Category Diary 2020

My First Day At Work (Hospital)

Rachel Tan HX 2 Comments

Here’s what all of you have been waiting for: the first tip of the iceberg of my experiences (a Malaysian teenager’s experiences) in the healthcare sector!

For those who are new to my blog, I am actually still a post-SPM teenager, to join foundation in science in May this year. After my time as a sales and retails assistant with a small local company ended, I proceeded to seek a job at a hospital for relevant experience with what I’m planning to study. I am currently still working there and I am immensely grateful for the enriching experience, as much as I enjoyed that of my previous job. See previous post: My First Day At Work (Retail).

My first day at work as a Patient Care Assistant (PCA) at the Emergency Unit was an unbelievably hectic one. Someone from the human resource (HR) department helped me set my thumbprint in the hospital system, which I would use everyday for clocking in and out. Then I was brought to the Emergency Unit, where she gave quick instructions to the staff to add me to the duty roster and show me around. The Emergency Unit is very small and easy to navigate. It mainly comprises of a registration counter, the medical officer’s consultation room, a small ward with three beds and a treatment room.

After that, I was given my pre-employment hepatits B jab by the same nurse who showed me around, who would in the coming weeks become my colleague and friend. Then I walked, uncertainly, to the registration counter and sat at the computer.

This was how the working environment at the counter had looked like to me on my first day: raised voices of the staff, hospital forms being thrown about, furious typing on the computer keyboard, patients walking in and out. Already this was a small hospital, and the Emergency area that I was working at looked more like a small clinic than a hospital; yet I could hardly process anything that was going on. I knew one thing for sure, though: this is what behind the scenes looks like. This is a real hospital. Just like facing out of the shop booth to promote the products instead of facing in to make a purchase, I was standing behind a counter I only ever stood in front of. It was a change in perspective, an intriguing shock to my system, and I was eager to learn more.

So I sat at the counter and let a nurse tell me what to do. “Click sini. Click sana. Tekan ini. Type nama dia.” I understood that there was no time yet to explain the why and how of everything that was happening, and diligently did as she said, even though my mind was spilling with questions. I would later realise that in this fast-paced working world where customers (first job: retail) or patients (second job: hospital) had to be attended to quickly, learning should be based less on endless questions and more through observation and practice. You really learn a whole lot better that way.

But you must dare to observe and dare to practice. You truly must. You must let your desire to learn override your fears, and then nothing can stop you from absorbing all that the world has to offer.

To the nurse that stood next to me on my first day, ordering me to do this do that, let’s call her Free (named changed to protect identity): I will remember you for some time to come. For every small thing that I did right in the coming weeks you would say “cantik” or “dah pandai”; you also knew how to breakdown certain things so that I would understand, and for that I am very grateful.

You could say that on my first day, all I ended up learning was only how the counter looked like. I still could not grasp anything properly, not even the basic registration of patients, because everything was happening so fast; but regardless, with my first glimpse behind the scenes, I was already learning.

Most of what I learnt on my first day was the physical layout, and the working atmosphere, and I do think that was already a good lesson for a beginner like me!

~Rachel Tan

Big day: collecting SPM results!

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Finally comes the big day: collection of our SPM results, that we toiled day and night for last year (2019)!

With work and all, doing a 14 hour double shift TWO times this week (Alert, I will be letting you in into my new job soon! And…. it’s not what you would expect.) I haven’t been letting the ever-approaching big day sink in yet. Instead, my mind has been occupied with something else: Covid-19, which has become the hot topic of my workplace only very recently.

But that is a topic for later (stay updated… if you want to find out.). So it is because of that that my result day only really starts to hit me when I take a day off to collect my results today, on the 5th of March. Worn out, I had slept through the night, waking up the next day to messages from friends who were still up at 4 am due to nervousness!

After I arrive at school, I enter the hall and I walk around, find some people to say hi and catch up with, then I find our class label and scoot to the front and sit down behind my old deskmate. We talk animatedly about our study plans for the near future. Then… it’s time to collect our SPM results! Hot out of the oven – it’s here. Ready or not!

9As. Out of 10. Yay!

I feel happy that my hard work has paid off. I tell my folks, and they are proud too. Since my younger brother has first-term exams, we decide to postpone any celebration or reward to “later”. No specified date is mentioned, however, so there is a possibility that all the hecticness of university preparation will cause those to be forgotten. Should have asked for a signed contract! 😛

Then I walk around, looking for some friends. Being in a high performance school meant that there would always be people better than you: 10As, 11As, and 12A students were in such an abundance that 9As is relatively mediocre. However, I know that I must always stay neutral. Take in your surroundings, acknowledge it and see it for what it is, but ultimately, let your only competition be with yourself.

Everyone starts leaving the school compound. In denim jackets and long skirts and casual T-shirts and gel-ed or curled or dyed hair; for college classes or pre-U exams or part-time work or victory parties or family plans, they leave with their future ripe in their hands.

I am not sure what reward to ask for, because truly, the only thing I wish for in life is for happiness and a fulfilling life. I am happy I surpassed the requirement (the requirement is 5Bs for these five subjects: add math, math, physics, biology and chemistry). My results are well within the requirement to study medicine.

Now, I am looking forward to the fast-paced and demanding, but meaningful life being a doctor can give me!

My First Job Interview: PART 2

Rachel Tan HX

I went for my first job interview the very day after SPM ended.

(If you have not read part ONE of my job interview yet, click here!)

Christmas mood filled the air at Midvalley Megamall, and Christmas crowds filled its streets. My would-be colleagues bustled about their colourful kiosk, and it wasn’t until about 20 minutes later that I was attended to, but that did not bother me. I was glad to have the chance to take my time to observe the products on display and how the staff attended to their customers.

A lady gave me a form to fill up, and then she proceeded to ask me if I had any problems with talking to people. I was nervous, as would anyone at their first job interview. I also knew for a fact that my social skills were not the best. However, with my promise to myself to perform and breach my comfort zone, I told her I was okay with speaking to crowds, just that I don’t happen to do it very often. Even then, I can, I emphasized to her, and in my mind I told myself I would raise myself to the standards I spoke of. It was also that day on which I learnt that this was another effective way to encourage improvement in oneself. In the consequent weeks, I would discover yet another way. These were all methods we had heard of a million times in theory, but it really only dawns on you when you discover it for yourself through experience.

Then the lady described what it would be like, working at their booth (During Christmas season, they had a little booth at the Centre Court in addition to their permanent kiosk at LG floor.), how I had to be observant and watch for roaming eyes toward their products on display, how working with them would be very fast paced indeed, and I had to be able to be efficient. Already all that was making me dizzy, but I nodded my head and smiled calmly at her, like all this was not a whole lot to take in after being locked up studying for months. Then came the final blow:

“It’s okay to make mistakes,” said the lady, “But if the same mistake is made too many times, it becomes an offense.”

I stared at her, feeling as if I had already started making mistakes. But I had walked into this anticipating “the world out there” — demanding bosses, strict rules and a fast-paced working environment were what I was expecting, and what I wanted for myself, so I nodded bravely.

(I would later discover that it wasn’t the super-strict scenario I had been trained by my parents to imagine, but instead my bosses were a perfect balance between being strict when it was time to work, and being friendly when it was appropriate to have fun.)

After discussing the days and hours per week that I was available to work and my salary scheme, the lady told me to come for training on the 2nd of December, where they would observe my promoting abilities and see if they could accept me. Before she let me off, she smiled at me and said: “Welcome to the working world!”

My First Job Interview: PART 1

Rachel Tan HX

If you really want something, you will make it happen.

Rachel Tan HX, 18

It was almost by chance, that I managed to secure a small temporary job that would add so much colour to my life compared to the dull studying days of before.

During the past month, I had scoured the Indeed Job App in search of promoter work, as a means to improve on my confidence while getting valuable work experience after SPM. I finally landed myself a job interview with Matchy & Co (Midvalley outlet), a company that sells colourful travel products and personalised gifts. Finding the right job match for myself was not easy, having to take into account many factors such as distance, age limit, and working hours and days per week, but I got it done.

Despite the huge effort I had put in throughout November to find this job, I was prepared to drop the opportunity for this already-secured interview if I could not find the right timing to inform my father about it. Only teenagers with strict parents will understand when I say angering the fire dragon/s in the family is no small joke! Haha.

Today, I am instead grateful to my dad for unintentionally causing the opportunity to ask him to arise. This is how it went:

Dad: “Your SPM has ended! What do you want to do? Hmm….. Aha. How about I take you to visit your potential university tomorrow?”

Immediately, the word tomorrow clashes with something else I’ve planned. Before I can stop myself, I say: “Tomorrow?…. Uhhh….But tomorrow I have an interview.”

Dad’s excited grin falls into a deep frown. “Interview. Since when?” (Rarely do I ever make plans for anything on my own, without first informing my father.) “Then when did you plan to tell me? It’s tomorrow already.”

I then proceeded to pounce on the opportunity like a starving cat, and I think it is partly because SPM had just ended that my father was a bit more open to the idea, and he allowed it! (After making some reluctant grunting noises.) Yay! I was very excited for the opportunity and the experiences my potential job had to offer. I knew that given all the effort taken to find the job and get the permission to go for the interview, I was going to make sure I got this job. No way would I allow myself to be rejected the position. I was going to perform well and secure it.

We still went to visit my potential campus the following day to make some enquiries, then I was rushed to Midvalley just in time for the interview at 3pm. “This is one busy woman,” my dad laughed, as he sent me to my first job interview ever. Scattered around KL and Selangor, my friends were watching Korean dramas, going for outings, scrolling on their phones or lazing on their beds. Oh dear! What was I getting myself into?

>>> To read about what happens next in my first job interview, click here.

Interesting Facts About COVID-19

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Tired of all the coronavirus articles that start every day off with big numbers and zigzagging lines? Let me change that around for you. Here’s some fun facts about the coronavirus that has become the global topic recently:

Naming of the coronavirus

The official name for the virus is SARS-CoV-2, as announced on WHO (World Health Organisation)’s website. The coronavirus may be referred by most mainstream platforms as “the Covid-19 virus” or “the virus that causes Covid-19” to prevent unnecessary consequences such as widespread panic, especially amongst people in the Asian regions who were most affected by the disease in 2003. However, WHO has clearly stated that these designations do not replace the official name of the virus: SARS-CoV-2. The virus is named this way because it is genetically related to SARS-CoV, though both are different viruses.

Disease: Covid-19, named by WHO

Virus: SARS-CoV-2, named by ICTV

>>>Why do the virus and disease have different names?

Who suffers from the Covid-19 outbreak?

1. The sick patients. Previously, the new cases ranged between 2000-3000 every day, with about 100-200 deaths. I am glad to hear that the numbers have dropped to below a thousand yesterday (22 Feb)! Let us pray for those still battling the disease, and mourn those who have passed.

2. F&B (food and beverage) industries. Physical outlets such as restaurants have been affected, but more significantly in China, especially during the 14-day quarantine. No one wants to go out in such hazardous conditions.

*Of course, when KFC had their 20.02.2020 RM20 snack box promotion, all was forgotten. 😛

3. Retail outlets and shopping malls. Naturally, there will be a general avoidance of crowded areas. People still need to eat, so F&B can still survive… but shopping for clothes isn’t exactly a necessity around this time! Shopping malls are air conditioned, which means “used” air is being circulated… it’s an absolute no-no for many.

4. The stock market. Finally, HERE’S when it starts to get a little more interesting. As an 18-year-old who doesn’t know much about trading, the only way I know the stock market has been severely affected is by my father’s horrified yells. “IT’S DOWN ANOTHER (insert complicated statistic with decimal places)!!! SELL NOW!!” Followed by pounding footsteps toward the telephone.

5. Global economy. China supplied a large portion of global demand. Retailers haven’t been able to restock on many of their products on sale, and this due to many suppliers having difficulty obtaining raw materials from manufacturers in China! This is the best example of the chaotic chain reaction caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Who benefits from the Covid-19 outbreak?

1. Pharmaceutical companies. Demand for masks, hand sanistisers etc have soared. However, this has caused a shortage in these items and a struggle to meet the demands, since China supplies two-thirds of global demand.

2. Healthcare centres, especially in China. It may not be a nice way to think about it, but there have been a massive number of patients coming in for treatment everyday – too many, even, until only recently when the numbers were reversed.

3. Medical R&D (research and development). It is a cold fact that when there is a loss, we push ourselves harder, and therefore advancement moves faster. China’s astonishing pace at both identifying the genetic sequence of the new coronavirus and the building of the thousand-bed hospital has set new records for research.

4. Online food delivery apps. You might not have thought of this one! 😛 More and more people are staying at home and avoiding the crowds, so apps like Foodpanda and Grabfood are thriving. This has compelled some people who were previously illiterate in online apps to learn how to use them, leading to an increasingly digital era – of course, with its own pros and cons.