Wo Bu Guan Attitude

Back when I first entered medicine as a lowly house officer, the first thing we were all taught was to be afraid.

Yes, very afraid.

Of the senior nurses. Dragons we called them. Prim, priggish, no-nonsense matrons in starched-up white frocks with demonic squints that don't miss a single mistake. Painstakingly meticulous these ladies were with their work, their medications and their patients. Even a near imperceptible crease on a freshly made-up bed earned their eternal ire.

But well-respected they were, even by the most senior consultants in the ward. For a newly minted house officer though, it takes a while to gain their respect. Dour as always, these veterans peer down their superior noses on the fresh physician stumbling on his way to near competence.


You know those nurses we used to have? They've all gone away!
Makes me miss these exacting dragons just a little now that they're mostly retired and gone to Dubai - sadly replaced with junior gals who fall far short of the mark. Not all of course since I know a few really great ones. But for some reason, the majority of these youthful nurses have adopted a 'can't be bothered' attitude when it comes to work. Rather than apply some thought, these sadly unseasoned nurses prefer to work like unthinking automatons. Blindly following orders to the letter in a twisted medical version of the game Simon Says.

Paul : I think the last meal isn't quite enough. We have to wait at least a few more hours before proceeding with the operation.
Nurse : Oh really ah?
Paul : Yes, really.
Nurse : But how leh? Patient eat mah eat loh.
Paul : You don't know why the patients are fasted?
Nurse : Not really. I don't really care.
Paul : And you're not in the least bit curious about why? You just follow orders?
Nurse : Well, is there a reason?
Paul : Other than pure sadism on my side?
Nurse : I'm only a nurse. What should I know?

Denigrating nursing - a profession I've always respected - makes me even more frustrated.

Don't they ever take any pride in their work? Why do they serve this particular medication? Why do they hang the broken arm in such a manner? Why do they tilt the head up thirty degrees? Seems like they don't really give a damn. Seriously. It's become such a common litany amongst these callow candystripers that I've started labelling them as such.

I don't care. 我不管. Tidak apa.

It could be their theme song. Rather than pride themselves on perpetuating the noble traditions of Florence Nightingale, these girls would prefer to wallow in mindless mediocrity. Outsourcing even the work of handing out medications to the students, they spend the day scribbling notes like insensible clerks.

No doubt if I told them to hang the patient off the side of the bed with church bells and a pinata strapped to his head, they would have done so without question. Oddly enough, not even a shred of curiousity about the work they do. I know blind obeisance is a lovely trait in an employee but a tiny bit of understanding would be nice.