Tuesday, September 16, 2008
tHe ArMy sToRy FiNaLe: MeDiC
sPeC II
when i heard tt i was posted 2 nee soon as a medic specialist.. i fell into a daze.. my jaws dropped and i was totally shocked.. and i tot of wat's goin 2 happen in the course.. the pokin of needles.. the tough trainin of cassevac-ing.. and so on.. but i thank God tt im out of SISPEC.. at least i would not suffer tt much anymore i tot...
on he 1st dae i arrived i was abt 15 min late.. the course senior instructor looked at me and i knew he already didnt much like me rite from the start.. i did not look up.. as i knew tt there were some cold stares.. and after some administrations.. the instructors started 2 appoint some ppl 2 b in charge over certain areas and i was picked 2 become an area cleanin IC..
so the trainin kickstarted.. we were told abt the requirements of this course and basically it has its theories and its practicals.. there's alot of studyin and at the same time practising of skills.. i was pretti satisfied wif the course initially.. unlike SISPEC.. its like back 2 sch receivin new knowledge and all.. at times we struggle 2 keep awake.. and at times lectures were jus simple and fun.. despite the fact tt our instructors weren't professionally trained 2 speak well like our lecturers in poly.. they still managed 2 speak and explain the lesson well.. and i gave credit 2 them 4 tt..
the time comes when we were made 2 "poke one another", which is our intravenous infusion skills.. i still rem when the instructor demonstrated.. i actualli nearly puke on the 1st lesson but i managed 2 get the needle into my buddy's arm and the whole process was successful at the 1st attempt.. apparently my buddy had to try 4 times b4 he succeed.. and he became an instructor after tt.. lolzz.. i guess sometimes life's like this ehh?? but after quite some time i actualli weren't afraid of those needles.. at times i could actualli direct my buddy 2 guide the needle 2 my vein 4 a successful attempt.. lolzz.. overall i received a total of 20 pokes throughout the whole course.. some of u.. or most of u tink tt's scary.. but its realli nothin 2 me.. apparently the 20 pokes were made up of the failed atttempts from my buddy.. but still he became an instructor.. hahahaha..
i rem at our 1st bookout from the course.. the instructors actualli demanded total cleanliness from the bunk.. we cleaned so much.. up and down.. in and out.. and yet the instructors didnt find it satisfied.. we cleaned and cleaned again and finally we gave up.. i actualli talke 2 the instructors tt we'll do a gddd job nxt time round.. and they reluctantly release us and i looked at the time on my watch: 11.10pm.. tt's the timin 4 our 1st bookout..
and i've learned a harddd lesson as a sergeant: we mus do MORE work than we were expected.. if the men did a little.. we mus do more.. once there was a standby area and some of the areas were not properly cleaned as my instructor scolded me 4 not managin it well.. he said somethin like tt, "if u wan a pay of a 3SG, u better do 2 meet the requirements!!" and i realized tt despite the fact tt i was told not 2 help out on the area cleanin but onli 2 supervise and manage.. i had 2 actualli help out somehow or rather.. coz its like everyone's doin and im not.. wat would they tink?? but somehow i felt tt this serves a lesson 2 put in efforts and work harddd 4 future instructions..
i also struggled in the theory and practical tests.. i rem the 1st test i actualli failed and i hav 2 retake.. thankfully i pass on my retake.. there's one test on trauma injuries and i rem how the class was talkin abt how diff the test was.. and surprisingly they all passed except me.. i was totally devastated.. thinkin 2 myself tt im no gddd.. and i feel like quittin.. mayb this vocation realli doesn't suit me.. the instructor requested 2 see me and he asked me wat's the prob wif me.. i told him tt i was ok.. perhaps onli jus stressed out.. and i didnt get the exam tips properly.. my intructor disagreed.. sayin tt i didnt put in enuff effort and i didnt understand the concepts properly.. once again i was given another chance 2 retake and i passed thankfully.. after tt i realize tt there were some of my course mates who were like me but they actualli cheated durin the exams.. i shook my head in disbelief.. but i felt tt i had kept my integrity.. and despite the failures i hav made.. i believed i had made the right choice of bein upright and honest..
as the weeks gone by.. its time 4 our attachment trainin at hospitals and fire stations.. this was probably the best part of my entire army life as i get 2 work and understand the ambulances operations and also the hospital procedures at the A&E dept.. unlike army life its actualli pretti relaxed 4 us 2 b at the hospital workin.. more imptly.. we can go home everydae.. i've nv realli stayed out in my entire army life and 4 tt wk is realli gddd 4 me.. and 4 the others too..
and so we hav finished our final theories and practicals soon after our attachment.. we went on 2 the military phrase of the trainin and soon after its our finale field camp but im actualli on MC from a genuine sick case.. my instructor actualli accused me 4 chao keng but its already at the end of the course.. so he'll let me pass out anyway coz the field camp isnt realli a requirement from the course.. and on the 6th june 2007.. i received the 3SG rank and im offically a medic specialist of the SAF..
and i received my postin and expectedly.. i was posted to: 2SIR
(note: the nxt 2 part of the story will b realli interestin.. its the best part of my life...)
wEiwEi|10:47 PM
