On-call

Was on-call 'till 9pm last night. It wasn't too bad, 'cause I don't mind being on-call as long as there are cases to see and things to do. Clerked a few patients, presented their cases, chatted with them about random stuff. And I went back to some delicious nasi lemak that was prepared by Yus n Elly. Not to mention the cucumbers that were Ct's contribution!

During on-call, I came across a couple of surgeons who were called 'cause one of the cases was a query apendicitis. Both of them were extremely arrogant and condescending towards the staff at the paeds unit.

Surgeon 1 : Why does this place stink? I hate kids.
Surgeon 2 : The domestic staff probably haven't been doing their job.
Surgeon 1 : Yeah, they're never efficient. Looking at these notes, NOBODY here seems to be efficient.
Surgeone 2: *chuckles*
Surgeon 1 : (talking to paeds SHO) Why isn't there an ESR result for this patient? You DO realise that you have to get one done, don't you?
Paeds SHO : (staring at surgeon) Yeah, we took some earlier. But the results will take awhile, they don't come back immediately, you know?
Surgeon 1 : Ah...just checking. 'Cause people tend to forget if they're not surgeons. *sniggers*
Surgeon 2 : *chuckles*
Surgeon 1 : You... you're a medical student?
Me : Yup.
Surgeon 1 : I've never seen a medical student on-call on a Fri night in paeds before. I've seen some in surgery, but that's 'cause they're very keen on being surgeons.
Me : Well, I guess that just means not everyone thinks surgery is great.
Surgeon 1 : Really now? Too bad.
Surgeon 2 : *chuckles*

Surgeon 1 then proceeds to write some notes on the ward's whiteboard, whilst erasing some of the notes that were written earlier by a paediatrician.

Ward sister : What are you doing? I don't care who you are or what you do in your ward, but you're in my ward and I expect you to show some respect around here. If you want to change anything or do anything, you WILL ask my permission, is that clear?
Surgeon 1 : Of course, of course...

After which the 2 surgeons start muttering next to me. I was only able to decipher a few words such as 'bitch', 'idiots', 'paediactricians know shit' blah blah blah. Needless to say, I wasn't too happy. So happens that Surgeon 2 is a Malaysian, and it also so happens that he was an ex-student of my dad's. And one of the first things he said to me was 'I hate your dad. He's a real wanker.'

Now, I know for a fact that my dad's not exactly the most popular guy in MRSM Muar or MRSM Taiping, and it's a fact I readily acknowledge. And I don't blame the students for not liking him either. I probably wouldn't be too fond of him if I was in their shoes. But to say the things he said to someone he hardly knows, that's just being rude and disrespectful.

I once asked my dad why he was so strict with his students. After all, such a conservative attitude will only serve to anger them and make them hate him. He responded by saying that most of the other admin staff wanted to just please the students, especially the ones with rich parents. His job, he believes, is to ensure that these students go on to become respectful, successful human-beings and if he has to be unpopular in order to achieve it, so be it. It's for their own good. Kinda reminds me of Mr Matias. I guess it's sad that not everyone sees things from their point of view, but then again, I used to be quite resentful of the restrictions that were imposed on me. However, looking back has made me realise that those very restrictions have made me the person I am today, and I'm lucky that I haven't falled on the wayside. Not by too much, that is. Hahaha...

Anyways...I had a visit from an old friend today, someone I hadn't seen in months. As I was vacuuming my carpet, I glanced outside the window and saw Burange walking in the rain, with her fur being blown askew by the 90mph winds that were blowing throughout UK today. In case you're wondering, Burange is a neighbour's cat who happens to come visit every now and again. I've no idea what she's actually called but we've named her Burange, for Bulu Orange (orange fur).




Burange is an absolutely adorable cat with the fluffiest fur you can imagine, and she's remarkably manja as well. I can't help but pity the poor creature as she was being soaked by rain, so I brought her in, gave her some milk and we spent the next hour keeping each other company.



P.S. Will Eisner, one of the pioneers of comicdom, passed away recently. Click here if you're interested in finding out more.