There’s been a little kerfuffle in the twitter sphere lately and even in our DOBBS forums (https://dobbs.my) about a doctor upset that certain ward rounds in a Northern Malaysian hospital were conducted in Mandarin.
Needless to say, it is not professional to do so, particularly if there are other team members in your rounds (other doctors and nurses) who do not understand the particular language or dialect. It is also quite simply, rude.
Rounds in Malaysian hospitals should be conducted in common languages (English and BM) for all team members sake which is crucial for team work and better patient management. You wouldn’t want any mishaps to happen as a result of miscommunication, right?
Even if you communicate with a patient in dialect or other language because the patient is more conversant in it, it behoves you to translate for the sake of the team otherwise others who may not understand are in the dark. Again, not good for teamwork and team management.
To make it clear, here’s a brilliant cartoon produced by one of our Dobbers (shared with permission):
Having said that, I am dismayed to see how doctors respond to this with equally unprofessional behaviour. I would strongly advise against ranting in the public social media and even using derogatory terms like “mata sepet”.
I would expect doctors to approach and discuss it in a mature and decent manner.
Please remember that the Internet does not forget. Your career may be jeopardised by what you have tweeted in the past.
