Now you know why...
Now I understand why doctors are always seen as being grumpy. And I don't deny that I do get very grumpy too, especially when I'm on call. There's only 4 medical doctors covering the entire hospital plus new admissions. How can we ever be free enough to attend to rubbish stuffs?
Clearly, medical attention is needed if the patient complains of sudden chest pain, shortness of breath, etc. But it gets on my nerves whenever I'm bleeped endless for rubbish such as venflons (it's one of those things that is put into the arm for drips), bloods, blood culture etc.
Why does it piss me? Because there are new patients who are ill and needs to be seen quickly, and things like venflons can be done by nurses, but NO! Nurses in the UK do NOT do venflons or take bloods. Apparently, I heard that they have to undergo courses to be qualified to take bloods and do venflons...bloody hell. I didn't go for any course, but just because I'm a doctor, rightfully, it's me who should do it all the time? And it pisses my ass off further whenever they tell me it's URGENT...when I don't even see how urgent it should it. Is the patient having a cardiac arrest? NO! Is the patient in acute cardiac failure that medications should go in immediately? NO!
Then if that's not enough, you get nurses bleeping you to do rubbish reviews...let me give you a few examples...(my thoughts in italics)
Example 1:
Nurse: Doctor, I got a patient here shouting, and lying half naked on the floor, refusing to get up..
Me: Ok. And what's that got to do with me?
Nurse: I don't know what to do. Nobody knows what to do. So bed manager said to bleep u and ask u to review
Me: ?!?!?!!??! (siao ah...what u want me to do if he doesn't want to get up? U want me to bring a cane and tell him to stop being a pain and get his ass off the floor before I wack him like a kid?)
Example 2
Nurse: Doctor, this patient is coughing and bringing up green sputum. Daughter (an anaesthetist) is extremely concerned and said her Dad needs doctor's review URGENTLY.
Me: Why is it urgent? Has he gone blue? How is he currently?
Nurse: Don't know. The patient is fine. Everything is stable.
Me: Ok, so if he's well in himself, then why does it have to be urgent.
Nurse: His daughter insists that it is urgent.
Me: Sorry, but I have other more impt things to do now. That has to wait. It's not urgent. (Siao...very urgent meh? If the daughter cannot wait, ask her to examine and manage the patient herself. If every patient in the hospital is bringing up green sputum and that needs urgent reviewing, then I wont get anywhere the entire day manz..)
Example 3
Nurse: Doctor, I got a patient here who is complaining of sweating last night for abt 10 mins. Needs reviewing.
Me: Huh? That was last night's issue. So why u bleep me for?
Nurse: Because she sweat last night.
Me: Yes, I know. But why r u bleeping me abt her sweating? Is it happening again? Is she feeling unwell? What's her obs chart like?
Nurse: She's fine doctor. No complaints. No sweats today. Everything is stable.
Me: (Piangz...it's just sweating. I'm also sweating now. Shall I ask my seniors to come review me too?)
Example 4
(My senior was bleeped for this..)
Nurse: Doctor, I got a patient who is aggressive. Nobody dares to go near him. He needs reviewing.
Doctor: He needs sedation then.
Nurse: But no one dares to go near him.
Doctor: Then what u want me to do?
Nurse: U can help prescribe something..
Doctor: That's no problem. But even if I prescribe it, how are u going to give it when no nurse is willing to go near him? You mean u want me to go all the way there to help u give him the medicine?
Example 5:
Nurse: Doctor, my patient got a swollen testicle. Needs reviewing.
Me: Is it new?
Nurse: No..it's been there for months..
Me: Then why does it need reviewing since it's been there for such a long time?
Nurse: It's red..
*Me streaming to the ward and looks into the notes*
Me: The testicle has been swollen and red since ages ago. What's new abt it?
Nurse: I think it needs to be seen because it's still red.
Me: (Since u so free to sit in the room and drink ur coffee, why not u review it yourself? I am more than happy to give u this stupid task)
Example 6:
Nurse: Doctor, the MEWS score (it's a score given for a patient's observation chart which includes things like heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, temperature) is 4. Patient needs to be reviewed.
Me: What is it before?
Nurse: It has always been 4 for weeks.
Me: It's nothing new then. Why did you bleep me for?
Nurse: Hospital policy to bleep Doctors when MEWS hit 4.
Me: How's the patient?
Nurse: She's ok. Comfortable.
And if all that hasn't pissed u enough...
Wait till u get called to Emergency department to see a patient who has taken an overdose (not the 1st time) and saying she doesn't want to live. It did get my nerves, because to me, if the patient is keen on dying, why bother to get admitted?!
And then u get patients who is admitted into hospital telling u that she doesn't see a point in seeing a doctor if she is ill because she's already old. The first thought that struck me was... "What the hell u're doing here wasting your and my time? U can go home NOW if u want."
I thought I'm the only mean person thinking that way. I was sharing my frustration over such people to some of my nurses, and telling them that sometimes, I feel guilty of my horrible thought (I can't help it..) and I bet I'll be a very very blunt Consultant if I should ever be one one day. I was surprised when one of the nurses told me that one of the Consultants who used to work in my current hospital is the most blunt doctor ever. She found it hard to close up her jaws when she heard what he said to the patient. Apparently, he was doing his post admission ward round, and was seeing this patient who was admitted with repeated overdose attempts (the hospital staff were so used to seeing this patient...well known..) and was not keen on living. And the Consultant said, "Then why are u in here wasting my time? Why didn't u just finish yourself off at home once and for all? Why even bother to call the ambulance? Since u want so much to die, you can go home now and do it one more time." That patient never returned ever again.
And u get patients who gets themself admitted into hospital because they fell down, got no pain or bruise and feels perfectly well. Stupid isn't it?
If that's not bad enough...we even got patients getting admitted into hospital because "Doctor, my Dad hasn't been well for many years and I am stressed out with having to take care of him. I think he needs help in being looked after." (Ay Auntie..u think the hospital is a place like a childcare centre isit?)
Some patients stay in the hospital for months because the family isn't willing to take the patient home.
And some patients love being in hospital so much because they're lonely at home, so they get themselves admitted for every small damn thing just so that they can stay in and make new friends and get attention from the hospital staff.
Was telling my seniors that these rubbish only happens because healthcare is free here. The people get admitted into hospital for no good reason, and they stay longer than they should for no good reason too. I dare say some of them rather live in the hospital than to go home. I personally think that it's fine if patients are given treatment and investigations for free since the national insurance is so high here (I pay SGD $700+ EVERY MONTH for national insurance when I don't even see the doctor), but I think patients should be charged a fee whenever they want to admit themselves into hospital. I dare guarantee that the admission rate will drop drastically and rubbish admissions will come to an end because patients will think more than twice before they see a doctor.
Clearly, medical attention is needed if the patient complains of sudden chest pain, shortness of breath, etc. But it gets on my nerves whenever I'm bleeped endless for rubbish such as venflons (it's one of those things that is put into the arm for drips), bloods, blood culture etc.
Why does it piss me? Because there are new patients who are ill and needs to be seen quickly, and things like venflons can be done by nurses, but NO! Nurses in the UK do NOT do venflons or take bloods. Apparently, I heard that they have to undergo courses to be qualified to take bloods and do venflons...bloody hell. I didn't go for any course, but just because I'm a doctor, rightfully, it's me who should do it all the time? And it pisses my ass off further whenever they tell me it's URGENT...when I don't even see how urgent it should it. Is the patient having a cardiac arrest? NO! Is the patient in acute cardiac failure that medications should go in immediately? NO!
Then if that's not enough, you get nurses bleeping you to do rubbish reviews...let me give you a few examples...(my thoughts in italics)
Example 1:
Nurse: Doctor, I got a patient here shouting, and lying half naked on the floor, refusing to get up..
Me: Ok. And what's that got to do with me?
Nurse: I don't know what to do. Nobody knows what to do. So bed manager said to bleep u and ask u to review
Me: ?!?!?!!??! (siao ah...what u want me to do if he doesn't want to get up? U want me to bring a cane and tell him to stop being a pain and get his ass off the floor before I wack him like a kid?)
Example 2
Nurse: Doctor, this patient is coughing and bringing up green sputum. Daughter (an anaesthetist) is extremely concerned and said her Dad needs doctor's review URGENTLY.
Me: Why is it urgent? Has he gone blue? How is he currently?
Nurse: Don't know. The patient is fine. Everything is stable.
Me: Ok, so if he's well in himself, then why does it have to be urgent.
Nurse: His daughter insists that it is urgent.
Me: Sorry, but I have other more impt things to do now. That has to wait. It's not urgent. (Siao...very urgent meh? If the daughter cannot wait, ask her to examine and manage the patient herself. If every patient in the hospital is bringing up green sputum and that needs urgent reviewing, then I wont get anywhere the entire day manz..)
Example 3
Nurse: Doctor, I got a patient here who is complaining of sweating last night for abt 10 mins. Needs reviewing.
Me: Huh? That was last night's issue. So why u bleep me for?
Nurse: Because she sweat last night.
Me: Yes, I know. But why r u bleeping me abt her sweating? Is it happening again? Is she feeling unwell? What's her obs chart like?
Nurse: She's fine doctor. No complaints. No sweats today. Everything is stable.
Me: (Piangz...it's just sweating. I'm also sweating now. Shall I ask my seniors to come review me too?)
Example 4
(My senior was bleeped for this..)
Nurse: Doctor, I got a patient who is aggressive. Nobody dares to go near him. He needs reviewing.
Doctor: He needs sedation then.
Nurse: But no one dares to go near him.
Doctor: Then what u want me to do?
Nurse: U can help prescribe something..
Doctor: That's no problem. But even if I prescribe it, how are u going to give it when no nurse is willing to go near him? You mean u want me to go all the way there to help u give him the medicine?
Example 5:
Nurse: Doctor, my patient got a swollen testicle. Needs reviewing.
Me: Is it new?
Nurse: No..it's been there for months..
Me: Then why does it need reviewing since it's been there for such a long time?
Nurse: It's red..
*Me streaming to the ward and looks into the notes*
Me: The testicle has been swollen and red since ages ago. What's new abt it?
Nurse: I think it needs to be seen because it's still red.
Me: (Since u so free to sit in the room and drink ur coffee, why not u review it yourself? I am more than happy to give u this stupid task)
Example 6:
Nurse: Doctor, the MEWS score (it's a score given for a patient's observation chart which includes things like heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, temperature) is 4. Patient needs to be reviewed.
Me: What is it before?
Nurse: It has always been 4 for weeks.
Me: It's nothing new then. Why did you bleep me for?
Nurse: Hospital policy to bleep Doctors when MEWS hit 4.
Me: How's the patient?
Nurse: She's ok. Comfortable.
And if all that hasn't pissed u enough...
Wait till u get called to Emergency department to see a patient who has taken an overdose (not the 1st time) and saying she doesn't want to live. It did get my nerves, because to me, if the patient is keen on dying, why bother to get admitted?!
And then u get patients who is admitted into hospital telling u that she doesn't see a point in seeing a doctor if she is ill because she's already old. The first thought that struck me was... "What the hell u're doing here wasting your and my time? U can go home NOW if u want."
I thought I'm the only mean person thinking that way. I was sharing my frustration over such people to some of my nurses, and telling them that sometimes, I feel guilty of my horrible thought (I can't help it..) and I bet I'll be a very very blunt Consultant if I should ever be one one day. I was surprised when one of the nurses told me that one of the Consultants who used to work in my current hospital is the most blunt doctor ever. She found it hard to close up her jaws when she heard what he said to the patient. Apparently, he was doing his post admission ward round, and was seeing this patient who was admitted with repeated overdose attempts (the hospital staff were so used to seeing this patient...well known..) and was not keen on living. And the Consultant said, "Then why are u in here wasting my time? Why didn't u just finish yourself off at home once and for all? Why even bother to call the ambulance? Since u want so much to die, you can go home now and do it one more time." That patient never returned ever again.
And u get patients who gets themself admitted into hospital because they fell down, got no pain or bruise and feels perfectly well. Stupid isn't it?
If that's not bad enough...we even got patients getting admitted into hospital because "Doctor, my Dad hasn't been well for many years and I am stressed out with having to take care of him. I think he needs help in being looked after." (Ay Auntie..u think the hospital is a place like a childcare centre isit?)
Some patients stay in the hospital for months because the family isn't willing to take the patient home.
And some patients love being in hospital so much because they're lonely at home, so they get themselves admitted for every small damn thing just so that they can stay in and make new friends and get attention from the hospital staff.
Was telling my seniors that these rubbish only happens because healthcare is free here. The people get admitted into hospital for no good reason, and they stay longer than they should for no good reason too. I dare say some of them rather live in the hospital than to go home. I personally think that it's fine if patients are given treatment and investigations for free since the national insurance is so high here (I pay SGD $700+ EVERY MONTH for national insurance when I don't even see the doctor), but I think patients should be charged a fee whenever they want to admit themselves into hospital. I dare guarantee that the admission rate will drop drastically and rubbish admissions will come to an end because patients will think more than twice before they see a doctor.
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