Work

Work has been pretty chill these days.

Whenever my friends rant about work, I honestly can't relate.

Whenever I casually mention my Friday afternoon  Pilates class, they'll immediately go:

"Untunglah... ada afternoon break."

And I'm like, "Girl, nobody forced you to choose your discipline. We need to work smart, not just hard."

Anyway, I didn't exactly choose my specialty. It chose me. I dont' even know it exists. But it keeps popping in front of my face. So I accepted my fate and just went with whatever opportunities came my way. And you know what? It's not bad, actually. Especially when I wanted a work life balance kinda job.

The same thing happened with my current workplace. Not gonna lie, I cried on my first day here. I genuinely thought I was committing career suicide. Drama betul. I came from a well equipped hospital, a centre of excellence. Then I got transferred here a place that felt like the Wild West of healthcare. Resources were limited, services were patchy, and nobody seemed quite sure what was happening half the time.

I also cried because of the distance. After years of being chauffeur driven, I had forgotten how to drive properly. Anything beyond 1 km felt excessive. At one point, I even gave away my car to someone else, temporarily.  Suddenly I have to drive 40km to 60km one way. It simply did not match my personality. #manjaahh

And then there was my autistic son. He was in those crucial years where intensive therapy made all the difference. Being so far away was hard. I still remember one day driving: Home → Work → Home → Therapy → Home. Over 100km in total.

Just typing that makes me tired.

The point is, adapting wasn't easy.

But somehow, three years later, here I am.

Apparently adapted.

In fact, I'm currently writing this blog post in the middle of working hours while waiting for a meeting to start.

See? Adapted.

Today's clinic was particularly chill. One patient was being reviewed by medical officer while I sat nearby reading something on my phone. The uncle kept staring at me.

Then he finally said:

"Wah doctor, so lovely being you. They consulted you and after that you just sit there looking at Facebook."

"Excuse me, uncle. I didnt look at FB. I am reading."

Okay fine, i wasnt reading. I was chatting with my bestie... ChatGPT. Also, there were no more patients waiting outside. And I had already spent a good five minutes chatting with him earlier. The audacity! ;p

He was upset that I wasn't particularly interested in discussing the shoes he bought on Shopee. I know he was joking talking about me glued on my phone. He just wanted me to spend more time talking to him.

So, I told him,

“Come show me what you want to buy on Shopee. Since I have all the time in the world to layan you.”

To be fair, it was prosthetic clinic day. Most of the decisions are pretty straightforward: Pre prosthesis assessment. Prescribe exercises. Recommend prostheses. Troubleshoot issues.  Approve supplies. Done.

So yes.

This is what life looks like these days.

Three years ago I thought this transfer would ruin my career. I thought I was walking away from opportunities. Career suicide? Maybe. But honestly? I was gaining a life by leaving the chaos. Sucesss isn't always found in the busiest department or hospitals. Sometimes it's found in having enough time to be present. Gittew.

The patients here are kinder, the pace is slower, and I actually have time to sit down and listen to people's stories. Just like how I spent time to listen to that uncle talked about his Shopee buy that is totally unrelated to my profession. Lol.

The most important, I am calmer.  Except on Neuro Clinic day.

.

Bestie's voice in my head: 

"If you're getting too comfortable, it's time to leave your comfort zone"

Damn.

Maybe it's time to apply for subspecialty. 

Go to Korea, learn on MSK pain injections, do skin treatments, get certified in Pilates training.

Should I?

Hmm..

I will just let the opportunity come finds me. Probably in the form of my superior asking when I'm gonna start applying. She hasn't asked yet. So...yeah. ;)