The Catholic Medical Guild of Singapore


First month of HO-ship… Posted on 7th Jun 2009, 10:54pm by Alvin

I remember wishing that I was working when I was in the middle of my MBBS, yet barely 2 months into HO-ship, I started to wish that I was still studying. Started my 1st month in the Haem-onco ward at KKH paeds, and promptly felt out of league with all the cancer patients that were under my team. Well, the working environment was pleasant, the nurses were generally helpful and funny, and the team ever so ready to teach and clarify my questions, but still, the lack of an SIP in paeds was pretty telling.

I got the chance to know some of my patients better since a couple were long stayers, and others were readmitted frequently for chemotherapy.

I was touched by the devotion parents showed their children – the days and nights spent by their bedsides, tending to their child’s every needs. Even though we had to take blood frequently for tests, the parents were still understanding despite knowing what pain their children must be in. It must have been even more painful to watch their children undergo chemotherapy ever so often. More so, in palliative patients.

It was only one morning in my 3rd week, that I noticed the rosary that was hanging from the cot of a toddler. He had been in a couple of times before, but I’ve always been too caught up in the morning rounds to notice.

At that moment, I could feel His presence amidst my hectic ward round.

I started to appreciate a little more of the importance of religion.

Although I never got down to speaking with the mom more about their faith, it was enough of a reminder to me, of our calling as Catholic doctors.

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Dr’s Blog is a feature of the CMG web site that aims to encourage interaction between Guild members. We hope to foster a spirit of community through the sharing of thoughts and personal experirences. The opinions expressed in these blogs are entirely those of the contributors and not of the Catholic Medical Guild of Singapore.

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Past Blog Articles

2015 Jul: May You Rest in Peace
2015 Jan: Happy New Year 2015

2014 Dec: A Prayer for Deliverance 2
2014 Oct: Who are you, Where am I?
2014 Sep: A Prayer for Deliverance
2014 May: Behind Those Clothes
2014 Feb: The Red Packet(s)
2014 Jan: God Loves You

2013 Dec: Caroling Reflections of an Expired M
2013 Nov: Scripture Reflection for Physicians
2013 Oct: Hang on. We haven’t beat this thing yet.
2013 Sep: Me and My Ride
2013 Aug: A Gift of Life
2013 Jul: Finding Happiness in a Land of Plenty
2013 Jun: A Beeline
2013 May: Living My Love Of..
2013 Apr: The Healthcare Debate
2013 Mar: A Doctor’s Prayer
2013 Feb: Project Battambang ’12
2013 Feb: Mission Srolanth ’12: To Heal the Heart, with a Heart to Heal
2013 Jan: The Hardest Thing To Say…

2012 Dec: The Lost Art Of…
2012 Nov: Rome Sweet Home – Short Reflections
2012 Sep: He Keeps Falling
2012 Aug: God Decides
2012 July: Am I To Blame?
2012 June: Saving Fragile Lives
2012 May: Ruminations On Love
2012 Mar: The iPhone

2011 Dec: The Red Cross
2011 Nov: Give Thanks!
2011 Aug: Ashes – The Epilogue
2011 July: Charity
2011 July: Ashes
2011 May: Of Angry Birds & Cowardly Mice
2011 May: Notes From Salzburg On Good Friday
2011 Apr: What It Means
2011 Mar: A Job.
2011 Mar: Dear Father…
2011 Feb: Clothes, A Person Doth Maketh
2011 Jan: Wonderfully Made

2010 Dec: A White Christmas
2010 Dec: A Medical Christmas Carol
2010 Nov: Saying Goodbye
2010 Oct: I Am Always With You
2010 Sept: Be Joyful Always
2010 July: Managing Expectations
2010 June: But They Are Our Masters…
2010 June: Driving: A Means of Personal Formation?
2010 May: HO Welcome Tea
2010 May: The Rain
2010 May: A Missed Lunch
2010 May: Man In The Mirror
2010 May: Reflections At The End Of The Day
2010 Apr: Finding God In All Things
2010 Mar: Surely You Put Your Trust In The Lord?
2010 Mar: The Significance of a Name

2009 Nov: Batam: Beyond A Mission
2009 Oct: The Broken Rosary
2009 Sept: Love Note To God, Father
2009 Aug: Let God Take The Wheel
2009 Aug: The Prequel: The One About Graduation
2009 July: The Sequel: The Later Months
2009 June: First Month of HO-Ship
2009 May: “The House of God” by Samuel Shem
2009 May: In The Discipleship for Christ


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