Author's note: Remember the previous rant post I did? Well, looks like there's another story (or two) to share, so read on if you are interested to find out:
scammer [ˈskamə] : A person who commits fraud or participates in a dishonest scheme.
scam (skăm) : A fraudulent business scheme; a swindle.
Source: The Free Dictionary https://www.thefreedictionary.com/scammer
Another week, another brand new day. As I always mentioned, working in a healthcare line is no picnic. The bad tends to outweighs the good a lot. and on this particular day, my good mood was spoiled by petty reasons, but you know, at the end of the day it doesn't matter. Looking back at it now, I think it's ridiculous.
Scam calls are a common thing going on in the world. This is why I refused to participate in social media, except to keep up with up-to-date news, keep in touch with close friends and put out a post regarding a new book I was working working on. I had a call earlier in the year regarding that I have a parcel located in Indiana, and that I needed to verify my details. I immediately killed the call. I have never in my life ordered something from the States, so it is ridiculous that this person is calling me telling me that I have a package which I (allegedly) ordered. Some people were quite cute, telling me, "How sure are you it isn't a publisher?" I'm not sure how well you know about the publishing industry, but for us folks based in overseas, the publishers contact us through emails, furthermore, I have not sent out a query letter for a long, long time, and I have never sent my book(s) to Indiana, so the point is moot.
There was an incident last year that scared me to death. Looking back at it now, it is a little funny. I was handling a clinic and there was a call. Naturally, every call means a potential new customer, so I answered. I got a nasty shock on that day:
This is the court calling. If you do not turn up to the court house the following week, you will be arrested -
I immediately killed the call after that, thank God I did not say anything. At that time, my heart was thudding hard. I have never gotten into trouble with the law before, but even so... At that time my mind was in panic mode. The doctor who I was taking of that day asked me why my face was so pale and I told him about the call. He chuckled lightly and said, "You are lucky you didn't say anything, because it sounded like a scam call." Once we are free, I messaged my friend who happens to be a lawyer, and she confirmed my doctor's statement. Courthouses do not have time to contact you through your office numbers, if you were being summoned, it is always through official letters (Surat rasmi). If you think about it now, I didn't know why I was so afraid then because I have never done anything that is deemed illegal, so why would I summoned to the courthouse? It just shows even your own workplace phone isn't safe from scam calls like these, or even worse, trolls.
This happened today and it really ticks me off. I was taking care of a clinic and a patient did not turn up. As per doctor's advice, I called up the man and I spoke in English, starting off with, "Good morning, I'm calling from <insert hospital name here>. I'm looking for So-and-So." The person on the other line refused to answer me, mumbling on how I gotten the wrong number. What??? I don't understand. This is the number given in the system and file. I checked the phone and I dialed the right number, then this lady came up and kept telling me in English, "No, you got the wrong number." and killed the call. The doctor in the adjoining room was telling me, "Speak Mandarin. He will only reply you in Mandarin." What the -- So I dialed a second time. The moment the patient picked up the call, I quickly spoke in Mandarin the same thing I have mentioned earlier. This time he laughed and answered me. I told him in a polite tone, I was the one who called you earlier regarding your appointment, why did you tell me that I got the wrong number? His answer, "Oh, when you were speaking in English, I thought you were a scammer about to ask me for money, but since you're speaking Mandarin, I think you're legit."
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I'm sorry, I don't usually get ticked off, but this...makes no logic or sense at all. I've been called several names in life, but scammer?! If I'm going to scam someone off their money, it doesn't matter what language I speak, I would just literally talk in Mandarin right off, "I want 10,000 ringgit off you right now." Oh my Lord, is this how society is? I outright started off the conversation twice by saying I am from the hospital, why would I scam you? I can be held to liable action and risk losing my job, for Christ's sake. This really comes off as insulting. Furthermore, the girl who is supposed to be in charge is on leave, and she doesn't speak Mandarin. So how on earth do you communicate with her then? Or are you calling her a scammer as well because she doesn't speak Mandarin? The human mind is a very strange thing (mine included)
I was doing a post-op dressing when my colleague told me I have a call. Nobody usually finds me unless it's super urgent, so my first reaction was, "Oh God, what happened now?" The girl on the other line told me my help was needed because there's a patient from China on the other line who can't speak a single word of English. (Stay calm, stay calm...) After I'm done with my dressing, I made the call. This is how the conversation went (all in Mandarin, which I try to translate the best I could, or as close as I could get):
Me : Hello, <insert salutations here>. I heard from my colleague that you are looking for something. How may I help?
Patient : Oh, good, finally, someone who speaks Mandarin. I wish to do a blood test.
Me: Okay, may I ask why?
Patient : Oh, I just don't feel so good. I just wanted to do a normal checkup.
Me : Um, can I get further clarification here... Are you having migraines, nerve problems, strokes, any neurological problems at all?
Patient : No, I do not have any of the problems that you mentioned. I just want to do a blood checkup and I see your doctor is Chinese.
Me : I'm sorry, miss. My doctor is a neurologist, if you are not having any of the symptoms I have mentioned, then we can't accept your case. If it's just a normal blood checkup, I can refer you to the Wellness Centre for a proper checkup.
Patient : Why can't your doctor see me? Isn't he Chinese?
Me : Miss, he's a neurologist (Here I used the Layman term, which is brain doctor), and he doesn't speak Mandarin (He speaks a little Cantonese, not very good, but he can hold on his own with simple terms). He doesn't do normal physical check up unless it's related to the nerves or brains. I can refer you to the Wellness Centre, where there are physicians there. Once you are done with your blood checkup, if they find any abnormalities at all, they will refer you to the specialist, where you can get a proper diagnosis and treatment.
Patient : Oh, okay, are any of your physicians Chinese, are they able to speak Mandarin?
At that point, I told her to hold the line and got the department. The people on the other end were very sweet about the issue and they took over, after transferring the line over, I never heard from her again. Problem solved I guess.
God, I think I'm the one about to have a migraine. It's not that we turn away patients, but you know, in life, you just need common sense. When your doctor is a neurologist, why would he want to take a normal case of blood checkup? That is down to the physicians, or the Medical Officers. Unless it's related to his specialty, I would be very happy to accept the case. One thing that is usually common with neurosurgeons and spine specialists are back pain. They are similar, but one is more towards the nerves and one is more towards the bone. <--- In this scenario, no one will blame you if you get it wrong, because they are so similar that sometimes it takes the doctors to run several tests to make sure that they are getting the right diagnosis before they refer to the right doctors. This is why there are some doctors who grumbled on how common sense has been thrown into the dustbin. There was a case where the patient made an appointment to see the neurosurgeon, claiming they have migraine. Okay, it's neuro-related. The patient waited for the surgeon for two hours, and when she finally went in, the doctor asked, "Do you have any headache, nerve problems in the last few week?" Her answer: "Oh, I'm not having any head problems, I have knee pain."
Mary, Mother of God.
Knee pain, head pain... Oh God, it makes me wonder do people bother to even read the details? Do you go to the supermarket and just chuck things randomly in the cart without bothering to read the product details? We ended up getting a complaint from the patient who claimed we weren't detailed in our website. Again, moot point.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring, we shall wait and see...
