MY FIRST JOB
I was a clinic nurse.
You will never guess how I ended up being a clinic nurse.
A week after SPM, in absolutely no mood to celebrate for doing badly (it was BAD), I decided to punish self by not rewarding myself with a short holiday with my other schoolmates (they went to Pulau Langkawi – almost every Chinese students in my school, about 50 of them). Yes, I was a strict disciplinarian at that point of time.
Initially, I was asked by a former form five classmate to help her in the Super Market as a sales assistant, selling baby’s clothings. No interviews required. Three days before the first day at work, I was as sick as dog. I was down with terrible fever. As usual, being the typical miser, I just downed some Chinese herbs and swallow some panadol and slept for 3 days.
When I thought I was well enough, I called my friend to go to work with her.
While we were waiting for the bus under the hot prickly sun, out of a sudden, my vision was blurred. In split seconds, the world around me turned pitch black. Good thing it was only for a few seconds and my friend managed to get hold of me before I fell flat on my face.
As fate took its twist, there was a clinic about 5 minutes away from where we were standing. She quickly took me to the clinic and helped me with the registration, etc. I saw the signage “NURSES WANTED” at the registration counter.
After I saw the doc, I didn’t know what had got into me and enquired her about vacancy. She immediately asked me to assist her on the spot. I didn’t even ask her how much I would be paid. (This was my first unofficial interview and I wasn’t thinking). Well known among the residents of Selayang, she was one of the most expensive clinic docs there. She gave me free medication and hope to see me in a few days’ time. I was delighted. (or I was duped)
Two days later, I went to her clinic to work with her. She wasn’t the same friendly doc I met when I was sick. More stern, no-nonsense type of a woman. I thought of quitting the first day itself.
However, I managed to survive there for three months, braving all kinds of medical challenges, for instance, injured Indonesian workers due to accidents/police brutality, a drunk lorry driver cut his thigh open by falling into the loo, swollen eyes due to fighting, five abortions (a patient actually cycled home within half an hour coming out from her mild anaesthetia), inserting an egg-shaped (very very small – I can’t remember what is it called) tablet into toddlers’ asses for fever, a guy worrying he might have AIDS, young teens who scorned me for asking their marital status whilst they came to the clinic for pregnancy tests… just to name a few.
Learnt dirty politics. Being warned not to buy chicken rice from the seller who bonked his wife’s sister while the wife was pregnant. He married both of them (thought it is illegal to be a polygamist?) and a father of four children (then), later bonked his maid. And how a fish can help us to get rid of bad luck.
I guess I have no regrets. This is the most interesting job a school leaver could ever had.
You will never guess how I ended up being a clinic nurse.
A week after SPM, in absolutely no mood to celebrate for doing badly (it was BAD), I decided to punish self by not rewarding myself with a short holiday with my other schoolmates (they went to Pulau Langkawi – almost every Chinese students in my school, about 50 of them). Yes, I was a strict disciplinarian at that point of time.
Initially, I was asked by a former form five classmate to help her in the Super Market as a sales assistant, selling baby’s clothings. No interviews required. Three days before the first day at work, I was as sick as dog. I was down with terrible fever. As usual, being the typical miser, I just downed some Chinese herbs and swallow some panadol and slept for 3 days.
When I thought I was well enough, I called my friend to go to work with her.
While we were waiting for the bus under the hot prickly sun, out of a sudden, my vision was blurred. In split seconds, the world around me turned pitch black. Good thing it was only for a few seconds and my friend managed to get hold of me before I fell flat on my face.
As fate took its twist, there was a clinic about 5 minutes away from where we were standing. She quickly took me to the clinic and helped me with the registration, etc. I saw the signage “NURSES WANTED” at the registration counter.
After I saw the doc, I didn’t know what had got into me and enquired her about vacancy. She immediately asked me to assist her on the spot. I didn’t even ask her how much I would be paid. (This was my first unofficial interview and I wasn’t thinking). Well known among the residents of Selayang, she was one of the most expensive clinic docs there. She gave me free medication and hope to see me in a few days’ time. I was delighted. (or I was duped)
Two days later, I went to her clinic to work with her. She wasn’t the same friendly doc I met when I was sick. More stern, no-nonsense type of a woman. I thought of quitting the first day itself.
However, I managed to survive there for three months, braving all kinds of medical challenges, for instance, injured Indonesian workers due to accidents/police brutality, a drunk lorry driver cut his thigh open by falling into the loo, swollen eyes due to fighting, five abortions (a patient actually cycled home within half an hour coming out from her mild anaesthetia), inserting an egg-shaped (very very small – I can’t remember what is it called) tablet into toddlers’ asses for fever, a guy worrying he might have AIDS, young teens who scorned me for asking their marital status whilst they came to the clinic for pregnancy tests… just to name a few.
Learnt dirty politics. Being warned not to buy chicken rice from the seller who bonked his wife’s sister while the wife was pregnant. He married both of them (thought it is illegal to be a polygamist?) and a father of four children (then), later bonked his maid. And how a fish can help us to get rid of bad luck.
I guess I have no regrets. This is the most interesting job a school leaver could ever had.
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