Thursday, January 12, 2012

gold

the media reported a gold rush of sorts in johor baru yesterday. with gold price at a high, it's understandable why people would pan for the precious commodity.

as it turned out, it's only granite imbedded with iron sulphide, which glitters under sunlight.

i got a call from a nurse very early this morning about a patient in the ward who was restless from a head injury. i had seen him earlier yesterday & prescribed the appropriate medication. however, the nurse didn't adhere closely to the prescription, which resulted in the patient getting restless, & which got me all riled up.

at 2am.

instinctively, i gave her a mouthful, which could have been worse but for the fact that i'm a natural late-sleeper. i've ranted about incompetent nurses before here, here & here.

but some nurses are really good, although sadly, they are few & far in-between. like male nurse D. he started as a clerk & the hospital sponsored his nursing diploma. after completion, he served his bond faithfully - willing to learn, accepts criticism, is hardworking & has a nice personality. one of my colleagues Dr K took him under his wings & trained him up to be his (Dr K's) assistant in OT. D is good at what he does.

now that his bond is near completion, D has found a better paying job elsewhere. we threw him a farewell lunch today. i told Dr K: you're going to lose your right-hand man soon.

Dr K replied, rather crudely : he's only my left hand little finger.

i thought that was uncalled for. it's so hard to find decent nurses these days & doctors should appreciate when they get good ones. for that matter, hospitals should similarly try to retain their staff, especially so those that bring up their good name.

after all, many things glitter, but only real gold has intrinsic value. all the best to your new job, nurse D!

**image from the star**

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a pity Dr K felt the need to make that comment; maybe 'coz I reckoned he was disappointed and felt that he has been used now that Nurse D was leaving after all the hours of mentoring.

Unfortunately, by making such a comment, Dr K has effectively erase any thoughts that Nurse D might have had on staying back, or returning in the near future.

Am just wondering, is there like a rigid payscale in place whereby Dr K was unable to recommend a pay rise for Nurse D?

doc said...

Cara,

Dr K is insecure, has always been & will always be. nurse D is one of his 3 right-hand men, so really, he has no cause for worry & but i guess he felt slighted that D chose to leave, for another job that pays easily 3X his current salary notwithstanding.

it's the "pull" factor that D decides to leave & no payscale in any local hospital can match D's future salary.

SooY said...

Is D going to Saudi? I have a 27y.o cousin working as a nurse in Riyadh and with her first paycheck, she oredi bought an LV bag :p

doc said...

Soo,

he's going to s'pore. he can buy that LV with his 1st pay as well.

Yvonne Foong said...

This reminds me that St. Vincent Medical Center in L.A. where I received treatments have these Vincentian Spirit Awards for their staffs - nurses, doctors and others. There are nomination forms for us to fill. At the cafeteria, photos of winners are displayed. It's thrilling to see the nurses who took care of me being honored on the wall!

Ah, I miss SVMC. How odd to miss a hospital, eh?

doc said...

Yvonne,

that's one way to appreciate the staff that uphold the good name of the hospital.

not really odd - that's where you found healing.