The reality

Originally posted on Kazayo

Have you ever wondered why the patient rather lie to you than being honest about their medical condition?

Yesterday, a patient was scolded so badly by the Medical Officer, because she defaulted the computed tomography (CT) appointment given to her due to her malignant status. She was in very bad shape, having really bad pain, sobbing away. Having surrounded by 5 fellas at once in a small room,  having to bear with the pain while these people do an ultrasound scan. She was left all alone in the room while the rest just walked away, discussing about her case. The poor thing was shouting for pain more than half an hour ago, no one bother to relieve the pain before doing the scan.
Then, the Medical Officer came in and started asking her why she defaulted the appointment, and refused medical treatment previously. My point of view, that MO was directing her frustration of having to do more work just because she wouldn't have to make another appointment for the imaging if the patient had turned up for the previous appointment.

Did anyone take a chair, sit beside her bed and ask her why she refused the medical treatment at the first place but rather turned towards some traditional treatment which made her condition worse?

I can totally understand why the patient refused treatment. There's no surprise if she is doing the same thing again for this recurrent thing, if she is treated like this.

This morning, I went to the hospital right after my Sahur, it was 6++. A patient stopped me at the first cubicle and told me there's one patient in deep pain, curling on the bed. I asked that patient if she was given any pain medication and when was the last dose. Then I attended to the HO at the nursing counter.

"Dr. the patient at bed x is having very bad abdominal pain, pain medication was last given at 3 in the morning. She came in because of dysmenorrhoea, and diagnosed with.......bla bla bla"

"It was written on the drug chart a BD dose right? At 8 in the morning and 8 at night"

"Yea, but she is in a bad shape now, you might wanna give her something to ease the pain?"

"You saw the drug chart right? It is a BD DOSE", he stared at me.

"Anyway, you might wanna have a look at her", I tried to hold on not to explode.

He walked off so unwillingly.

I almost whacked him with my messily-filled logbook - Eh harlo bro, you have a damn MBBS with you and you can't prescribe a damn pain killer for that poor patient who is curling into a ball because of the pain?! Damn you......
*spit on the basin*

Now I see why the Old Man is so upset.

For the first two weeks, I was really upset about the posting. We have different professors in charging for different wards and taking us for different topics on bed-side teaching. Each of them have different preference, each of them see things from a totally different point of view and of course have different expectation.
These people never came into consensus, but rather expect us to fulfill what they expect us to do. This is very unfair.

Covering all the beds in the wards, crowd around in the clinics, follow patients to the OT for surgery, having to complete the clinical skills assessment, speak up during classes or teaching sessions. We rarely have time to eat or shit, not to say extra time to mug up our medical facts. Then, during bed-side teaching, we screwed it up.
At times, we sneaked back to the school to be assessed by our Sister regarding the clinical skills, which is compulsory, then the Professor in the ward is making noise, saying why aren't we in the ward. When we went to the clinic following one of the professors, another Professor blamed us for wasting time in the clinic where we don't know what we are learning. One said go ahead to get some experience and observe different operations being done in the theater, the other one said there's no point going into the theater. Worst thing, when our logbook looks pretty empty on the procedure page, another one make noise.

We, the vulnerable one, always keep quiet, taking in every blame.

But hey, that's the reality isn't it? In the real world, that's what exactly happening. 
There is never a consensus being made.
You mold yourself according to different situations, and try to survive between the gaps. 
Now that's reality!
Stop complaining and find your way out!
"Be the change you want to see"

You are not here to learn the right things, you are here to learn things right - Prof. S.

-FiShe-