Counting Down

Yay, I submitted my soft-bound thesis today! One day before actual submit date. So proud of myself. It was a great feeling, I must say. Can't wait when I actually submit the hard copy. Might reach euphoria level.

So. Checklist.

15/4 : Paper I Clinic IV - check

17/4 : Submit soft-bound thesis - check (one day early, wee~)

21/4 : Clinical + Viva exam - check. Pls Pass. Amin.

28/4 : Paper II Clinic IV

7/5 : Thesis viva

12/5 : Advanced Clinic exam

13/5 : I am freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~

3 down, 3 more to go. Bring it on ;)

Audiometry: An Audiological Test or a Music Band?

I was suddenly inspired by my boyfriend's countless urges and my own bestie's doing of youtubing for every practical examination.

So I typed Play Audiometry, a behavioral hearing test for children, on youtube.

None about Play Audiometry came out.

Just lots of videos from a music band named 'Audiometry'.

Funny. And they don't even sing! Just jamming sessions, I assume.

I don't think they're even Audiologists.

LOL. The things you find in youtube...

Final Exams. Hopefully Really Final.

Classes are over.

Clinical sessions are over.

Waiting for feedback.

And then.

Exams.

Final exams.

Really really really final exams. Hopefully.

Am I ready for this?

Hopefully so.

I just need to pass and graduate!

Do pray for me :)

An Ethical Dilemma

Recently, final year Audiology & Speech Sciences students were assigned to present an ethical dilemma.

My group videotaped the dilemma, acted out by our very own group members.



Here's the video. Do let me know if you have any feedback regarding the dilemma :D



There are two dilemmas:

1. The ENT Doctor is the boss of the Audiologist. So the Audiologist needs to oblige to the ENT Doctor who is the Head of the Department. But then, he won't be on the good side of his boss.

2. The Audiologist is compromising patient's realistic benefits from cochlear implant if he follows the Doctor's orders.

A Walk to Remember

On the 28th of March, the Department of Audiology & Speech Sciences held their annual dinner at Dynasty Hotel to commemorate the Earth Hour (not!). The third year students, by tradition, were responsible to organize the dinner to celebrate the fourth years. Despite the time schedule being really hectic and tight, I made the effort to make myself gorgeous for the night. And so the chronology of events was as followed:

1. The dress : I planned to use the dress I already have but alter it a bit to make it more glam. I assigned my talented sister-in-law in February to do beading on my dress. Alas, she was busy, and the design she initially made could not be completed in time, so she redid a simple design.

Sad. But what to do...

2. The scarf : I together with Nora followed my boyfriend to Kuala Terengganu to attend his colleague's wedding. Whilst there, I scavenged for the perfect scarf, based on the magazine Pengantin. It was difficult. In the end I just bought a cheap one which I didn't even wear on the night itself. Instead, I wore the more merelip (glittery) one that I bought in Maju Junction with Mer and Miha. Yay.

But sad because our pictures during our shopping trip were accidentally deleted. Sorry Mer and Miha!

3. The gloves : Oh, the drama that entailed in the quest for the satin gloves! Searched for it in OU, MidValley and lastly Sg Wang. Supposed to go with boyfriend, but then a misunderstanding occurred, and so I went alone. Searched for about 20 minutes and found it! On the way back home, tried it on and it was too big! Went with Miha and Mer around the Sogo area to alter it, but no shop could provide the service. The next day went back to Bukit Bintang to fix it, and yay, success! ;)

Was quite worth it, wearing the gloves glammed up my dress, and even Prof Siti said I looked like Saloma wearing it. I loike! ;p

4. The shoes : Since I did not feel like spending a lot for the dinner, I just improvised my black shoes by putting purple brooch on each shoe.

Nice and creative, isn't it?

5. The make-up : I went all the way to Klang to get 'professional' help from Cik Farah Wirda. She did an excellent job, I tell you! Her transformation made me to the top 5 finalists for the Queen of the Night. Too bad I didn't win.

Nevertheless, the Klang trip was worth it. I heart you Kak Farah!

6. The clutch : I borrowed Mak's clutch! She bought it for Ari's wedding, and I actually specifically based my choice of colours with that clutch.

Another cost-saving tactic success ;p




The preparation went well and when the night came, va-va-voom, voila, a beautiful me :) hehe. The dinner was, not that bad, but the night was more memorable as I had my partner besides me. Dynasty Hotel was not a good choice, but I had to give the juniors credit for their effort. I liked the butterfly bracelet though.

And to think, it's my final dinner as an undergraduate... Oh well, life moves on.

OK, next!

A Bad Start to a Good End :)

Seriously, I initially thought I was going to have the worst day of my life. On my final research presentation day at that. Huh.

I woke up late, with my script for my presentation still unfinished. I actually woke up to a dream of me being asked regarding Spatial Release of Masking (SRM, a term in audiology). I had no idea what it was in the dream! I woke up distressed. Thank God it was only a dream. With my red pen still in hand, I straight-away continued writing my script.

Which made me being more late to get ready to go to college. Good thing I ironed my outfit the night before, my lovely turquoise batik. Had a somewhat-scrambled egg (Sorry Mak, you were not at your best ;p) hurriedly only to be greeted with rain outside. Mak sent me to the car, but then we went back in to get my cute umbrella (Fit gave me, made in Japan baby!) only to find out it's with my brother's girlfriend. Got back into the car, it was low on petrol, putting me on the edge of my nerves. As I reversed my car, it almost hit 1. my mom's Mazda; 2. the brick wall. I tried to move up, but with the rain, the tyres were slippery, and were just squealing instead of moving. I literally screamed inside the car, and cried. A little. Tearfully I tried reversing and made it without a scratch.

As I squealed off towards the highway, I calmed myself down, reciting some Quran verses. And then I entered into the slow traffic. Great. I haven't even finished my script! I kept on reciting under my breath, to sooth myself. Yet, the butterflies in my stomach wouldn't go away.

When I reached there, I waited anxiously for my turn. The presenter before me had a lot of negative comments, making me extra nervous. When it was my turn to present, the shiver in my words was hard not to be missed. I was pretty uncomfortable, not liking how the microphone and mouse were placed. Nevertheless, I had my script, and after a while I grew more confident, I think.



When I finished, the speech sciences lecturer said she enjoyed my presentation and my supervisor commented and acknowledged my effort. It put me on high. The best part was, during the Q&A session for the presenter after me, another speech sciences lecturer praised my presentation and said sorry for not telling me earlier. How cool was that?

My friends congratulated me and even said my outfit was gorgeous. I was in eternal bliss :) Momentarily, before tiredness crawled into me after lunch. I could barely open my eyes for the afternoon session!

Much appreciation and compliments to Mak for letting me use her working space for the weekend, my parents for praying for me, Dr. Siti for replying my texts!, Suriya for always being on YM when I needed her, Faiz for your patience, support, KFC treat (:P) and helping me out with the presentation animation and Mas, Fit for the wishes. You guys rock :)

Tagged: I'm It!

Supposedly, once you are tagged, you have to obey the rules below. Usually I would just ignore these things, but since (I think) there would be at least 3 people who would read this (tagger, Atiqah; Irfan who suggested Atiqah to tag me; and of course, my no. 1 fan, Faiz Mokhtar), well, I just want to make them happy :)

A. Letakkan lencana yang telah disediakan di blog

(I have no idea what this means, I couldn't even translate anything that would do justice to the request. Badge? Logo? Symbol?)

B. Ceritakan tentang pemberi anugerah dan buat pautan
(Write about the 'tagger' and link that person)

I got to know of Atiqah back when we were in the same high school, MRSM Mersing. I actually anticipated her arrival to the school as I had befriended her twin first. Atiqah became my classmate. I have to admit, I am not that close to her; nevertheless she is a friend that I wouldn't mind be in company with :)
One of things about Atiqah that I would always remember is, she's actually a good singer! I still remember when she participated in Nadwah 2002 where she was the lead singer together with Zatil. Cayalah Atiqah ;) Though I would always associate you singing, with the song I translated for the nasyid team to sing, haha. Missing those days...
I admire her as a person who would always stand by her opinions and is not afraid to let people know about it. May our friendship last forever!

C. Nyatakan 10 hobi/fakta tentang diri sendiri
(Write 10 hobbies/facts abour yourself)

1. On my 20th birthday, I actually wrote a letter to my-30-year-old-self about things I would have accomplished by that time. I'm not exactly anticipating turning 30, but I really can't wait to laugh myself silly on how childish I am at 20 years old, would seem to myself at 30 years old.

2. I love to travel. Seriously. My two little-size 3/4-feet are just itching to go all over the world. Too bad money is always the repressive factor :(

3. When I actually do travel, I love to find postcards of the places I have been and post it back to myself. In the postcard I would write of the wonderful experience I had and the places I went. If I had friends with me, I would ask them to write in a little bit, to signify their presence of sharing the wonderful journey. Currently I would write two postcards; one to myself and one to my beloved. If I have extra money, I would send some to my closest friends, e.g.: Mas, Fit, Izzati :)

4. According to the therapist that massaged my feet, I listen easily to other people and also easily "makan hati", quote unquote. Faiz agreed, so enough said.

5. I love planning. I think I am a born organizer. I am sure all my friends would vouch for that. And I seriously could not live without my organizer. Right now it has evolved into a gorgeous lime green Luxe organizer. Sangat suka!

6. I literally love doing Audiology! I am so blessed to be in this course, and cannot wait to charge into the Audiology world and make my presence known. Hehe, ambitious much? Another one of my characteristics :) I actually chose to be in Audiology because of my twin brothers. They're autistic. I really hope I am making a difference in their lives by being in this field.


My younger brother, Ibi :)

7. I have a mini-me. She's my sister, Najat. We have so many things in common; we look alike, we have the same initials, we're August babies... even our traits are similar. Sometimes I'm scared though, especially when she takes after my bad habits, like being a shopaholic! ;p

8. I love reading fiction. I love buying fiction. I would really take care of my books; I would not stretch the books, I would read with care, that someone would think I haven't even touched the book! I would even wrap my books, if I really love it. If I feel like the book is nonsense, I would care less. Hihi, discrimination towards fiction.

9. I like to write poems and stories. I think my writing is nice, just cute and simple nothing flowerish. Nevertheless self-satisfactory. My parents are supportive of my writing. I actually thought of becoming a journalist once upon a time, but then the need to help people empowered that. Maybe I can be a researcher known for her excellent writing? Who knows? :)

10. I used to write in diaries. In fact, I had two, but then I stopped. I started to blog, but then an acquaintance told me I'm sharing too much personal details, so I stopped that too. Hence, tukang telinga. An outlet for me to write something I am passionate about.

Wow, I could just go on and on. Proof that I am getting self-absorbed day by day. But 10 is 10, so there they are.

D. Seperti biasa, tag orang lain pula
(As usual, tag other friends)

1. Mas
2. Nor
3. Saleh

De-stressing Hearing with Foot Massage

Is that even possible? To de-stress your hearing with just a foot massage?

Not really.

But I did learn something new from the complimentary foot massage I had with Faiz in True Spa, Jaya 33.

For all who have yet to know, our feet reflects the organs of our body. So as the therapist massages our feet, she/he can know whether you are sick/in pain/stressful/full of gas/etc.

She mentioned that the big toe is the head, the next two are the eyes and the other two are the ears. What intrigued me was that she could know whether someone is deaf by just massaging the feet.

Unbelievable?

Yes, because it's not even remotely possible. As I probe further, clarifying from her, she admitted that it wasn't exactly like she could screen a person's hearing with the massage. She said that the ears are something like the medium, because hearing is temporary, but the internal reaction towards what we hear that causes stress inside us, resulting in our feelings, emotions and speech production. For example, I heard something that provokes me; the provoking unnecessarily causes stress to the whole body, so it was advisable to not cause stress by saying something nice or behaving nicely in return, and then reflectively our body will be calm and de-stressed. According to the therapist-lah.

Therefore, not exactly a new discovery of a physical hearing assessment, hehe.



Nevertheless, it was an enjoyment for me as a first-timer. Definitely recommending my parents to go there. The awesome view from the top was a definite plus too!

Stakeholders' Workshop: Programme Standards for Medical & Health Sciences

Recently I was invited as a student representative for Audiology in the above-named workshop, organized by Malaysian Qualifications Agency. It was held in PJ Hilton on the 5th of March, 2009. I was informed of it by my Head of Department, 3 days before the actual day of workshop, so I was not very happy being selected. But as soon as she told me that it will be in PJ Hilton, I was more than happy to go, as I know good food awaits me in PJ Hilton ;p

My coursemate told me the department actually put up a letter of the invite for me. When I read the letter, I had no clue whatsoever on what the workshop is about. I mean, the title of the letter was:
JEMPUTAN SEBAGAI WAKIL PELAJAR BIDANG AUDIOLOGI BAGI BENGKEL PIHAK BERKEPENTINGAN MAKLUM BALAS DRAF STANDARD PROGRAM SAINS PERUBATAN DAN KESIHATAN

Err, mind-boggling isn't it?

I asked Faiz, and even my father. Both had no clue. I texted my lecturer cum Deputy Dean on whether I needed to prepare anything, and she said no. So I went thinking it would be a boring workshop of lectures and already imagining the food I would be savouring.

Come March 5th, 8.30am, it was nothing like I had expected. Instead of rows and rows of chairs and tables, there were round tables arranged, like in a dinner arrangement. I was seated with my lecturer, heads of department of Audiology in USM and UIA, the Chief Audiologist in KKM, one facilitator from MQA and Directors from the Health Promotions Field. Since it is a round table, obviously I couldnt curi-curi study for my mock viva, which I brought notes for. And so I went through the ordeal of listening to older people talk and making myself unsleepy.

The workshop's main objective was to discuss on the standards to be set for the courses in medical and health sciences. My table was designated for Audiology and Health Promotions. Hence, the participants. We discussed on programme aims, learning objectives, student selection, student assessment among others, at the various levels of diploma, bachelors degree, masters degree and doctoral degree.

It was actually a very interesting workshop, as I got to observe how decisions were made between these established people in their own fields. I thought it was pretty much like what we are doing when organizing an event or something, but for this one, brains were actually fully utilized. There are some of course, who prefer eating rather than discussing, and some who just wants to show authority rather than accepting people's opinions. I learned that it's very hard to start a programme from scratch in a university especially if you just graduated with a masters degree. I am sure all kinds of help is much needed.

Nevertheless, I thought it was a fruitful discussion in the best interest for Audiology in the future. Who knows, maybe next time I would be invited as the HOD, or Chief Audiologist maybe? Just wishful thinking. :)

Oh and yes, the food met my expectations ;P

Define AUDIOLOGY

I honestly think, even some of the audiologists (safe to say, in Malaysia) themselves could not define their line of work meaningfully. An audiology student, just beginning to start his/her first year would definitely has several ideas on his/her own on what is audiology. Example, me myself. Initially, I thought I was on a launchpad to become the ear specialist. But as I developed myself for almost four years now, I discovered what I am set to be.

However.

Let me first enrich you with some of the mind-blowing (exaggerate much) understandings of Audiology of the laymen people.

When I mentioned I am doing Audiology to the female population who are not familiar with the field, they would just commonly admit they don't know and politely ask me what do I do and do I have the title 'Doctor' upon graduation.

For the male population on the other hand. Well, there are various responses to the word Audiology. E.g.:

(the first two are typical responses)
Whoa, Audio?! You mean you work in the studio? Be a DJ or something? That's so cool!

or another equivalent response,

You're in the sound engineering industry? Maybe when my band wants to record songs, we can come to you!

or (I never saw this coming)

Ohh. You must be in the same field as Radiology. I nodded in agreement as I thought he meant as in health science, which field both courses are in, when he added you know, RADIO - AUDIO? (sigh, hopeless)

One response hit home and I was especially proud to have a friend like him. He was the reason I wrote this blog in the first place. He was my school-mate, Ajis is his name. I recently contacted him as I was in JB for another clinical placement. When I said I am doing Audiology and hinted that it's related to hearing, he replied,

Ohh, that's why it's audio. So it must be related to the ears and mouth, as both ears and mouth are somehow connected right?

I was delirious with his response, even if he missed the nose. I mean, usually people usually stopped at the ears. And he's from the engineering field, okay?! I told him not many people get it like he did, and he retorted, "kalau budak tak pegi skolah mmg la tak tahu" (only those who didn't go to school wouldn't know) err, he should know that our school mates are some of those who mentioned the above responses.

Anyway. I guess I wanted to write this because I had misled people in thinking I am the ear specialist. When actually, I check people's ears and diagnose people's hearing status using machines. But that does not mean I am a technician. I don't prescribe medicine. I don't do surgeries. I find out what is the problem and manage through referrals, counseling and most importantly, amplification, hence the hearing aids, cochlear implants and fm systems. I work with many professionals: speech-language pathologists, paediatricians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, ENT doctors, teachers of the hearing-impaired and more. Some of the places that require my services include the hospitals, clinics, hearing aid companies, universities and schools.


Right now in Malaysia, only 3 universities produce Audiologists: UKM, UIA and USM.

I don't have the title 'Doctor'. I am an audiologist. And my level is equivalent to a medical officer.

Doctors, audiologists are not your subordinates. We work together at the same level. We are every bit as important as you are in the health field.

That was just a brief explanation. Want further details? Just leave me a message! :)

Clarity is Power - RUC '09

I totally agree with Dr Faiz Khaleed, who was one of the speakers for Real Undergraduate Conference 2009. Clarity is a definite power that some people still do not grasp upon. I thought he was a better speaker than Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, although his speech did tend to be long-winded. Nevertheless, meaningful. I really noted down what he said, some of them being,

'Failure is not a person, it is a SITUATION. Never say someone fails, it's always the situation';

'malu biar bertempat';

'we can tell how a person is by listening to that person';

'when talking to a person, don't give words, give pictures';

'learn to think under pressure/stress';

'bersyukur with what you have but don't get too comfortable, always strive to be better';

and 'the first step is always the hardest, have initiative to take it'.

The Real Leader founding director, Amirul Iskandar also delivered an amazing take on attitude. His session was fresh, energetic and entertaining. I mean, he used Spongebob Squarepants and a clip of Joker and Batman as some of his props. How cool was that? Some of the good quotes were:

'Your attitude determines your altitude';

'Exposure leads to expansion';

and by Charlie Tremendous Jones, '2 things that can change your life in 5 years: 1. People you meet; 2. Books that you read'.

A very good speaker, he is; a shame he had to cut his session short due to time constraint (I mostly blame it to Dr Faiz's long-winded session ;p).

I missed the special message from PEMADAM and Petronas session, and only sat halfway through the Bank Negara session. RUC '09 had the CEO of AKPK to present and one sentence stuck through my mind when he went through 'How you should spend your first salary?' PAY YOURSELF FIRST. I made a mental note to myself to read the book Money Sense. Go to www.akpk.org.my to know more. Save money for: 1. emergency fund; 2. big ticket items; 3. retirement.

The goodies were great! I got an SSF calendar, Gamat honey, sweets, notepad, Bank Negara finance-management book, pen, Datuk Maznah Hamid's bookmark, folder and bag. The participants were spoiled better this year. The inspirational videos were also, of course, inspiring with one of quotes from www.beyondthequote.com.

I thought it's a real shame for those who missed it. I really learned a lot eventhough I didn't sit through the entire conference. I was involved with the registration, and had to be on duty at times. My mother was there and she enjoyed it as well. She laughed her head off during Datuk Maznah Hamid's session (which was definitely fun and an eye-opener as she shared her rise-to-success story) and especially liked Dr Faiz as she thought he was a really sincere young man. Due to that, she's sceptic how Dr Sheikh became the Angkasawan Negara instead of Dr Faiz, haha. A proof on listening to a person talks is actually a description of how that person is.

The Registration Team :)



Can't wait for RUC '10!