What do you look for in a doctor?

When browsing through the internet, profiles of certain medical specialists / medical clinics will pop up randomly. In Singapore, medical doctors are forbidden from touting their skills /medical services on-line. But, there is no rules against advertising your clinics / services provided on-line. It is indeed a very fine line to tread.

On-line advertisement - be it medical or not - always looks good on the screen. Whether it translates to a positive and reassuring medical experience is another thing.

What does a patient look for in a doctor? What is a good doctor in the eye of patient? 

- compassionate doctor full of empathy

- skillful doctor, but yet able to convey medical facts in laymen terms, without any conflicts of interest

- paternalistic doctor... no questions asked, just follow the advice

- giving you various choices, but non-committal in nature.... let you decide!

- a doctor who orders a lot of test (leave no stone unturned, 'just in case') versus one that only orders the test only when indicated 

It is tough to be a "good" doctor nowadays! Gone were the day when doctors just give you advice, and patients will follow... Nowadays, doctors have to "fight" with the ever powerful and smart Dr Google. 

Well, to be fair, doctors will also search through Dr Google for latest advances in medical field as well.. but with an objective and discernible mind. Non-medical individuals may not be able to decipher the truth from hearsay.

I guess, the list a good doctor can do is to answer all questions/concerns a person has, with regards to his/her medical condition.

Marbles and pebbles, in various shapes / sizes
Just like patients, with different life experiences and beliefs / values

Demolition in progress

 

At a glance, the picture above reminded me of the war-torn buildings in Middle East. Since it was taken in Singapore, this could not possibly be a collateral damage of war.

Indeed, it is demolition in progress @ Dakota. The old buildings which have been vacated for over 1 year are now finally being knocked down one by one.

Demolition in progress

Some thoughts flashed through my mind when I took those photos with my mobile phone. 

Firstly, we are indeed blessed to live in place free from arm conflicts. Many innocents lives, young and old, were lost in the reckless wars that took place in Middle East/Afghanistan/Libya. Those wars often took place in the guise of religion freedom/liberation. But in reality, the driving force is undoubtedly personal greeds for power and money.

Secondly, the saying that "a picture paints a thousand words" may not hold true always. Just seeing part of a picture may give rise to a false interpretation of the reality. We always have to look at the situation in its entirety. With the ever improved photoshop facilities available in our mobile apps, the portraits uploaded to Instagram/Facebook may not have any semblance to the persons in real life.

Greenery

 Pots of greenery in our balcony, courtesy of my wife.

 

Common corridor joining two block towers.

Glitter of Deepavali

Drove pass Little India few weeks ago, and was rather fascinated by the light decors in conjunction with the coming Deepavali celebration. 

Had to make a trip at night to see new patients admitted to Gleneagles Hospital last week. Decided to make a trip to take some photos of the light decors in Little India.

Parked my car at the basement car park of Tekka Market @ "KK Market".  A lot of empty parking lots available (it's already over 10pm).

Got ready my camera, and walked to take some snap shots of the light decors.

And some of the shops still opened for business at night.

Colourful light decors, in striking pink, purple, yellow and orange. Quite eye catching!

The crowd had already dwindled by that time.

But alas, my camera malfunctioned after that ...the camera button stopped working, nothing could be turned on... Sigh! 

 

East and West

East and West are pole apart.

The East prides itself on holistic approach to life. Naturalistic, herbal, "qi" approach to healthy living.

The West astounds its scientific, evidence based approach to tackle the nuisances of life.

East is cold, Zen-like whilst West is hard-core, inflexible. 

The true probably lies somewhere in between. We need the good balance of East/West akin to that of Yin/Yang of Taichi, to achieve optimum healthy/bliss in life. 

Nara's temple

Walkway to "Heaven"

What has History taught me?

Listening to audiobooks focusing on Chinese history recently.

The adage that "history often repeats itself" is unmistakable.

In over 2000 years of ancient Chinese history, dynasty after dynasty emerged, expanded and then collapsed in cycle. Even after the collapse of Imperial Qing Dynasty in 1911, they were never ending in fighting among the various factions among the Nationalistic / Communist factions. Eventually, the communist party took control of the country from 1945 till now.

Without fail, the ultimate reason for the downfall of every dynasty was the disconnect between those in power and the general public. Corruptions in the higher up, coupled with extreme poverty among the lay people, inevitably led to disenchantment of the public. This eventual boiled over to revolt against the authorities. 

And of course, same cycles of rise/fall of empire also occurred in Western countries. And the catalyst for the uprising of commoners  and downfall of the empire was similar regardless of cultures.

The Golden Era of a dynastic was very much dependent on the presence of a capable leader with vision, who knew how to dedicate tasks to capable subordinates, to keep the economy going and the public contented (simply put without suffering from extreme poverty and hunger). Similar principle holds true to date. 

How to re-invent ourselve in the midst of keen competition from various quarters, to keep the economy going and yet not overwhelm the working public (to the point of despair/distress) is a million dollar question!

Paddle on...

Twist and turn...

Idle for too long!

Frustrations

Why does a person feel frustrated at times?

This occurs when expectations are not met, wishes not fulfilled, perceived inferiority when compared to others.

On the other hand, without setting expectations in life, we may never improve. Without failure, there will not be success. If we are contented with what we have now, there will never be progress.

The wise one said ... it's all in your mind!

Work hard to achieve your dreams, but don't be disheartened if you fail in your endeavour. Be happy with what you have now, as long as you can still make ends meet.

Life is so confusing sometimes!

Something soothing for your mind,,,