It's almost a year since I last blogged, this place is probably forgotten by most people, but I guess I just have to blog about what happened an hour ago because it really, really changed my views about the so called wholistic profession, at least what i used to think it is. so this is what happened.
As unfortunate as i can be, the callus/corn on the sole of my feet turned out to be a huge wart, basically a viral infection by Human Papillomavirus. I only realised how serious it was until i cut off most of the dead skin covering the wart and the exposed pea-sized wart was freaking painful. So I limped my way to the nearest clinic under my flat, together with my mum. The nurse told us that the clinic usually opens from 7pm-9 30pm (how slack can you get) but because the DOCTOR was 2 hours late (WOW), they had to push back the closing time.
After a short 15min wait, it was my turn. I entered the room and greeted doc T* with a"hi doctor" and she replied, in the most sarcastic tone ever, " hi me? " and stared at me. I was totally shocked and confused, but i thought maybe she was just trying to be funny(but failed TOTALLY), so i just sat down. Usually docs will ask you about your condition in a concerned manner during consultation, real or fake, at least they SOUND concerned, but our dear Doc T* just snapped at me, "so, what?" O.o Nevermind, so i told her about my callus plus dead skin cutting story blah blah blah and without even looking at me in the eyes she asked some question, cutting me a few times, sounded as if she was interrogating a criminal, sarcastically criticizing me for cutting my dead skin with a cuticle remover. She used the word fierce, and her exact phrase was ' wah you so fierce ah, use knife (when i told her it was a cuticle remover) to cut the skin, fierce, very fierce...' She then told us that it was rather serious and might need surgical removal, which can be extremely painful. My worried-sick mum asked her how did the wart come about and her fantastic A* answer was:
Ya! I also want to know. -blank face-
THANKS, that was reeeeally helpful. So when the patient ask you something you are unsure of, you answer with such a simplistic and comprehensive 'explanation'.
My mum and I were both unhappy about the Doctor's bad attitude, but the breaking point was when she pressed on my totally exposed wound and caused me to tear in pain (okay i kinda cried cos it was SUPER DUPER PAINFUL), she looked more pissed and irritated than anyone and snapped at me to stop crying. My mum finally burst out in rage and confronted her, smth about how could she be so impatient and rude to a patient blah blah, the Doctor just brushed my mum off and asked the nurse to handle me. After that she refused to talk to my mum and ignored all her questions e.g what to do next, what treatment options are there as such. I was too shocked, scared and disappointed to say anything, so i just kept quiet. In my mind i just kept wondering, what happened to compassion, what happened to patience and care for the patient? When the patient is in pain and the family is in fear, this is how you 'pacify them', asking them to shut up and stop crying; talking to them with the words ' I -don't -give-a -damn-about-you-i-just-want-to-earn-my-bloody money-and-go-enjoy-life' written right across the face? What happened to all the ethics lectures, profession values they taught in medical school?
I know a case like this is definitely not representative of the medical profession at large, i've definitely seen great doctors who really cared for their patients. But it's because of people like DOC T* that medical practitioners are receiving less respect from the general public. Who would want to respect a doctor like this? So before i left the clinic, I asked her a question. Doctor, how's your mood today? She smiled, for the first time in my 20 mins of encounter with her and said ' why? i am in a good mood!" I couldn't hold my anger anymore and told her that i didn't see how good her mood was in the consultation room at all; and as a year 2 medical student, with minimum medical knowledge and experience, I dare say that she did not display full professionalism in that 20 mins of consultation, not at all.
While anyone reading this might think that it's just a pea-sized matter, yes it is, so don't take it to heart, it's just another ranting session by yours truly. :) wish me good luck pple, hope my wart will recover without any surgical intervention ):
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