Ketoprofen, klacid, and K+

I finished my elective in Singapore today, so rather than bore (or amaze you) with all the things that I saw/did/hid from I am going to highlight some of the main differences I found between the system here and the system in NZ. And post some pictures of pretty but unrelated clothing.



Paras: Short for parameters, Singaporean version of 'obs'
H/C or hypocount: Blood glucose level
Handphone: Cellphone. What you use to communicate (not a pager!)
KIV: I think this stands for keep in view? Usually used where we would say 'plan to', e.g KIV discharge tomorrow.

I very much suck at knitting, but WOW Totoro top.

Past medical history: Usually gleaned from old notes. Patients are not expected to know much about this.
Brand drug names! Lasix=Frusemide,  Where we'd say 'This patient is on Cef and Met' they say 'This patient is on Rocephin and Flagyl'. I think the only one I didn't struggle with was Augmentin.
Defaulted (treatment/meds/appointment): Like DNA
MSW: Medical Social Worker. Like a Social Worker. Except Medical. Mostly they sort out people who can't pay for stuff, whereas in NZ it seems like they sort out rest homes and packages of care.
Go back: Short for go back home/go back to where they came from, meaning discharge.

This is a skirt with cats on it! Cats!

This is the back of the same skirt.

Co-payment: Something that doesn't exist in NZ. You mean patients PAY when they come to hospital??
Private ambulance: Again, something that doesn't exist in New Zealand as far as I'm aware.
Maid: Can mean anything from full time caregiver to domestic help only. Often helpful in taking a history of functional decline in the elderly.
Abbreviations: Permitted, even encouraged.
Con: Consultant. The Boss. Same as in NZ. The ones I worked with were lovely and accessible and friendly.

CT Head: Done on nearly everyone in ED who has a fall. Our "best" indication for that was a 17 year old girl with no neurology who'd lost consciousness for <5s.
Availability of drugs: Dependent on what you can afford, rather than dependent on what Pharmac funds. Ketoprofen gel is very commonly used, kind of like diclofenac gel in NZ.
CXR: Actually done on everyone in ED unless they don't want to pay for it

It is a dress. With Music Notes. And CROWNS.

Multi-lingual medicine: At any given time you may not be able to speak to half of your patients or you may be able to speak to them but not understand what they're saying. It's quite common for older patients to only speak dialects like Teochew and Hokkien, but understand Mandarin. Closed questions are of use here. Most doctors will speak two or more languages.

So I don't actually listen to her music, I just like the cover.

Teaching: Seems to happen daily rather than once-twice a week. Sometimes it's sponsored by drug companies.
Food: There are many options! And it's cheap (although not included in one's pay)....average cost of lunch for me was between $2.50-$4 per day.
Hours: Are pretty much like A-run hours. The union protection for overtime pay, rostered time off etc. doesn't really seem to happen, it seems like people have to take leave just to get a day off.
Coffee: Is routinely served with condensed milk. I'm probably going to get shot by Wellingtonians for saying I like it more than a trim flat white...

...uh oh...?