Wednesday, November 04, 2009

My first sick day on MC

Recently, I had my first sick day from work, on MC (medical certificate). My low work morale may have affected my health.

Have been sniffing since last Saturday after a paediatric GE patient coughed into my face. I was without a mask then as I was preparing to return the child back to her parents after IV cannulation. Maybe the child had more than just GE.

Anyway, I got worse on Monday night when my nose was running so much that it was simultaneously blocked. Obviously, I couldn't sleep. I was beginning to get worried given my pneumonia experience [click here and here].

Thought I could get better after getting some sunshine while running errands that morning. Finally, I gave up around 12 noon and consulted a GP near my home. Thereafter I called the admin staff about my emergency MC (see below). Luckily, I did so because I was knocked-out for the whole afternoon in my bed, despite the non-drowsy prescription.

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When I called the admin staff at 12+ pm, she told me that it was a super busy day at the ward with lots of adult patients spilled-over. None of morning staff have had time for any break. She tugged at my emotional heartstrings saying that they needed SN's to take team, and asked if I could still get to work. After she confirmed that I had an actual medical certificate from a GP, she said that she will inform the ward manager.

2 comments:

  1. that's harassment to me....our practice is that if one's sick..no reasons asked why...

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  2. Yes, it is harassment. The lack of workers' protection in Singapore results in such harassment being commonplace. From my 10+ years of work life, only 1 foreign MNC company officially accepts the "call-in-sick, no questions asked" approach. There were several foreign bosses (usually non-Asian) who also accept this at their own discretion. I have never personally met a Singaporean boss with guts to practise such a progressive approach.

    Encroachment into personal life is also commonly practised in Singapore. E.g. Interview questions such as "Are you planning to get married/have-children?". Click here for another example that happened today.

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