oh what a weekend :)

nothing beats just having to lie about and be extremely lazy.
temporary relief of the daily rush and stress and workload... mmmmmmmm

had a great weekend of just hanging out, watching movies, tv series and playing the ps2! :D
i can't remember what it's like to have nothing to worry about and everything to live for. just fluttering about in happiness and joy with no sadness or anger. enchanted mmmm.

sometimes, i think we get so caught up with ourselves we tend to forget and cherish what we have.
see.
as a medical student, what better place to get placed for clinicals than in a government hospital? you see all sorts of people, from many different steps of the socioeconomic status. richpoormoderateolduglyyoungstraightgayslesbiansbinicehorriblerudeimpatientrespectable..
you get the drift.

i always thought that it was common knowledge that as a government hospital that serves practically everyone, any random person on the street would understand this and recognize that they are extremely busy. that a long line will definitely be greeting you at every consultation, be it the first or last.

what i don't get, is how some people tend to forget that and do nothing more than demand and make a fuss with random accusations?

see, as medical students are dressed up in lab coats and are sometimes mistaken for doctors, we bear (or rather I bore) the brunt of their impatience.

currently being posted in the psychiatric clinic where the line is very very very long, (yes, mental illness is quite huge here) i have already faced two situations having been put on the spot and questioned and complained to about the queue. -_-

first experience was with a man who came up to me, having seen us medical students go into the consultant's room for case presentation, he had told us to NOT go into the consultant's room as we are all just chit-chatting inside and making the patients outside wait longer. he also added that we "doctors" can wait as we are free but they should not be made to wait because they can't. -_- w t * no reason was given to explain why they can't. but nvm.

points to note:
1) we are actually speeding things up
- we clerk new cases and record them in the notes, which would mean helping the doctors save loads of time digging up history from long ago and having to pen them down
- we don't chit chat. we present the case, and we call em' patients in for consultation

2) sorry to say, but we are PAYING A HUGE AMOUNT to LEARN and "CHIT-CHAT" with the doctors whilst you are paying.. less than RM 10 for a follow-up. and it's not like we're taking a HUGE toll of you. we're HELPING. *refer to 1*

3) it's a government hospital.
- plenty of patients. 'nuff said
- if you have to wait even in the PRIVATE hospitals where you pay more than 10 times the amount (medication included), whatmore a PUBLIC hospital

second experience was when i came out of the consultant's room and was ready to head back, an old lady came up to me and demanded to know what number was in turn at that point. right. so there is no actual system where the numbers are displayed in the psych clinic. how it works is that files are allocated and randomly distributed into the doctor's rooms and they would call out names over the PA system. so maybe it's not that fair, but if that's the way it works, then WHAT AM I TO DO DAMMIT! i'm jsut a medical student!
so because this lady happens to have a LOUD VOICE and a very ACCUSATIVE tone, she demanded to know the numbers, to which i politely explained that ok. it depends on the doctors. some arrange it according to importance and others call randomly. and ADDITIONALLY, there happened to only be TWO doctors that were on duty that day. TWO, as in dua as in less than 3 as in the PEACE sign. and maybe...50-100 patients? so of COURSE YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT.
then she goes on and on, and because OTHER equally unappreciative ppl HEARD her talking LOUDLY, they all then proceed to "gang up" on me. w t *.
you want to know what they said?

one claims that the doctors are being racist. the malays apparently get to go first. then he gestures to the sitting area, exclaiming that only the chinese and indians are waiting. as he said that, a chinese patient came out of the consultation room. -_- and just by a glance, i noticed a number of patients in baju kurungs and tudungs. -_--_-" this i had no reply to, again, other than to state that i am MERELY A medical student and i had come for attachment. can they understand that i don't run the hospital's system i don't manage it. complaining and shouting at me won't make things any better. in fact, i can make things worse for them if i want to, but i'm not MEAN like them! HMPH!

another claims that she just wants to collect medication for her mother-in-law and that she does not need/want a consultation. just write a prescription and get lost. -_- i responded by saying the doctor would obviously want to check up on her and see if she's alright and responding well to the medication. he can't just give her medicine without looking at her?!?!?! she replies with a "but she's been on the medication for so long!!!" i said it doesn't matter. the doctor would like to know anyway. and i am ONLY A MEDICAL STUDENT there. -__- i can't help you even if i wanted to..

ok babi sial.

i was surrounded by about 4-5 ppl.

you may think, hey. it's a psych clinic, patients there are always on the edge.
surprisingly, it's not the patients hanging off the roof.
IT'S THEIR GAWDAMN COMPANY OR GUARDIANS OR DEMONS that brought them to the clnic in the first place %^&%*(^&%^$ you know...the ones who are healthy?????

LOL
even my own patient, the one that i had clerked and taken a long history from, who came in for ANXIETY and IRRITABILITY had defended me amidst their complaints. and SHE HAD BEEN WAITING TOO! -_- don't you see what i mean???


and which part of I'M A MEDICAL STUDENT don't they get?
i don't freaking run the place.
hell, even I have to wait sometimes to see the doctor rite and i don't even need a damn consultation bahhhh

so see?
why aren't ppl appreciative that they are getting free medication and cheap consultations? why can they not undersatnd that they would DEFINITELY have to wait as it IS a public hospital and the staff are trying hard to accomodate? why do they complain when they can see PERFECTLY that there ARE just TOO many patients?

it's not some dainty little restaurant where you can make a big fuss about because your order isn't coming quick enough and u're starving your stomach to it's end. you pay 5% gov tax and10% service tax dammit ON TOP of paying for you meal.

in the hospital, you pay RM5 CONSULTATION FEE with FREE medication! sometimes you pay more, depending on the situation but it is RARELY RARELY RARELY more than RM50.
it's general perception that the consultants or doctors in the government hospitals are crap, but i disagree. some of them are the best at their field. and i can tell you that not all private doctors are great. some of them aren't even 50% as competent as the doctors that i know in the public hospitals.

but public hospitals definitely lose out in terms of facilities and infrastructure. it's really really run down and there is just never enough for the patients.

but i digress.
be appreciative!! know where you are and what you receive before you comment and point fingers
tsk

so you can understnad why i love the weekends :)