February - Finalized Kmsa Newsflash Vol.1 February 2009

Health Talk Latest Medical Related News From the Web Healthiest Fast Food Values Watching your spending? Who isn’t, right? Here are the top three healthiest picks from the value menus. McDonald‟s McChicken Sandwich (Dollar Value Menu): This pick weighs in at just 360 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat. Burger King‟s Whopper Jr. (Value Menu): If you love a burger, this is your healthiest budget buy: Just hold the mayo and it’s a 290-calorie lunch. McDonald‟s Ice Cream Sundae (Dollar Value Menu): Order strawberry and get 20% of your daily calcium for less than 300 calories. From http://living.health.com/2009/02/19/healthiest-fast-food-values/

Public warning on 3 slimming products Malaysia:The public is advised to stop the sale, distribution and use of the slimming products Slimway Herbs, BMI9 Xylimming Day Capsule and BMI9 Xylimming Night Capsule with immediate effect as they have been found to contain the scheduled poison "Sibutramine". The Health Ministry's Pharmaceutical Services Division director Eishah A. Rahman said the use of these herbal products without supervision by doctors could lead to adverse effects like high blood pressure and other cardiovascular complications. "Medicine containing 'Sibutramine' can only be issued by doctors or obtained with a doctor's prescription at pharmacies," she said in a statement on Wednesday. To read the complete article, please visit http://thestar.com.my, Feb 18 2009, Nation

Plan for more eye doctors Malaysia: The Health Ministry plans to increase the number of eye doctors in the country from 350 to 525 by 2020, said minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai. “Our target is to have 1.5 ophthalmologists per 100,000 population by that time. Currently, the ratio is 1.3 to 100,000,” he told a press conference after officially opening the Lions Eye Clinic at Mahsa College here yesterday…. To read the complete article, please visit http:// malaysianmedicine.blogspot.com/index.html.

Housemen lack basic know-how KUALA LUMPUR: Some medical universities, both local and overseas, are churning out doctors who cannot carry out common medical procedures, have no proper clinical exposure, cannot communicate effectively and cannot even take down the history of patients properly for diagnosis and treatment. Senior medical consultants in government hospitals are now saddled with the task of having to retrain these people to ensure they meet the country's standard of medical practice. Some of these fresh doctors are retained in their houseman training postings for years, some even up to six years, because they cannot meet the standards. The compulsory housemanship is two years. In view of this problem, the Malaysian Medical Council…… To read the complete article, please visit http:// malaysianmedicine.blogspot.com/index.html.

KURSK MALAYSIAN MEDICAL STUDENTS ASSOCIATION (KMSA)

COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2008/09 President: Deputy Presidents:

Jeyendran Kanagarajah Ahmad Nizam Marcus Voo Wei Syn Alan Na Wei Lun Sharmaine Marie Khairunisa Yahiya

Secretary: Vice-Secretary: Treasurer: Vice Presidents: Benedict Chong (Education) Kugan Varatha Raju (Advertising & Publicity) Mexmollen Marcus (Social) Zakri Aziz (Sports) Chong Chaw Jong (Students’ Affairs) Directors: Education Director: Mervyn Ian Assistant Education Director:Vicnesh Thillynathan

Editorial Board Director: Helmy Sajali Advertising & Publicity Director: Kong Chau Shing Social Directors: Ruban Prasaath Vejayan Christina Eleanor Martin Events Director: Shirley Liew Chiah Hui Sports Director: Kiran Kandiah Students’ Affairs Director: Monesh Pillai Orientation Director: Thuruven Sothu Gorendan Assistant Orientation Director: Sammy Lee Kian Yap Hostel Representatives: 5th Hostel: 4th Hostel: Pad Fak Hostel: Bungalow:

Jeya Prasanth William Chung Fui Ching Mitchel Brian Jimilin Beatrix Hii

Vol. № 01, February 2009 KMSA’s Christmas Week 2009

Words From Mr. President

New Year Twisted Telematch Album -page 5-

Read what our President has to say -page 2PLUS: KMSA 2008/09 New Committee Members

Kursk, 18th of February 2009—A meeting was held on the 18th of February 2009 organized by the Kursk Malaysian Medical Students‟ Association to discuss the issue of summer practice in Russia. It has been a tradition for students of Russian medical universities to do our summer attachments back home in our hospitals. Few have attempted to do it here, but most students usually do it back home. So when the MMC came out with this shocker decision, many of us took it as a slap to our faces. by Anesh The aim of the meeting was to come up with a single direction for the KMSA to work on this issue, with the agreement and support of the whole Kursk Malaysian community as a united front. This discussion was a proof that the KMSA committee did not want to make any unilateral decisions and wanted to take into account the views and opinions of the our students. The meeting kicked off at about 5 pm with a short briefing by the KMSA secretary Mr. Alan Na. He briefed the attendees on his correspondence with the MMC president Tan Sri Dato‟ Seri Dr. Hj. Mohd Ismail bin Merican. Photocopies of the correspondence which was done via email were distributed. Next the KMSA president Mr. Jeyendran took to the stage and gave everyone a round up about his discussions over the weeks with the presidents of Malaysian Students‟ Associations of the other four recognized medical universities in Mr. Alan explaining every documents involved in this long-running saga Russia (Vologograd, Nizhny, RSMU & MMA). He also spoke about his repeated discussions with our dean of international students‟ faculty. Next the discussion was opened to the floor for a brainstorming session. Many students voiced out their views, suggestions, opinions and also their grouses. Mr. President himself announced the suggestions that the committee itself came up with after repeated internal discussions. Among the suggestions and comments from the floor included the following:-

And the Summer Practice’s Saga Continues…

The KMSA 2008/2009 Editorial Board

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Editorial Board Director

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Students are allowed to do their postings in Malaysia from clinical years onwards (4th and 5th years). To cooperate with Malaysian‟ Students‟ Associations from other universities to write a petition to the MMC to request for a review of their decision.

Mr. Helmy Sajali E mail: [email protected] YM: [email protected]

Editor –In – Chief

Miss. Sherlyn Marcella E mail: [email protected] MSN: [email protected]

Columnist

Mr. Alan Na E mail: [email protected] MSN: [email protected]

Columnist

Mr. Anesh Nair E mail: [email protected] MSN: [email protected]

Events Journalist

Miss. Abigail Rembui Anak Jerip E mail: [email protected] YM: [email protected]

Exclusive Interview Read accounts of our ex-seniors about life as a houseofficer. -page 6

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The students demanded their voices to be heard

To convince the MMC to postpone this decision to next year, citing reasons such as many students have already booked their flight tickets back, holiday plans have been made, giving the university morre time to plan as this

is the first time they are doing this.

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To accept the fact of doing our practical here and to not be too rebellious against the MMC, to avoid graver issues such as derecognisation of the university by the Higher Education Unit. To suggest to the Administration of the university to restructure their elective postings plan and syllabus, because the present plan are obsolete and was created for students to do the attachments in Malaysia. (which students has flexible time and no limitation of practices).

There was much debate and slight arguments here and there, but Mr. President and Mr. Secretary did their best to bring the students back on track and to achieve the common aim of finding a single path to act on. Varied views were voiced out, but at the very end of the discussion, it was agreed that the KMSA committee, together with the students shall proceed with discussions with other MSA from other 4 universities in negotiating with the MMC on possibly postponing the ruling to next year, and at the same time, to work closely with the dean‟s office in restructuring the elective postings plan in the event that all of us have to complete our practicals here in Kursk. The meeting ended at 7 pm. Please be alert to the details in this issue, on official media of KMSA (Facebook, posters, KMSA‟s Newsflash, and the KMSA committee members).

T

Greetings, Salam sejahtera and Dobre Poszhalovat to our Malaysian family of Kursk. We present you our first newsletter for the year 2009 and also the very first after forming the new working committee late last year. We kicked start early this year by organizing the Best by Jeyendran Kanagarajah Man’s Kitchen and the Twisted Telematch which was held in conjunction with the Xmas and New Year celebrations. Enthusiasm of fellow students seen throughout these events has prompted us to schedule events as such in our calendar as one of KMSA’s annual event. Ah, before I forget a heartiest congratulation to all our winter batch seniors who graduated recently. Wishing them all the best in their future undertakings!

Words From Mr. President

Subsequently we ‘rested’ awhile due to the exam season and winter holidays. Now, once again we are back at work, this time dealing mainly with - The ‘summer practice’ shock. We have been working tirelessly on this issue since the MMC delegates’ visit late November last year by corresponding with the MMC through emails seeking consideration of our plight. A meeting was also held with our very own students to inform recent updates and gather suggestions relating to this issue. Nevertheless, it has happened and now we are committed in working towards minimizing the ‘damage’. Currently, we are in the midst of providing suggestions to the University on how we could arrange the summer practice, which now seems bound to happen (judging by the recent directives given to the university by the Malaysian Embassy in Moscow), to the best benefit of our students. Meanwhile, we are also writing a united petition to MMC together with the other four recognized universities of Russia to seek postponement of this summer practice ruling to at least next year. By this, we hope to resolve the ticketing problems, to calm the ‘not prepared yet’ mindset of our students and also to grant the university more time to plan a more systematic and quality summer practice for our students. We kindly seek your support and cooperation in working out this issue as ‘mishandling’ of it could result in dire consequences. Preparation for the Volgograd Intervarsity Games 2009 is underway too. This time, we have taken to task promising a more transparent and just selection system for all games and supporters, avoiding any so called cronyism in our sports. Cmon sportsman sportswoman of Kursk, having won the title consecutively for 3 years, we know we can do it again. Let’s cry out in one voice ‘Kita Dengar Suara, Kursk Tetap Juara!’. Do keep in touch with us and watch out for our future activities which we will unfold as we go on. Love all, Serve all…with that I sign off, hoping that you will be pleased reading this edition of NewsFlash as much as we enjoyed bringing this to you.

he patient awakened after the operation to find herself in a room with all the blinds drawn. "Why are all the blinds closed?" she asked her doctor. "Well," the surgeon responded, "They're fighting a huge fire across the street, and we didn't want you to wake up and think the operation had failed." octors at a hospital in Brooklyn, New York have gone on strike. Hospital officials say they will find out what the Doctors' demands are as soon as they can get a pharmacist over there to read the picket signs!"

D P

onder This: The difference between a neurotic and a psychotic is that, while a psychotic thinks that 2 + 2 = 5, a neurotic knows the answer is 4, but it worries him.

Doctor Vs. Mechanic orris was removing some engine valves from a car on the lift when he spotted the famous heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey, who was standing off to the side, waiting for the service manager. Morris, somewhat of a loud mouth, shouted across the garage, "Hey DeBakey...Is dat you? Come over here a minute." The famous surgeon, a bit surprised, walked over to where Morris was working on a car. Morris in a loud voice, all could hear, said argumentatively, "So Mr. Fancy doctor, look at this work. I also take valves out, grind 'em, put in new parts, and when I finish this baby will purr like a kitten. So how come you get the big bucks, when you and me are doing basically the same work?" DeBakey, very embarrassed, walked away and said softly, to Morris, "Try doing your work with the engine running."

M

Moscow, 6th February 2009—A total of 25 people went on the Moscow One Day City Tour organized by the Malaysian Student association (MSA). The participants comprised mostly of students of Kursk State Medical University and parents of graduates who attended the One-day City Tour graduation ceremony held recently. We left Kursk in a 28-seater bus at night (5th February by Alan Na 2009) and arrived in Moscow at around 10 am the following day. The first stop was made in McDonalds where everyone freshened up and had breakfast. It was also here that we met up with our English Guide, Mr. Alexei. At around 11am that we left McDonalds and began our Moscow One Day City Tour. It began with a tour around the city of Moscow in the bus – The Observation tour. During the tour, the guide elaborated on the history of Moscow, including the glorious past during the Soviet times, showed us many historical buildings and monuments, etc. The tour brought us past many significant historical sites in Moscow, including the Christ the Inside the bus Saviour Cathedral, the Tretyakovskaya Art Gallery, The Golden circle of Moscow, to name a few. The first stop was made in the Red Square, where we got down on our feet. It was rather cold that day with an average temperature of -10°C.We walked past the St Basil’s cathedral, Lenin’s MausoClose-up: Kremlin, The centre of Russian Administra- leum, Gum Shopping Complex and the Moscow State Historical Museum. After that, tion we proceeded further to observe the ‘changing of the guards’ outside Kremlin. We were lucky as we managed to catch the hourly ceremony of guard changing. Next it was followed with a trip inside the Kremlin which lasted for about an hour. After the Kremlin, we stopped at Arbat Street, one of Russia’s oldest street spending about an hour and a half having lunch and strolling along the historical street. There was nothing much historical about the street as it was now filled with modern shops and complexes. The next stop was the State Darwin’s Museum. This museum showcases developments in the field of evolutionary biology. Many found the visit to the museum quite interesting and said that they would come back for a second time. Worth mentioning here is that the entrance to the museum was free for students, provided that the student card was shown. The visit lasted till 6pm when we then left for shopping at the well known Mega Ashan Shopping complex. It was only at around 8.30 that the bus reached the destination as the driver was unfamiliar with the directions. Finally at about 11.00pm, our Moscow One day tour came to an end and we began on the journey back to Kursk. It wasn’t a smooth journey back though. As we were about 3 hour away from Kursk, the bus skidded off the road and was stuck in a ditch of snow. Fortunately, no one was hurt. A call was made to the travel company and within 15 minutes, 2 emergency mashruts were arranged to pick us up. Everybody was taken back to Kursk safely. On the part of MSA, we sincerely apologize for the unnecessary emotional trauma and inconveniences caused. We would like to explain that all arrangements for the trip were done according to proper procedures. We approached a reputable travel agency which arranged a bus through a licensed bus company. All arrangements were made according to the number of people that we have for the trip. We assure you that no shortcuts were taken and this unfortunate incident could not be foreseen in any manner. As such, we deemed it was necessary to compensate something to the participants to at least provide some emotional comfort. Using the Emergency Welfare Fund which was established for such purposes, an amount of RUB 150 was reimbursed to every single participant of the trip together with some mandarin oranges. We would like to assure you that we will take more measures in ensuring your comfort should there be any more of such events in the future.

МОСКВА:

HOUSEMAN IN ACTION by Sherlyn Marcella.

What can you expect after 6 years of stuffing your nose under those thick medical books? Relief? Joy? Excitement? HORROR? 2 of our seniors took some precious time off to reveal to our editor-in-chief, to be shared among us, the present students, the topsy turvy life of being a House Officer in Malaysia. Here it goes….

House MAN –Fire Man –Police MAN –Super MAN (by Dr. Roland Victor) What do they have in common? The 24-7 nonstop duty. WHERE AM I?: I have been posted to Hospital Teluk Intan which is my 3rd choice. It’s still much of a challenge (being a KL citizen). However, I thank God for not being sent “across the seas” since it’s just 2.5 hours drive back to KL. It’s a peaceful town similar to Kursk 5 years ago apart from having McD, KFC n Pizza Hut!! Everything is just a stone throw away, ideal for a H.O to save money since things are cheap here. MY JOB: I am currently in Pediatrics ward. Nothing much on the first few days beside paperwork and assimilating to the Malaysian hospital management. Working is a bit stressful, starting from 7am till 5pm. There are ample of wardrounds (H.O rounds, M.O rounds and Specialist rounds). Be prepared to clerk continually to the point that you feel like a secretary. It seems that the paperless system is not succesfully implemented. You’d be surprised that you have written about 50 sheets of forms and papers with your name chopped all over the place from the time your patient enters the ward to the time he walks out. The irony of doing this in a high-tech ICT country. “ON-CALL” basically means 36 straight hours of work. Dream off the days of REM sleeps because patients will pop-up at 2.50am, and another by 4.00am and another at 6.00am. The good part is, we now do less “on-calls” due to the increased number of doctors in the country. The bad part is, the lesser calls, the lesser RM100 you earn. However, I’d still pick sleep over the RM100. A good sleep is undeniably PRICELESS. MY SOCIAL LIFE: Other Housemen have claimed that I am a Martian trying to fit in all the things I used to do back in university. Squeezing time late at night for EPL matches, cooking, fulsal and a bit of socializing. As a doctor, you should be complete role model to the society and avoid the unhealthy lifestyle. I stand out among the obvious. Trust me, people do seriously look up to you. So don’t be like the rest, OUTSTANDING is the word. Last but not least is this advice to those who are graduating soon, or to those who would like to start early: If you wish to have a flying start in the Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM) system, do download the Malaysian protocol from the KKM website from each department and read it up. A simple and easy way to manage patients in Malaysia. Don’t waste your time. The Russian and Malaysian system are different. What we have to do as foreign grads be it from Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, UK or anywhere around the world is to adapt as soon as possible. Wishing all of you the best of luck in the coming exam. Congratulations to KMSA for living up to the dot com age. Dr. Roland Victor (Former President of KMSA)

LIFE AS A HOUSEMAN IN SIBU by Dr. Benjamin Ho Houseman life practically begins with tagging for 10-14 days, depending on the department you are assigned to.Surgery-tagging for 10 days.7am till 11pm everyday. After the tagging period, working hours will be as office hours (7am till 5pm). The best oncalls would be on Friday , leaving office by Saturday 12 noon. Do try to brush up on all your practical skills, anatomy and physiology. Remember how to handle “fluid and electrolyte balance” in patients. (Eg: How to manage hypokalemic patients in terms of replacing, maintaining their fluids etc). Try to learn as much as possible from the senior House Officers and Medical Officers. Get as much rest as possible. Stay strong and NEVER GIVE UP. Dr. Benjamin Ho (Hospital Sibu)

Anesh says…… Many of us Kurskians are bogged down by depressing issues these days, be it exams, pending atrabotkas, post-holiday depression, but the winning trophy has to go to the MMC‟s recent decision about our summer practices. Don‟t even think I‟m going to talk about this matter. I myself self-admittedly am indulging in denial, and still picture myself going back to the Land of Nasi Lemaks in July, as usual, without problems… But anyway, we all need a break from this issue. I wanted to touch on something that has been very close to us since the day each of us landed on Slavic soil. It has been creeping into every aspect of our lives; it can make our mundane life here interesting, but also can ruin lives for some. All of us indulge in it, it is, the one and only, GOSSIP! Gossip can be defined as rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature. I‟m not going to broach into celebrity gossip and what not, but about personal, everyday gossip, the kind which deals with your family and friends. Why do we gossip? To make life more spicy I guess, like the curries we love so much. So there you have it, the recipe of good gossip. You get a juicy, meaty piece of information about someone, then add some curry powder by twisting some facts, and then add salt by making your own wild deductions about the person, and voila! It is undeniable that within the Kursk Malaysian community, gossip is a major issue. Every one indulges in it I‟m sure, except for handful I guess (really ar?). But why do we do it? Simple. It‟s too BORING here. Entertainment in Kursk is almost non-existent. Some people indulge in excessive consumption of a certain type of beverage, ehem. But otherwise people can‟t seem to entertain themselves enough. So, people resort to one of the liveliest forms of entertainment since the origin of human speech, GOSSIP. We gossip about who coupled with whom, who broke up with whom, who fought with whom, who moved to apartment with whom, who moved back to hostel because of what, who went to Switzerland with whom, who is rich and loaded, who isn‟t sitting in lecture with whom, who got so drunk on New Year‟s Eve, who did this, who did that, who this, who that, who how why when arrrrrrrrgghhh!! There‟s just too many. But things do really get a bit ugly when a person‟s reputation is tainted. And the way stories get twisted and turned is simply unimaginable. You can experiment. For instance, let‟s say you make up a story about someone to your group mates. Let‟s say you tell them that „A‟ slept with an Evropa cashier. Give it a good one week, and don‟t be surprised if by the end of the week a friend comes up to you and says, “Eh macha you heard about „A‟ ar, it seems he slept with a Gastronom cashier in Gastronom itself and people shopping saw them and our dean also was there and he saw and expelled him on the spot la macha!” Notice in between the excited yells of “macha”, the basic fact remained, but was twisted and spiced up. This is a very wild example, but sort of encapsulates what I‟m trying to say. Word here in Kursk spreads like wildfire. There are no secrets. The moment something leaves the cavity of your mouth, it‟s a matter of time for the whole community to know about it. I guess indulging in a bit of „small talk‟ or „cakap kosong‟ among friends is acceptable. But if it involves facts about other people, sometimes even people you are not even acquainted to, then its best to mind your words, especially if the information is not verified. Because remember, when you tell Ali something controversial about Lim, and Ali tells Muthu the same thing, and Muthu asks Lim about it directly, and Lim asks “who told you?” And Muthu says Ali and later Ali says you told him in the first place, Lim might want to kick you in your gluteus maximus.

BEST MAN‟S KITCHEN ( CHRISTMAS EDITION ) DATE : 3RD JANUARY 2009 VENUE : PADFAK HOSTEL TIME : 11 AM TILL 1.30PM TEAMS : BEST MEN, SANTA‟S LIL‟ HELPERS, GO DON RAM_Z, F „N‟ B CREW : JUDGES : NISHAN, NASHA, JOANNE, SYAZWAN, CHONG HYGIENE JUDGES : AREN, MITCHEL, VINOD, ASHVIN WINNER : GO DON RAM_Z RUNNER UP : SANTA‟S LIL‟ HELPERS WINNERS OF THE EVENT RECEIVED A TROPHY ,MEDALS AND A FREE STALL IN THE NEXT „JOM MAKAN-MAKAN‟. THE RUNNER UPS RECEIVED MEDALS AND 50% OFF A STALL FOR THE NEXT „JOM MAKAN-MAKAN‟.

NEW YEAR‟‟S TWISTED TELEMATCH DATE : 4TH JANUARY 2009 VENUE : BIOPHYSICS SPORTZAL TIME : 2PM TILL 5.30PM TEAMS : 1- HALTOP 2- 3 PINKYS N 5 BRAINS 3- BUNGALOW 4- LOVE TO WIN 5- RAINBEEZ 6- SNOW WHITE 7- GYM_NAZ 8- KILLERS 9- KM 15 10- T N T *EACH TEAM CONSISTS OF 8 MEMBERS CREW : MAIN JUDGE : MEXMOLLEN MARCUS REFEREES : KIRAN, ZAKRI, SHIRLEY, RAKESH, KEN ZHEN, HAQIM, NIZAM, JEYA, SAMMY, HELMY MASCOT (SANTA CLAUSE) : ANEESH WINNER : BUNGALOW 1ST RUNNER UP : 3 PINKYS N 5 BRAINS 2ND RUNNER UP : RAINBEEZ WINNERS OF THE EVENT RECEIVED A TROPHY AND MEDALS FOR EACH MEMBER. RUNNER UPS OF THE EVENTS RECEIVED MEDALS FOR EACH MEMBER.