Doctors and MCs

For the past few days, I was down with flu and fever and made two trips to two doctors on two consecutive days.

Day 1: It was the first time I visited that clinic. My head was throbbing so horribly that I badly needed to see a doctor. That clinic was the obvious choice since it is quite near to my workplace.

“What’s the matter?” Doctor A asked, when it was my turn.
“I am having a flu and a headache.”
“When did it start?”
“Yesterday. It started with a sore throat and a running nose.”

Doctor A then took my temperature. I did not see the temperature but he said I was not having a fever. After some examination, then came the crucial moment.

“Are you working today?”
“Yes.”
“I will write you an MC for today.” It was almost 2pm at that time.
“Just for today?” I asked.
“Yes, just for today.”

I was hoping Doctor A would be kind enough to give me another day of MC as I was quite uncertain if I would be fit to work the next day. But since he seemed quite adamant, I did not want to press on and appear as though I wanted another MC to skive from work. I was too tired to argue anyway. I consoled myself that Doctor A must have exercised his professional judgment and was sure I would be well enough to go to work the following day.

How wrong I was.

That night, my temperature rose to 38.4ºC and remained so till the next morning. There was no way I could work in such bad shape. I called in to the office to report sick, but I had no MC. That explained my second trip to the doctor.

Day 2: Doctor B who operates a clinic near my home, starts seeing patients at 9am. I reached at 8.50am and there were already a couple of people waiting outside. I managed to get the fourth slot, and by 9.15am, there were more than ten people in the queue.

Like Doctor A, Doctor B asked me how I felt, and did the usual checkups and measurements.

“Your temperature is 38.5ºC. You look alright on the outside, one can’t really tell unless your temperature is taken. It is always like that. The bosses will never understand if you tell them you are sick, because sometimes it just doesn’t show on the outside.”

This was the first time I had heard a doctor sympathize with the plight of a sick and pathetic employee and that really struck a chord with me. He told me I was suffering from viral fever and that the fever usually turns quite bad. Again came the crucial moment.

“Do you need an MC?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need one day or two days?”

I was a little surprised at this question as it seemed more like an offer. Shouldn’t the doctor decide how many days of MC a patient needs and not how many days the patient wants? Of course I wanted two days having learnt my lesson the previous day. Surely I do not want to visit a third doctor for the third time just to get another day of MC (should I remain sick, touchwood!).

But I threw the question back to the doctor, “Do you think I would be well enough to work the next day?”
“It may take a while for the fever to subside. I will write you two days’ MC, just in case.”

I am sure there are some people who try to get as many number of days of MCs when they visit the doctor, whether to get ample rest or to laze from work. I guess there would also be some who pretend to be sick when they are not. That explains why doctors have to be careful and exercise their prudent discretion when they issue MCs.

But there are also those who appreciate doctors who do not go so strictly by the book when they issue MCs. At least it meant they do not have to visit doctors twice (or worse still thrice or more!) just to get an MC and spend double (or triple!) on the consultation fees.

For me, fortunately I recovered that night after the visit to Doctor B and could go to work the very next day. Although that meant my other day of MC was “wasted”, I would still like to say thank you to Doctor B.