A Pedometer and a Helpless Elderly Man: Reflections on Age-Friendly Care at NTU Hospital

A while ago I developed a persistent cough for no apparent reason, and it just wouldn’t go away. I first went to the oral medicine department at Mackay Memorial Hospital, where the doctor examined me and gravely told me that something had grown deep in my throat and recommended scheduling surgery to remove it.

Since surgery was involved, and to be prudent, I decided to seek a “Second Opinion.” I made an appointment and headed to the West Wing building of the National Taiwan University Hospital Taipei Main Campus, which I hadn’t visited in years.

Walking into that old red-brick building steeped in history, memories came flooding back. I remember that the last time I visited here frequently, I came as a medical engineer to calibrate and repair the hospital’s precision instruments; only this time the tables had turned, and it was my own body that had gone wrong, requiring a professor-level physician to “repair” it.

A Twist in the Consultation: A Seasoned Doctor’s Brisk Cancellation

After waiting most of the day in the clinic area for my number to be called, I entered the consultation room, where a young resident physician first conducted a detailed basic interview, palpation, and preliminary examination.

Eventually the renowned professor himself came to see me. He took a tongue depressor and an endoscope, deftly shone it deep into my throat, and before asking more than two or three questions, he raised an eyebrow slightly and said mildly:

“This doesn’t need surgery.”

Hearing that, my mind was filled with crows flying by—hadn’t the doctor at the previous hospital said with a grave expression that it absolutely had to be removed?

Even more absurd was that the professor simply took up his pen and “cancelled” my registration for me, saving me the out-of-pocket cost of the consultation, then instructed me to go straight down to the Wellcare pharmacy in the basement shopping area to buy a special spray, use it a few times a day by inserting it deep into the nasal cavity as directed, and it would heal on its own after a while.

Not having to go under the knife in my throat was certainly a relief, but thinking about how I’d traveled all that way and waited an entire morning, only to have even my registration fee refunded and receive nothing but instructions to buy an over-the-counter medicine in the basement, I rode the elevator down to the basement shopping area with a half-bitter smile and my eyes rolling.

A Shocking Scene at the Counter: A Pedometer and a Helpless Elder

Walking into the Wellcare medical supplies store in the basement, I found the spray the doctor had instructed me to buy and went to line up at the checkout counter.

Right in front of me happened to be a silver-haired elderly gentleman who had just finished paying. He was holding a traditional clip-on waist pedometer (a mechanical/electronic step counter) he had just bought, looking somewhat reserved and cautious.

Holding the just-opened box, the old man politely leaned toward the counter, hoping to ask the young female sales clerk one question: how should this pedometer be clipped onto a belt, and how do you reset it?

However, the scene that followed made my eyes roll right back, and I stared at the counter clerk in disbelief.

Not only did the saleswoman’s face turn livid and she didn’t even glance at the old man, but with an extremely impatient tone and rude gestures, she loudly scolded him: “Get out of here first! Don’t block the counter!”

Startled by the sudden reprimand, the old man froze on the spot, clutching the pedometer and the small box in both hands, and retreated to the side of the counter, utterly helpless and embarrassed, not knowing what to do.

Where Exactly Does “Age-Friendly” Land in Medical Settings?

Seeing this, my relaxed mood from the consultation was instantly replaced by a bellyful of anger.

A customer had just spent money buying your product and merely wanted to understand the basic way to use it, yet was driven away on the spot by the clerk as if shooing away a roadblock?

If this were a trendy clothing store, such an attitude would already be extremely rude; how much more so when this is a medical supplies store beneath a national-level medical building!

The vast majority of customers who come to this store are patients and family members who have just come out of various departments’ consultation rooms, and a very high proportion of them are elderly people who are not adept at operating modern technological products. The old man had specifically bought a pedometer, very likely following the advice of a cardiologist, endocrinologist, or rehabilitation physician, hoping to walk step by step every day to control blood sugar and maintain muscle strength.

If the clerk was busy with checkout at that moment, there were plenty of reasonable ways to respond:

1. Gently guide him to the consultation area: “Grandpa, I’m currently checking out the customer behind you. Please take a seat in the rest area nearby, and I’ll ask a free colleague to come over and teach you how to use it right away, okay?”
2. Explain to the customers behind: Even if the clerk took a minute or two on the spot to patiently teach the elderly person how to operate it, as a customer waiting in line behind, I would absolutely be 100% happy to wait patiently.

But she chose the crudest, most dignity-wounding way of handling it—simply telling the old man to go away. This kind of service attitude, lacking basic professionalism, doesn’t even meet the passing line of a roadside convenience store.

Conclusion: What Matters More Than Medical Skill Is Warmth Toward People

I watched that helpless elder standing to the side at a loss, clutching the pedometer, and made up my mind that once I finished paying I would definitely go over and help him read the instructions and teach him step by step how to set it up.

Fortunately, just as I was about to speak up, another slightly older clerk in the store noticed the commotion and came over on her own initiative, gently took the pedometer from the old man’s hands, and led him to a display cabinet nearby to explain it slowly.

Of course, when it was my turn to check out, I stared straight at that rude counter clerk and didn’t give her even the slightest friendly look the whole time.

On this trip to NTU Hospital, the seasoned professor’s…