M.C. Seeker

Allow me to share this tiny secret with all of you out there..

We secretly label some of our patients in the outpatient clinic as 'MC Seeker'. A small note will be made on top of the patient's card, as a warning sign to the potential doctors who will be seeing that particular patient in the near future.

I was doing locum in Casualty yesterday and was extremely irritated by a number of 'MC Seeker'. These patients gave all sort of absurd excuses, false symptoms, and stories just to gain the doctor's sympathy or for their personal gain.

Throughout my career, I have come across a variety of MC Seekers. Here are some the common approach the 'MC Seeker' may use:

1. Straight forward:

When a patient enters the examination room and say 'Saya mahu MC'. Hello?? Is that even a symptom? U call that a reason to see a doctor? Please, we doctors come to work for a real purpose, ok?- to figure out and solve a patient's problem. Not just randomly give out MC on patient's request. We do the assessment, and WE will decide whether u are fit to go to work. Get it?

2. Beat around the bush:

This type of patients will give a wide variety of symptoms till we can't even figure out which one is head or tail. Eg: Saya sakit kepala, lepas tu sampai demam, lepas tu kebas, tak boleh jalan, pening kepala, sakit perut, bla bla bla. The doctor will ask further questions to try to reach a diagnosis. The patient will give vague answers. This is when the doctor will realise the real purpose for the patient coming to the clinic. Some doctors will get fooled by these kind of patients and will order a whole battery of investigations to help reach a diagnosis. What a waste of the government's money and resources!

4. The Liar

I don't have to elaborate on this one. People lie all the time to get MC.

5. MC Extender: (Haha, is there such a word??)

These are usually the smarter patients-the ones who are already in the 'professional level' in obtaining MCs. These patients will usually have a real complaint, usually muscle ache or joint pain. He will first see his private practitioner and get an MC easily. The following day, he will go to the government clinic to obtain another MC. The reason for this is because most companies only accept one/two days of MC from a private clinic. If a patient wants extra days of sick leave, a doctor from a government clinic has to issue another MC.

6. Habiskan Annual MC:

This kind of patient will usually have an underlying chronic disorder like gout. He will happily binge on seafood and come to the clinic the next day with joint pain. After prescribing analgesia, the patient will ask for MC. When asked why, he'll say ' Allaaa....MC saya banyak lagi yang tinggal tahun ni yang belum habis pakai. Boleh la kasi satu, doc'? Ishhh...memang geram. U ingat ni macam cuti ke, nak habis2 kan hujung tahun??

7. The Leech:

This group includes close/distant family members of the hospital staff. MC is usually for balik kampung or family emergency. It's very difficult to approach this kind of people, as the staff is usually your friend and you wouldn't want to jeopardize your friendship.

Asking one day of MC is bad enough, but there was one occasion when a relative of my staff asked for 2 days to balik kampung. I just told the fella off. 'Melampau la sampai mintak 2 hari!'

8. The Bully:

This is the most irritating group of patients. They will come with the tiniest problem like simple cough and cold, joint pain of the finger, rash- and yet they still ask for MC- even though they seemed as fit as a horse. And when the doctor refuses to issue the MC, he will threaten/scold/demand/using foul language etc. till you give in. Damn annoying, especially when you have another 50 patients lining up outside the room to see you.

9. The Timeslip Refuser

It's difficult to determine whether this group of patient is lying. A timeslip is issued as the patient seems fit to go to work. However, patient will refuse the timeslip and demand for an MC instead. Reason being:

- 'Company saya tak accept timeslip!'

-' Kalau guna timeslip, tak dapat gaji untuk satu hari!'

-' Sekarang sudah petang la, apa guna bagi timeslip, baik bagi MC saja!'

-' Ofis saya jauh, bile sampai ofis, sudah habis waktu kerja!'

So you see, MC seekers are just down right irritating and can just spoil a doctor's day. So please. Have some respect and do come to the clinic for real reasons. Thank you.