COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN

• Effective communication is actually very important between medical personnel (doctors, nurses etc) & patients. I’m sure many of you have heard about the “heart murmur” & “hot mamma” joke.
  
  Well, this is a real life conversation between my former nurse (at the Radiotherapy Unit in Sarawak General Hospital) & the husband of a cervical cancer patient undergoing radiotherapy. The husband was upset after being told by the radiographer that they would not be able to have sexual intercourse during the treatment period. He wanted to confirm with another medical staff. Both husband & wife are Indonesians.
  
  
  Husband: Nanti bila balik rumah, bisa ranjang?
  
  Nurse: (Heard ‘ranjang’ as ‘telanjang’) Bolehhhhh………
  
  Husband: (Surprised) Bisa??
  
  Nurse: Bisaaa….
  
  Husband: (Confused) Ngapa tadi orang bilang ng’gak bisa?
  
  Nurse: Bisa. Kenapa tidak bisa? Di rumah, tidak ada orang tengok. Bisa buat apa saja.
  
  
  * Ranjang, in Indonesian language, means “bed” or “bed-related activities”.

• Communication between medical personnel is equally, or in fact even more important. Before radiotherapy treatment begins, there is a pre-treatment session called “simulation”. A simulator is a machine which can produce conditions similar to radiation therapy & the process of simulation is important for an Oncologist to plan the area to be treated.
  
  Once, a House Officer (HO) from the Surgical Ward called up the Oncology Unit (at UMMC) to get an appointment date for a patient for simulation. WZ, the Senior Oncology MO, had informed the HO to indicate on the referral form, “patient for simulation under Dr. A”. (Dr. A is one of the Oncology Specialists & the head of department).
  
  When the patient turned up at Oncology, the staff had a good laugh as the referral form read, “for stimulation under Dr. A”.