one of the stranger/odder experiences every medical student or doctor will go thru at some point in their life is when they become the patient… that is when you seem to have both feet in both ’shoes’. feels like an out-of-body experience.

***

me: knock knock, and enters morning prof!
prof: squints at the computer, vaguely smiles
me: takes a seat at the patient’s seat (the view from my seat is weird. feels upside-down, and i unconsciously crane my neck to see my own file)
prof: how are you?
me: ignores her for a moment, waiting for the familiar sound of the patient saying i’m fine, doc, then realise that i am the patient OH, oh me, i’m quite ok, i think. Hmmm… (now i can understand how when patients say they’re fine, they are just answering yr question, this answer doesn’t mean a lot)
prof: have you finally graduated?
me: not yet, haiz. one more year to go. btw today patho results coming out you know…
prof: very gan jiong… it was a tough paper nods sagely
me: ya… patho… very hard…
…. appt as follows, and i try to use exact, medical terms like pruritus, onycholysis and 1% co-trimazole solution to tell her that my onychomycosis is probably gone by now.
best thing was, she hardly looked at my nail….

***

Remember how i said i’d find out fr the nurses if Prof was married and had kids?

later on, a nurse clinician (i think, anyway she muz be some almost-doctor type cuz she sees patients, but does not wear the nurse’s uniform), J, my favourite person there pulls me aside to her room…

J: ok, you’re due for annual review, tell me what you want to test for?
me: oh… er lipid panel, renal panel, ecg, photo… blah blah blah… need to do 24h UTP?
J: okay… no need… that one do once enough already…
me: ok… so i can go liao?
J: wait wait….. you haven’t told me, got boyfriend or not?
me: !?!?!?! no la…. where got…
J: no meh? sure got lah, tell leh tell leh…

at this moment, CL (another nurse clinician) pops in….
CL: ey, you got bf liao huh, your classmate?
me: no la, no boyfriend la… really…
them: disappointed
me: eh, you two got someone to introduce to me issit? :D :D :D
J: i thought you have many guys studying with you?
me: no la, they’re all studying…
J: study till gong liao.
us: sniggers
J: quick go find one, and make sure he’s your area one ok!

***

i hope Prof doesn’t take this line of questioning soon. -_-