Most Doctors are Assholes! (posted on Feb 17th, 2009)

I am so ARRRGH! today. Before any of you pelt me with hate mails and superpoke sheep, if you don't feel that you're an asshole, then most likely you're not. I just encountered so many of them today that it just made me want to vent out. I won't talk bad (out loud) about the people I work directly with, coz I'm trying to be as diplomatic as I possibly could here. Anyway... Medical people, Neuromedical to be exact, in all their superiority, wanted us to get some CT scan reported by a radiologist. My boss was at a loss for words; even a lowly MO such as me can read brain CT films without help. We sent a form yesterday, along with the films, but our request was rejected. The Radiology Specialist wanted an MO to come and personally request for the report. Fine. I was alone in ICU today and was ridiculously swamped with additional work which should have been settled last night, but wasn't. Still I took the time to go and request for the report. And the specialist I met, she looked at the scan (which was done at Hospital Serdang), and told me to get it reported by Serdang people. And when I told her we did a repeated scan in HKL too, she insisted that all brain CTs are regularly reported. Bullshit to the max! Then she told me that if I wanted to get it reported, I should submit the original form. She didn't want the form I wrote requesting for a report. She claimed that Radiologists are swamped with reports to do, and they don't have to entertain me. But, being gracious, she gave me a verbal report, slowly, like I'm dimwitted. And the running commentary she gave me was what I'd already surmised from looking at the scans. Nothing new at all. All this crap because I wanted to help out the Neuromedical people. Then I had to address a problematic patient in my ICU. Severe pneumonia (lung infection). The anesthetic MO in-charge for the day kept on increasing the respirator setting without addressing the problem. And the patient was getting worse. Problem with our side: surgeons meet severe medical problems...ask for help! So I called up the Respiratory MO on-call, and she, in her casually superior tone, asked me why surgeons and anesthetists can't even handle pneumonia. I was politely asking for help. Why must people be so smug and superior when others ask for help? At this point, I was already annoyed and tired. I hadn't had lunch (or breakfast) even. Another problem riddled me. I had to arrange for an MRI to be done with ventilator support tomorrow morning. An emergency. The Radiologist I went to request for the slot insisted for it to be done at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Fine. When I called the on-call anesthetic MO to handle the case tomorrow, she told me to call her specialist. She didn't want to do it. The specialist told me to call her other MO. That other MO argued with me about the ridiculous timing. He had a point. Thing is, if we send the patient at a proper time of 8:00, the Radiology people would scream at us for being late. If we send the patient at 7:30, on time, the Radiology people would only start at 8:00. And between 7:30 and 8:00 is the transition period for on-call people with the next ones. Even I would be annoyed. So he patched me with another specialist, who honestly told me that if I hadn't been patched to so many people, she wouldn't be so nice to me, and would make me go through what I had just done. But, there was a catch. I had to supply them with a printed and formal list for the MRI. Which I did, and since it was nearing 5:00 pm, support staff wouldn't be helpful. So, hungry and tired, I ran to the office to get the list printed, verified by my specialist, then ran to the main block to various offices to send copies. Lucky I made the delivery in time. I have a bad feeling there's gonna be a problem with the MRI tomorrow. So, ponder this. I doubt, even at the highest level, most Radiologists would remember how to intubate a patient if they suddenly collapse in front of them. Medical people would be stumped facing, say, a large bleeding stroke that they can't treat with drugs only. Surgical people would not necessarily be able to treat patients with severely uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes, or even pneumonia. And ponder this. If a car breaks down in the middle of the road, how many doctors do you think would know what's wrong with their car? So why must doctors be assholes and act, in their own little world, so freakin' superior? People come to you for help. It's within your expert knowledge. You get paid for doing the job, just like everyone else. Why must you be so smug and superior, like your knowledge is special, like you're just one step below God (some even think they're on par)? Trivia: If most doctors are assholes, and Fadz is like most doctors, Fadz is an asshole. True or False? Answer: Please, please let my writing dream take flight so I can quit being an asshole.