Good Clinical Practice

A friend inquired whether I was interested in attending a three-day course on Good Clinical Practice. The costs of RM1100 are a tad pricey, however. In addition, a certification examination would be administered on the third day. 40 multiple choice questions. To obtain the certificate, we must earn at least 32/40 points. Yup. There can be no more than eight errors, which is equivalent to 80%. Tough? You bet.

My friend gave me a copy of the book which I can use so I could start studying earlier before the course.  But, between the exam, grading assignments since early February 2023, and other things, it was difficult to find time to study. I determined to study the book from cover to cover no matter what. So, I arrived slightly early for the next couple of weeks in order to study for at least an hour or two. While invigilating examinations, I diligently attempted to finish reading and studying the book. But, reading a book containing legal words is difficult.   So, I decided to create notes for myself using concept-map format.   I do not now how it would help me to improve my memory but I need to do something.  Knowing how ________ my hand-writing is,  I need to have something that I can read with ease.

The exam on Wednesday at 1130am lasted only one hour and consisted of forty questions. Time passes quickly? Indeed. I had limited time to double-check the entirety of the questions. I just reviewed the OMR form and ensured that I had answered all questions. “At least, I answered all of the questions” I said to myself. That was my determination. After the exam, I could hardly recall the questions I had answered. When some of us were discussing the questions, I did my best to recall them, but it felt like a dream. I have no memory of answering the questions.

Now, the only thing I can do is pray that I would pass the exams the first time around. That’s my hope.

 

Al-Fatihah to Prof Mohd. Kamal bin Hassan

It took me a while to compose myself after hearing the news on Thursday morning, 23 February 2023.  Hours turn into days and days turn into weeks for me to recollect my memories about him.  I learn the phrase “Paradigm shift” back in 1998 during the orientation week.  Paradigm shift is a big word for me.  What is that?  In Malay, it is translated as Anjakan Paradigma.

As I took several classes related to philosophy, I understand more about the meaning of paradigm shift.  But being me when I first heard the word, I was mesmerised with the guy who uttered it, Prof Kamal.  A tall, lanky guy in his 50s, he looked so regal and scholarly.  Coming from a non-academic family, for me to meet someone like him is almost a miracle (with the Blessing of Allah).   Learning something from him in one hour seems so brief.  I started to search more about his work.  Reading a short article by him that I found in the IIUM library left me speechless.  I started to ask myself, “Can I be like him aka as a thinker?”, “How can I be like him who seems to be wise in philosophical way?”, “Can I write like him?”.   

Reflecting on myself who is not him and not having a brain like him makes me think further by asking myself “What can I do for the benefits of the ummah?” Ironically, the question was among the things that he mentioned in his talk.  If John F Kennedy once said ““Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.””, Prof Kamal once posed the question (might not be his exact word, but just the gist), “What can we do for the sake of Allah to contribute for benefits of the ummah?“.  The concept of ‘Abd, being a Muslim might seem alien to a younger me but it is not easy to be internalized and actualized by the older me.

I had a few more opportunities to learn from him while studying at undergraduate level during talks (not a formal course).  One of the last moments was during an Ibadah camp at Templar Park in 2002.   It was a long day and his talk was at night.  He smiled warmly as he stepped into the hall where we had been waiting, seeing our exhausted faces. He wore a batik shirt with white pants. I was seated a little further back from the front of the stage, where he was standing. But even from a distance, I could see him clearly. His aura glowed brightly than the dimly lit hall.  

As far as I could remember, he exudes the aura of cool, calm and collected. On the basis of our initial encounter, no one has ever struck me as a scholar. In my opinion, he embodied the scholarly spirit as of the late Prof. Malik Badri and Cikgu Sidek Baba, and Prof Kamal’s behaviour reflected that.  

Prof Kamal, it is an honor to meet you in person when I worked as an Assistant Director of a newly established unit at IIUM back in 2004.  Even though our time together was brief, you provided me with models of scholarly behaviour that I find difficult to imitate.   Al-Fatihah to you.  May Allah grant you Jannah. 

 

Food poisoning: It is bad

To avoid food poisoning, you must know what you consume. Do not consume expired/bad/moldy etc. food/drink. That is the common information that we already know. But I miss one aspect: how the food is prepared. I ate pisang goreng last Sunday. It was raining and I stopped for a while to buy lunch at 3pm (it was a late lunch indeed). I saw this small stall selling pisang goreng with no customers for more than 15 minutes. I felt sad. “Why not buy something?” I said to myself. With RM2 worth of pisang goreng, the seller gave me more than what I paid. Little that I know it was the beginning of a nightmare that I experienced for a few days.

After eating a few pieces of pisang goreng, I felt weird. “This is unusual” I thought. Around maghrib, the stomach pain became unbearable. While performing maghrib prayer, I nearly fell down as I prostrated (sujud). “Is this the way how my life ends?” I thought to myself as I performing sujud. My cat sensed something was not right. She did not leave my side as I prayed. When I lay down on my bed, she plopped herself besides me and purred. My cat, Robyn always does that when she senses that I am not feeling well or I am sad. By the time Isya’ prayer, I found it difficult to stand without clutching my stomach and my legs started to tremble. I could not stand still.

I tried to find whatever ointment that I could put on my stomach to each the pain. I found my late mom’s minyak kayu putih (eucalyptus oil). At this point, I just couldn’t care to check the expiry date. I attempted to endure the unbearable pain for as long as I could. I started to vomit several times through out the night. I googled symptoms of food poisoning. What I experienced was just vomiting within hours after eating pisang goreng.  Diarrhea may follow but I didn’t experience that.  I asked my niece (an MD) the cure to food poisoning. She told me that normally food poisoning could stop within 24 to 72 hours with no medication. She advised me to avoid solid and spicy food. I ended up of not eating anything, just drink to keep myself hydrated for around 2 days since the first symptom appeared.

But by the third day, the stomach pain still persisted. So I went to homeopathy clinic. Why homeopathy? Well, I just wanted to try out alternative treatment. Alhamdulillah after taking the medication for one day, the stomach pain was gone. No vomiting. But I had to deal with the aftermath of food poisoning. I could not take any spicy food for a while. My stomach becomes sensitive towards specific food. This is not good. But I guess this is life. There are things that I have to let go and no longer can enjoy.

Teacher, I want to be like you

Cringe. That is the word to describe my feeling when I heard someone said “Teacher, I want to be like you” to me. I looked at her in (half) disbelief. “Kenapa Teacher tengok saya macam tu? [Translation: Why are you looking at me like that? ” I was speechless. To be honest, I do not want anyone to be like me. I know that perhaps this student perceives me as a role model. I am not a good role model. I am completely aware of this.

Being a teenager can be challenging, especially you are in a transition period between childhood and adulthood. I was a teenager in late 90s. So you can guess I am not young anymore. In a few years, I will be 50. The big five zero.

In my twenties and thirties, I had experienced more downs than ups. But, I had no regret. It is difficult to accept failures than successes. I am a human being. I have feelings but I learn from my mentors especially those who taught me psychology courses (you know who you are), that understanding oneself does not makes life easier. Learning psychology does not mean that I understand myself better than other people. It is far from that. But there are theories that I can refer to and reflect on when “things” happen. So, it is up to me to make sense of things that happen in myself. Nothing else matters.

Last tuition for SPM takers. 17 February 2023 (Friday)

CPD oh CPD…. 2023

During the pandemic my CPD was more than 100. The required points are 42 ONLY. What was I thinking by attending so many courses during the pandemic?! I can only blame myself on that part.

As far as I could remember, there were so many things that I need to learn and know ASAP because the changes that I need to do for my teaching and class. One of my colleagues asked me “Banyak betul kursus yang kau pergi? Tak bosan ke? Ada kursus yang sama kan macam Elearning tu. Kau pergi juga ke?” Well, the answer is I did attended so many courses which I think relevant and important for me and my students. Bored? Well, since I know how _________ (fill in the blank) my memory is, I need to make sure than whatever information that I need to know can be repeated again (repeated exposure etc.). Of course, I take note and write things here (only IF I have time for that).

So, one of my colleagues informed me that the registrar office actually has a calendar for courses/workshops that will be counted as CPD. My initial reaction to her was “Got calendar meh? I do not know about it.” I told her, all of these while, I just attended whatever courses that I think I need based on my personal evaluation of my personal needs. Very ego centric thought, right? Yes. According to Maslow’s self-actualization needs, one reaches to the realization of a person’s potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences at the highest level of hierarchical needs. Indeed.

But here are some of the things that she shared.

  1. Go to this website to get the form (Excel)
  2. Open “Borang permohonan kursus“. Just fill in the information needed.
  3. One of the things that we need to fill in is the types of training/course/workshop that we want to attend. Go to this website to get more information about the training (it has dates and trainings so you can choose the one that you want to attend).
  4. If you already to register any training (please make sure you have go through the training calendar thoroughly), you can register HERE.

BUT, if you are comfortable with unstructured planning, like me (as my self-evaluation does not have any specific time and duration because it is continuous), so, you can attend any training or course accordingly (uhuk uhuk based on your own personal judgment and preference).

Role confusion?

The news that I received last Friday makes me think about values that perhaps I overlook while teaching. I taught him when he was in form 4 in 2018. A soft spoken guy with high regards and respect towards the teachers. I had a one-to-one moment with him in 2019 when he just needed someone to discuss some issues. Being an outsider who happened to be his teacher, he feels that I am the right person to discuss those issues.

Ita told me that he has changed. Well, people change, right? But it is not the change that any teacher would ever wish for.  He changes his “physical appearance”.  Looking at his current appearance, people might have difficulty to guess that he was from a religious school.  Well, in this case, I could resonate with his stance.  I was in the same phase before.  I tried to discard any traces as being a former student of a religious school.  Learning Arabic language and literature, memorising certain Surahs from the Quran and taking two examinations (SMU and Syahadah) while I was in form 4 are a part of my learning journey but there was a point in my life that I do not want people to know that.  Well, somehow people know sooner or later when can I fairly score well on Arabic courses.  Things cannot be hidden forever, I guess.  When some of my university friends knew about it and said “I can never guess you come from a religious school because you do not look like one“, I felt proud because I had successfully change my identity.  But the reality is far from what I have thought and planned.  I should feel ashamed that I do not practice what I have learned, right?  But I did not feel that way that time.  All those hadith and surahs that I learn and memorise should not be gone to the drain, right?.   

Now, I am older (and hopefully wiser than my younger self), and with some psychology theories that I learn, I know that it is just a phase.  According to Erik Erikson, teenagers will experience crisis as they explore their independence and develop a sense of self and each individual is different.  Some might resolve the crisis earlier, whereas some even struggle to resolve in late adolescence.  

But the question that I failed to realise when I was around his age was, “Do I have time to change before it is too late?”  Time is subjective.  Since we do not know when we will die, we should be extra careful with the things that we do, right?  The older me can see that but the younger me saw it differently.  The younger me was bold, daring and rebellious with the thinking that I have all the time in the world if I wish to change.  

As his teacher, at this point, I just pray that he will be guided towards the right direction. This is just a phase. Perhaps a phase that will lead him to be a better person. I just hope that Allah Grants the best blessing and time for him to change for the better.

Taklimat program pementoran UTM Gold

Semua orang memerlukan bantuan dalam kehidupan harian.  Pementoran merupakan salah satu cara menghulurkan bantuan dan juga mendapatkan bantuan.  UTM merupakan universiti penyelidikan yang melibatkan status pemeringkatan.

Penyelidikan bukan sesuatu perkara yang mudah.  Semua staf perlu menyumbang dalam konteks penyelidikan.  Penyelidikan perlukan berkaitan dengan bidang pengkhususan.  

Objektif program UTM Gold ialah

  • Bantu: Staf yang tiada geran dan tiada penerbitan
  • Bimbing: Mendapatkan geran luar, industri, antarabangsa dan komuniti serta menerbit dalam jurnal berindeks tinggi
  • Tingkat: Meningkatkan kompetensi, kepakaran dan sebagainya.
  • Galak: Menggalakkan staf supaya membina niche bidang.

UTM Gold mempunyai 3 kategori: Gold 1, Gold 2 dan Gold 3.

Gold 1: Mempunyai geran, menjadi penulis utama 

Gold 2: Mempunyai geran luar, menjadi penulis utama dalam jurnal berindeks

Gold 3: Boleh memilih trek penerbitan atau geran.  Trek penerbitan bagi penerbitan jurnal Q1/2 dan WOS.  Trek geran sebagai penyelidik utama bagi geran antarabangsa, geran industri dan geran komuniti.

Setiap satu kategori ada KPI yang perlu dicapai.  Sebagai contoh, KPI Gold UTM 2 ialah perlu mempunyai geran kebangsaan dan penerbitan di jurnal berindeks/Q1/Q2.

 

QRAM Online Training Sessions 2023

I received an email and also WhatsApp message from QRAM early January 2023.  But a friend of mine gave the same message.  Being me, I might have the tendency to misplace the information.  So, here I am posting the information for future reference.

 In conjunction with 20th Anniversary Celebrations of QRAM, there are FOUR complimentary (free of charge) online training sessions from February to May 2023. There is no limit to the number of sessions one can join, but members must take up the seat once it has been booked.

To register, please scan the QR code below or visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfFPHatix_z_VGVQMcHZcLUqZAih5l5MoenBdR5W_7nWQPQJQ/viewform

 

Pesuruhjaya sumpah UTM

Kenangan menguruskan urusan selepas arwah emak meninggal lebih dari lima tahun dahulu memang tidak dapat dilupakan.  Ada beberapa dokumen yang memerlukan pengesahan pesuruhjaya sumpah.  Bermulalah pencarian pesuruhjaya sumpah di sekitar Johor Bahru.  Bukan mudah.  Dalam hati terdetik, kalau ada pesuruhjaya sumpah di UTM, mungkin urusan lagi mudah.  Tidak perlu pergi ke merata tempat untuk mendapatkan pengesahan pesuruhjaya sumpah.

Alhamdulillah mulai 1 Disember 2022, warga UTM (semua PTJ, kakitangan, pelajar) dan individu yang memerlukan perkhidmatan Pesuruhjaya Sumpah boleh mendapatkan perkhidmatan ini secara terus di UTM.  Anda digalakkan untuk membuat temujanji terlebih dahulu di :

 
Lokasi  :  Pejabat Penasihat Undang-Undang
                     Aras 3, Bangunan Canseleri Sultan Ibrahim
                     Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
                     81300 Johor Bahru, Johor
Talian Telefon Bimbit : 013-6970685 (Puan Ida Shazreen) 
Talian Am Pejabat : 07-5530789

Program Kerohanian FSSH Siri 136 (12 Januari 2023)

Hakikat Rezeki Dalam Kekayaan ~ Surah Al-Qasas, Ayat 76-84

  • Qarun ialah sepupu kepada Nabi Musa A.S.  Bukan sesuatu yang mudah untuk berdakwah dengan kaum kerabat (yang mempunyai pertalian keluarga) yang tidak mempercayai kewujudan Allah SWT.
  • Qarun juga merupakan seorang yang pintar tentang bidang kimia dan juga kitab Taurat dalam kalangan bani Israel.  Tetapi, dia masih lagi menjadi seorang yang tidak mempercayai ajaran Islam yang dibawa oleh Nabi Musa AS.
  • Kemewahan dan kemiskinan adalah menurut ketetapan Allah.  Tetapi kemewahan bukan alamat seseorang itu diredhai oleh Allah SWT.  Keberkatan seseorang hidup tidak boleh diukur oleh kemewahan atau kemiskinan yang ditetapkan oleh Allah SWT.
  • Rezeki adalah apa jua yang memberi manfaat bagi kita.  Akan tetapi tidak semestinya kemewahan itu adalah rezeki sekiranya ianya mendatangkan mudarat kepada kita.  Contoh:  Kenaikan pangkat adalah manfaat kepada seseorang, dan selalu dilihat sebagai rezeki.  Tetapi dengan kenaikan pangkat, ianya mendatangkan mudarat kepada kita, ianya tidak lagi menjadi rezeki kepada kita.  Oleh yang demikian, rezeki boleh dilihat dari bentuk yang lebih meluas dan tidak semestinya dihubungkan dengan kemewahan dan kesenangan dalam hidup.  
  • Setiap dari kita dilahirkan dengan jaminan rezeki.  Tetapi kita mesti berusaha untuk bekerja dan sebagainya.  
  • Kita tidak perlu bersikap terlalu bimbang soal rezeki kerana
  • 1) ianya boleh menjadi sebab seseorang terputus hubungan dengan Allah SWT
  • 2) ianya boleh menjadi punca kita tidak mempedulikan halal haram dan mengabaikan hak Allah SWT dan hak sesama manusia
  • 3) ianya boleh menjadi salah satu faktor seseorang terhalang dari melakukan banyak kebaikan kerana terlalu bimbang tentang rezeki.
  • Sekiranya kita telah berazam untuk mendapatkan sesuatu dan berusaha dengan bersungguh-sungguh, kita perlu bertawakkal kepada Allah SWT.  
  • Rezeki merupakan pemberian dan kehendak daripada Allah SWT bukan sesuatu yang ditentukan oleh seberapa banyak usaha manusia.
  • Sifat rezeki adalah mendatangi siapa yang dikehendaki oleh Allah SWT dalam bentuk kesihatan, ilmu yang bermanfaat, anak yang soleh dan ketenangan hati.
  • Rezeki adalah pemberian dari Allah SWT.  Mereka yang memperolehi rezeki mestilah selalu bersyukur dan tidak mengingkari ajaran Allah SWT.
  • Cara mendatangkan rezeki
  • 1) Bertaqwa:  Merasa dirinya sentiasa diawasi oleh Allah SWT.  
  • 2) Bertawakkal:  Menyerahkan segala sesuatu kepada Allah SWT, yakin akan kuasaNya dan hanya bergantung kepadaNya.
  • 3) Bersyukur: Menerima dan redha atas rezeki yang diberikan oleh Allah SWT. 
  • Kejayaan sejati adalah kekayaan jiwa.  Harta yang dimiliki sebaiknya digunakan untuk meningkatkan amal dan ibadah (dengan niat untuk berkhidmat dan memperkuat agama – jihad ekonomi)
  • Jika kita diuji dengan kesempitan hidup, hanya Allah SWT yang berkuasa meleraikan kesempitan yang kita hadapi.  Oleh yang demikian, kita perlu mempunyai keyakinan tinggi terhadap Allah SWT.  Bantuan dari insan adalah merupakan perantara dengan izin Allah SWT.  Jangan sesekali bergantung kepada insan untuk memberikan bantuan kepada kita.