Tag Archives: work colleague

A year done and dusted at MCH

Posted in All in a days work by

I completed my one-year rotation at the Maternal and Child Healthcare Clinic (MCH) last September. I started mine in October last year. Initially, I wanted to assemble a new team in January 2026, but I didn’t have any capable options. So I extended my 3-month MCH rotation to a year. Then I began selecting my team members for the year. My first team member was an easy pick, as her leadership and accountability shone through. The initial 3rd team member required a bit of planning, and finally I decided on one. Also a wonderful person with a great personality and attitude to work. We were a team of 3. I felt so lucky and honoured to be working with them.

The best thing about my MCH rotations was the cute babies. That’s all. That was what kept me going. The rest gave me a headache, as it made me question my decisions on how I manage my cases on a daily basis. To be honest, I would experience the same amount of anxiety if I saw my outpatient and NCD cases. There is always this afterthought: did I do this right, or not?

My workstation was a desk that faced a wall. It was situated underneath the air-conditioner (meaning the cold air was blowing above my head) and did not have its own PC to work with. The idea was to fight over the laptop at the office upstairs in the morning and return it at the end of the day. Everyday. Despite my efforts to lose weight, the stress of risking using an underperforming laptop resulted in me using my own. I downloaded the CCMS system onto my Lenovo, brought my own wire extension and a Baymax fan to keep me cool at work. I am, after all, Olaf. I cannot stand a warm room. It makes me angry.

I came with 2 bags and left with the same. A laptop bag and the miscellaneous bag.

Now that I am floating in the Outpatient pool, I am narrowing it down to only 1.5 bags for my belongings. The 0.5 is my telekung bag. Simple enough, just in case I am leaving one day. So, unlike most who leave with the iconic box, I am leaving with what I carried with me in the morning.

Nadai Mutual Energy

Posted in All in a days work, Ponderings & Personal Development by

Even as adults, we are learning new things about forging relationships with other people. In my situation, it still hurts when people do not reciprocate your energy in building that relationship. At one point, you just get tired and prefer to spend that little amount of dignity you have towards yourself.

I wanted to make a few of my vegetarian friends feel included in our workplace get-together potluck. So I brought some candies with me as options for the vegetarians to snack on alongside other veggie-friendly food. In fact, I bought some for all my other colleagues so that we could try and enjoy the same thing. I had it myself, and it was a delicious gummy. Good things are meant to be shared, right?

Two colorful candy packaging bags featuring cartoon creatures: one for 'Grumpy Candy' with a blue monster and the other for 'Fruity Gummies' with a blue creature sitting among strawberries. Both bags indicate they are suitable for vegetarians.

Unfortunately, the one that I wanted to hopefully feel included did not turn up to the event. Not only that, but all the other food was also flatly refused. It was a sad yet shocking experience. All the husnuzon just went down the drain. Even if you do not prefer something, just accept it graciously and chuck it into the bin secretly later on. Sigh.

Some people just don’t deserve our energy, after all.

My one year anniversary as a schedule generator

Posted in All in a days work by

I took over making the work roster from my colleague out of camaraderie. The previous MO who did the list was a lovely colleague whom I knew had been taking the punches for everybody for the many years I have known her at work. I believe that the moment she approached me to take over, she was already at wit’s end. At the same time, I think she knew that I was a person who could accommodate everybody else as much as she did to ensure that both clinical services and each medical officer’s personal matters were taken care of.

To become a roster maker, you could choose to be empathetic or a bitch who doesn’t give a shit. Since I started arranging the schedule last October, I’ve found that my colleagues are rather colourful behind the scenes. They are a mix of positive and negative traits but never too evil or goody-two-shoes all the time. They can be mischievous, and at times, when I am able to see through them, I would let them off the hook if it is not much of a nuisance. Otherwise, most of the time, my superior would sniff it out based on the whistleblower’s information. Yes, we do have a mole amongst us.

Anyway, back to my colourful MOs. There are the:

  • ones who think the world revolves around them ONLY. The schedule has to fit them and their priorities ONLY. There is very little room for discussion and negotiate the demands of clinical work and other MOs. Dia je yg nak gi CME. Dia je yang nak itu dan ini. Time kita bagi, tetiba ada hal tu la, ini la. Bila tak dapat, mesej bos. what the fish.
  • ones who have requests but are also accommodating of other people’s needs. Meaning, they provide back up plans with other negotiable dates, with clear objectives that allow me to provide my ideas of how to make the line up for work effective for everybody. I like this type of people. They are assertive in their scheduled and others.
  • ones who go with the flow. While it may seem easy for me to place them anywhere, it does put me in a spot where I need to practice conscientiousness on my part. This is because I do not want to exploit this particular group of MOs. I do not want them to be burnt out. In fact, I would put this people on my watch list. Because they can either remain docile, turn rogue in a jiff or commit suicide. I am putting myself on this list as well.

To celebrate my one year anniversary, I will order an iced coffee today. Ha ha.

A close-up of a keyboard with scattered papers and folders on a desk, featuring a note about a millennial's approach to managing work rosters.

Meeting in the middle

Posted in All in a days work by

We had a fruitful meeting 2 weeks ago between the medical officers and our Family Medicine Specialist (FMS).

Work processes were clarified. Problems were highlighted. Solutions were offered. Having said that, it doesn’t mean that we would have a smooth year. Hiccups are bound to happen, and unique dilemmas are likely to surface. Thus, continuous effort to harness creativity in managing workplace expectations is deemed necessary.

There are a few things I am personally excited about;

  • New leadership under a female medical officer with a surgical background. Without allowing my personal bias to seep in, it would be interesting to uncover the impact of her reign towards the organisation. This is also the year when we have another three medical officers to check and balance the leadership.
  • My championship projects. Our FMS wants something hands-on as opposed to just simple lectures. It’s a great idea that needs some serious thinking on our team’s part.
  • Mini projects. For example, setting up a counselling service for both diabetic and HIV patients. This would need participation from my Medical Assistants.
  • Time management. I am taking on the roster making on full gear this year. I am trying my best to not get distracted by wanting to pursue my studies in Psychology (Master’s level). I do not think I can juggle both responsibilities well. At the same time, I am still on my side quest of losing weight. I hope I lose just a little bit more KG for Eid.

That is to name a few. I’ve also got a few personal development projects of my own. I hope to succeed in 2026.

A Friend. A Colleague.

Posted in Everyday Life, Ponderings & Personal Development by

How can you tell if your work colleague is now your friend? What line did they cross to qualify themselves as a friend in the workplace? Is it accurate to say that a colleague is automatically a friend when you have lunch together? Or there are more gestures to it? Like having to share details about your personal life, to only then be considered a friend as opposed to a colleague? If I add you as a friend on Facebook, surely that means we are, NO?

To be honest, I don’t have a precise answer. Perhaps it is meant to be rhetoric?

I am thinking about this Friend Vs Colleague question because I had a pitfall in communication with a friend at work today. I have always thought that if you consider someone as your friend, your choice of words and tone would be a bit different during a conversation compared to when it is with a colleague. The topic of discussion would also be more chummy and less formal since we’re friends. Thus, when it comes to correcting a mistake and all, I feel there is a different approach when you need to reprimand a friend as opposed to just another work colleague.

A lady came to the clinic for a health documentation issue. It was a matter which could, in my opinion, be resolved on the same day. However, this friend who happened to see that lady decided that it should be addressed on a different date. My enquiry to his plan resulted in a few exchanges that ended with a statement by him that took me aback. Simply because it wasn’t something that I would expect a friend would say to another. Honestly, I felt a bit hurt. Hati tisu, tengah menses some more. Tengok kucing sembelit pun boleh nangis. Hahaha.

After the statement, I could sense a change in the atmosphere of the room. We would usually have small chats in between patients but this morning it just felt awkward. We were still talking to each other but it was minimal and superficial. I think we both tried to pretend that everything is OK. That I was not offended with his statement. I convinced myself that him saying that, was just him being himself (which is kinda true.. don’t we all accept the true colours of our friends – be it good or bad?) I persuaded myself to think that perhaps he was having a bad day and this lady was just the final straw that made him tick.

But it also made me think if through his eyes, whether I was a Friend or just a Colleague to him? Cause to me, he is a friend and there is a possibility that this friendship I’m offering to him was never actually reciprocated in the first place.

o.m.g