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Chairman's Corner
Chairman's Corner
As you walk along..
As you walk along..
Ravi Ramakantan
Ravi Ramakantan
The one thing that sets us apart from all other “repairers” is that we deal with human beings. And these very human beings are the ones that surround us as we walk along the long and stately, but crowded, corridors of our hospital. They are so many of them that we bitterly complain about being besieged by them. But then, give this a thought in one of your leisurely moments. They are there, because they are sick or they are the near and dear ones of those who are sick. I never tire of saying this… they are here not because they want to .., but because they have to.
The one thing that sets us apart from all other “repairers” is that we deal with human beings. And these very human beings are the ones that surround us as we walk along the long and stately, but crowded, corridors of our hospital. They are so many of them that we bitterly complain about being besieged by them. But then, give this a thought in one of your leisurely moments. They are there, because they are sick or they are the near and dear ones of those who are sick. I never tire of saying this… they are here not because they want to .., but because they have to.
And then many of us (I, included) walk along these corridors as if we were afraid to look left or right (some even seem to be averse to look up or straight; all the while seeming to admire the tile work on the floor!) and, when we stand on the corridor to exchange words with colleagues, we are careful to avoid those danger spots, where patients are most likely to ask for directions (the place outside radiology is a classic example).
And then many of us (I, included) walk along these corridors as if we were afraid to look left or right (some even seem to be averse to look up or straight; all the while seeming to admire the tile work on the floor!) and, when we stand on the corridor to exchange words with colleagues, we are careful to avoid those danger spots, where patients are most likely to ask for directions (the place outside radiology is a classic example).
And inside general radiology, on a crowded morning, I see swarms of patients, but no compassion. I see a beleaguered mother trying to console a sick child, standing at the end of what seems to be a never ending queue for a 30 second chest x ray – but none of the radiology staff has thought it fit to push her up forward in the queue. So the mother waits… and the child wails …. and the chaos goes on…nobody seems to care .. or, at least, so it seems.
And inside general radiology, on a crowded morning, I see swarms of patients, but no compassion. I see a beleaguered mother trying to console a sick child, standing at the end of what seems to be a never ending queue for a 30 second chest x ray – but none of the radiology staff has thought it fit to push her up forward in the queue. So the mother waits… and the child wails …. and the chaos goes on…nobody seems to care .. or, at least, so it seems.
They are unlikely to turn away a patient asking for directions .. or turn a blind ear to wailing child …a new generation has been taught the first lessons in courtesy we so sorely seem to lack.
They are unlikely to turn away a patient asking for directions .. or turn a blind ear to wailing child …a new generation has been taught the first lessons in courtesy we so sorely seem to lack.
The reason is not far to seek….
The reason is not far to seek….
If you see any one in a white coat animatedly giving directions or explaining things to a patient in the corridor, I bet you 100 to 1, it is a first term medical student or student nurse. By the time you are through with your clinical terms .. you have hardened worse than a raw potato frozen in a deep freeze - to a point that nothing seems to move you. Some even say … it better be that way – else you cannot function as a doctor.
If you see any one in a white coat animatedly giving directions or explaining things to a patient in the corridor, I bet you 100 to 1, it is a first term medical student or student nurse. By the time you are through with your clinical terms .. you have hardened worse than a raw potato frozen in a deep freeze - to a point that nothing seems to move you. Some even say … it better be that way – else you cannot function as a doctor.
Not really……
Not really……
If one realizes that a greeting softly spoken, a polite “please sit down” or accommodating a patient who turns up late for an appointment or - as you are getting into a lift - “you first”… can make a world of difference to a patient who has been in a cross country race across the four buildings of the hospital or patiently giving directions to a lonely, anxious mother, with a head-injured baby in her arms trying to solve a jig-saw puzzle of reaching Ward 3 from the casualty.
If one realizes that a greeting softly spoken, a polite “please sit down” or accommodating a patient who turns up late for an appointment or - as you are getting into a lift - “you first”… can make a world of difference to a patient who has been in a cross country race across the four buildings of the hospital or patiently giving directions to a lonely, anxious mother, with a head-injured baby in her arms trying to solve a jig-saw puzzle of reaching Ward 3 from the casualty.
“Who has the time?” says my wife, as she reads over my shoulder, these words appearing haltingly on the monitor screen. In reality, however, it does not take much off our time to spend a helpful few minutes with patients who need us or seem to be lost in the maze of our corridors. I do not know what it does to you .. but a small ‘thank you’ from one such patient makes the day for me.
“Who has the time?” says my wife, as she reads over my shoulder, these words appearing haltingly on the monitor screen. In reality, however, it does not take much off our time to spend a helpful few minutes with patients who need us or seem to be lost in the maze of our corridors. I do not know what it does to you .. but a small ‘thank you’ from one such patient makes the day for me.
More than all this, your students and residents who see you doing this are unlikely to shoo a patient away.
More than all this, your students and residents who see you doing this are unlikely to shoo a patient away.
June 2002
June 2002
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