Values to have to Succeed

Let me share with you some of the options / values that I believe can be of help to you if you want to succeed in anything that you do:-

1. We need to KNOW what we want or want to do
2. After that, we must WANT to do what we know
3. To succeed, we have to be fully AWARE of the things we know or want to do
4. We need to do it with COMMITMENT
5. Finally, we need to have KNOWLEDGE in anything that we do.

"Tahu -- Mahu -- Sedar -- Komited -- Berilmu"

Key Success Factors

2 March 2009

I had a meeting with the nursing personnel of Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital (HTJS) to discuss on issues related to nursing care. In attendance were my Deputy and a senior doctor.

It was noted that of late there were many incidents and complaints that were related to nurses in HTJS. I was disturbed by these complaints and had caled for this meeting. The objective of the meeting was to identify possible reasons and ways to overcome them.

The meeting agreed that more drastic actions and concerted efforts need to be taken by all nursing and administrative personnel. When asked to identify Key Success factors to achieve these goals they were unsure and gave vague suggestions. I then suggested the following factors that they need to internalise and disseminate among the nurses for them to move forward together:-

1. To succeed the nurses must understant that they WANT to improve and ensure all nursing procedures are adhered to
2. They must be COMMITED in order to achieve this
3. They must be SINCERE in carrying their duties at all times

Besides the 3 factors, there are also advised to internalise the 6 values that are in the S.T.A.M.P.S. concept that was launched in 2007, ie.,

• Begin our interactions with clients with a Smile
• Be graeteful and always Thank those who helped or assist us in anything
• Seek Apologies for any mistakes or inconveniences that we incurred to others
• We need to Measure our performance regularly
• Praise theose who deserved them
• Always Share our love, happiness, sorrows and pride.
  

City Villa Crash!!!

Something happened today around 3 pm at City Villa Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. There was a solitary 'earthquake' around that time.

We (myself, Maryam Dayat and my 2 granddaughters) sent SKO to the hotel as she had a meeting there. While waiting for her, we decided to say our prayers.

I went to the ablution area with Nayya. She was asking me why I used the tap which was too low for me. Well you know kids at 3+ will have all kinds of questions. I gave her an acceptable answer. (I think). Knowing the place was slippery. So after the ablution, I walked slowly and tried to control my step by reaching out to an adjacent wall. But before I could my hand could the wall, I slipped and fell backwards. Luckily my head did not hit a divider there. In a split second I heard a staff of the hotel yelling someone fell and Dayat was there to assist me.

I knoew I did not hurt or break any bone because there was no extraordinary pain. I reached out my hand and Dayat pulled me up. I did not feel anything painful except for a sore left bump. As I walked slowly to the musallah, I could still hear the lady talking about the place being slippery and a lady fell last week. As I placed the prayer mat and about to say my prayer, suddenly I felt very sorrowful. I ignored the feeling and finished my prayer. Later I played with my granddaughters.

However, I could not remove that feeling. Yes, that sad feeling... I had been telling people that ever since I fell ill in May 2005, I had not slipped and fall. I had been very careful. Today I slipped and fall. Subconsciously that must really hurts me.

While waiting for SKO, I felt sleepy and Maryam noticed that. When SKo finally met us, Maryam told her what happened. I could not control my tears and told her that it's not the physical pain that hurts but my emotions. She gave me Arnica and within a few minutes I could control my feelings.

Now my emotions is not hurting anymore but my vision got hazy since then. Well, it is just a slight accident but it had made me more cautious with my steps. Perhaps the fall was more hurtful because Nayya was there witnessing her grandpa fell. Luckily she did not cry or traumatised by it. In fact she made jokes about me falling. How much I love my family....

XPDC Gunung Stong (3)

Kami berjalan menuju ke Gua Gelap dalam keadaan begitu hepi sekali. Terdengar gelak tawa peserta xpdc yang berada dihadapan. Saya bersama dgn kumpulan terakhir berjalan mengikut denai yang lecak kerana difahamkan hutan turun hampir tiap hari ketika itu.

Saya berjalan dgn berhati-hati kerana tak mahu jalan. Maklumlah pandangan pun kurang jelas - lagipun ada bawa kamera sekali. 5 minit berjalan, kami pun sampai dimuka Gua Gelap. Memang gelap gua ni dan kami menggunakan lampu picit. Saya tak bawa tapi nasib ada cahaya dari kamera. Laluan dalam gua ni berliku-liku tapi tak panas.

Kemuncak laluan kami ialah terpaksa memasuki lubang yang besarnya hanya 1.5 x 2.5 kaki yang berair. Saya memasuki lubang itu dlm keadaan terlentang. Walaupun badan besar tapi berjaya juga melepasi lubang kecil tu. Dr. Ramli agak suspense nak melepasi lubang tapi memikir saya yang berbadan besar pun boleh maka dia kuatkan semangat utk melaluinya. (Saya teringat keadaan lubang yang jauh lebih kecil dan mecabar yang pernah saya lalui di Gua Telinga di Taman Negara Kuala Tahan).

Setelah keluar dari gua tersebut, kami menunggu rakan-rakan yang lain. Sempat saya mengambil gambar anak kelawar yang terjatuh dan sudah dihurungi oleh semut. Kami meneruskan perjalanan menuju ke Gua Keris. Tak penat dan mencabar tapi perlu berhati-hati kerana laluan kami dilereng bukit.

Keadaan Gua Keris lebih luas dan banyak iktibar yang boleh kita pelajari di situ, Saya teringat pulak dgn keadaan gua-gua di Gunung Senyum, Pahang.

Di Luar Gua Gelap

Dalam perjalanan ada diantara peserta yg kena gigitan pacat. terdengar jeritan mereka dan gelak tawa yang lain. Tempoh masa yg kami ambil menjelajahi kedua-dua gua ialah 2 jam. Pengalaman yg baru bagi peserta yg tak pernah memasuki gua. Tapi saya tertarik dgn keindahan alam semulajadi ciptaan Allah dalam Gua Keris. Tak percaya? Pergi dan lihat sendiri apa maksud saya.

Perjalanan balik lebih cepat. Mungkin kerana dah yakin dgn situasi dlm hutan. Sebelum menaiki van balik ke Dabung, ramai peserta yg mandi-manda di sungai berdekatan dgn Gua Ikan. Iar sejuk tapi keruh kerana hujan malam sebelumnya. Saya sempat mencuba air jeruk tempatan - sedap.

Setelah penat meneroka gua, kami balik ke pekan Dabong untuk makan tengahati. Kami menaiki van semula untuk ke Gunung Stong pada pukul 3 ptg. Perjalanan selesa berbanding dgn pengalaman saya sebelum ni - dimana kami terpaksa mengharungi sungai untuk ke seberang tebing. Memang mencabar tapi bahaya kerana arus sungai deras dan ketika itu kami tidak dibekalkan dgn baju keselamatan.

Tiba di kaki Gunung Stong, kami sungguh teruja keran dalam perjalanan kami nampak air terjun Stong. Saya dapat mengimbau pengalaman 4 tahun dulu.

Setelah bersiap-siap, kami pun meneruskan dakian kami pada jam 4 petang. Sebenarnya saya masih merasa kerisauan untuk mendaki. Takut-takut penglihatan atau pinggang saya akan menghalang saya untuk sampai ke Kem Jelawang. Trek yng kami laaluan adalah melalui jambataan gantung.

.... akan bersambung...

XPDC Gunung Stong (2)

When I reached Seremban Train Station almost everybody was there except for Haniza and Norly. I could hear them talking loudly and they sounded elated.

At 8.51pm the train arrived and we alighted coach F2 hurriedly. After ensuring everyone got their seats, I took the last seat meant for our group. I could see and hear almost everyone was on the phone talikng to their love ones. Telling them our their train rides and consoling theirkids or meybe their spouses.

The train ride was a slow one - from Seremban to Gemas where the train will chainge its engine. I commented to Hjh Hamidah about the coach. When I was in Melaka Hospital and went out for any expedition, we would go by the second class coach and not a third class one. I was not happy with this arrangement. But I did not want to cause any ruckus then. Especially when the group from Melaka alighted at Tampin station.

Inspite of not being comfortable, I managed to doze off for quite sometime, unaware of the stop at Gemas, so I missed my late supper there.

We were expected to reach Dabong at 8 am. So we had to say our Subuh prayers on the train. It was an interesting experience then - with the train wobbling and unsteady. We laughed about it. I noticed almost everybody prayed.

As expected we reached Dabong at 7.45 am. I noticed that Dabong had not changed since the last time I was there - in 2004. The same warong with almost the same menu. After taking some snapshots, I took breakfast with the whole group. I tried the local food, ie pulut with kelapa and ikan kering. To get more oomph, I ate some cili padi jeruk. That wa really delicious and hot.

After breakfast, we set out to venture into the caves in Dabong, namely Gua Gelap and Gua Keris. We went there by 2 vans. While waiting for the second van, I tried another local delicacy - fried tapai ubi. Yum yum it was fantastic.. After a short briefing by Odie, our chief guide, we walked to the caves....

Taklimat by Odie
This is Odie Baha
Gua Gelap

... to be continued ....

XPDC Gubung Stong (1)

It has been quite sometine that I ventured into the deep jungle or scale any mountain. The last outdoor adventure that I was involved was at Endau Rompin, Selai in mid April 2005 - emmm the place where I nearly lost my life.

I had been wanting to go back to the jungle ever since then but fear and knowing my inabilities prevented me from doing it. But I made a promise to myself that before end of 2008, I must go for at least 1 expedition into the jungle. Indeed I was surprised when my wife allowed to lead this expedition. With that approval, I made plans with friends from Melaka and Kuala Lumpur.

I managed to gahter a group of 13 staff from N9 and 9 from Melaka. A small group but good enough to expose staff in N9 on adventures into deep jungles. I could see most of them were excited for many reasons - some had never had train rides before, almost all had not climbed any mountain, some had not been away from family that long, some are afraid of heights, some fear leeches, and the list goes on and on. When I met a few of them a week before the expedition, they were all geared for the occasion inspite of the fears.

As for me, I had to buy new shoes, bag and other assessories. My previous jungle assessories / gears were all gone. The excitement grew everyday. However, I had my own fears - I am afraid I would be a nuisance and hindrance to the team. Not only I cannot see the tracks clearly, I was afraid that I could not proceed climbing because of my back. But the driving force within me is that I want to check & assess the extence of my incapabilities.

13 Novenmber 2008 was the date I was looking forward to. I did a last minute shopping for the bag and later did a frenzied packing about 2 hours before leaving for the train station in Seremban

... to be continued ....

S.T.A.M.P.S.

Hospital TUanku Ja'afar Seremban has been in existance since late 1960s. It is located on a hill and from far it looks majestic - especially at night. Ever since I was transfered as its director in June 2006, I have tried to instll values that would further improve the image of the hospital.

In August 2997, I launched a concept that are common amongst us. These values are well understood and most of the time hey have been our practice. But some how they are not part of the unconscious practice. The values rae :-

1. S = Senyum or Smile
2. T = Terima kasih or Thank you
3. A = Ampun or Apologise
4. M = Muhasabah or Measure
5. P = Puji or Praise
6. S = Sayang or Share

Just like other values, these are things that would not be of benefit if we do not consciously want to do. Better still if they are been internalised by my staff. Just like "stamps" which are used to send our letters to another person a distance away, STAMPS acan also be used to connect staff and patients, colleagues and clients. Tahnk you for reading this post.

Pokok mengajar erti hidup!!

Antara aktiviti yg aku suka sejak tahun 2000 ialah trekking ke dalam hutan. Banyak pengajaran yg aku dapat dari hutan. SEmasa berada dalam perut hutan aku banyak bermuhasabah.

Setelah sakit & mula pulih, aku tambah yakin bahawa banyak pengajaran yg boleh aku dapat dari alam. Aku lihat pokok yg menghijaudalam taman ku. (Walaupun hijau masih belum nampak hijau). Pokok boleh tumbuh dari benih atau disemai dari keratan. Tak kra apa pun, ianya perlu dijaga dgn prihatin - air, baja, matahari mengikut jenisnya. Kalau tak, pokok akan mati atau tak sihat. Kita juga perlu elemen kasih sayang, belaian, makanan roh & fizikal, rehat & berbagai lagi. Kalau tak kita juga akan layu dalam pertumbuhan diir sebagai insan.

Jika dijaga dgn baik pokok akan menjadi kuat & menjalani fungsinya. Pokok rambutan tak boleh berbuahkan durian & pokok orkid akan berbungakan orkid. Itu fitrah pokok. Sebagai manusia, kita juga harus menjalani hukum sebagai manusia. Carilah fitrah itu dan kukuhkan dlm diri kita. Kita harus jadi insan ygdikatakan dlm al-Qur'an. Kita harus jadi ummah yg akan memimpin dunia. Kita jgn hanya melihat diri kita saja tanpa memikitrkan kepentingan insan lain.

Marimasuk hutan & belajar dari pokok!! Atau lihatlah kpd pokok-pokok dlm taman anda!!

How strong are we?

Last Friday I decided to reaerrange the furnitures in our living room. The last time we rearranged them were just before Aildil Fitri. Since Aidil Adha was celebrated the day before, so the furnitres can be put in a more practical arrangement.

Hana & Ami was in the kitchen preparing brunch. Hilmi was still in slumberland. So I moved the heavy furnitures alone. More of pusing with my legs rather than lifting up. I realised that my back is not as strong as it used to be about 3 years ago. Finally after almost 1 hour of hardship the main sofa pieces were moved. By then my back was telling me to slow down. Fortunately for me, Hana & Aimi came and they lifeted the last few item

While resting after all that, I realised that life is about sharing - hardships, happiness, sorrows, and love. If we shared them with others, we will lessen the burden in our hearts. All we need is to ask and tell others that we need their help. We cannot live in this world alone thinking we can face anythiung without assistance of others. Even though we are strong or wealthy or influential when are alive, we still need them when we die. They will be the ones cleaing us up and sending us to our graves. When we die, our body will rot and stenched. No one can tolerate us anymore. So it will be "disposed" to the underground forever. By then we are not strong, wealthy or influential anymore!!

Observe & THink before any Comment

Before every meal, we walk into the kitchen not knowing what to cook. We open the lader, the fridge and search for ingredients for the cooking. At times things weneed are not there. If there are, it may not be sufficient or not to our satisfaction.

What will we do then? Abandon the cooking? Go out and get the things we need? Or make do with what we have & Improvise! These are some of the decisions we have to make. And that is really true in life. No matter what decision we make, we will have to face the consequences of our decision. No matter how good the decisions are, there are bound to be people who are not happy with us. Even about our cookings!!

AS in cooking, we simply cannot rely on our sklinn or knowledge alone. Even though we have put in all the appropriate ingredients, we need to taste it before serving it for others to give their comments.

Yes, those sitting impateintly waiting for the meal to be served do not even know the difficulties that we had undergone. From choosing the right ingredients, preparing them, cooking before the finally laying it on the table. They forgot all the processes that took place in the kitchen. All they know is to comment, to criticise or to complement the chef.

Life is full of people who do not want to know or forgot about happenings, hardships, constraints of those who tried to achieve the best outcomes of the many things they are given. We talk about raisning our children, about making decicions on the future of our family.... and many other decisions. On many occasions, we don't have the luxury of time, money or knowledge before we made such decisions. We have to rely on our 'gut feelings' or trust in our decisions.

Be grateful if our decisions turned out OK. But if otherwise, we can still simle because we are brave to make such decisions. So before we make any comments, do observe and think about the events BEFORE any outcome took place.

It is just a food for thought. Wassalam