It's official. Our postings have all been extended for another month. This means the medical officers ( residents ) and housemen ( interns ) will remain where they are till the end of May, while the new wet-behind-the-ears med school grads will join us on 2nd May. The current housemen will turn MOs on the same day, which makes for some interesting developments -- one day they're professional blood-suckers following orders, the next they're expected to perform more complex ( and dangerous ) procedures and make important decisions. But fear not, 'cos we residents ( who are starting to feel really old and tired ) will be there to help during the transition. Can't say I'm thrilled about doing calls for another month, though. I miss the ER...

No news to report on the SARS situation here, but we have daily morning updates at the hospital from Monday to Saturday, so I'll fill you in again from tomorrow onwards.

I do, however, have a giant bone to pick with a couple of Straits Times reporters. This morning's Sunday edition had a 2-page spread featuring articles written by 5 ST journalists -- all female, for some strange reason. In summary, the 3 pieces on the second page were a little less self-absorbed than the first 2. Yep, that's my assessment of the standard of writing in our national newspaper.

At a time when healthcare workers and other vital peripheral organizations are carrying out their duties despite great personal risk, ST editor Bertha Henson chose to shine the spotlight on her "gung-ho" reporters. Nice move. Nothing boosts morale like a commentary on how brave members of the media can be when pursuing a good story.

But the one that really ticked me off is written by Salma Khalik, who also blew the lid off the inquiry involving Dr. Leong Hoe Nam -- and for the record, Dr. Leong is one of the most accomplished yet humble and generous doctors I know.
Ms. Khalik's article, titled "In the hazard zone", claimed to give the "inside story" of the SARS epidemic in Singapore. She even tells us she was "the only journalist who went into a SARS ICU and isolation ward".
If that was her original objective, she has failed miserably. She didn't provide any information that other Singaporeans don't already know -- she merely rehashed what's been printed in her own paper over the past few weeks. The only additional insight she gave from her "exclusive tour" at TTSH was her description of how she had to suit up prior to entry, how paranoid everyone was, and of course, a not-so-obvious pat on the back for herself for being spunky enough to venture where no-one else would.
Her greatest crime, however, was her remark regarding a young lady who is one of the first index cases here, and who unwittingly spread the virus to her loved ones and a large number of medical personnel and fellow patients, leading to a significant number of secondary and tertiary cases as well. This poor girl has already lost both her parents and her pastor, and Ms. Khalik SENSITIVELY wrote:

" How much loss can one person take? To make things infinitely worse, she will always be plagued with the guilt that she brought to Singapore the virus that killed her parents, and infected over 100 people here."

She even names the person in question. Bravo. Sure, the reporter then makes an attempt to exonerate the woman, saying it is "unwarranted guilt, for she herself is a victim. She had not done anything wrong.." But let's face it, Ms. Khalik has merely poured fuel on a raging fire. There are some things that are deemed inappropriate, even for journalistic purposes, and this is certainly one of them.

Interestingly, a fellow ST writer mentioned in her own piece -- which is on the page directly opposite Ms. Khalik's -- that she recently received a message from the abovementioned patient's irate brother, asking, "Could you tell your paper to stop using my sister's name?" And here we have a whole paragraph devoted to how she's responsible for making a hundred people sick.

I used to write to the Straits Times Forum page regularly, and was even published a number of times, but ever since I started criticizing the reporters and voicing objections to some government policies, I've been completely shut out of the paper. Thank goodness for blogs then. :) I thought about asking you readers to email the paper and voice your opinions, but that would only make their heads swell even more. So if you've got anything to say, say it here in the "comments" section.


It's a Sunday afternoon, not much sun, just the right degree of mild windy conditions, and yes! my neighbourhood is dead quiet -- well, save for the occasional yelp from a small yappy dog down the road. I'm on call again tomorrow, but won't be covering the ICU this time, and come to think of it, I haven't even recovered from the last call yet. Ever wonder what perks me up when everything else gets me down? My apologies if I share some personal stuff right now, but hey, it's my blog after all, haha. :D Feel free to stop reading if you're not that interested.

1. American Idol 2 -- namely, Clay Aiken! He's got a beautiful voice, a great smile, and was an undergrad studying special education before he got thrust into the limelight. In his free time, he volunteers at the YMCA, and hangs out with a 13-year-old autistic boy. He remains humble despite his large ( and adoring ) following, and is only rivalled by Ruben Studdard as a contender for the final 2. It's my bet that even if Clay doesn't win -- which I hope never happens, ack! -- he'll get a lucrative recording contract. In any case, Mr. Aiken's the high point of my week nowadays, and I've got all his performances downloaded onto my laptop. :) Watch this every Thursday 8pm on Channel 5.

2. Monk -- Tony Shalhoub won a well-deserved Golden Globe this year for his spot-on portrayal of a genius homicide detective plagued by obsessive-compulsive tendencies. Every episode is a real treasure of twists, turns and hilarious incidents that play on Monk's numerous phobias. Airs every Friday 8pm on Channel i.

3. C.S.I. -- The 3rd season is being shown over cable ( Wednesday 9pm, AXN Channel 19 ), and continues to put our brains through a vigourous workout. The latest episode had the team solve an 18-month-old case, with nothing more than a skeleton stuffed in a metal chest in the middle of nowhere, and aided only by a colony of ants. Wow...

4. Josh Groban's Pasadena Auditorium concert -- Most of you won't know what the heck I'm talking about, but in short, Josh is 21 years old, and has one of the most gorgeous voices I've ever heard. Deep, effortless, and capable of producing heart-rending versions of "The Prayer" and "Starry, Starry Night". His concert DVD is not available in Singapore -- don't have a clue why -- but I taped it off cable a few weeks ago, and have been watching it quite a few times since. :) He is a spectacular live performer, and also showed off some nifty piano-playing skills, woohoo! My favourite song, though, is a collaboration with John Williams ( the prolific composer of themes from "Indiana Jones", "E.T.", "Schindler's List" and "Jurassic Park" ). Here, he conducts a lovely, lovely piece from "A.I." ( the movie from Steven Spielberg starring Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law ) called "For Always", and it's sung flawlessly by Josh. Takes my breath away every time, and I must've seen it at least 20 times by now. :D

5. Simple pleasures: giving my cat a hug, just spending time with my parents at home ( don't go out much with the SARS problem ), writing ( for my blog, as well as the SMA newsletter ), enjoying good music ( Class 95's dance party programme every Friday night is a big favourite of mine :)), a cold Root Beer after a long day, a hot shower, a good night's sleep, yet another day of good health... Funny how you re-evaluate your priorities when faced with the risk of mortality.

6. Church -- I never preach, and I'm not doing so here, but being a new Christian and all, I can see the big difference in my life before and after baptism ( this was in early February ). For me, any opportunity to spend a morning at church always renews my strength and helps me find a way to cope with the future. And of course, prayer is also an important part of my daily routine, during which I ask not just for myself, but for all my friends and colleagues here in Changi, and for the entire medical community in Singapore and all over the world. Cynics will typically ask, "How do you believe in a God that allows his people to endure such suffering and does nothing about it?" Let me tell you something -- I too was once a cynic, perhaps the biggest cynic that ever lived even. It took me 15 long years to convert, and how that happened is known by only a very small group of close friends and relatives. But all you need is that one event -- may be earth-shattering, may be happy or sad, something said, seen or done -- and after that, your whole perspective changes so dramatically you'll wonder why you ever doubted at all.

7. And if you're still reading after my little digression there -- ;) -- the last ( but not least ) thing that brings me lots of joy is... your visits! When I first set up this blog almost a year ago, it was more of a personal hobby, with the main aim of providing readers with reviews of good films and TV shows. But now, with my accounts of SARS, which have elicited so many well wishes from people here and all over the world, it really helps ease the pain and despair that I sometimes feel. I thank you all again for taking an interest in the goings-on here in tiny little Singapore, and hope you'll continue to spread the word and voice your opinions.

It's started to rain. Logging off for now, so I can download more Clay stuff. :P More tomorrow.