Saturday, November 24, 2012

Mean Doctors

Generally doctors are arrogant, conceited bastards with a stinky shitload of ego.

'Oh no, they couldn't be!' Quite a few patients would make an earnest protest here, especially those who have been on the receiving end of a kind, gentle physician who guided them through their medical trials and tribulations with a sweet, comforting bedside manner.

But like everything else in medicine, nothing is absolute. There's always the unusual oddity somewhere out there that breaks the near hundred percent norm. By and large though, bastards the lot of us. Obviously exhausting their entire supply of the milk of human kindness during their daily rounds with the patients, there is little left to spare to dole out to their equally stressed colleagues.

Far less to trickle down to their unfortunate subordinates. Hence the infamous mistreatment of junior doctors, which ranges from the mild sarcastic put-down to nasty inhumane mental torture not seen since the Russian gulags. Apart from the few who don't make the painful cut, most successfully emerge from the horrific anguish of housemanship with that hard-earned badge of mental strength.

Paul : Made an intern cry?
Friend : Yeah. No suicides yet though.
Paul : We might be doing something wrong.
Friend : Don't worry. Right now, Sue is upstairs torturing the interns.
Paul : Better move my car away from the windows. 


Toughens us. Hardens some unfortunately.

Which always makes me smile when I think of the ill-treatment supposedly received by my friends in other career paths. Engineering especially. Compared to the Turkish treatment replete with whips and chains we're dishing out, it always sounds as if they're only receiving light slaps on the wrists.

Calvin : Work is terrible! I'm being mentally tortured!
Paul : Poor fellow! What's happening over there!
Calvin : My lead engineer...
Paul : Screamed at you in the meeting, tore up your work into little confetti and then asked you to get a new presentation done in a day?
Calvin : No, he just asked me to work faster. 
Paul : And that's mean?
Calvin : Yes.
Paul : Just be thankful I'm not your lead engineer.

Of late, poor Charming Calvin has been getting a whole lotta flack at work from his immediate superior. Turns out his unreasonable boss is cracking the whip just a wee bit hard, I assume.

I swear I'm trying my best to sympathize in his times of trouble - but trouble is I have a niggling feeling I've probably inflicted far worse abuse on my long-suffering interns. Pretty sure he can get lots of tea and sympathy from our friends so I shall offer this instead.


4 comments:

Vincent~ said...

that's the main reason why i wont not want to comeback to malaysia for housemanship(or wadever they call it over there) >_<

savante said...

It's not that bad :) And like I said, it toughens you up, vincent.

P

CY said...

And sometimes they're so burnt out they have little affection left to give their lovers at home. And occasionally there's a touch of condescension because sometimes there's a belief that "doctor knows best". But I still love medics regardless.

savante said...

Sure you're not Calvin, bi-pride? :)