I cant earn a living with kindness

while finding for a permanent job, i looked after Mdm Mok who was suffering from renal failure. Had to undergo dialysis. I received the case from the staff from the ward. From their detailed handover, i prepared myself for a difficult task ahead. They were not easy to handle.

After few weeks of heart to heart talk with Mdm Mok and husband, i was more aware of how they grew to be skeptical of the health professions. Information given were usually inconsistent. Dr’s try to rush through Pt’s so that they can go home on time. The impression given to the public is that health care is unfeeling, with lousy standards.

Having worked from a ward, i am aware of the many times i handled difficult patients and their relatives. We have firstly no time to find out more about patients. And are tied down by our textbooks and fixed mindset over certain conditions. e.g. if a patient does not want to seek treatment, he must be stubborn

I was so angry with the Dr from a certain major hospital. She was trying to push the patient off her responsibility. I was telling her that the dialysis center do not have their own Dr and the Dr’s from hospitals would only come once a mth in a form of voluntarism. She was obviously in a hurry to finish this pt. She brushed off my comments and says that she is very sure the dialysis center has their own Dr.

I refused to let the matter rest till she Gets it. I called the dialysis center and they confirmed that if a patient does not have any Dr in-charge, when something happens, they would have no one to ask when something happens.

I repeated myself to this Dr and she asked the nurse to change the follow up to 2 mths instead of 6 mths. Later i found out that she forgot to ink up 3 medication for the pt. With my expertise, i managed to get the medicine without going back to that hospital. Imagine what would happen when this pt don’t have a nurse helping them? they would just go home not knowing somethings missing.

Is this the health care that our country is giving to our own people? Is lousy health care for the poor or when you are poor, you get lousy health care?

I begin to look in the eyes of the consumer. There are many health care workers that go about the motions without looking up. Pts think that Dr’s are gods that cannot be defied. Pts go dunno their rights just tolerate with lousy Drs and nurses, because they think they have no other choice.

But however empathizing i am for them, my fees were too costly for them. My working hours were cut short to less than a mth’s salary. Do i stay on because i care for them or do i let them go? I care for them but i cant earn myself a living by earning half a mth’s salary when working for them.

I work my best when its my job. I will go the extra mile. I will open my ears wide to hear them share their stories like its was the first time. I will not brush them off when they ventilate. But my kindness is limited by boundaries. A health care-patient relationship usually don’t continue out of work.

If only i can get a salary out of being kind. But i cant earn a living with kindness.