Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Medical Students in RIPAS Hospital Brunei

A Local student (undergraduate from University of Queensland Australia)

Posing with the Orthopaedic Team

RIPAS Hospital continues to accept students from local institution as well as abroad for either just a short period of 'get-to-know' experience, to a 4-6weeks of clinical attachments in various specialties. It is open not just to students who are interested in medicine, but also in other allied health professions such as psychology, dietetics, pharmacy, physiotheray, labs and many more.

For those who have successfully gone through their attachments at RIPAS in whatever speciality... Congratulations. We hope the time you guys have spent with us have not been too boring... hehe... and hopefully the experience that you have gained with us can be of use in the future.

If you are interested in doing a stint in RIPAS, it is a good idea asking your friends who have done the particular specialty, for there is always varying experiences. In general, for surgery & Orthopaedics, I think this hospital is very good at providing hands on experience for the students as you can see from the above picture. The students also get ample teaching from the MOs, SMOs, & Specialists. If they don't... you must nag them!! Of course it also depends on the students enthusiasm. We can usually suss out which ones are the keen ones and which ones just want to get through the painful experience as quickly as possible.

My personal experience, students are usually quite keen to get their hands dirty and get stuck in. However they don't like being asked questions during ward rounds... hey that applies to everyone I think.. but of course the doctors like to pick on the students... don't worry... it's not because they want to catch you out, or make you pay for staying up late at night watching the Euro 2008 instead of reading your Kumar & Clark. It's because it makes them feel 'good' when they can explain things to the bewildered students.... Have you noticed the expression on the doctors face beaming when they explain the significance of an Arterial Blood Gas results? My tip.. an enthusiastic nod... accompanied by 'awh....' when the specialists starts explaining the causes of Acute Renal Failure.. goes a long way.

You also get more points when you ask an intelligent question like.. what is the current trend in Management of Head Injuries... but becareful not to ask too difficult questions... the doctors might think you are trying to be a 'smartass' and ignore you throughout the ward round at risk of not being able to give a decent explanation.

I think the A&E department here are also good at providing clinical attachments. I have seen students clerking the stable acute cases, assisted in life-threatening cases, and learn to make decisions. There are plenty of scope to learn suturing here. Dr Ang, the HOD is very helpful and keen to teach.

In Internal Medicine, you have the likes of Dr Arif (aka Boss) a walking encylopedia of knowledge, Dr Syafiq (HOD), Dr Haslinda (Endocrinologist) to name a few who are more than willing to ensure that the ward round and clinics will be firing you with questions..

In ICU, i have not personally seen students attached here, but I don't see any problem with it, just as long as you specify that your interested in spending some time there. There's plenty of really unwell patients here hooked up to fancy machines that their lives depend on. You can learn a lot here especially when Dr Yazid is around who's always keen to teach. If you bump into a young dashing, handsome Doctor Aamton... I have bad news... he is married hehe.. but I'm sure keen to teach too... right Aamton? Skills to learn here... Arterial Stabs, Central Line insertion, and if your lucky.. intubation.

Alright guys.. I'm running out of ideas plus it's 1am now. Need to sleep coz ward round starts at 7.15am... yes boys & girls if you are planning to do surgery... be prepared to get up early!!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Golf set for sale



Selling my Precept Golf SA71 set with bag.

Bought last year at Empire Hotel Driving Range and used about 4 times.

Price $400 or nearest offer.

ps. Amy, bali tah since you are now an SMO .... hee hee

Anyone interested can contact Ero sennin directly in ICU, or jst leave a message here. Cheers

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Vacancies for doctors to work in Brunei

We have received a lot of requests on how to apply for work in Brunei. I'm not sure what is the official requirements for doctors in Brunei, but having worked here for almost 2 years, I can say that we are still short of doctors both in the Health Services (GPs) and in the Medical Services (Hospitals).

We have about 460 doctors working with the government of which 2/3 are expatriates. We serve a population of about 300,000 people at 4 different districts, Brunei Muara, Tutong, Kuala Belait & Temburong. So the ratio of doctors to population is about 1 to 800 not taking into account the attrition rate.

If you are interested to work in Brunei, below are information regarding on how to apply

This information has been extracted from the official MoH Website

Vacancies are follows:

Requirements

  • Recognized basic medical degree
  • Relevant post-graduate qualification
  • At least 5 years of post-registration working experience
  • Working in a job relevant to the post being applied for

Salary and level of appointment will be determined by qualifications and experience.

Benefits:

  • Tax-Free salary
  • Passage to Brunei Darussalam for you, your wife and up to four children under the age of 18 years.
  • Heavily-subsidized housing, charged only at BND130 per month.
  • Education allowance of up to BND800 per month for up to four children.
  • Free treatment at government facilities for you and your wife, and your children under the age of 18 years who are resident in Brunei.
  • 48 days of paid annual leave.
  • Shipment of personnel effects.
  • 25% gratuity on successful completion of contract.

How to apply:

  • Download and print application form (SPA 1).
  • Send completed form with required documents to relevant Department (Medical or Health).
  • Required documents:

a. Up-to-date CV giving details about the work you are doing now and have been doing in the last 5 years, and your clinical skills and responsibilities, as well as information about the hospital or clinic you are working at size, workload etc.

b. Proof of registration after completion of medical training.

c. Copies of your certificates

d. A copy of a letter/certificate of Good Standing from your present Medical licensing board (under which you are currently practicing) which should be less than
6 months old.

e. The names, full postal addresses and other contact details (and preferably email addresses) of at least three referees.

Please also provide an email address for ease of contact.

Applicants considered suitable will be invited by the Public Service Commission to attend an interview. Successful applicants will normally be given 3-year contracts. In exceptional circumstances two year contracts will be considered.

Applicants must be prepared to work in any of the four Districts of Brunei Darussalam.


Department of Medical Services

Vacancies for Doctors In Department of Medical Services

Specialty

Specialist

Senior Medical Officer

Medical Officer

A&E Medicine



Yes

Anesthesia

Yes


Yes

Cardiology

Yes

Yes

Yes

Respiratory Medicine


Yes

Yes

Critical Care Medicine



Yes

Dermatology



Yes

Infectious Diseases/Tropical Medicine

Yes

Yes

Yes

Internal Medicine (Endocrinology)


Yes

Yes

General Medicine


Yes

Yes

Neurosurgery



Yes

Obstetrics & Gynecology

Yes

Yes

Yes

Oto-Rhino-Laryngology



Yes

Renal Medicine



Yes


Applications should be sent to the Director-General of Medical Services at:

Director-General of Medical Services

Department of Medical Services
Ministry of Health
Commonwealth Drive
Bandar Seri Begawan BB3910
Brunei Darussalam

Or by email to moh_dgms@hotmail.com


Department of Health Services

Specialty

Specialist

Senior Medical Officer

Medical Officer

Maternal and Child
Health Services



Yes

Primary Care Services
+
School Health Services




Yes

Applications should be sent to the Director-General of Health Services at:

Director-General of Health Services

Department of Health Services
Ministry of Health
Commonwealth Drive
Bandar Seri Begawan BB3910
Brunei Darussalam

Or by email to phc_moh@hotmail.com