Morning again, brand new day, tons of enquiries and calls. What else is new?
My tummy feel much better now. Just some cramps. No, please don't say it's Rona, I don't want to put everyone around me at risk. I finally got down and overcome a little of my technophobe (I'm genuinely terrible at technology) and figure out the whole Paypal thingamajingy (Thanks doctors and friends who patiently explained to me regarding the process) because I do need to set up one because I have to settle some things in the States. I'm surprised on how Malaysia is not recognized by a lot of countries that I had to go through different channels to get things sorted out.
I'm tired, not due to lack of sleep, but mentally stressed out. For the love of HOLY, please call the clinic to reschedule your appointment, it's not that difficult. Lord Almighty, we spent nearly an hour running back and forth just for one appointment. This is what my co-workers/ friends were trying to tell me: "Sis, you do realize that just for the sake of one person's appointment, you are bending backwards so much for them..." This is one thing I try to point out. Yes, we can help to a certain extent, but please don't keep going back and forth for ONE appointment. It's tiring, and it's silly. Yes, let's say if I want to see Doctor A, I'll just hop onto the Doctor A's clinic extension, or you can send an online appointment query to Doctor A's side. The most offensive ones are the ones who demands things last minute... If you do it during office hours, usually we'll run through hoops and hurdles to try to get things done, but if you do it after office hours...I don't know what to say. You see, most of the time when we try to accommodate the patient's time, either they can't make it, or the doctor's appointments slots are full. This is why if you plan to reschedule or if you know the doctor, please call them directly so that you can go straight to the source to get your appointment directly.
People seemed to put unrealistic expectations on us. Please stop doing that. I can't tell you how many times people chase us just because we don't reply within one minute. Please give us time to get back to you. Sometimes the reason why we can't get back to you soon is because we have so many enquiries, calls and emails coming in. We have to juggle mundane, medical-related, general related, life-threatening enquiries... We try our best to tackle everything as fast and as accurate as we can. If we can't get back to you on time, it's not that we are ignoring you. Sometimes the questions are plain weird that we need time to find out and get back to you.
I bumped into a doctor whom I still kept in touch, they said I looked mentally drained. They're right. I feel like a walking directory, at times I also feel like a doctor, even though I am not one, because people expect me to have all the answers, to diagnose them over the phone (No sane person would ever do that, lest we risk our license)...At the end of the day, I'm human, none of us know everything. As the doctor told me: "If we know everything, we are not human anymore. We're Gods." If we don't get back to you, please be patient.
I don't understand why people keep thinking we're an all-you-can-eat buffet. Inpatient-related / operation-related has nothing to do with us. It's like back in the outpatient again. In outpatient, we handle mainly the beginning, when the patients come to us on the beginning of their journey. Then they go to the ward, where the middle of the story take place. The inpatient part has nothing to do with us, because whatever goes on in the ward stays in the ward, just like whatever happens in the surgery stays with the operating theatre... After the tough mid-journey, they come to us for the end of the journey. My current side is now mainly to coordinate and guide, most of the time I feel a little like Cupid, matchmaking my patients to the appropriate doctors or to the relevant department. That's how we do things, because we want you to get the best care as possible with minimal problems, but at the same times, you need to manage your expectations, meaning do not expect us to get back to you within a minute. Oh, and if you are asking something illegal, I'm sorry, you're going to have to look elsewhere.
Tomorrow is my last morning shift before a day off. I'm not tired due to the long run, I'm tired of people putting unrealistic expectations on us, and please...If you are going to travel, please, I beg you, check your flight policy before getting a ticket. I'm nearly having a nervous breakdown because everytime I have to count the days to make sure that the PCR Tests are valid, and in case there's an interchanging flight, I need to make sure the PCR Tests stay valid throughout the journey. Otherwise, there will be trouble brewing.
Thank God I follow some comedians on social media, because this makes me laugh after an exhausting work day.
Achmed giving advice on fireworks safety? He gives solid advice, but um, Achmed, as much as I like you, you're the last person I would take advice on regarding fireworks safety.
*Today's case: 6,982 (Please get vaccinated)
