Of old people and venepunctures..
The thing with knowing a little bit more Mandarin (now that I'm in JB), is that you know what patients say about you (especially when it comes to criticism).
Went for blood taking today (coz of the mad dash to fill up the log books for physical exam and procedural skills before end of semester.), and did quite ok lar (for someone whose last venepuncture was 4 months ago), success rate of around 60%, (minus thom I pass to the staff nurse because their veins were hard to find).
There were 2 stations in the procedure room, and patients were lining up beside the tables lar.. 2 funny things happened lar:
1. While pricking the finger of a lady for glucometer testing, she jumped up of the chair. That was how sensitive she was to pain.
2. Second lady whom I pricked for glucometer asked me why am I shivering when I held her hand.
Then there was this Chinese lady who brought her mother for blood-taking. As me and a few of my group mates were practising, the lady (cradling a child), was standing at the door, complaining / nagging "Ni kan, chuen pu shi shue de leh.. chuen pu san ge shi shue de leh.." (ie Aiyoh, you see.. all 3 of them are students leh, students learning how to do stuff).. She repeated that same phrase at least 5-6 times that even while taking blood from other patients, that I felt annoyed having to listen to such distractions (we know who we are, so shut up and let us do our work lar). Then her mum's turn came and she sat beside me lar. Her mum asked me, "You doctor ar?" The staff nurse clarified to her that I'm a medical student doing my practical in blood taking. Her 1st reaction was to jump out of her seat and say, "Har??? Pelajar saya tak mau, saya mau missy cucuk" (Huh, I don't want students to poke me? I want the nurse to do it!). The nurse persuaded her that if she doesn't let us learn, how are we going to become competent doctors in the future.
I mean, fine lar.. if she doesn't want me to do, I can proceed with other patients, it is her right to refuse. What did she end up doing instead? On the spot, she went on ranting and grumbling in Mandarin on 101 reasons why she doesn't want students to do procedures on her (eg students don't know how to do procedures lar, painful lar etc etc). Even when I was changing into a new pair of gloves since there was blood on the old one (but I wasn't in a hurry to do so) she remarked that I don't know how to put on a glove properly - in plain sight of everybody lining up. *sweat*
And you have patients who tell you bluntly in the face, "Sorry ya, I want the nurse to take my blood, I don't want to become your guinea pig today."
Anyway, on a lighter note, bumped into a fellow church member from family group, who was visiting her father in Ward D for cancer and TB I think. Found it amusing for her young son to call me 'kor kor'.. (eh, at least he doesn't call me 'Uncle')
Today at the clinic, we saw a female Indian hypertensive patient. She had her whole uterus and ovaries removed, and apparently was rather depressed lar coz her husband divorced her after she could no longer fulfil his sex drive. Found out that she was a towkay (boss), maybe doing business. I was walking back and almost reaching home when she pulled over and offered me a ride, in her Mercedes E320! (quite some time already lar the model, but still..!! I kindly turned it down lar though, since I'm arriving at the front gate of my apartment already :p lolz).
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