“Are you a real doctor?”
“Can I get someone...older?”
“Have you done this procedure before?”

As a young dentist, I’m no stranger to these questions. In fact my healthcare colleagues, be it medical doctors/ pharmacists/ nurses, often face patients who refused to talk to them or getting treated by them simply because of how they look. 👩‍⚕️

Is it fair?
No, it isn’t.
Having our competency judged based on our looks is never fair.

But is it the patient’s fault?🤔
No, it isn’t.

Having treated so many patients in our daily life, we as healthcare workers tend to get desensitised over time.

We often forget that this might be the first time the patient is seeking treatment from us.
It might even be their first time stepping into a clinic, which can be a lot of people’s worst nightmare.

•

Most of our patients are unfamiliar about the healthcare system. They might be defensive simply because they are scared. And they might request for someone they are more comfortable with.

Yes, it can be disappointing.
Yes, it is not easy to answer these often rude questions with a smile in order to uphold our professional standards.

But it is our core value to sympathise and communicate.
We are trained to put ourselves in patient’s perspective and understand their problems.💪🏻

You can’t change one’s view overnight. But you can slowly prove your value. Speak with your actions, observe the transformation.✨

On the bright side, it really does make you feel grateful towards the patients who put their faith in you ain’t it?😊

都会佳人 CITTA BELLA Malaysia March 2020 issue

Have you ever been complained about being too blunt and candid in life, and unintentionally hurting people you did not intend to?

I am a forthcoming, direct, and no-nonsense kind of girl.
People will not have to second guess my actual intent when they talk with me. But this also means that people around me may often get offended by the things I say. Gradually I’d stop voicing out my real thoughts especially during interviews and try very hard to be diplomatic.

Well, it's all part of the job.

As I grew up I realised speaking is an art, and there are ways to be straightforward without sounding like a jerk. Reevaluate my thoughts before jumping into a conclusion right away. Respond rather than react to a situation. Sympathise, empathise, and be thoughtful.

I am still a straightforward person. I like being honest.

But a shrewdly honest person.
-
Interviewed by @vie_siong
Styled by @colinsim
Photographed by @ericblink
Makeup by @sharman87

Article link: https://bit.ly/2WJoMcH

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-49505901

英國BBC報導香港對於警察性侵Metoo示威，girls power！

//"I am not ashamed of talking about what happened that night, because I did not make any mistakes. I am not a weakling. I don't need people to sympathise with me."//...
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感遇三 唐詩欣賞- 張九齡 (Tang poetry appreciation) 五言古詩
首詩描寫詩人張九齡歸隱後的心境。前四句寫歸隱自高的意思，後四句寫思君的忠誠。全詩在清淡中滿含拳拳思君之意。

中文原文﹕

幽人歸獨臥，滯慮洗孤清。
持此謝高鳥，因之傳遠情。
日夕懷空意，人誰感至精？
飛沈理自隔，何所慰吾誠？

英文翻譯 / English Translation﹕ by Betty Tseng

As a hermit I recline in isolation,
Cleansing and clearing thoughts as reclusion intends.
With such sincerity I acknowledge the wild birds of passage,
Entrusting them to my sentiments towards the distant send.

Day and night I dream in vain,
Yet is there anyone who can sympathise and comprehend?
In the power and in the wild are worlds apart,
So how will my loyalty and devotion ever be consoled?