Lisfranc fracture

Have any Occupational Therapists-to-be heard of this term - "Lisfranc fracture"?
If you have good for you! If not, I shall share with you. =P
I just know it too...

If you didn't know, our FM93.3 DJ Ding Zhiyong suffered from Lisfranc fracture.

And Lisfranc fracture is a fracture and dislocation of the joints in the midfoot which forms the arch of the foot. For more information, click here.

Look at his blog for the picture of his x-rays and the pictures of his stitches of his foot after the fixation.

Reflections for my Mental Health Placement

My first and last attachment in mental health setting @ Pelangi Village, just next to Institute of Mental Health.

This place is a residential mental health setting for people with Schizophrenia, most of their symptoms are under control using medication. This place is manage by few Voluntary Welfare Organizations and there are 6 homes under their care. Each home house about 100 over to 200 plus residents. Like what SJ had mentioned in her blog, it is really hard to believe that in such a fast-paced society, such places actually existed in Singapore.

To be frank, I was taken aback when I went to see the homes for the 1st time. Perhaps this was the first time I see people living in an institution. Their everyday is so routinized, with morning exercise, breakfast, TV, Lunch, TV, dinner and sleep. With exception of those who have the ability to work. But often than not, these residents may have the ability to work and want to work but there are just no job opportunities for them.

Talking about meritocracy, shouldn't people with mental illness given the same opportunity if they possess the same capabilities?

But on the other hand, these residents allow me to see another side of them, that may not be able to be seen in people like you and me... ...

Walking along level 2 Activity Hub, it is not surprisingly to see some residents holding on to another resident who had some mental retardation to ensure that they don't move away from the group.

When we went out to Little India, there was this resident who held on to another resident (who was from different home as him) when he wanted to leave the train when we haven't even reached the station.

Sometimes, some residents will offer their help to help us carry things when our hands are full...

From them, I see the genuinelity in them ... ...

The 6 weeks placement here has gave me a better idea of mental health placement. They are sometimes very different from what we see on TV. Really.

Sometimes their wishes can be as simple as going outside for a walk or buy things but then again, there is lack of resources and manpower. Perhaps, volunteering can be done with people with mental illness too.... these are the group of people that are often forgotten, as they are away from the general public.

Perhaps, volunteering should go into mental health too, an area that is often forgotten or neglected due to the stigmatization.

I'm Back

Hi palz,

I'm back from my long disappearance online.... hope you all didn't call the police for my disappearance..... haha....

Well, finally decided to pay the Internet bill with my next 2 weeks pocket money. It was a torture for me not being to come online... haha... the longest time I didn't use the Internet was in 2004 when I went to China for community service for 23 days. =)

Actually, it was not really a torture, it is just that I need to check my mails regarding job applications that I've sent out. And perhaps no internet also means missing out some job openings... haha.... thus, I have no choice but to take out my pocket money

Life has been boring for the past few days.... I did nothing other than sleep, eat and watch TV. I have been moving in and out of my sleep...

I think I'm gonna whip up some dishes if I really feel that I have nothing to do.... I really missed the time when I do meal preparation with my residents...

Shall blogged more about my last attachment soon.

End of 3 year journal

I can't believe that I have gone through 3 years of my OT education. It may seem hectic at times with abundance of assignments and presentations. I still remembered the times where we have to study for Anatomy written and practical exams where we had to remember all the attachments of every muscles and their actions. I can also vividly remembered the faces of all us when we first entered the Anatomy practical room to see our "Dear Cadaver" for the 1st time. And of course some of us had just taken our lunch... ...

Year 1 was a rather "dry" year for all of us.... and well, I admit and is guilty for being one of those students who slept during lectures (esp. Physiology).. haha.... I would say it was a hard time trying to stay awake when the environment was so conducive for sleeping. (I can't imagine if I'm taking student in the future and she/he sees this entry... lol) And I guess I persevered. And I think maybe no one would thought that I could survived that long too... .haha...

Things got much more interesting in year 2..... where we got so much hands on... from mobility to LLD (esp. meal preparation) to Human Occupations to Groups to Leisure .... it was indeed the most enjoyable year.

All the fun and laughters didn't stop when we come to year 3. It is just an increase in other areas, e.g. Stress, more sophicated assignments (e.g. models), more arguements discussions, more time spent in the library, more clinicals, more time spent in frint of the computer... of course more "lameness" in some of us... ...

The mad rush since December was the time that I think we should all deserved that pat on the back.... with FYP, Assignmemts, Exams, Student Conference and lastly Clincials. This mad rush has made many of us fall ill, and that includes yours truly.

Now that everything has ended, and not quite. But it soon will after our results are release. Some of us will depart to continue your student role in Australia while some of us will step into the role of Occupational Therapists. We will no longer include the word "student" in our documentations.

Now, are we ready?

Perhaps this is the time to sort out all our thoughts and feelings. I don't know what path I will take now. I will just take a step at a time now. Maybe the 1st thing I should do now is to clear my room. I have lots of notes lying around. Maybe if I am lucky, I will head to Australia for my Degree Conversion. If not, I will just stay in Singapore for the moment. But now, it seems it is more of the latter.

Whatever it is.... it was a truly enjoyable 3 years... If I were to be given to choose between NTU Enginnering and NYP Occupational Therapy, I think I wll still stick to OT.

Sorry for such a long post..... See you guys soon.....

Internet connection down

Hi all,

If you guys have not been seeing me online, it is because my internet connection is down at the moment (or rather it has been suspended.) My brother hasn't been paying the bill. Guess it will be a little while till you see me appear online again.....

Thus, if you are looking for me or want to ask me out before I start working etc, you can sms or call me.... =p

BTW, I am currently in school cafe.... haha.... =p

Take care till I see you online again soon, hopefully.

Letting go of dreams.....

My horoscope for today:

"Letting go of one dream will help you make room for another, even better one."

The detailed horoscope says:

"Having dreams -- and holding on to them -- is very important; however, it's equally vital that you understand when to let one of them go. But deciding whether to let go of a dream should not be based on how long it has gone unfulfilled. Instead, the decision should be based on how realistic it is. Is backpacking around Europe really a practical goal? And maybe winning an Academy Award isn't in the cards for you. Let go of one dream to make room for another."


Perhaps this horoscope is really quite true..... perhaps I should really let go of things..... last sunday, there was an exhibition at the empty area next to tampines MRT.... they were having some celebration for 40 years of NS.... there were army.... civil defence... police force.... cannot remember if there were navy and air force not..... anyway, I did not really stay long.... though a part of me hope that I had stayed longer....

hmm... perhaps.... it was not so much of passion to join SPF now.... but perhaps it was just a little pity that I decided to give it up after I persevere for so long... it had been my dreams since I was in primary school.... really.... I remembered writing that in my chinese composition too... I was pri 4 then....

And Perhaps.... maybe I should put on hold of my degree conversion overseas too... if I don't hear from NCSS soon.... I should even think carefully if I were to do it locally....

Shall spend more time thinking after clinicals.... now is not really the time to think of such issues now....

Updates... ...

Hi all.... Sorry for the long silence... it has been almost 2 weeks since I blogged.... as usual... alot of things are better left unsaid due to client confidentiality..... but none the less... something to share with you guys on my last 2 weeks... ....

I went to little India with some residents last wednesday.... and on our way back, there was this resident who wanted to buy a bottle of drink and guess what? The shop owner did not accept the money and on top of that, he gave another 5 bottle of drinks to the rest of the residents!!!! hmmm.... i was shocked and gald that at least there are still some kind souls around....

Planning to get my resident back to work.... but his intrinsic motivation is so low... but hopefully he can do some work before I leave the placement... ...

I had been busy with paperwork as well.... just can't imangine the amount of documentation I need to do everyday... and if I don't clear... it gets piled up.... and the greatest number of documentations that I have to write per day can go up to 9 - 11...... depending who I decided to see for my individual session if I have group session that day.....

Still got few things to finish.... or rather alot of things to do.... but I'm tired... just want to take a rest before I start my stuff...

I hope things will not be this way when we started working..... if not.... we will be burnt out real soon....

Take care to all..... jiayou... another 4 more days...... and HAppy Labour Day in advance.... =p

Attachments - Less stressful than normal school time?

I saw one of my friends MSN nick and it triggered me to write a post on this. Her nick was: Appreciate IA. With monthly Allowance, no exams, and less stress.

And I think if I were to write about IA(It is Industrial Attachment BTW... similar to our clinicals), it would be:
Appreciate IA. But no monthly allowance, plus it is graded, more stress and more prone to sickness.

And I suddenly remembered that when I went to the doctor on the 1st Friday of my clinical, he was asking what was I doing now. I told him I was having my attachment and he thought I was studying psychology.

Anyway, he asked how many attachments do I have and I replied that we will have 1 attachment every semester. And he replied, "Oh then you must have earned alot from these attachments."

I was like.... er.... we are not paid for all our attachments..... And guess what was his response?

"Oh... then why you choose this course?"

I was totally lost for words at what he had said... ...

Hmm.... so the moral of the story?

We are different from everyone else... ... And perhaps the word to describe us is altruism. Maybe that is why we are so stressful during clinicals. Sometimes, I admit is due to fear of not performing up to expectations but often than not, we are stress because we are worried that we are not able to do as much as we should/ we can with our clients... ...

Maybe that is why we are so stressful... ...

14 more days.... Jiayou everybody!

What my soul really looks like?

What Your Soul Really Looks Like

You are quite expressive and thoughtful. You see the world in a way that others are blind to. You are a grounded person, but you also leave room for imagination and dreams. You feet may be on the ground, but you're head is in the clouds. You believe that people see you as larger than life and important. While this is true, they also think you're a bit full of yourself. Your near future is calm, relaxing, and pretty much what you want. And it's something you've been anticipating for a while now. For you, love is all about caring and comfort. You couldn't fall in love with someone you didn't trust.

Inside the Room of Your Soul

1st entry on CE3C

Hey OTties.... here's an update on how am I surviving in my current placement....

Week 1
Settling down in the new placment.... my first mental health placement ever... getting used to the place and the residents here..... and the way things are being run here.... fall sick on Friday... Clinicals are always the time students fall sick easily as we are more prone to viruses and diseases.... Especially when our immune system are the lowest at this point of time due to the lack of rest since our last placement which ended last early decemeber....

Week 2
Hmm.... Monday wasn't a good start of the week as I couldn't find my Ezlink card early in the morning and I spent 10- 15 mins finding and still to no avail... and thus resulting me to take a cab after I took a feeder bus to the interchange. Then I got to the shop and save near my placement centre to get some ingredients as I was doing my 1st ever group session in this placement.... and later I found out that my sup is on MC.... and was told to do my session on tuesday instead.

That wasn't all... I was told by another OT to stand in for another group session, also meal preparation as the supposingly person-in-charge is on MC too.... okay... so I just took the group at the last minute without preparing anything at all... so... I resort to using the ingredients that I bought for my group for this group instead... luckily the session wasn't that bad...

And my sup was understanding enuff that I had to take the other group that was not under my care.... =)

Conducted my very own 1st group session on Tuesday.... that wasn't that bad too actually... they had made their 1st ever Kueh Dadar....

Then came Wednesday where I went to the segregation ward to have session with the residents... Hmm... Have to do alot of prompts as some of them has quite low level of arousal.... and some requires physical cues....

Soon came Thursday... the last day of the week..... did few interviews with my residents to find out more about them....

The Health Attendant (HA) at the homes are also very helpful to us, in helping us get our residents... and retreiving the casenotes.... we were also treated very well with coffee when we were looking at the casenotes at the homes in the admin office.... lol....

Looking forward to next few sessions..... really hope that we can do more for these residents here....

Gambatte all OTties!!!! Last 4 weeks to go....

Quiz: Am I a perfectionist?

You Are 71% Perfectionist

You are a true perfectionist. You are both demanding of yourself and others. While it's great to have goals and standards, they don't need to be sky high!

Are You a Perfectionist?

Stressed... ...

Remember that a lady who had my fortune told said to me,

"You tends to get angry with yourself."

Daddy Sanath also once mentioned:

"You are very dedicated and you tend to 'punish' yourself if things don't work out the way you want it to. Commitment is one thing, and you need to balance it well .

Having a stubborn streak can impair your thought process as it stops you from receiving and asking for help... Good to have a stubborn streak and good to be flexible too... Like I use to say, Be rigid but flexible.

You love your fellow mates and that's very comforting for ppl around you...

You're a perfectionist and you need stubborness to be that. Just like Daddy!"

I also know I will tend to blame myself if things don't go the way I wanted to as I am someone who takes success and failure quite seriously. Not everyone see this side of me. While other may see it as stubborn, some will see it as anal, some see it as perfectionist. Whatever it is, I know very well myself that if I know I can do it well and nothing should stop me from doing it. And if that happens, then I will get affected.

Perhaps is the expectations that I set for myself... and sometimes is all these that causing me stress.... more often that not, it is always me stressing myself and no others.... who else will give me stress? If I choose not to set an expectation for myself.... there will be no stress... But I still choose to... ...

Though I am not appear to be a performer... ... results to me is as important as the process... ...
If someone tells you process is more impt... it is bullshit actually... ...
How about telling a person that how good he does etc and tell him he got poor for his results ....
The above is not targeted at any situation la... it is just some thoughts that comes to my mind...

if process is more impt... then how about telling all the students that so long they attended 4 yrs of secondary school... they can be considered pass no matter how badly they did in their school's results?

Maybe, I should learn to take things lightly? Or don't blame myself.... blame others? Haha.... whichever it is.... it is me lah.... and it's my fate lah... BUT the fate is in my hand to be changed.... lol....

=)

Me a good cook?

You Are an Excellent Cook

You're a top cook, but you weren't born that way. It's taken a lot of practice, a lot of experimenting, and a lot of learning. It's likely that you have what it takes to be a top chef, should you have the desire...

Are You A Good Cook?

Haha... hope it helps... I'm gonna conduct "Yummy King" aka meal preparation with my clients tomorrow... =p