The Star Online: Metro: Central
The Star Online: Metro: Central |
| Patient must be comfortable with the doctor Posted: 14 Nov 2011 03:56 AM PST BESIDES checking on the status of a registered doctor on the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) website, there are several things that consumers can look out for when deciding on a plastic surgeon. After visiting the beauty centre in Kuala Lumpur, the StarMetro team also visited another clinic in the area, which also offered plastic surgery. The set-up was simpler than the beauty centre and a middle-aged woman who had a mask over her mouth greeted us. When we enquired about getting a nose job, she told us that the doctor was not in and we would have to set up an appointment for a consultation with him. Noticing the difference in procedures, we spoke to plastic surgeon Dr Heng Kien Seng who operates a private practice in Petaling Jaya. He said it was important for patients to meet the doctor who would be operating on them to see if the chemistry was right. "Some doctors might just not click with you or you might feel that the doctor would not do a good job on you. You have to be comfortable with the doctor," he said. "During the consultation, I would approach the patients and find out what they want and what their expectations are. "I would then find out about their medical condition to see if they are physically and psychologically fit to undergo plastic surgery,"said Dr Heng. He said he would explain to the patient what the surgery entailed, the complications, recovery time and fees. "If the patient is unsure, they can also go to other places and seek a second opinion," he said. Dr Heng said there were instances that he would decide not to operate on patients. "If their expectations are not clear or not what I can achieve, then I would say no. Some people also have health conditions like high blood pressure or heart problems and I would advise against it. There's no point of going for a cosmetic makeover if your health problems are still there. "Then there are also people who go for surgery after surgery but are still not happy with their body. I would make recommendations for a psychological examination," he said. Dr Heng explained that there were several reasons why people opt for cosmetic surgery. "Most people do it to enhance their looks and some to reverse the ageing process. There are also people who do it because of their career demands, like those in the entertainment industry. Enhancing their looks sometimes gives people confidence. "Some people also do it for health reasons like obesity. They are too big so they just want to remove some fat so that they can move around easily and start exercising. I've also had cases where women come in to reduce their breasts because they were having medical problems like shoulder pains and fungal infections below the breasts," he said. According to Dr Heng, the more common types of plastic surgery were eyelid surgery, breast augmentation and liposuction while non-invasive treatments like botox injection, fillers and lasers were also popular. He said if a patient had any doubts about a doctor, they could always check with the relevant authorities like the Health Ministry, the MMC or the Malaysian Association of Plastic, Aesthetic and Craniomaxillofacial Surgeon (Mapacs). Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 14 Nov 2011 03:43 AM PST IMAGINE your father losing his job and having trouble finding another one in these challenging economic times. There is one employable female in your family and she is the only chance your family has to live decently. Not having finished a higher education and with the limited options in the local job market, she opts to work overseas in a country with a more progressive economy. Off she goes and her monthly remittances start coming in. It is not a lot but you are able to scrape by each month. Your family is now able to eat three meals a day, your siblings can go to school and you can pay for transportation and electricity bills. She misses home terribly but she cannot call often as her employer has taken away her mobile phone. She finds a way and sneaks around for that precious, quick phone call just so she can hear the voices of loved ones on the other end and ease her loneliness. She works seven days a week, from dawn to late at night and is rarely given any days off. Often, she is paid less than what is stated in her contract but she takes it, as it is all she has got. Her employer even limits her social contact and she cannot go to the supermarket to buy her own toiletries. She asks the kindness of her neighbours to buy stuff for her in secret. Imagine if this is what your mother, your daughter or your sister had to go through. And now, look at your maid! Our idyllic late weekend breakfast was shattered one sunny day when we heard the distraught screaming of a woman a few houses away from ours. A Madam had sent her Cambodian maid out of her house sans belongings. "Give me my money and my passport! I want to go home!" the maid screamed in surprisingly good English, as most Cambodians I've encountered hardly speak the language. A few of us concerned neighbours approached her and asked why she was screaming and what was wrong! Her Madam came out and started explaining what had happened. Without going into the details of the discussion, there are always two sides to any story. Both parties have equal rights to terminate the employment contract when either one is neither happy nor satisfied or a good working relationship seems impossible. This does not justify, however, any employer withholding their maids' passports. It gets worse when the passport in question apparently expired three weeks prior to the exchange, and the employer cannot produce it because "it is still being renewed" in the time frame way beyond its validity. Earlier that same day, a Filipina maid from across the street fled from her employer in tears. The only word she could apparently manage in between sobs was that "she couldn't take it anymore." No mother, daughter or sister would willingly or gladly leave her family to go and work overseas. But she does it so her family will survive and she is often their only hope. When we arrived in Kuala Lumpur a few months back, we received an Expat Welcome Pack complete with some useful guides for expatriates. It is packed with tips on how to set up your new life in a new country. It also offers information on how to go about hiring domestic help. It is common knowledge that Filipina maids are paid higher than their Indonesian and Cambodian counterparts. In general, Indonesians and Cambodians are not given any days off and not allowed to retain cash in their belongings. Some Filipinas are subjected to these same conditions as well. It has been in the news recently that all three governments of these nationalities have recently either halted or decreased their export of domestic workers due to allegations and reports of abuse and other forms of inhumane treatment. Those who can afford household help are aware how maids ease up a lot of our load on the domestic front, whether it is minding the children, cleaning the house or doing the laundry and ironing clothes. If she can cook, then you've hit the jackpot. I can truly appreciate having the help at home after living in The Netherlands for the past five years. My husband and I juggled everything from raising a baby and a toddler, working at our individual jobs and running a business. Hiring full-time help was out of the question financially. Like any employer-employee relationship, domestic helpers are not perfect and sometimes do not perform their duties in the manner we expect things to be done. It is useful to remember when patience is wearing thin that they are not white-collar workers. Had they been given the same opportunities most of us educated and highly-skilled individuals were given under the circumstances, they would not have chosen to become maids. But they do because it is often the only option they have. It is a common belief that what we give out to the universe, we receive in return. Kindness begets kindness! Treat a worker right and you will be rewarded with faithfulness and loyalty. A little patience, a little compassion and a little understanding of their backgrounds and where they are coming from can help us manage our expectations. They have feelings, they laugh, they cry,they get tired and they need rest. They miss the sons and daughters they left behind so they can clean your toilets and prepare your meals. Some are good and some are bad. Some are capable of taking advantage of us. But most of them come with good hearts and will love your children as if they were their own. Like you and me, maids are people too! Born and raised in the Philippines, Melinda is a marketing executive, entrepreneur and writer who just moved from the Netherlands to KL. This intrepid traveller loves scuba diving, good food and wine, and is happy to be back in the tropics with her Dutch husband and two daughters. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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