Category Archives: All in a days work

as a medical officer

The Drunkards of Mordor

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“A drunk driver is very dangerous. So is a drunk backseat driver if he’s persuasive”
Demetri Martin

On a quiet night in ED as my nurses are having their Nurses Day celebration nearby and my MAs gladly taking over their duties for a while.. a call came in :

Requesting for 3 ambulance!

I was super excited. The fire brigade teams were already despatched at the scene of accident and after assessing the severity of the condition had requested for medical team help. When the patients came , I was a tad disappointed. They were 4 big, drunkard , attention seeking men who were honestly not seriously injured.

This means:

  • the whole village would come and think they sustain serious injuries. Most common problem is a lung contusion to which the patient would have difficulty to breath (common ). While we  will give them pain relief thay would blindly insist on an ambulance service to the tertiary hospital for further treatment. this is the time when even the most macho men would become sissies. pondan.
  • security guards become useless. unable to handle the crowd of relatives thus endangering the safety of doctors and staff
  • answering the same question again and again from the same family but different people. apa lah yang susah gilak nak faham. mok diulang byk2 kali. sidak eksiden tok satu hal juak. dah tauk mabuk.. gago mok nereb.
  • having uncooperative patients. ‘kenapa mau ambik darah saya?’ ‘saya tidak mau xray’ ‘sakit!! sakit!!’ cuci lukak kau ngan spirit bok tauk,
  • other patients waiting time is increased, they’ll get upset or angry

All in all, as mentioned earlier. NO one sustained serious injury but boy do they exaggerate their pain. Most importantly, not one of the four drunkards who came in admitted to being the driver. Everyone was in the passenger seat! Morons.

The Diving Midwife

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“I am in no mood to be deceived any longer by the crafty devil and false character whose greatest pleasure is to take advantage of everyone”
Camille Claudel

Or as how its correctly put in Bahasa Melayu , ‘Bidan Terjun’.

I wonder if its written on my face literally, the phrase ‘Bidan Terjun Available’ for some people seem to think that its okay to

  • change my shift to the least favourable time on the last minute
  • ask me to cover the clinic on the last minute
  • ask me to cover the wards on the last minute
  • be on call on the dot on the last minute

Thank God as of now I havent been told to like give a presentation on the last minute. Id totally axe the person.

Perhaps I should tattoo my forehead with ‘Not Single Anymore. I Now have commitments!’. Mind you, I am not asking for a lee-way or special treatment. Im not asking for less calls per month. Im not asking to be on the morning shift at all times. Im just asking for some form of consideration. Time to prepare. To plan on;

  • who will babysit my child whilst Im gone for the sudden night shift or oncall
  • when and how I am to carry my other Wifely and Motherly errands
  • personal study time
  • my own sleep time so I could still function as a human being
  • preparing meals (though now is less significant as beloved MIL prepares em all.. he he)
  • what to wear the next day!!

For I totally understand that being a doctor and a mother/wife at the same time is demanding and needs proper time management. As of now, Im hoping that if I become good in one aspect of my life, Id become better in the other. I wish the latter would rest on the responsibilities as a wife/mother.

A weekday call in ED

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“A doctor who cannot take a good history and a patient who cannot give one are in danger of giving and receiving bad treatment”

A weekday call in the Emergency Department (ED) means that Im the sole gatekeeper of the hospital together with my armies of Medical Assistants (MA) and Nurses. So it is very important to have a good team : Team Minci Activated!

Here, my call would start at 4PM. And end the next day at 4PM too.

My colleagues from the morning shift would handover their cases (if any) so I may continue to see to their management and ensure that the patient is either;

  • Admitted to the wards
  • Discharged with another memo to come back to ED for a review of their symptoms or repeat a particular investigation
  • Discharged with a referral to the nearest polyclinic
  • Referred to the tertiary centre (GH Malacca)

Things are usually at a calm and steady pace between this hour and 9pm. To this short moments of sanity, I owe my gratitude to the polyclinic next door for their extended hours service till 9Pm. Its after 9PM when the chaos begins.

Illness and maladies that walk through the door may include;

  • a simple straightforward flu, fever, cough
  • asthmatics requiring nebs
  • change of dressings
  • pain of all sorts : eye, back, stomach, leg and the top most important : CHEST PAIN
  • trauma/assault cases
  • very old people with electrolyte imbalances
  • sick kids
  • malingerers

YUp. Malingerers. The best friend of hypochondriacs. Whose symptoms are exaggerated with an aim for one piece of paper. The medical certificate. Easily identified as they start narrating their tall stories regarding their illness only to refuse any form of blood taking or investigation (as we see fit) and only wanted a days rest for all the perp to go away. Kenjar! gambong!

So things would take on its toll after 9PM and by 12MN, Id be hoping for no more new cases to come in. I would try to clear all cases as early as possible for I not only want to get some rest ( so I could filter what Ive seen and learnt for the day) but so as my Team Minci for the night could get a few winks of sleep too just in case a major trauma walks in.

On a so called good day, my ED (mind you, this is district) would be quiet by 3 AM, frequented mostly by asthmatics in the early hours of the morning. On a bad day, Id still be up till 8AM!!

And last night was a good night. Heh.

World of Thermos

Posted in All in a days work, Everyday Life by

“Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.” – Henry David Thoreau

A colleague of mine will be leaving the grounds of Jasin soon to further her studies for a specialty in Family Medicine. And like any farewell, a gift is a must! I was designated by the group to get her a gift. If it was for me, I am contented with anything cute or a book.  Her close friend started listing the things she might like..

Bodyshop things.. Arianni…

At the same time, I was brainstorming for something more everlasting.

First, I thought of an external hard disc. However, with a budget of less than MYR100.. I doubt could find a hard drive of such value in the current market.

Then, I browsed through the camera shop and my attention got hooked onto one of those digital frames. Hmmm.. Would she like it? How can she use it for further benefit? And of course, price was an issue.

Another phone call came through during the window shopping session from her bestfriend. Again.

Get her a thermos! Those pretty ones like Starbucks! She likes having coffee while seeing her patients..

So a thermos it is. I went to the best place (the only place) I know that has a selection of thermos.. Parkson. And boy it was a lovely an interesting world. They come in so many colours and design. I was even itching to get one. And I of course got to see those Gourmet range which was super awesome and classy.

Thermos: Threadless Tshirt range

I finally settled with a set of thermos flask and food container in green. There was no discount and it cost us about MYR88.80. But it was super cute!!