who knows it's a blessing in disguise...

Yesterday, my elderly neighbour asked me to teach him how to use a sphygmomanometer. He has a digital one. He survived 2 stroke attack. The first was an ischaemic stroke, the second was haemorrhagic. And he had some episodes of TIA too. What a good case for a write-up.

Doctor or not, I like listening to histories. These people need somebody to talk to. I am a chatterbox, but a chatterbox who listens and remember stories.

Here's a summary of his history and my conclusion . He had a tooth extraction by an unqualified tooth extractor. Not a dentist, just somebody who extract tooth. A few weeks after that, he helped a man push a car. Then he had stroke. I told him my conclusion which is, the tooth extraction caused vegetative growth on his heart valves, which causes thrombus and the thrombus dislodged after an exertion (pushing the car)

He told me nobody explained to him before.

Nobody explain what drug is administered to him. And why. For instance, he recalled an incident where the dentist gave him antibiotic before tooth extraction. No explanation given.

Nobody explain the side effects of statins. He had rashes and pruritus. Nobody explained the diet for warfarin regiment.

No one.

This morning, I bumped into a nurse friend of mine. She asked me where am I posted now. I told her that I quit medicine. Not a surprise for her. She knew me well.
"At least, you won't be a trouble to us nurse" she said jokingly.
She told me a junior doctor in her ward made a complaint, that she bullied her. All she did was, reminding the junior doctor to reduce unnecessary wastage. I would assume it's the disposable gloves or surgical kit. Those are the commonly 'abused' things. Gloves are sometimes used as tourniquet. The surgical kits are sometimes disposed just because 1 wrong step, usually crossing dirty tools over sterile area. An honest mistake commonly done by medical students and junior doctors.

All my nurse friend did is to avoid wastage. And this 'princess' think she is a bully.

That's just one junior doctor/princess. There are other arrogant junior doctors too. Doctors who think that they are better than nurses when in reality, only a handful have the skill of a nurse. Finding a doctor who can do venepuncture, without causing much pain is just like finding a needle in a haystack. (why am I using the needle analogy when describing an injection?)

It's a blessing in disguise not to be a doctor. Patients hate them, nurses hate them more. Everybody sees a doctor as a hero, but curse one when they deal with them. Of course not all are 'curse-worthy'. Just forget those hero/doctor. They only exist in TV. In reality, they are just another human being. Some are to used to the doctor/hero thingy that they are too proud to admit that, they make mistakes too.

My answer to my bestie's comment. I could be a good doctor in theory, but probably not a good one in reality. So consider it God's way to deter me from unnecessary curses.

I had too many curses anyway. Care to have some?