I'm not pissed. Of course I'm not.
Given that we're in their shoes, we'd do the same. We won't be picking up the phone alright. Or reply the medical students' text messages for that matter. Or if we're being rude, we'd pick up their calls for once and asked them to fuck off. For the love of God, can't the students leave us alone? Our girl just got back from the urinary tract infection treatment and who knows how the prognosis is like! It's not like she's born healthy, she's a spina bifida kid for God's sake. She doesn't go to school, she's got neurogenic bladder, and God's given she had just recently underwent a kidney removal operation due to neprolithiasis. And now the medical students wanted to bug us again. Don't they have any better things to do? It's not like they're helping, they're just making us as one of their assignments! For our sake, please, please, leave us alone!
That would what our patients feel like for sure. Who wouldn't? As parents, and that their daughter is in the hanging, with the cousins and aunt's lives getting involved like that. Everyone gave in everything just to make sure the poor child lives a happy life before her time comes. But a year waited for another, and now she's only got one kidney left. With one of the kidneys gone, and a stone starting to form in the other, how long do you think she can struggle? The one cousin who gave up her education after SPM to take care of the poor kid since 3 years ago had since this year enrolled in a college. The eldest cousin is getting married. It seemed pretty much that most of the cousins are giving up. They've spent a whole lot in her, the catheters, adult diapers, medications, hospital stays, they can barely afford all those healt-care expenses! Considering the father is not a local, and the uncle had passed away, and that they live with the deceased uncle's family, it's a bit too harsh a life for anyone in that house.
Now, here's the case. From our eyes. The medical students' eyes.
It's our last CFCS (Community Family Case Study) debriefing. Due in another 3 weeks. But with the CNY holidays and all, it's practically just a week plus. We have to get the visit done as soon as possible or we'll get a huge painful ass-spanking butt-fuck with a big fat zero for the 5% that is supposedly very important in determining whether or not we could proceed to our clinical years. 5% it may be, but exams isn't a good guarantee. We need all the little marks to secure a more guarantee: the mid-term, the problem based learning discussions, the statistics programme. And with mine full-of-shits first semester exam didn't really help out that much in the total accumulation, I totally need all the little marks, of course with a whole big swing in the 2nd semester finals in that matter.
I do understand the patient's family would be feeling reluctant and tired already. What's more with the deteriorating condition of the patient herself, and the mother getting sick and the rest of the cousins giving up. (Or at least that's what we're thinking) But we really really just need them to reply our text messages, or pick up our calls, and spend just one hour let us finish our assignment. We may sound cold-blooded or what not, but hey, we're not doctors, we're not God either, it's not in our league to heal the patient. We cannot make her pain go away, and we cannot give any money to the family! Yes, yes, yes! We are not happy they are not returning any of our contacts! For any of that matter, a one hour wouldn't be long! It's not like we're going to make the patient die faster! We don't ask to see the patient as well, if that's what they've been so reluctant about. We just need to ask some questions and get our assignments done! For God's sake, ANSWER OUR CALLS!!!! Godamnit!
I guess I'm going to be Dr. Gregory House....
Or in any chance, I might as very well go into law to do medicinal law and start suing the doctors for malpractice in the future.
By the way, here's the last debriefing we did. I was good. I thought I could still be as good this time.
Oh please my dear patient, I'll pray for you, just give us some time...
2 Jujus:
hmmmm.... i think the family is focusing more on the patient instead of returning your calls to help on your assignments.
If i'm the patient family, and after reading my post, I would have more reasons not to return the calls or sms. It's all about your assignments and getting it passed. What the patients needed is empathy and sympathy. If you really needed to get the time to get the info, maybe should let the family understands it in a more humane way.
I think it's more important to get hold on how to get in touch with patients. When you are a doctor, this skills is definitely needed. And since you are a medical student, definitely needed to brush up this skill before becoming a doctor.
Well.. I'm not sure what went wrong in the beginning till they won't reply ur calls or sms. That's my opinion la based on your blog entry.
Sounded harsh but I'm jz standing in the patients point of view la.
pikey, we do empathize them. we tried our best to help them. we even tried to contact the social workers to get the poor kid a new wheelchair, though our effort was in vain.
we didn't do anything to them. really. we just wanted them to cooperate. that's all. it's not like we're troubling them, we just visit, and tried to understand their situation. but again, there's nothing much we could do. their condition isn't easy. there isn't much we could do, and furthermore, the patient's a peads case, we're communicating with the family even.
we didn't want to make the whole thing so inhumane... we just needed them to reply. we haven't got any single reply from them. we don't even know if she's stable or critical at the moment. it's hard.
it's just frustrating... beh...
but again, sorry for being so inhumane though.
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