A Doc's Life is a underground Medical Blog about some poor Singapore doctors. They are sibei sian and very buay song. Best practices not observed!
(Warning: Grammar is non existent in this blog. Those obsessively compulsive about good English please go no further and book an appointment to see your psychiatrist in Singapore.)

Monday, October 24, 2005

Heads Still Popping

Those who have been following my blog before Dr Og's demise would have remembered my head popping counter. There were 2 reasons why when I restarted the blog I did not bring the counter back:

1) The head popping situation seemed to be getting better. I suspected mebbe some of my patients read my blog and stopped sticking their heads in.

2) I had technical difficulties setting up a real counter with a button I can press each time I had a head popper. Wah lau, I everytime got to update the counter by going into my template and change manually.

But, I have decided to restart the head popping counter! Why? The heads just don't stop popping! That's why!

To add to my frustration, certain trends seem to be forming in the clinic as well.

An aunty came to see me accompanied by her granddaughter and grandson. At the end of the consultation:

Aunty: "Lokun ar, wah you got a weighing machine. I take my weight can?"
Doc: "Sure, sure go ahead."
Aunty goes to weighing machine and I write my notes.
Aunty: "Lokun come here, come here. Help me see the weight."
Doc goes help aunty read weighing machine while granddaughter and grandson sat there bochap.
Doc: "Ok aunty your weight 50kg."
Aunty: "Ah boy and ah girl come here. Take your weight, loctor help you see your weight."
All this while, busybody heads keep popping in to see why the doctor take so long.

Yes, our state has done well with health promotion and everyone is weight conscious now. But don't bother to go sell weighing machines. No one buy one, all go doctor have the expert read the scales for them.

PS: To be honest, the head counter proved that head popping activities were not that rampant. It actually helped me to feel less frustrated everytime someone pops their heads into the room asking "My turn to see?"
Wait for your number to be called...... please!

25 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:09 AM

    no see the counter leh
    i help u make one easy to update de wan?

    but see how la.. no promise

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous11:20 AM

    ey, dr blog help people take weight ha. now i know, next time must ask for the service too...
    must oblige hor cos patient first mah.

    ReplyDelete
  3. oblige loh, take for pt enuff liao lah, no need whole family come for doctor to take leh. buy weighing machine take yourself at home very difficult meh.

    some pt somemore got the cheek to tell me, "I think your weighing machine buay zun"

    wah lau!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11:38 AM

    dr blog, maybe ham sum mah. people want to have more chance to be with you leh?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous3:38 PM

    dr bl og, is it possible for doctors and patients to become friends. Will it ever happen?

    ReplyDelete
  6. personally i prefer to maintain a professional relationship with patients. occasionally i advise my friends but i will never treat them.

    in the same way, the patiens I treat, i will maintain a professional distance.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous5:18 PM

    hey .. just came in ..How's things?

    Talking abt doc-patient relationship ..

    What if the doc becomes too friendly?

    ReplyDelete
  8. almost never. becoz kennah complain this type of thing sure lose license.

    ReplyDelete
  9. my head pop is up woohoo

    ReplyDelete
  10. hey! your head popper really cute leh!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous6:30 PM

    What if doc is very nice and would go an extra mile for patient and both can click.

    Luckily i am not your patient.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous6:40 PM

    loLx yea i love ur head popper!

    ReplyDelete
  13. just a taste of the nonsense that goes thru my door!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous7:39 PM

    Lokun, what u think of this ha. Dis dr gay or wat? Dis wat happen to my son at his clinic

    Dr: What do you do in school for ECA?
    Son: Oh, tennis.
    Dr: Wah!! you have very strong muscles he. Want to teach me or not and we play together? (some more can touch his hand and thigh!)
    Son:!!!! I only play in school...
    Dr: Call me ok if you are free!
    Son:!!!
    So, how? Dis Dr gay ha?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous8:12 PM

    wow lau, this dr must be gay. complain him lah.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous9:21 PM

    dr blog@11:30am: don't worry i will only ask you to take for me.

    and i sure say your weighing machine zhun one lah.

    hmm, maybe next time dr blog put a coin operated weighing machine inside. then you can point to that coin operated one if aunty bring whole family here lor.

    ReplyDelete
  17. good! then lokun can earn more....

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous11:08 PM

    a, how come you always despise patients?

    I can understand the temptation to pop head. At 'some hospitals', the system can be so erratic that you REALLY REALLY wonder if you are really registered and will ever get your turn. Your appointment is 9am and it is way past 10am, you see disorganised nurses scurrying outside making a mess of the stack of patient files...IT personnels hovering at the registration counters... and head poppers disappearing into clinics in between queue nos....

    And when you finally get your turn (without popping head) some angry person barges in before you could sit down, makes a din and demand the doctor to see her NOW NOW...

    maybe most doctors are too civilised to KNN those nonsense-makers upfront, ends up that nonsense-makers continue to create more nonsense for doctors and other patients.

    I've one suggestion for you, before the head popper can say anything ask him: why you pop head huh?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous11:17 PM

    Unfortunately in this era of service-orientism, doctors have to adhere to public relations / customer service protocol (ie. no matter how rude the patient is, KEEP COOL). Otherwise, when the complaint letter comes flying towards you, you'll be in "trouble". More work for Corp Comms cos they have to draft the "reply letter" and more work for the doctor, cos he/she's got to write an explanation report, even if he/she didn't do anything wrong. Super waste of time.

    I think that if anything's got to change, it's the administration that's got to relook their whole procedure.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous12:02 AM

    yeah man...i just had a patient complain today becos i didn't give mc. he said i provided bad service and he was the customer. tried to correct him by telling hm he was the patient but this customer thing is reallly irritating me. we provide medical service, not customer service! there's a difference!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous12:02 AM

    yeah man...i just had a patient complain today becos i didn't give mc. he said i provided bad service and he was the customer. tried to correct him by telling hm he was the patient but this customer thing is reallly irritating me. we provide medical service, not customer service! there's a difference!

    ReplyDelete
  22. dear :)), i don't despise patient. its all just fictional, state general, monkey republic don't really exist.

    ReplyDelete
  23. dr, just curious about your opinion. What's your take on the situation below:

    Patient go see doctor for pain in lower back, spreading down to thighs.

    Patient: Hi, I can't flex my foot. If I do that, the pain shoots thru my lower back. Erm, is it a slipped disc or something?

    Doctor: Maybe. Why don't you tell me? (Tests patient with bochup, chau bin look; din make eye contact with patient)

    Patient: (Stunned by doctor's response) Erm, so what should I do?

    Doctor: I'll give you some pain killers and ointment. Should be ok after a while. No big deal. (Shrugs shoulders. Still no eye contact, still with chau bin look).

    Patient: So I guess I can't jog or even brisk walk at all?

    Doctor: Yah. (No eye contact, still chau bin, looking at his computer screen)

    Patient: Ok, thanks. Bye. (Doctor din bother to reply, still staring at computer. Still chau bin)

    Patient felt like teeny weeny fly, and like he's added to doctor's misery from having to do duty on sunday afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
  24. a.doc's.wife,

    it's nice to know that you thought of the corp comms people. coz in my safe and sheltered organisation, no one does. :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. dear tpt,

    i wonder why the patient felt so bad.... "teeny weeny fly".

    the pt seemed to have lots of negative thoughts that coloured the experience and wanted reassurance of sorts rather than treatment from the doctor.

    does she always feel this way?

    ReplyDelete