Welcome 2019!!!

I did not realised that it is almost a year since the last time I update My Life blog. I have tons of stories that I want to share, lots of tips and information. However, seems like I have been too busy lately to do all.

2018 was amazing. I embarked a new journey, new millstones, growing and progressing closer to what I want to achieve in my life. Let me up date you a bit about what happen in 2018. 

Sadly we had to say good by to both of our cars in 2018. We had so many adventures in those cars. They witnessed our ups and down in the last eight years. Both of the engines now have been put into new bodies and have been passed on to others. 

My previous boss from El Cafe, Bay of Island, kindly invited me to the Pink concert in Auckland "Beautiful Trauma". We were dancing, singing and having fun for the whole length of the concert. It was incredibly amazing night. So full of positive energy and fun. Thank you again to Carla for the unforgettable experience. 

Sorry that I do not have any great shots of the night as I was to busy dancing and singing. :)

By the way, if you have chance to visit Bay of Islands, New Zealand, do not miss on trying the Mexican/South American food at El Cafe. This cafe motored by Chef Jon and Chef Carla, they cafe make the best Mexican food I have ever tasted, with reasonable price tag. It is ranked number one on tripadvisor.

However, be prepared for the long wait during the busy hours, as all their food made fresh by order it will take longer than the fast food restaurant. There are limited number of seats, so either you need to share with others or take your food somewhere else. I suggest come by early in the morning or order by phone in advance to avoid unpleasant experience.

Sadly, Sunshine my cheeky Indian ring neck parrot decided to depart the house to explore the world by his own. He flew away, happily and free.

Our little house felt so empty after we lost him, so I looked for another ring neck parrot for a pet, unfortunately at that time none were ready to be adopted as they were sill too small. When I called Animates   shops they all said that they do not have parrot at the time anywhere in the country as their aviary was under renovation.

One evening after work, David and I went to one of the animates shops without any expectation. We saw Dobbie, sitting on on of the staff shoulder as soon as we walk in to the shop. We spent an hour with Dobbie and instantly fell in love with her. Dobbie is an Alexadrine parrot, she was about 11 months when we met her for the first time. She is relatively bigger than Sunshine.

I felt like she was sent to us from heaven. She was only come to the store three days prior, after being transferred around from one store to another in the last year. She was named as my favourite fictional character from the Harry Potter series. I did not expect to find any bird at all but I found her.

She is shy, not toilet trained and like destroying things, but she is soo adorable. Finally we found our feather baby.

We closed 2018 with an epic journey to one of the New Zealand Great Walk, the Milford Track. Which also described as the finest walk in the wold. The Milford Track attracted so many people each year, so if you interested to do the walk, you need to book early, likely six months in advance.

There is two ways to do the full walk, as independent walker or guided walker. Our group prefer to do the track independently so we booked through the Department of Conservation. Click here to go to their website.

However, if you have a bit more saving and do not mind to pay a bit extra for comfort check out Ultimate Hikes, they have provided service since the Milford Tract was open to public.

You would never guest where life will takes you. I started my journey in this new country that now I called home seven years ago. I knew no body and did not know much about New Zealand. I been through so many ups and downs. I met many people that now I consider as my extended family. I build my dream from the scratch.

In 2018 I found my self finally get to the starting point. There is still a long journey ahead of me, I know it will not be easy, but one thing I know, I will not give up.

Thank you every one for reading my blog. Thank you for all your messages and comments, some of them truly made my day and you are become the fuel for me to continue this blog.

I wish you all the best in 2019. Feel free to contact me trough the social media, leave comments or use the contact form in the website.

Thank you for your effort to read this blog post. I highly appreciate it.

You might have read my other blog My NZREX journey, if you have not, please do as your question might be answered in that post or the comments sections below it.

I decided to write this post, as I realised that so many interest about NZREX and so many questions were asked on my previous blog post. I tried to answer all the questions on the comment section but sometimes they are repetitive, and as I become more busy will take sometimes for me to finally able to answer them. So I think this post will make it easier for people to find the information.

1. Where do I find information about NZREX
Please familiar your self with the eligibility requirements, how to apply and the NZREX schedule trough New Zealand Medical Council  website here. Most of the information can be found in the website.

2. I am a specialist in my home country, do I need to sit NZREX prior to work in NZ?
Not every IMG need to sit NZREX, there are several pathways for IMGs depend on where they trained and the degree of training they have. Please do the self assessment to find out if you need to go down the NZREX pathway. Click here to take the assessment.

3. How long do I need to prepare for NZREX?
The amount of time will be all depend on how familiar you are to New Zealand medical system. How confident you are practising medicine in English. How familiar you are with New Zealand culture. How long have you been practising medicine.

There are a lot to cover and prepare. You will need more time to practice if you have not been practising medicine for more than a year, as you will need to get your confident back and your train your speed on physical exam and history taking.

For people who less familiar with New Zealand culture and medical system will need time to research about them and familiar them self with these. 

How much time you have to practice every day prior to your exam.

For general example. My study buddy and I have not practising medicine for more than five years when we were taking the exam. We both have been living in NZ for more than five years and pretty much immerse with the culture. We are fluent in English but never practise medicine in English previously. We know very little about the New Zealand medical system. It took us a full six months to be confident to take the exam, and we were practising almost every day. Most people prepare for a year. Some only 4 months.

I suggest book your exam ASAP and start preparing.

4.  How long will it take from passing NZREX to getting a house officer job
Well this is the most difficult question, as there are no exact time and there is no guarantee for you to get a job after the exam. So people can get a job immediately (less than 4 months). Some take a few years (1-5 years) Some never getting a job and gave up.

It took me 1.5 years to secure a PGY1 position, after 5 interviews, 18 weeks of observerships in NZ hospitals, Many weeks of observership in the GP practises.

Please note, passing NZREX does not guarantee position as PGY1/HO.

5. Can you please add me to viber group?
Sure. However, the group sometimes reach the limit so I unable to add more people, I will keep trying at random time, but may take time. Please be patient.

Please make sure you have opened an account with viber and send me the right phone number - the one that registered with viber - prior to requesting to be added. This will safe my time and yours.

6. Can I prepare for NZREX from my home country?
Yes. However as this is an OSCE, please find someone that you can practise face to face in your home country on top of skype study partners.

I highly recommend to come to NZ and arrange for observership prior to the exam, so you can familiar your self with NZ culture and medical system if this possible for you.

If you are from non English speaking country and never been to NZ, I highly suggest to make a visit to NZ prior to your exam or deciding to migrate to NZ.

7. How to arrange for observership?
Please contact the hospital or DHBs directly. If you are not a NZ permanent resident or citizen please check with immigration NZ what kind of visa do you need.

I hope this blog post will help answer some of your questions, feel free to ask more questions if you have. I will try to keep updating this post as required.