Thursday, July 16, 2009 - 3:47 PM
what the hell???
ok I just came back after having a horrible experience.. the worst encounter with a GP in my life.. seriously.. I've heard of bad GPs, bad hospital encounters, etc etc but I've always been rather lucky to never have experienced anything really bad.. I mean long waits and rude receptionists are just little things which may bother you a bit at that point in time.. but after the time spent sitting inside the doctor's room and having been sufficiently given a sense of relief by the doctor that you are going to become better and are not going to die of that stupid runny nose, the long wait and the nasty receptionist are just events that are as memorable as the people sitting in the same MRT cabin as you the morning before.. so yep it's that few minutes spent in the doctor's room that's going to determine how bad a doc-experience you're going to have.. and I had a bad bad bad one today..
was just there to get a flu jab.. simple.. I wasn't even going there with the worry that I'm suffering from some weird disease like chronic appendicitis or worse, H1N1.. in other words, I was perfectly fine and in a wonderful mood too.. (as a side note, the receptionist took my temperature and it was 36.6 degrees.. just to prove I was perfectly well) ok anyway, due to my mum's persistence, I asked for a note or cert or memo of any kind just to say that I have taken a flu jab.. the receptionist told me it was no problem at all so all was well yay.. then it was my turn to enter the doctor's room.. we'll call him Dr Doc.. so right before I entered the room, the receptionist just told Dr Doc that I had requested for that note thing.. then Dr Doc frowned.. and I (on my way to the room door) was met with this look of absolute irritance by Dr Doc.. and I had no idea why.. immediately, I began racking my brains of how I might have been irritating.. "Maybe it's the note thing.." Wondering how difficult is it for Dr Doc to sign on a piece of paper where everything has been written and chopped by his angel receptionists, I thought that maybe I should just explain why I was asking for it.. entered the room, told him I was going to Australia for an extended period of time, and told him my dear mummy told me to get a flu jab and ask for some kind of certification just so that if I'm asked for anything I have black-and-white to produce.. before I've even finished my speech, I got a nice and curt reply, "So?" Let's be honest.. I was stunned.. then I tried to be polite, "So I'm here to get my jab." Plus a courteous smile. =) then you know what? he shook his head at me and rolled his eyes!! asked me," Why do you need the certification???????" yes the tone spellled out the question marks.. I wasn't even angry at that point.. I was just speechless.. like you know jaw-drop speechless.. in a very annoyed tone he said "We only give it for compulsory purposes." So I asked what were such "compulsory purposes"? mind you I was still being polite (the shock was still affecting my anger centre..) so he replied very curtly "Typhoid fever and those stuff la!" ok so he was making me feel like an idiot.. not sure how to respond, I just "Er ok" at him.. then I was getting pissed.. the smile was wiped off my face already..
Me: "Is it very inconvenient? Because I'm just asking for it just in case I need something like that. But if it's very difficult, then-"
Dr Doc: "Aiya there's no point arguing with you la I'll just give it to you if you want it so much ok and solve all the problem, OK?"
wow chill doc! not intending to spend another unnecessary second in that room, I said "Ok." and exited.. just in case you're wondering, he was NOT like super hard pressed for time and rushing to finish seeing all his patients.. in fact, I was the ONLY one there.. ok when I came out there was another patient who had just registered while I was in the room.. but yea that's it.. not that it's difficult to guess the reason for the once always-crowded waiting area to be completely empty now even though it's flu season.. ever since the clinic changed doctors.. my dad told me that this new guy wasn't very good.. and even my younger brother said he somehow was made to feel that this new guy didn't really like doing whatever he was doing.. neighbours have also called him a "wooden log doctor" (direct translation from the chinese nickname that my next door neighbour gave him)
I can't even call this unprofessional.. it was outright rude! even in a childish manner.. even if he weren't a high-and-mighty doctor, just as strangers interacting, nobody talks this way.. there are ways to tell people something is not required, that can bring the point across without having to be rude and arrogant! it was quite upsetting to be talked to like that.. even if it weren't a GP visit.. but no it's NOT a Singapore GP thing.. because the doctor before this new guy came was wonderful.. and like I said this is the first freak GP encounter I've met so let's not generalise..
I think, what our dear Dr Doc needs is probably some FCP sessions and some humbling experiences.. I can invite him to UWA to have some hands-on experience.. maybe attend a few of our FCP lectures and tutorials, come for some GP and hospital visits or patient visits with us.. maybe he'll learn that even as doctors, there's so much yet so little that we are capable of doing.. and that there is so much yet nothing much to be proud of in what we can achieve.. maybe he'll realise there's really nothing so difficult about talking nicely or signing a piece of paper or just wiping that annoyed frown off his face..
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