Most of the stroke patients in the ward for example have minimal medical problems to sort out. Most of their issue is where will they go from the hospital: own home, their childrens' homes, nursing home, hostel...
I can't describe adequately to you how much drama is involved in a patient's placement process. The children are moving away, the daughter is a bit slow in the upstairs department, the wife won't take the husband back, they're getting a divorce, the patient stubbornly wants to go home even though they would most likely fall down on Day 1 at home and break their hip.
Most of the problems on the ward are behavioural ones. Mrs P shouts to everyone, calling them names. Mrs Y goes around talking in people's faces. Miss M complains about everything and everyone. It's pretty amusing to observe (like Mrs Y today told everyone in a loud voice that she has a sore bottom!!!) but not enjoyable to manage. Much mind power is spent to figure out which patient should stay in which room to avoid conflict between them.
Unlike the acute hospital, the patients here talk and talk and talk!! Sometimes even the consultant can't get out of the room. They blabber on, go off tangent, talk about obscure topics. Mr B takes 30 words to say something that can be said in 3 words.
Relatives are another matter. Sometimes they bring so much grief to us. Being rude, obnoxious, controlling, shouting here and there, unwilling to cooperate.
Sometimes we get called in to solve this issues. Because we're the doctor so everyone supposedly listens to us. Like Mr N who needed me to tell him that he does not need to take flu tablets and panadol is enough. Whereas 4 nurses had already told him the same thing yet he kept pressing the call bell demanding to have flu tablets. Again, behavioural issues here. (By the way, every time the patients press the call bell an announcement bell reverberates throughout the whole ward... like the airport announcements... it's annoying!!!)
All this takes its toll on me. I find it very tiresome indeed. I can finish a whole bar of chocolate just to recover from a drama filled day. I just want to treat medical problems. I became a doctor for that reason; not a social worker.
Therefore as the days pass, I am looking more into specialties like radiology, pathology, microbiology, toxicology or even clinical pharmacologist!
2 comments:
wahh seriously?> tapi radiology is kinda interesting jugak heheee
my vote goes to pharmacologist
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