In conjunction with the World Family Doctors’ Day on 19 May, our colleagues from the SCH Post-Acute and Continuing Care team share a little more with us about their journey in healthcare, and some of their experiences.
In this issue, we hear from Dr Xu Bangyu from Sengkang Community Hospital, who was initially motivated to study medicine after watching his idol, Aaron Kwok act as a doctor in a medical drama.
He later went into family medicine when he learned that he would be able to help patients struggling with complex conditions. Seeing patients recovering and regaining their independence is what keeps him inspired in this line of work, and he thoroughly enjoys the strong camaraderie among the team.
Dr Xu shares with us an unforgettable patient experience:
“It was my first year as a houseman and I noticed a patient under my care who had not been managing his medical condition well after surgery. In order to improve his condition, he needed to have a healthy diet and I was quick to judge and blamed him for not taking his own health seriously, lecturing the patient who simply kept quiet as I talked.
Some time later, I glanced through his social report and was shocked to realise that this patient was actually the sole breadwinner of his family, trying to make ends meet with an odd job, to support his young children and a wife who had become paralysed after an accident. It then dawned upon me that it would be challenging to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle given his circumstances, as he was already doing whatever he can for his family.
It was really wrong of me to have jumped to conclusions back then without understanding the patient better. I always hold this incident close to my heart, to remind myself that it is important for us as family doctors to not just look at the medical condition but the patient as a whole. In doing so we can find out what concerns the patient might have, and prescribe the right type of care and assistance for our patients.”
When asked how the COVID-19 situation has affected his work, Dr Xu shared that his Residents Continuity Clinic (RCC) – where he conducts regular lessons for FM Residents now has to be done via Zoom instead. Furthermore, manpower is stretched with more SKCH wards opened recently to care for COVID-19 patients, and care plans for patients have to be constantly adapted with the changing situation.
Despite these disruptions, Dr Xu wishes to encourage the SCH family to stay resilient and press on, as he strongly believes that once we get through the storm, we will see the rainbow!
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