4 consecutive nights, nothing. I'll just share my thoughts anyway. The first two nights was awful. Because even though I was promised that there would be lights and at least a guard to accompany me throughout the night, I got nothing. The department area was in an isolated place, where even I if scream for help, no one would come running, because you couldn't even hear me running. The department is located in a huge hall, tucked in a tiny corner right at the very back. Before the renovation, you could see us 'cause it's an open area. Now, you can't. I had to call the guards a few time because there was literally no lights. I can't tell you how scared I was, my heart was thudding so hard, and every little sound made me turn my head around. I didn't dare to sleep throughout the graveyard shift (The irony) in case something happens and I wouldn't be able to react. So I head over to the Operators' Room and the ICU MO Room to standby, because it is literally scary.
"You're just being paranoid..." "You're being over-imaginative because you're a writer..." No, if my safety is being concerned, it is not paranoia, and it's not being over-imaginative. I even got a joke that says, "You're a horror genre writer, yet you are scared of ghosts?" For God's sake, I'm not scared of ghosts!!! I'm more scared that if I doze off (So far I haven't, thank God for that.) someone would attack me from behind and I wouldn't be able to escape, because I am at the fourth floor, in an isolated area. No one would come to rescue me, and I wouldn't be able to escape cause the place is pitch dark, and because there is only one way in an out. The department is basically a glass cube, when someone bangs on it, it's loud. I guess the only option would be for me to open the window and jump to safety, except it wouldn't work. You are working in a healthcare facility, they lock all their windows to prevent people from jumping. So I can't exactly jump to safety. The doctor made a morbid joke on whether you may die from jumping from the fourth floor. I recalled myself where I asked the same question to my lecturer few years back when we learnt about suicide as part of our class. According to the lecturer who taught me, the answer: "It depends how you fall..." I guess you could, seeing that the surface beneath us is concrete, just a little up is grass. If you land on the grass, you wouldn't get hurt that bad, because it is soft. I remembered a case where someone jumped out of a burning house and landed on their garden. They didn't get broken bones, just a few lacerations from the sharp stones.
"I worked alone in the wards/ ICU/ CCU. Nothing ever happened to me." Let me point out when you are in the areas mentioned, even if you are alone, the place is bright, and because you have two staffs minimum, or an assistant nurse. Don't give me that nonsense that you were alone. Wards are mostly split into two ends, so that even if you are alone, you will at least have another partner at the other end. My side, I have nobody. I was alone in a place where if I step out, it's total darkness. I couldn't see my fingers in front of me. I had to use a torchlight to navigate, which is straight up terrifying. So don't tell me you worked alone in those areas and you feel safe.
"But, you're in a hospital. No one would ever hurt you." I beg your pardon. Due to the pandemic, people are getting desperate. They wouldn't care who you are. If they see that you are an easy target, they will attack you. Everyone are now attacking you because they want to survive. It doesn't matter you're a guy or a girl. Once people set you on their sights, look out. Maybe I should get a katana and put it next to me...? It wouldn't work anyway. Forget it.
I sounded angry from the above mentioned paragraphs. I am, because I am committed to work for you, and I will, but DO NOT EVER PUT MY SAFETY IN JEAPORDY. I do not mind the overtime and such, but if my safety is on the line, that is when I'm going to fight. Do not expect me to sit down and take it quietly. Safety is a basic thing, and it's free. So take it seriously.
(After many complaints and requests, at least on my fourth night it was bright and the guard came to check on me twice in between hours. It's an improvement, but I heard from some of the other staffs that the lights sometimes get turned off. My advice: Call the Control Room (aka Security) and let them know. Please don't put your safety on the line.)
Alright, enough morbid talk. Let's go.
Insurance
I don't know how this came about. This makes my toes curl in anger. Insurance had always been a sensitive topic to me because everyone's insurance is different. Furthermore, we are not allowed to handle insurance. The only one who has access are the staffs in admission and discharge. Callers and patients alike are now treating us like an insurance centre because they said we give advice. Yes we do, health advice. NOT INSURANCE. There was an incident where a man came and made a ruckus because he said we did not inform him about his insurance. I'm going to say this, your insurance is between you and your agent. The policy is also handled by your agent. I only know the general process. For outpatient visits, most insurance policies requires you to go to a GP/ Panel Clinic outside, get a referral letter and then only you are covered by the insurance. Most medical cards are only allowed when you are admitted. Some policy is on a pay-and-claim basis. Some even went as far as to push us to handle their insurance, sorry, we are not trained to handle insurance. Should anything happen to it, we can be held liable.
DNA Testing
This one sounds like we're in a soap opera. I didn't handle this call. My friend did in the morning. A caller called up to request for DNA testing for their children. My friend asked why, and she gotten some...shifty answers. Okay, fine. It's fine. It's a sensitive topic, so okay. My friend prodded the caller to try get some history. This person is calling up on behalf of a friend. Okay, who is the friend? The father of the children. Okay, does the mother requested for it as well? Immediately my friend got the answer from the caller saying that the spouse doesn't know. Oh no...My friend handled it well. She made few phone calls to the appropriate party and yes, we do DNA Testing, but we are going to need consents from both parents. Immediately the caller hung up the phone. Hoo-boy.
Special Orders
I took this one. A caller called up requesting for a vaccine. O...kay. I asked what for, they said it's because of an infectious disease. Who is the one has this? The father. When I tried to query further to get some background, I got an aggressive answer in return. "Why are you talking about my father? I'm talking about me." Alright, alright, alright (Say it in Matthew McConaughey's voice). I shifted topic quickly and because I wasn't sure if we do provide this vaccine or not, I informed the caller that I'll get back to them. I went to the wellness side and asked them do we provide this service. Yes, we do, but because we do not keep this vaccine in stock, we are going to need to caller to come in twice. First for the consultation and payment. Once the payment is confirmed, we're going to need to special order the item from outside. Once it comes in, only then we can special order the vaccine. Once I got my answers, I went back to call the guy. His answer: "Why can't I just buy the vaccine right now and jab it myself?" !!!!!! Do you think it's an insulin? I felt like asking him, but it wouldn't do me any favours. So I just explained to him that because it is a special order item, he can only get it through the hospital and the doctor will help give him the jab. Good grief, if it was that easy, I think most of us would be out a job by now.
Who Do I Go To?
Two calls are related to this, and I took them both. Both of the callers are nearly the same. One has symptoms of nausea, dizziness and neck pain. The other has nausea, dizziness and headache. The difference, the first one was willing to listen to my advice, that they may need to go to the emergency department because I couldn't pinpoint which is the root cause. The second one was unwilling. They refused to go to the emergency department because they said they felt fine, currently. Look, when it comes to symptoms like this and you can't find the main cause, two options: Caller A (aka Case A) did the right thing. They went to the GP and got a proper referral letter to a specialist so that they may avoid the Emergency. Fantastic. Caller B kept asking for a specialist, so I asked which one is worse among the three, they said it is the headache, so I offered the neurologist. They asked if they go to Emergency, will they be able to get the specialist? Yes, you can, ask the MO in charge to page him.
I Want A Chinese-speaking Doctor
This requests comes in a lot. Don't be surprised. Refer back to my old blog post A Rant: Are We Going Backwards? because you know how I feel about this. I'm tired of people asking the same thing over and over again, not to mention some were talking to me just fine in English but still insisted on a Chinese-speaking doctor. I'll let you know right now: I do not care which doctor I see, provided: A) They are experienced B) They are respectful (meaning polite and friendly, not rude) C) We have chemistry. I can recommend you to the best of the best, but at the end of the day, if there is no chemistry, then there is no point.
I Already Have An Insurance With Another Hospital But...
We are getting this quite frequently now. First and foremost, do you ever consider all of your options before thinking: I want to travel to Singapore but now I changed my mind and want to see a doctor here? I know that people often think that our local healthcare is not great. Just stop right there, because it's the same old song and dance everytime. People never appreciate their local healthcare until they go out and realized how they miss things back home.
24-Hour Service -
I feel like when you have things that are 24 hour service, people tends to misuse things. It's how human nature works. I had a call on someone who is really testing the waters. They called at 5.30pm, after clinics are all closed. When they asked me what time do we open, I answered them honestly: 24 hours. That's when they went, "Oh, this means I can call you at midnight and you'll answer the phone?" I didn't want to be rude, but I had to put my foot down. I told the caller, in a way, yes, you can call us at midnight. But if you're going to call us at midnight regarding an appointment, don't you think it's super weird? Furthermore, the reason why we had night shifts is to attend to emergency calls. Please do not misuse the service just for something mundane, or as I call it, peanuts.
Fake Names and Numbers
I never understood this. The amount of people that called up and refuse to give their names and identity, even going as far as to give us wrong numbers and emails. Like why? What do you hope to gain? We are bound by our professional ethic code, and without your proper details, we are unable to key in your record into our system. Furthermore, what would happen if something will happen to you? Who do we contact? What do we do?
Sorry if it sounds ranty but I'm mentally drained, not to mention busy working on a project. If you don't see me posting a lot, you know why...
*Today's case: 2,018 TTwTT
