We Are Married

Recently, I was a part of a team investigating a complaint against a manager made by her team members. After the investigation, we concluded that the manager had a personality issue where she was an overbearing manager and easily-influenced by gossip. We suggested that she attended counselling and transferred to another workplace in order to restore the harmony.  This was when a dinosaur came. This dinosaur decided to interfere and forced us to change our decision to a more "pre-historic" style. I decided to write a poem about it. (Gemini rated it 8.5/10 lols) A Dinosaur  I met a dinosaur today During my hero's journey It told me to  Stomp the ground and fell the trees To clear the path Roar loudly and tower tall To claim my ground I cowered at its presence until I looked below— and saw the earth Filled with flowers I realized The bees claimed the ground  With no footsteps silently spreading beauty Bringing life and the ground become theirs I knew then The hero that ...

Eid is about winning - the celebration for Muslims who succeeded in conquering their worldly wants and ego during Ramadhan. But it does not always feel like a happy occasion for some. I had a very interesting Eid this year (maybe because I took leave for one whole week and accidentally became the main adult in the house 😒) My beloved grandmother passed away in 2020 on the evening of the first day of Eid. She was our matriarch, and it was hard adjusting to our lives without her. Eid and Ramadhan were always her thing - she would plan all the meals and celebrations, the house visits, the guests' schedules and all the other important stuff. We all miss her, of course: my parents, my aunts and uncles, my siblings, my children, my cousins, and all those who knew her. But I think that hiding in grief would be an insult to her memory. She was always someone who was welcoming whenever guests were over - nothing made her happier than meeting her relatives and friends and making sure they h...

These past few months, we handled 2 cases of employees with chronic conditions that felt like they were mistreated. One complained that her medical leave certificate was rejected, and another complained that she was unfairly transferred out of her department.  As we dived into the cases, I noticed that some managers tend to not have the courtesy, or should I say, bravery , to take the lead in discussing the chronic conditions together with the employees. Some managers just take the chronic condition at face value, some did not even bother to actually confirm the condition and just accept rumours, and not doing anything to help. Of course, it is understandable to think that by acknowledging the condition, the employees may "bully" the managers to get what they want. But, some employees with chronic conditions may actually need genuine help, and we may miss this group of people. Having a chronic medical condition, be it physical or mental, is not something someone wishes upon t...

 When I went for an interview to enter a training program for public health, I was asked, "Won't you miss clinical work?" - which is a common question that is asked during recruitment interview for this program because public health is not considered as "clinical" work.  The reason why this question is always asked is because the common understanding is that "clinical" work means working directly or one-to-one with patients. But, public health does not necessarily work with patients or people who are sick, but also with people who are healthy and a whole population. Plan of management for public health depends on the common norms and behaviors in a certain population and not individual. Of course, the most obvious reason why public health is not "clinical" is because public health does not work in a clinic 👀 So, have I missed "clinical"? The answer is yes and no. What I do miss about "clinical" work would be meeting patie...

I recently read  Surrounded By Idiots by Thomas Erikson . It is a commentary and analysis of human behavior using the DISC Assessment . As I was reading, naturally, I began to assess myself. I thought I was a Green/Blue - turns out I am a Blue, with a high degree of Red. Haha...I guess Reds really do not know themselves. But, as I thought more about it, I think people have different personalities when dealing with different situations. Especially in a more "traditional" culture as the one we have here in Southeast Asia where speaking out and initiating conflicts can be considered sinful, people tend to be chameleons.  As the book focused on the dynamic and personalities in the workplace, now, that I think about it...yes, I am a Blue/Red in the office. I love doing data analysis to guide decision-making and I need a high level of convincing to change my thoughts. I can only work with *certain* people - I work best with high performers as I have very very low patience level at ...

Starting at a new workplace is always scary - especially in a setting that you have never worked at before. I was a house officer in hospital and a medical officer in emergency department, MCH clinic and outpatient clinic. Then, became a medical officer in-charge for 5 years. In conclusion, I have worked with patients and a team of different professions for the past 10 years. Now, my work involves various ranks of professions (specialists, medical officers, nurses), other departments (eg state health dept), planning and data analysis...and no patients directly. When I first started, it was already the last quarter of 2023. So, naturally, all the plans were laid out and all I had to do was follow them. I was lucky that my predecessor was still in the same office as me, so I got to ask him anything. I was familiar with the bulk of things because I was an MCH medical officer at a clinic before. But, I did not realize how extensive the program had gotten for the past 5 years. It was huge. ...