The situation is getting worse.
During my grandfather's time, MC was only given if the patient was unable to walk, talk or running to the toilet all the time. No one kenged an MC. Everyone went about doing their business if they had a headache. No one coerced the doctor to give an MC.
During my father's time, when a person wanted an MC, he/she still had the decent courtesy of faking a severe illness. He will go to the doctor and say that he has diarrhoea and has been going to the toilet every 30 mins for the past 8 hrs (implies 16 trips to the toilet). At least the doctor had something to write in his medical record even though he knows that if a person had gone to the toilet 16 times and wiped his arse with the poor quality toilet paper, his arse would be bleeding pails of blood.
Now, patients think that MCs are a god given right. They don't even bother to think of a proper excuse. I have had patients who come see me for routine follow-up and after the consultation, they just simply say that they don't feel like going back to work and want an MC. Some even resort to threatening the doctor.
Patient: Hey doc, I don't feel like working today leh. Can give MC or not?
Doc: No lar.... you are so well, why you need an MC?
Patient: Want to give or not? If you don't give, I later go call your wife and tell her that I saw your SLK parked outside Geylang Lor 18 No 69 House arh, the one with the big big red lantern one!
If they do not threaten the doctor, another ploy that they use is making a small injury seem to be life-threatening. I had a case where this lady came and said she cut herself accidentally and wanted an MC
Patient: Doc arh, I accidentally cut myself today leh.
Doc: Where arh?
Patient: On my little toe when I was cutting my toe nails.
Doc (Squinting very hard to see): Err... I cannot see any cuts leh. (Half expecting to see the little toe amputated and hanging on by a thin strip of skin).
At this point, the doc whips out his magnifying glass and looks closer.
Doc: Yes, I see the cut now. Okie, I give you some ointment lar.
Patient: I also want an MC. How can I go out like that with a plaster on my little toe. It would not match my open-toed Farragamohs.
Doc: .......
People nowadays have ran out of ideas to get an MC and will by all means try to get one. The whole irony is that although I have been having a low grade fever for the past 1 week, a sorethroat that made talking painful and a horrible cough that kept waking me up in the middle of the night, I couldn't take an MC.
Alas, the baker cannot get the bread that he has baked.
Crystallime,
ReplyDeleteI totally see your point. However, as a doctor, there are several reasons why we cannot take MC unless we are down and out. Firstly, we can take preventive measures on how to cut down the risk of transmission to our patients. We wear masks and gloves and make sure we cough into a tissue or handkerchief.
Secondly, unlike most other jobs, we cannot cancel the appointments last minute and so our patients have to be seen by another fellow doc. If each doc sees about 60 patients a day, that means my fellow colleague has to see 120 patients. It is impossible. Moreover, our job is unlike admin jobs or others. I often hear friends saying "Die lar, after 2 days MC, my work must be piling up." Our work cannot pile up. They have to be seen and settled on the spot.
Lastly, my patients do not have lowered immunity. If I were working in such a setting, I would sure as hell take the MC.
Much as there are loads tt keng mc. I notice tt there are truckloads tt go to work while very sick - they cough so badly in the mrt trains, you worry tt u get showered by their germ infiltrated sputum! EEEEKS!
ReplyDeleteNow I try to use my supers long hair like some kind of filter, hoping tt it works...
so if anyone in d train thinks they see a long hair ghost (this is d month to see them)...pls refrain from screaming...it's only one poor gal's effort to keep herself infected :P
oops i mean keep herself fr infection ;P
ReplyDeleteYeah it really sucks when you are working with a runny nose, coughing away and you know you can't take MC because it means you will give your fellow doctor colleagues extra work and you don't want that as you would also not want them to take MC and have yourself have extra work.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the hospitals do not staff the departments with enough doctors in mind that some may be on leave or take MC. Even if they did, then the head of department would "utilise" the "extra" man and then it becomes part of the establishment rather than the "extra" emergency man.
It becomes worse when the whole day you're giving MCs to people much less sick than yourself and all the while wishing you could rest at home yourself.
Really cuks
Well, anonymous, your hair can definitely work. Think about it. It is now the seventh month, who would dare to sit near you???
ReplyDeleteI agree with the last section. The baker cannot get his own bread.
ReplyDeleteThat is why I choose a job that allows me to ask for MCs.
hehehehehe
ReplyDeletemmm...good good...so my hair is put to good use...besides being my head of glory kekeke