At the talk show with Jay Leno, Obama talked about putting the best brains back into engineering, science, teaching, etc.
(MR. OBAMA: Well, and part of what happened over the last 15, 20 years is that so much money was made in finance that about 40 percent, I think, of our overall growth, our overall economic growth was in the financial sector. Well, now what we're finding out is a lot of that growth wasn't real. It was paper money, paper profits on the books, but it could be easily wiped out.
And what we need is steady growth; we need young people, instead of -- a smart kid coming out of school, instead of wanting to be an investment banker, we need them to decide they want to be an engineer, they want to be a scientist, they want to be a doctor or a teacher)end of script
To think that for so many years the best brains went into creating toxic assets, froth and bubbles that fell like a pack of cards. What a waste of beautiful minds, all in the name of good pay and the good life. Do these people really get satisfaction apart from what their money can buy? When I think of this I can not help but relate it to the great loss of intellectuals during the Cultural Revolution in China that set back progress for a decade.
Having said about putting the best brains to good use, how about stretching the brains of our typical young person in Singapore. How many Singapore youths really have a quest for knowledge beyond their narrow scope of studies for exam or for a vocation. It is quite frightening how little they know or care to know. Maybe my opinion is biased because my experience is mainly with young people from a disadvantaged neighbourhood school. I hope so.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Vocation?
Gotten my 100 practicum hours!!!
And... would be finishing my final assignment soon. Fortunately it's the last assignment because I have reached saturation point in essay writing. The fatigue of writing sets in and there is no more oomph which was present when I first started 18 months ago. Having said that I know I will suffer from withdrawal syndrome after a while. I will be longing to attend lectures and learn new stuff even if I don't miss doing assignments. Of course there is still a lot more counselling skills which I intend to pick up but the courses or workshops are not cheap and I have to be selective.
My internship with the Family Service Centre (FSC) is ending soon and when asked to consider either full or part time employment with them as a Social Worker(SW), I turned it down. The scope of a SW includes case management, running programs for various target groups like youths, senior citizens & parents, organising events etc. All these in addition to counselling which is what I am really looking for. I envisage case management will see a lot of cases seeking financial aid too.
After turning down the offer, I began to wonder whether I was being spoilt. A pure counselling job is not easy to come by unless you start your own practice. Even school counsellors are involved in programs, talks and workshops. So am I being unrealistic? Will I ever have a vocation or am I unable to work under somebody again?
So beware, as you grow older you may become less flexible and less adaptable. That is partly the reason why I quit two years ago. I knew if I wanted a switch it has to happen when I am still young enough to acquire a new qualification.
Well, if luck is on my side, I may be employed as a part time school counsellor at a primary school near my home. My boss at the FSC is really nice and referred me to the principal. There is however a hitch. Staff sent by MOE will be paid by MOE, any other staff whom the school wishes to employ will have to come out from the school budget and also needs clearance form school superintendents. Since school budgets are quite limited, the school can afford only if my charges are within their means, so I was told.
Blur blur, I hinted to the principal I did not mind getting same rate as part time school counsellors sent by MOE. When I checked with my classmates and fellow holders of Masters in Counselling, they told me we should be paid more than the MOE part time counsellors because those fellas only have diploma after a six month intensive training by MOE (but of course they are ex or retired teachers and principals and are supposed to be familiar with student problems). Anyway my classmates asked me not to spoil the market hahaha.
Whatever lah, there are lots of people who volunteer at charities without being paid. If people can do that I guess I can accept less if the job suits me. What more it is only a 5 minute walk from home. So I am keeping my fingers crossed the school will manage to get approval and is also not so poor that it can't afford to engage me. Otherwise I will be thrown into a dilemma again whether to do it as a volunteer! (Sigh I was hoping to build up some small fund to enter the market again and have some excitement. I have not dared to look at my portfolio for a while haha)
And... would be finishing my final assignment soon. Fortunately it's the last assignment because I have reached saturation point in essay writing. The fatigue of writing sets in and there is no more oomph which was present when I first started 18 months ago. Having said that I know I will suffer from withdrawal syndrome after a while. I will be longing to attend lectures and learn new stuff even if I don't miss doing assignments. Of course there is still a lot more counselling skills which I intend to pick up but the courses or workshops are not cheap and I have to be selective.
My internship with the Family Service Centre (FSC) is ending soon and when asked to consider either full or part time employment with them as a Social Worker(SW), I turned it down. The scope of a SW includes case management, running programs for various target groups like youths, senior citizens & parents, organising events etc. All these in addition to counselling which is what I am really looking for. I envisage case management will see a lot of cases seeking financial aid too.
After turning down the offer, I began to wonder whether I was being spoilt. A pure counselling job is not easy to come by unless you start your own practice. Even school counsellors are involved in programs, talks and workshops. So am I being unrealistic? Will I ever have a vocation or am I unable to work under somebody again?
So beware, as you grow older you may become less flexible and less adaptable. That is partly the reason why I quit two years ago. I knew if I wanted a switch it has to happen when I am still young enough to acquire a new qualification.
Well, if luck is on my side, I may be employed as a part time school counsellor at a primary school near my home. My boss at the FSC is really nice and referred me to the principal. There is however a hitch. Staff sent by MOE will be paid by MOE, any other staff whom the school wishes to employ will have to come out from the school budget and also needs clearance form school superintendents. Since school budgets are quite limited, the school can afford only if my charges are within their means, so I was told.
Blur blur, I hinted to the principal I did not mind getting same rate as part time school counsellors sent by MOE. When I checked with my classmates and fellow holders of Masters in Counselling, they told me we should be paid more than the MOE part time counsellors because those fellas only have diploma after a six month intensive training by MOE (but of course they are ex or retired teachers and principals and are supposed to be familiar with student problems). Anyway my classmates asked me not to spoil the market hahaha.
Whatever lah, there are lots of people who volunteer at charities without being paid. If people can do that I guess I can accept less if the job suits me. What more it is only a 5 minute walk from home. So I am keeping my fingers crossed the school will manage to get approval and is also not so poor that it can't afford to engage me. Otherwise I will be thrown into a dilemma again whether to do it as a volunteer! (Sigh I was hoping to build up some small fund to enter the market again and have some excitement. I have not dared to look at my portfolio for a while haha)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The Rainbow Connection
I have a client who is an autistic child in Secondary 2. She is extremely good in English and Art. However she needs a lot of guidance in social etiquette and interaction. She can burst into tears and can be very distressed over minor irregularities and disturbances from classmates and her younger sister. Her classmates have been told and reminded to be tolerant and to treat her nicely. In fact she has a few buddies who take good care of her.
During our sessions I will get her to draw to share about her feelings and kind of guide her in responding to people she interacts with. Very often whilst drawing, say for instance cartoon characters she may create a storyline and enact the characters through speaking in different tones. Today she imitated Kermit the frog which really was so like Kermit that made me laughed. "Oh do you know the famous song which Kermit sang?" I asked her. "Yes, the Rainbow Connection" she replied.
Unfortunately she didnt know the lyrics, so I sang imitating Kermit's voice. The lyrics are as follow:
"Why are there so many
Songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side
Rainbow's are visions
They're only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
So we've been told and some chose to
Believe it
But I know they're wrong wait and see
Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me"
"The sense of being connected to something beyond the ego has a healing effect…. And that connection with the soul of the world is the source of wholeness and renewal."- David Tacey on thoughts of C G Jung
(Ego - centre of our conscious identity and selfhood)
Friday, March 6, 2009
Public Healthcare- the long wait
My retired friends told me the way to get subsidised medical care is to go to polyclinic to get all types of referral. I have a heart condition called MVP which was diagnosed by a private cardiologist umpteen years ago and who said 1 in 5 people have it and does not need treatment. People having this defect have skipped heartbeats.
Of late feeling a bit breathless occasionally and given that women of my age have the same probability of getting heart attack as men, I heeded my friends' advice and sought out the polyclinic for referral to a government hospital specialist. The young doctor at the polyclinic was alarmed that I have an abnormal ECG (which I always have). Straight to the SGH A&E was his command. I was also quite alarmed that he was alarmed, so straight I went in a cab (don't take MRT he ordered).
People who say they feel breathless, giddy or chest pain are very quickly checked by the nurses and huddled into the CCU, Critical Care Unit. I was laid on a trolley, pushed around for clinical review, xray and blood test. I was wheeled in at 1.30pm and was surprised that not only all the cubicles were filled but trolley beds with patients were lined in rows in the open area. By the time I finished all the tests and was told to wait 2 hours for results, the space around the nurse station was also lined with trolley beds. When they ran out of beds they put patients in wheel chairs. A high percentage of the patients were old folks in 60s and 70s. My, I am really OLD before my time. Now I know why the government is promoting healthy living! Hey the baby boomers like me have not trickled in yet (other than weaklings or hyponchondriacs like me). How is our public healthcare going to cope when the babyboomers' health start failing one by one.
All the patients in the CCU are not allowed to go toilet unattended. So you have lots of old folks called "Nurse, nurse, bang jieuw" just to receive occasional response from kinder staff who say "dan dan" for eternity. By 6 in the evening my trolley bed was pushed further and further until I almost reached the exit. See they have to push the beds around to make room for walking and other beds to be sent for xray and tests etc. At one point, my bed was parked outside one cubicle with drawn curtain and I could hear the nurses attending to a lady patient saying "I need to wipe away your faeces which is all over your body and wear pampers for you". The lady has food poisoning. Gosh I tried to push my trolley inches away by grapping another pillar only to be pushed back to make room, sigh. By evening my bed was so close to the exit, an injured indian worker who was just wheeled in was lined next to my bed, bed touching bed, and I could smell his sweat. That's not really an issue with me. The issue was I had not taken lunch and it is far past dinner. Fortunately I managed to get a student nurse to fill up my mineral water bottle.
During the long wait I lent my handphone to an old lady and regretted because she started talking very loud, blaming her son for bringing her to hospital and said she was waiting endlessly for the doctor and she "zai kan xi" (is watching a show). I also helped called the wife for another patient because I couldnt pass my hp to him.
By the time the cardiologist came around it was evening and he said I didnt have signs of heart attack, so no admission and he will give me an appointment to see the heart specialist and CPP for me. "Yes" I thought this was my objective. "What is CPP doctor?" I asked. "Oh, the normal Chest Pain Procedure" he said. I called my husband to announce I can get out. The nurse came and told me I would have to stay in observation ward for 8 hours, do another 2 ECGs and one blood count before I can be discharged after another review by the ward doctor. Hey, but didnt the cardiologist say no admission. Only then I was told CPP means 8 hour observation. I waited another 1 hour in the CCU before there was room in the Observation ward.
By the time I was allowed to go home it was 3 am. Though I could stay till the morning I told the nurse no thank you. Today they called me to say my specialist appointment will be 4 May, almost 2 months from now!
I know if I had gone to a private cardiologist I would have gotten a scan or whatever tests that are necessary almost immediately. I would probably spend >$1 or 2 K. Should I have done that instead? The test and the 8 hour observation at SGH would probably cost me $200 already although it can be paid out of medisave. So you see, the polyclinic route may not be the most efficient. Hope someone can enlighten me on what is the most cost beneficial way of getting specialist treatment now that I am not working. However one must also remember because of high medical cost and mean testing being in place soon, it may be wise to have a medical history by the polyclinic route.
Of late feeling a bit breathless occasionally and given that women of my age have the same probability of getting heart attack as men, I heeded my friends' advice and sought out the polyclinic for referral to a government hospital specialist. The young doctor at the polyclinic was alarmed that I have an abnormal ECG (which I always have). Straight to the SGH A&E was his command. I was also quite alarmed that he was alarmed, so straight I went in a cab (don't take MRT he ordered).
People who say they feel breathless, giddy or chest pain are very quickly checked by the nurses and huddled into the CCU, Critical Care Unit. I was laid on a trolley, pushed around for clinical review, xray and blood test. I was wheeled in at 1.30pm and was surprised that not only all the cubicles were filled but trolley beds with patients were lined in rows in the open area. By the time I finished all the tests and was told to wait 2 hours for results, the space around the nurse station was also lined with trolley beds. When they ran out of beds they put patients in wheel chairs. A high percentage of the patients were old folks in 60s and 70s. My, I am really OLD before my time. Now I know why the government is promoting healthy living! Hey the baby boomers like me have not trickled in yet (other than weaklings or hyponchondriacs like me). How is our public healthcare going to cope when the babyboomers' health start failing one by one.
All the patients in the CCU are not allowed to go toilet unattended. So you have lots of old folks called "Nurse, nurse, bang jieuw" just to receive occasional response from kinder staff who say "dan dan" for eternity. By 6 in the evening my trolley bed was pushed further and further until I almost reached the exit. See they have to push the beds around to make room for walking and other beds to be sent for xray and tests etc. At one point, my bed was parked outside one cubicle with drawn curtain and I could hear the nurses attending to a lady patient saying "I need to wipe away your faeces which is all over your body and wear pampers for you". The lady has food poisoning. Gosh I tried to push my trolley inches away by grapping another pillar only to be pushed back to make room, sigh. By evening my bed was so close to the exit, an injured indian worker who was just wheeled in was lined next to my bed, bed touching bed, and I could smell his sweat. That's not really an issue with me. The issue was I had not taken lunch and it is far past dinner. Fortunately I managed to get a student nurse to fill up my mineral water bottle.
During the long wait I lent my handphone to an old lady and regretted because she started talking very loud, blaming her son for bringing her to hospital and said she was waiting endlessly for the doctor and she "zai kan xi" (is watching a show). I also helped called the wife for another patient because I couldnt pass my hp to him.
By the time the cardiologist came around it was evening and he said I didnt have signs of heart attack, so no admission and he will give me an appointment to see the heart specialist and CPP for me. "Yes" I thought this was my objective. "What is CPP doctor?" I asked. "Oh, the normal Chest Pain Procedure" he said. I called my husband to announce I can get out. The nurse came and told me I would have to stay in observation ward for 8 hours, do another 2 ECGs and one blood count before I can be discharged after another review by the ward doctor. Hey, but didnt the cardiologist say no admission. Only then I was told CPP means 8 hour observation. I waited another 1 hour in the CCU before there was room in the Observation ward.
By the time I was allowed to go home it was 3 am. Though I could stay till the morning I told the nurse no thank you. Today they called me to say my specialist appointment will be 4 May, almost 2 months from now!
I know if I had gone to a private cardiologist I would have gotten a scan or whatever tests that are necessary almost immediately. I would probably spend >$1 or 2 K. Should I have done that instead? The test and the 8 hour observation at SGH would probably cost me $200 already although it can be paid out of medisave. So you see, the polyclinic route may not be the most efficient. Hope someone can enlighten me on what is the most cost beneficial way of getting specialist treatment now that I am not working. However one must also remember because of high medical cost and mean testing being in place soon, it may be wise to have a medical history by the polyclinic route.
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