We had a good set of teachers. To prove a point to the rest of the world who were mocking at the third Malaysian medical school for straying from the traditional teaching, the powers that be decided to equip the school with lecturers of high stature and calibre. To train some of the local lecturers, overseas dropped-out government scholars medical students were designated as trainee lecturers were excellent in making easy subjects more difficult to comprehend -and I guess they got a kick out it. Since they bungled up in med school, deep-seated psychological envy logically would drive anyone in their shoes (mortarboard) to do the same.
Anyway, only a few of them remain in memory. The process of natural selection and natural body defence of engulfing distorted glial cells must have wiped off these painful, traumatic moments!
Let me perambulate some of the lecturers that still linger in the memory bank. I guess they must have a permanent imprint on the cerebral cortex that they cannot be erased.
In year one, learning anatomy with its plethora of Latin terms were Greek to us. Thanks to NBR, we managed to make sense of this mumbo-jumbo. Speaking with a thick Indian accent and maybe not so much of head gyrating movements, we would get lost in some of his words. Discouraging us to read the Anatomy by R.J. Last, he would say, "Don't read Last, you would be lost and get last in class!". The problem was that his 'last' and 'lost' sounded the same and the joke was lost in translation. An excellent teacher he was.
Among the panel of lecturers were world standard scientists and researches who were obviously somewhat overqualified to be hanging around PPSP teaching nimble minded fools like us. There was a guy who was doing sleep pattern research in NASA astronauts (L) and another in WHO setting up virology laboratories (M).
The professor in microbiology (OKH) looked like an opium-smoking thick moustachioed pencil-thin man who never failed to create laughs when he demonstrated the action the T4 bacteriophage infusing its DNA into its host by crouching and flexing his elbows! (see pic).
Then one day walked a Rajnikanth-Vijayakanth look alike lecturer (DCA) who taught us the more delicate things of internal medicine! And a very hirsute physiology lecturer swaying all his hands like tentacles of a squid while trying to explain the sodium pump mechanism in squids (which he worked on in his PhD paper!). One particular biochemistry lecturer (KTS) only appeared to deliver his lectures to the front rows of students who by chance happened to be all girls, thus earning him the nickname of BBDOM (busybody dirty old man).
A short nerdy professor of Pathology (NF) with his crowning glory of thick straight white hair and a nerdy black thick plastic rimmed aphakic (after cataract surgery) glasses to match his pristine white lab-coat and intellect. Obviously overqualified to be hanging around PPSP, his brand of intellectual jokes spoken in full Ceylonese slanged sing-song English, just did not tickle the ribs of an average PPSPian! His classic joke was, 'Don't you know the sad story of a doctor? It is always a clean shirt but empty pockets!' Looks like I remember his jokes more than his teachings!
PKD was working in world standard labs the world over till he finally landed in PPSP. He fell in love with Penang and is still residing there after his retirement. In spite of his monotonous deep accented voice, he commanded a lot of respect as an excellent lecturer. I wonder why after being away from his native state of Bengal for so many years, he still pronounced iron as 'ai-ren' (as in I RUN), Japan as 'Jah-paan' and example as 'act-jump-pearl' as how a typical Bengali would do!
The pathology department was teaming with so many brainiacs in their own fields that many intra-departmental politics excited bored students like us.
DrB, a lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology would introduce the subject to newbies with the opening statement like this 'Pregnancy is not a problem unless you are not married'. We soon realised that marriage is just a public declaration of a caveat much like the branding of cattle in the Wild West. Sex has nothing to do it. Sometimes love comes in the equation; Pregnancy, the punishment for the lackadaisical.
SL, another lecturer in Ob-Gyn, related to us how he, a shy doctor early in his career, found that field to give him confidence in mixing with the fairer sex. In his own cheeky way, he said that it was the only profession where a lady would tell him all her intimate problems that she would never dream of telling another man and would allow him to look into restricted areas without raising an eyebrow but thank him instead and return for more!
A psychiatrist (SU) express his gripe that people in his profession do not get introduced or acknowledged in parties, unlike gynaecologists. He feels that somehow, ladies find joy in introducing their gynaes but not so comfortable even to look at the direction of their psychiatrists in public!
Then there was a youthful looking paediatrician (JA) who was quite vocal with his comments. Medical students, being Malaysians and kiasu, felt compelled to write in verbatim all words uttered by all lecturers. JA, irritated with this act of talking to scribbling journalists, would rattle off' "I am not telling something quite profound or divine, whatever I am telling is found in any standard textbook!"
Being an experimental curriculum in this side of the world with a motley crew of students with diverse academic achievements, many lecturers found their funny bone while lecturing. A lecturer in Paediatrics once quipped, "Why is USM offering MD (instead of MBBS) for its degree in medicine? Is it because you are mentally deficient?" And she went on a hyena-like hysterics interposed with a laboured asthmatic attack much to our amusement. I guess we had the last laugh at her peculiarly comical antics!
Anyway, only a few of them remain in memory. The process of natural selection and natural body defence of engulfing distorted glial cells must have wiped off these painful, traumatic moments!
 |
| Bacteriophage T4 |
Let me perambulate some of the lecturers that still linger in the memory bank. I guess they must have a permanent imprint on the cerebral cortex that they cannot be erased.
In year one, learning anatomy with its plethora of Latin terms were Greek to us. Thanks to NBR, we managed to make sense of this mumbo-jumbo. Speaking with a thick Indian accent and maybe not so much of head gyrating movements, we would get lost in some of his words. Discouraging us to read the Anatomy by R.J. Last, he would say, "Don't read Last, you would be lost and get last in class!". The problem was that his 'last' and 'lost' sounded the same and the joke was lost in translation. An excellent teacher he was.
The professor in microbiology (OKH) looked like an opium-smoking thick moustachioed pencil-thin man who never failed to create laughs when he demonstrated the action the T4 bacteriophage infusing its DNA into its host by crouching and flexing his elbows! (see pic).
 |
| The Professor (Gilligan's Island) |
A short nerdy professor of Pathology (NF) with his crowning glory of thick straight white hair and a nerdy black thick plastic rimmed aphakic (after cataract surgery) glasses to match his pristine white lab-coat and intellect. Obviously overqualified to be hanging around PPSP, his brand of intellectual jokes spoken in full Ceylonese slanged sing-song English, just did not tickle the ribs of an average PPSPian! His classic joke was, 'Don't you know the sad story of a doctor? It is always a clean shirt but empty pockets!' Looks like I remember his jokes more than his teachings!
PKD was working in world standard labs the world over till he finally landed in PPSP. He fell in love with Penang and is still residing there after his retirement. In spite of his monotonous deep accented voice, he commanded a lot of respect as an excellent lecturer. I wonder why after being away from his native state of Bengal for so many years, he still pronounced iron as 'ai-ren' (as in I RUN), Japan as 'Jah-paan' and example as 'act-jump-pearl' as how a typical Bengali would do!
The pathology department was teaming with so many brainiacs in their own fields that many intra-departmental politics excited bored students like us.
DrB, a lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology would introduce the subject to newbies with the opening statement like this 'Pregnancy is not a problem unless you are not married'. We soon realised that marriage is just a public declaration of a caveat much like the branding of cattle in the Wild West. Sex has nothing to do it. Sometimes love comes in the equation; Pregnancy, the punishment for the lackadaisical.
 |
The express bus from Penang to KB
SKMK (Syarikat Kenderaan Melayu
Kelantan) - acronym fondly remembered as Sampai Kelantan Mahu Kahwin by mates after looking at awek Kelante!
(Kelantan girls)
|
A psychiatrist (SU) express his gripe that people in his profession do not get introduced or acknowledged in parties, unlike gynaecologists. He feels that somehow, ladies find joy in introducing their gynaes but not so comfortable even to look at the direction of their psychiatrists in public!
Then there was a youthful looking paediatrician (JA) who was quite vocal with his comments. Medical students, being Malaysians and kiasu, felt compelled to write in verbatim all words uttered by all lecturers. JA, irritated with this act of talking to scribbling journalists, would rattle off' "I am not telling something quite profound or divine, whatever I am telling is found in any standard textbook!"
Being an experimental curriculum in this side of the world with a motley crew of students with diverse academic achievements, many lecturers found their funny bone while lecturing. A lecturer in Paediatrics once quipped, "Why is USM offering MD (instead of MBBS) for its degree in medicine? Is it because you are mentally deficient?" And she went on a hyena-like hysterics interposed with a laboured asthmatic attack much to our amusement. I guess we had the last laugh at her peculiarly comical antics!
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