Friday, July 31, 2026

路过一群人 他们提醒我要继续虚心善良。

Unfiltered rambling。

Leander给我写了很多句道别的温暖的话,她说这些不是场面话,you are a great doctor。我给Farai也写了道别的话,我这次最喜欢的工作大姐姐。上个星期五他们给我们办一场farewell,写卡片,送礼物。昨天V匆匆和我说告别的场面话,我也后来写了告别的场面话。我很满意的是后来我还是赚取了她的信任和好评,学到了该学到的。她说后来的thank you and welcome dinner再见。

昨天我在SHP分别和Kylie和Amritha拥抱。我走去SHP的路上,开车的Bryce经过,摇下车窗和我打招呼。喜欢到处串门口的James今天和我讨了script favour,又坐下来发表一些他的工作政治意见和废话。那个原本的R的 CCT desk(那个他本来就没有什么用的desk),我从原本的抗拒直到必须用那个座位,还很开心有一个安静的空间。我今天又和SHP告别了。我一个人安静地离开SHP。SHP,那个我原本不熟悉的地方,那个有一天的后来,我走去上班的路上突然哭了,又哭着回家的地方。那个后来我发现,原来即使我很敬重的人走了,留下来的还有很多喜爱我和我喜爱的人,原来我曾经给的善良和美好回忆,也会被留着。它们变成了后来的拥抱,他们话语中那个好的版本的我,她们给我的真诚诚实的分享。我感受到了,这是R和我说的reputation,这是我在考题上读到的social power。这是clinicians给我的温暖,这是我留下的善意,当我只需要做我自己(认真工作的我,安静的我,不想假装热情的我。被人看见我的anxiety的我。)

今天我和Older Person Community道别的时候,又在心里和CCT告别了一次。因为SHP在我心里,和CCT连接在一起。CCT对我来说,是R带着我,走进的另一个,更大的psychiatry世界。

这次,我也道别了那种每天的logistic uncertainty,那个没有computer不是clinic的clinic,每天不顺路的home visit,home visit在路上花时间给我带来的疲惫,home visit的cigarette stink and animal fur,那个很多抱怨的office,有点乱七八糟的calender booking,某个incompetent还很多抱怨的case manager,和V一些不必要的plan intervention,她太长的review,她每次都会插嘴我的review然后突然就take over了,她特定的note template和写impression的方式,她给的有时让我很不舒服却不接受反驳的意见。和我其实不是很喜欢等火车和坐火车,不喜欢robina的咖啡。这个一开始的organisational chaos居然就这样持续了一整个rotation。但是恭喜我自己,我survived了。这样的环境和工作方式对我来说是非常不友好的,但是我适应了,还做得很好。我把我的工作做得很好,我学到了我想要学了。

也是因为,这个rotation的workload真的不heavy(只是我一有病人,就会被home visit transport吃时间),我有过很多empty days without patients。这些counterbalance了我某些不愉快(和当我从observation和medication discussion时被V impressed的很多时刻)。我还用了这些时间写了psychological formulation,做learnit modules。就在今天,我读完了一本Nancy McWilliams。

今天也准时收到了pharmacist Ka Man的问候。

我今天和那个总是说我anxious的James说,我现在真的很anxious,关于我下个星期的new rotation。

但是,Dear R,

I think, this time, I will be fine too. I am going to try. I will learn new things again. 

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

July 26, and a memory anchor

Dear R, 

It has been a year. A year since my first OCA, since my being very upset with a seclusion, since mentally preparing to end my first rotation and move on to the next. I feel like a different person now, though nothing visible has changed on surface.

(Eventually I did not do a 2nd OCA this term, even though I was thinking seriously about it- because of many things- because I have a more important pending WBA, because V has been busy, because she was thinking about another person's iOCA, because I am tired of being micro-evaluated by her, because yeah I need to do another BPSD WBA)

I was not very nervous about starting an inpatient term in GCUH, because although it was my first term in training, it was technically my third inpatient term in a row in my working life. 

I was not very nervous about starting my 2nd term in CCT, because I naively thought nothing could be worse than inpatient work, nothing stressful can happen in the community, my life should be much more relaxed, and comfortingly in truth- you would be there. 

I was only slightly nervous about working in Older Persons community, because I thought it should be very similar to CCT work, because an experienced clinician told me the workload would be piece of cake for me, because the previous registrar told me I would love working with the team. Although I quickly learned that those advice should only have been taken with a pinch of salt, as my real life experience did not reflect the pleasantness of the words, those facts if looked at in isolation, still stand true. If I were to give this rotation a brief comment, it would be 'it was okay'. I do not regret it, but I will not return to work in this team composition; I did enjoy the clinical work (which was a surprise, I thought I'd dislike it), but I do not enjoy it enough for me to imagine if I might like Older Persons one day if I were to do the clinical work with another consultant in a mature team environment. (And V, I must comment on the consultant every time as that is an important element of our rotation- I can't say l learned a lot from her, but I did learn some things from her. And I have learned something specific that only she can give.)

Now I feel daunted. It is the unknown, unfamiliarity and lacking of specific knowledge and skills, the combination of CYMHS plus CL plus eating disorder, an ecosystem of its own plus the lack of even superficial pleasant words from the existing registrar (I do appreciate all sort of honesty even in subtle form). 

1.5 weeks more. I feel unsure, unprepared, wanting to move on (can't wait to leave actually) but feeling unexcited for the new adventure. I hope I can tell you good stories about it next time. 

Saturday, July 11, 2026

2am after a working Friday

V's own anxiety penetrates her every action and instruction, it drives me crazy. 

Dealing with my own anxiety and obsessiveness is difficult enough. I wonder how I can put a stop to this. I need real psychological work life balance. 

I woke up midnight, after sleeping from 8.30pm to 12am. My mind couldn't quite stop. I received a text from my friend, whose wedding I am attending in 4 days. She said she forgot to tell me the dress code, it is pastel but I am free to wear anything I like. She asked if my husband passed his clinical exam. The answer is no.  I realised properly I really am not socially allowed to wear a cream or white mini dress to a wedding (my wardrobe has boring colour). I suddenly need to shop for a dress over the weekend (and what about my shoes). I also realised we have been putting our lives on hold, getting ready for his exam. Just like how we always do, as if life only resumes after we finish an assessment. Why has my psychological life revolved around his exams as well? I too feel the disappointment. I want him to be happy and be okay with the failure. Before his sleep tonight, I showed him a pregnancy photo on Instagram and told him I find pregnancy disgusting. He said he dislikes the linea alba. Me too. I said I hope we can continue living such simple life. Continue on with our training as long as it practically takes, without having to worry about the end point, how quick or timely it should be completed, as if there is another goal that can only be achieved after we become consultants which in this unspoken case is pregnancy, childbirth and childrearing for the rest of our lives. If I can be selfish, I do not wish to have a child. 

So I woke up midnight feeling hungry. I ate my comfort biscuits. I binge-ate prawn crackers. I started reading a new novel at the same time. I find reading easy fiction regulating. I started to feel calm. And I keep repeating this to myself- what would R suggest in this case? He would probably agree with me, and say it is fine, the patient can see her cardiologist on Wednesday; or it is fine, we have given enough education to the patient, there is no medical emergency here, she should see her GP. And what can I do over the weekend? I should enjoy my weekend. 

Friday, July 03, 2026

Pause and breathe

Dear R, 

I am not busy all the time in Older Persons. I have time to think and write long impression/brief formulation. I think I am getting better at it, and at building therapeutic alliance with patients. Today I found out I enjoyed having conversation with a patient who is intelligent, reflective and insightful. This is a new discovery for me, as a person who is good at doing ED assessments, managing acute inpatient ward and had a (lazy) tendency to do 10-min (but very sufficiently in my defense) adult CCT review.

After my MCQ exam, and after finding out that there will be no available psychotherapy supervisor for at least the next 6 months, my assessment-oriented mind was sort of put on pause. There are still a lot of reading I have not done. I have been indulging myself in reading fiction (I realised just not long ago we can get very new books from the library. I enjoyed holding a physical book on my hand, than a Kindle). I had weekend gateway to Sydney for my husband's clinical course, then to Melbourne just the last weekend for his clinical exam. Work itself was very manageable. Life at home is always peaceful. I did another Journal Club presentation last Monday, exactly 1 year after my last one with you. It was good that she can find nothing to criticise about, V told me. It is an conscious effort, to want to be confident with myself. I am learning it. I am starting to have more trust in myself. I am also starting to make effort in asserting my boundaries, especially at work with colleagues, and in life with my friend. 

That was after I gradually realised, I don't need anyone to particularly like me. I just be myself, do my work and be kind as I always am. I do not need to please anyone. I am me, in my position. And 'people need to listen to me'.