To our care givers- Doctors' real colleagues

As a wannabe doctor, a junior medical student dreams of operating upon a patient or ordering a test or writing a prescription for his future patients. It is with great aspirations that one fantasizes about these things, including but not limited to passing orders to those reporting to oneself when one thinks of being in the doctor's position. At that stage there is a vicarious pride in visualizing such a situation. For such a medical student, the sense of anticipating great personal power is there but the same is not true of the irrefutable accompanying responsibility at that nascent stage in one's career.

Well, most doctors-in-training ultimately do mature and there are very few conceited doctors that are still evident beyond a certain age. Yet, even at this mature stage, doctors are rarely, if ever, involved in administering continuous care to patients under their supervision. Doctors hardly have to administer injections or nurse their patients. Rightfully there is a support staff to do these duties. Even if once in a while doctors have to take up the role of their support staff, it is momentary and perhaps gratifying. It is considered as a feather of virtuous humility in the doctor's virtual cap.

Any parent who has nursed a sick child through the night will testify that such care giving is extremely draining. Now try to visualize that situation happening over and over again during every day you report for duty. Just how awfully exhausting could it be for the minds and bodies of the support staff. If you have ever had such a demanding situation at home, you will gladly exchange any other professional role in the hierarchy of health care for that of an immediate care giver. It is amazing to see nurses, assistants and attendants smile and greet doctors on rounds, often in quick succession, through the day.

Two groups of people should spare a kind thought for the support staff involved in any long term care facility: the doctors and the relations of the infirm. For the patient, meaningful life is restored as a result of the daily caring and loving ministrations of the support staff and not just the doctor's wise orders. Next time a nurse smiles at you, smile back to her for this reason alone. It will be a different smile, both, yours and hers!

Choosing a Residency program

Recently a senior medical student requested me to help with the decision making about the specialty to choose for post graduate training (residency). There are some people who are lucky enough to face this dilemma while quite a few are forced to make do with whatever is available after others have left with the meat.

Because there are many people in this predicament, I thought it appropriate to post this email, suitably modified for public reading, without in any way diluting the contents.This is what I had to say:

Why Do I remember Eid at Every Diwali?

The trip was progressing better than our expectations. We felt that our travel agent had planned for and arranged a nice itinerary. Though there was a last minute change in our dates, he had gone to the extent of offering us a customized tour without any extra charge at all. We felt grateful to him at every step of the trip. We felt that our trip was worth the full advance we had paid him.

The second leg of the trip was Singapore. We had to reach there by a train from Kuala Lumpur. All of us felt that Indian trains, third AC coaches onward, were better than the thing we were booked on. There was a major difference, however; smartly dressed lady ticket checking officers were doing their job professionally; it was a night train.

We arrived on Singapore railway station at about 9 am and seeing that other tourists were being escorted out by their travel agents'  local representatives, we were expecting someone to approach us with our names written on a placard. Indeed before the others were out of sight, a man in his late thirties approached us with my name on a sheet of paper in his hand.