Due to the constant rising of Covid cases, I was shifted to another division temporarily to help them set up this brand new service. Telemedicine -- It's pretty much what we do on a daily basis, really. Customers call from outside and will consult us for things like:
- I'm having chest tightness right now. What should I do?
- My parents wish to do a wellness checkup. Do you have any promotional packages to recommend?
- I feel pain between my breasts, but slightly lower. What do you think it is?
- I recently went to the GP, and I found out my lab results is abnormal. What is your advice?
- I have pain in my foot. I went to the GP, did an X-ray, and it shows that there is a fracture. Can you recommend me the best orthopaedist in your hospital?
Just to name a few. If you have noticed, all the questions are basically asking us for advice, suggestions or recommendations. The reason why this is set up is because Miss Rona isn't going to go anywhere anytime soon, so we have to adapt to the new normal. Online business, online shopping... People are now utilizing modern technology to adapt. Confession: I have always been a technophobe. I couldn't for the life of me, figure out html and coding. The only thing I pride myself on is I know basic Microsoft Word usage, and that's because I used it everyday, every hour, for writing and editing. Recently I learnt on how to break sections with page numbering, which is a torture. A guy took roughly fifteen minute to explain it all in a tutorial, but it took me several hours to even get it right. Note to self: Don't torture yourself with separating your scripts into several sections, with parts one, two, three or illustrations. TwT Microsoft PowerPoint, I could work with it because in college, we use it a lot, basic usage, you know. Sorry for the ramble.
I'm not going to lie, moving to a new department is always hard. I'm so used to the bustling crowd in clinic and meeting people that it is a little of a culture shock. The place is isolated, tucked in a little corner, and new offices are always a little bland looking. Don't get me wrong, the head-in-charge had tried their very best but let's just be honest here, office furniture are often nothing to rave about. Since I'm going to be here for a while, I plan to decorate my desk, because I'm not the type who can sit at a bland desk. No, just no. My writing desk is full of stuff, mainly stationary, papers, books, and scented candles gifted by my friend who knows the stress of writing is real. On the first day, I needed to get a proper look at the place first. Once I gotten a look at the place, I went to get a mini cactus pot, my mug, my collection of green tea, and a jar of muruku snack to share with everyone to keep ourselves sane. People at first were horrified at my new place because they thought I was alone. Honestly, I have to work with MOs from the ICU, and that makes me very nervous, because they are MOs aka doctors. I'm not going to lie, I have encountered a fair share of nasty MOs. I even saw in a Facebook post about a MO berating nurses, saying that we were lazy and we are often on Grab Food and Shopee. Heh. I wish I could go on Grab Food and Shopee but I'm not a fan of online shopping, and even if I'm buying from online, I only order from shops that I trust, like my personal friends' shop or a shop that has a good reputation. And I often bring my own home-cooked food because I'm a picky eater. Buying online often makes me panicky because I often worry whether the product will come in alright or not, furthermore, NO WARRANTY. So that's that. I'm not the only one just nervous, the MOs are also nervous, because who isn't on their first day in a new environment. I have seen new doctors feeling so lost like a child that we have to guide them. I have also once saw a new doctor who panicked during a Code Blue, because again, who isn't nervous or panic when there's an emergency? No matter how good your theory is, when it comes to real life practical skills, things are not often in a straight line. Pretty much sums up life in general. Oh, the head often pop in to check on us. Again, not going to lie, bosses checking on you is a scary thing, scrutinizing your every moves. But he's not mean hearted. He observes how we handle our calls, listen to how we talk, and he will give us pointers on where to improve and what mistakes we could learn from to improve on our servicing skills.
We mainly handle calls, as mentioned. You may think it is boring, but the stories that comes in at times could be just plain weird. I felt like a psychologist or something, but then again, as nurses and doctors, we do have to listen a lot, mainly my side because we often stay with the patient throughout their journey. Or as a lecturer of mine once love to say: From the womb to the tomb. It's still too early to tell but there has been quite a few interesting cases, some related to sex and mental health. Maybe once everything settle down I'll probably compile a few short stories to share.
Answering emails were another challenge. At one time, I used to send out query letters to agents and publishers. I have also, quite recently, been writing emails to companies to make queries or to make a formal complaint. Writing emails to reply patients aren't as straight forward as you think. I have received...sorry to say, poorly written emails by so-called customer services that look as though it's being written by a bot, or just written just to appease you. One example I got was this after I made a long complaint about poor service and food control:
Thank you for your email. We will look into it and we will get in touch. (They never did, no phone calls, no reply, nothing. I moved on, but I swore to myself to never go to that place again)
Writing a reply email, as the head puts it, is like an art. No matter how poorly written the emails are, like getting an email that only has the context but no beginning or ending (so that it doesn't make sense), it is our job to try to answer as much as possible so that the person on the other could get a peace of mind. Or at the very least, don't feel so mad with your company that they never want to step foot into the place ever again. I have a few places and peoples which I put on my blacklist, sometimes it wasn't the company's fault but that one particular person. I wouldn't condemn the whole place but if I ever saw that person on duty, I avoid them altogether or come back on another day when that person is not on duty.
I've recently been trying to write reviews on products and books, not oh I love this/ Not getting it but love it/ 5 star reviews, but fair and constructive reviews. Mainly, it improves my writing, and so that the person on the other could get a small boost in their business. I'll never ever bash someone hundred percent unless I really dislike the product, and not everything is hundred percent bad. I have a few authors whom I think are extremely overhyped, that their works make me feel like throwing their books into the bin, but like it or not, they did create page-turners that forces you to read on.
I'm not sure how things are going to go down, but we'll see as things goes down. Maybe I'll compile short stories into one post, or format it... The possibility is endless, but again, since these are all going to be real stories, I'm going to have to spend a lot of time editing it.
As I'm writing this, fireworks are going off outside. Happy Deepavali to my friends who are celebrating out there. Can I please have some spirally muruku? (I'm kidding. I still got a whole jar of it in the office. So sinfully tasty and addictive. Once you start biting, you just can't stop)
