A Mask.

This isn't a new revelation, but one that has occurred to me more during my GP placement.

I have come to realize that doctors need to put on a mask most of the time as patients come to doctors for various kinds of problems. No matter how annoyed you are about a patient or how fed up you are with your clinic, you cannot let it show. There are tons of patients out there who visit the GP 2-4x a month and I'm sure as the GP you can get frustrated/annoyed with the patient especially when they are coming in for insignificant things.  It is definitely difficult as patients expect the doctor to be professional and empathetic, but it is extremely difficult to show this when the patient themselves aren't coming in with the right intentions. I have sat in clinics where the patient is very rude and overly demanding. And as a doctor, you can't do anything about their rudeness, other than still treat them respectfully and try your best to listen. Definitely need a high tolerance level when dealing with "troublesome" patients. On the contrary, there are certainly very nice patients (usually tend to be the elderly). They are usually very respectful and always apologizing about wasting your time. These are the patients who are worth treating and you can't help but be a bit more empathetic, despite knowing that you're supposed to treat all patients with empathy and care.

However, masks are not just for GPs. As I have mentioned earlier, I have encountered it in my other placements. You would think surgeons wouldn't need to put on a mask as often, as they have a bit less patient contact. Unfortunately, surgeons have just as much face time with patients; however, the reasons of putting on a mask may be different. After a surgery and you have to break some bad news/complications about the surgery, you have to be able to put on a confident face and an appropriate mask. There isn't as much time for you to gather yourself after the operation. GPs or physicians in general would get results/bad news ahead of time so they will be ready and have time to think about how they will break the news. It is definitely a tough job as you don't want to show that much emotion when talking to patients especially after a tough case/surgery.

With clinics, you could enjoy the company of one of the patients and be laughing about something, but you have to be able to quickly return back to neutral before seeing your next patient. It can work the other way around as for one particular case, we were giving our condolences to a patient as her father had just passed away the day before and she was telling us about his death. Definitely an emotional/sad moment where you have to again put on a mask and empathize and comfort the patient. Easily within 2 minutes between patients, you have to regain your composure and be ready for the next patient as he or she can come in with anything. You certainly can't let things affect you and as well for doctors, you have to be good with moving on. You can't dwell on one particular case.

There has been arguments that doctors should not bring their outside emotions to work. Despite having a horrible morning, people argue that you shouldn't bring that grumpiness into the work place. I personally agree with that point as it isn't fair to your patients and your colleagues. I have met a few GPs who said that it is important to bring your emotions to work as you will seem more genuine. I don't mind bringing in a good mood to work, but I certainly wouldn't want to bring in grumpiness to the work place as you can easily affect your patients and colleagues. No one wants to see a grumpy doctor. In my eyes, I think my emotions should not affect my work, so even in that sense, you will have to put on a mask before coming to work especially when you're having a bad day. People argue as a doctor you should be genuine, but for me it is far more advantageous if I put on a mask for work and sort out my issues/problems when I go home/leave work.

What are your thoughts about putting on a mask for work or bringing your emotions to work?

Post your comments below!

Life of an International Student.

Winter holiday is coming to an end and it literally blew by. First came Christmas. Next thing you know it was New Year's eve. Then we welcomed a new year - 2012. I celebrated these festivities with my family and knowing that this is probably the last Christmas/New Year I will spend back at home before I graduate really gave us the urgency to do as much as we could this winter holiday. Ate lots of good food and did quite a bit of shopping. Really tried my best to take in as much of home as much as I could. Also tried my best to spend as much time as I could with my family. I really don't know when is the next time I'm coming back home. It is a really sad thought. School is getting busier and I am getting shorter holidays.

In a blink of an eye I will be heading to the airport to fly back to England. I hate going to the airport and saying "goodbye". Tears my heart every time.  It will never get easy. It is really hard to see your parents sad to see you leave. Sometimes I wonder if going to study thousands of miles away from home a good choice. Unlike local students, I can't just spontaneously decide to go home for the weekend. Home is in a different country thousands of miles away. Thinking about it, international students make huge sacrifices to come to England to study. So food for thought: when parents of international students come to visit, don't tease them.  Sometimes flying back home isn't an option so the next best thing is for parents to come visit. Think about the sacrifices we make for a better education and the opportunity to study things that may not be available in our home countries.

Life of an international student is not easy.

In Memory of...

Sorry everyone, but this is going to be a solemn post so if you're not into reading something depressing please read another post - will be making another post either tonight or later in the week which will be a bit more cheerful.

Anyways...I've been a medical student for almost three years now - been around the hospitals a fair bit. Have seen happy things, have seen sad things. Have seen births, have seen deaths. Can one environment contain any more contrasting emotions? One family is in tears of joy; another family is in tears of sorrow as they have lost someone close. I myself have witnessed these events as a medical student. I smile with those who celebrate/are in joy; and I try to comfort those who are in a tough time. To be fair, deaths in the hospital has yet to make me lose any sleep or never really bothered me as I know everyone on the healthcare team has tried their best to save a person's life or at least have tried to make it as comfortable as possible.

When I first came to university - we were told in our first week that we will experience many personal obstacles. We are at the age where drastic things happen in our lives - some good, some bad. One of these "bad" things is death. Me being the typical fresher who didn't really pay attention in the lecture just brushed it off. Most of us tend to think: "Meh this won't happen to us."

October 24, 2011, I received the news that a friend of mine had passed away. I have never met this friend face to face, but we had shared many life stories and experiences. He was a guy I could talk to and have a nice laugh with, but because he lived in another country - I never had the chance to meet him. In terms of how I met this person? Well 4 years ago I purchased a custom item from him that required a lot of communication as we were in different countries - so I couldn't just walk into his factory and tell him what I want done. Anyways we would have periods where we would talk every single day - like loads, and then go through weeks where we wouldn't talk at all as this man was very busy with his business. Few weeks later - he would contact me again and we would talk about random things/he would check up on the product he made for me and whether I'm still happy with it. When I heard the tragic news - I was shocked. To be honest - I didn't know what to feel. It was mixed. Shocked, sad, empty...essentially confused. It was weird because I never met this man face to face, but yet cared about him. He was a very kind man. I still remember just last year he sent me a surprise Christmas present and I was planning to surprise him this year with a Christmas present. I had not been in contact with him for the whole summer as I did not want to bother him as he said he was very busy. Thinking back, I wish I had checked up on him.

Unfortunately this made me realize that death can occur in anyone's life. Like it or not, it's a fact. You can brush it off as much as you want, but it is something we will all have to face in our life. Take care of your friends, keep in touch with love ones, and if you know you don't talk to a friend that much - make sure you make every sentence count. You don't want to regret not telling someone something as anything can happen in this world. I wish I had told my friend how great of a friend he was to me and how much I enjoy his product. Hopefully he could decipher that from our conversations but I just wish I had told him plain and simple and thank him for his advice and lovely chats. If I could have done anything differently, I wish I had just contacted my friend despite knowing he was busy - just to make sure everything is alright.

But to those who are still reading - seriously, cherish your friends and loved ones. Death is a topic we all want to avoid and never want to think about, but it can happen to anyone. Because once you're in university and especially when we are all travelling away from home/friends, make an effort to keep in touch. Check up on your friends once in awhile. Be there for them. Support them. Don't hide things away and make sure they know you're there for them.

RIP buddy, you know who you are. Thank you for the great memories and the fantastic product. I will miss you.