online shopping (and free returns)- Speaks for itself. Shopping and trying on clothes in the comfort of your own home? Who can resist it. Plus I will no longer have free next day asos deliveryyy!!

6. Musicals, Plays and the likes- I am not arty, farty at all. But yes, coming here has changed me that slightly bit in that I will get incredibly excited about a new show on Shakespeare Globe, a new Picasso exhibit or new play. Yes, everyone loves musical and I count my blessings that I have West End just a stone's throw away.

7. Europe at my back door, and budget airlines to make travelling to these places possible- Europe is fascinating. The rich culture, the beautiful architectures and the good food (and occasionally, hunks). I havent had the chance to explore much of Europe, but I doubt 1 lifetime is enough really. At least, next time I have SEA, Japan/Korea and Aussieland to entertain me.

8. Conferences, Talks and the chances to be part of cutting edge research- The academics here inspire me tremendously. Not just medics but people from all fields, from global health epidemiologists to statisticians. People here are incredibly passionate and proud of their work, and many of these people have such great lofty (I mean this in a positive way) dreams. Many of them also have a good heart- one that constantly seeks to make life just a little more beautiful for someone else. I always feel incredibly privileged to be listening to them share about their work, to hear about their dreams and to learn about what our world is going to be in for. I will truly miss my ready access to these critical care, trauma, surgical, international health, HIV conferences.

9. Friends- From new found coursemate/schoolmate friends (especially all my yellow mates) and ex- flatmates to old friends who are planning to stay here, I dont even want to think how I would behave when I have to say my goodbyes.

10. Flat 313 and Kiki- Yes Kiki warrants an entry all to herself. Indeed, she is heading to Singapore with me, but really, its gonna be different when are back with family and (old) friends.

Spring (:

The weather in London has been oh-so-glorious and it really is making me so ridiculously happy, and dreading my return to Singapore (if i get to graduate). Except in UK, no where in the world can the weather get strangers start talking and let awkward friends keep the conversation going on.

Yes, the weather in London makes me love her or hate her. Winter and the cold is just very very miserable- it makes me homesick, sleepy, moody and gives me all sorts of skin problems. But when its spring (or summer or autumn really), I feel like an energizer bunny who can conquer the world. I think everything I see is beautiful and get so excited about the little things that I can do. I suddenly have lots of optimism and lots of wonderful plans about what I want to do and I just cant stop smilingggg!

I think Spring is inching her way into the life of us Londoners, dont be shy, come out quick! I cant wait to spend time with you, afterall I only have 4more months here :(

2 weeks in GpLand.

The past 2 weeks in GPLand has been torture. Having to sit through baby immunizations, hypertension checks and asthma reviews is painful. And compounded onto it, my GPLand fellow sufferer and I feel like intruders in this place, not to mention that we have gone through half our posting without having met our supervisor at all. Brilliant, and this is supposed to be the posting that consolidates our learning in primary care.

Sitting in GP consultations like this makes me extremely frustrated for a multitude of reasons-

1. Im not learning much for finals/ for life as a junior doctor. Very self- centered reason, but really, doctors should not agree to take on students if they dislike teaching. Also, having 2 students in the same consultation room, taking turns to clerk pts and present is highly inefficient.

2. The GP here only sees about 6h of patients each day (3h in the morning and 3h in the evening). This probably makes us doctors less hardworking than the average office worker who works 8h/day. 2h lunch breaks are too long (1h is more than sufficient), and more doctors (and nurses) should be seeing patients till late- in my opinion 10pm ideally (so that working people dont have to take time out to see the doctor for routine stuff). Shift work can be arranged if necessary (ie. If doctors arent prepared to work too long hours), so doctors work the same number of hours but the surgery is open for longer. And clinics should be open during weekends! I dont think we were really made to NOT fall sick on weekends at all.

3. Basic investigations such as blood tests and ECGs should be available at GP clinics (its almost ridiculous that pts travel down to the hosp just for a ECG). Ideally, there should be an onsite phleb/ nurse to do this throughout the whole day. This will defo save the NHS loads of resources and poor elderly pts the trouble to travel all the way down to the hospital.

4. GPs are meant to manage the pt holistically and to know their pts really well. In reality, not at all the case- pts see a different doctor each time, have only 10mins so can only discuss 1 issue at a time: he cannot have back pain, poor diabetes control, depression and urinary symptoms at the same time. This will probably take him 4-8wks to sort out all issues.

During times like this, I feel like Im ready to move home. Im afterall brought up the asian way- kancheong and being efficient is important +++. I just hope, I wont ever lose the idealism I have for medicine.