Parasites in the Medical Field - I

Most people can't stand doctors. This is a bitter fact, due to the sheer number of their negative experiences with the medical profession. These experiences are not due to the doctors who truly care about their patient's overall health, those who take time to examine the patient and explain why the patient presents the symptoms she feels, or those who go even further by giving the patient advice on her life and career. They are not even due to doctors who seem short tempered and rushed, but are efficient in providing what the patient needs.

The negative experiences are due to the conceited, insecure, judgmental, completely money-minded people who make up at least 75% of the medical profession. These are the ones who come to mind when anyone talks about doctors. These are the parasites, who are ruining the reputations of the wonderful people I wrote about in the first paragraph.

There was an article in the Reader's Digest a couple of years back titled “41 Secrets Your Doctor Would Never Share.” Some of the people interviewed have said what their patients have known for ages – that they are impatient, care only about money, and can't stand it when the patient shows any sign of intelligence. And, there are other comments which show the doctors' compassion and professionalism. Some of them have used the article to share valuable information with their patients, which they would not be able to do in their consulting rooms. The personalities of the people interviewed showed through very clearly in their comments.

In the next few posts, I'm going to post some of the comments and what I felt about them. I'll start off with their genuine advice to patients and their concerns, not the negative stuff.

One of the things that bug me is people who leave their cell phones on. I'm running on a very tight schedule, and I want to spend as much time with patients as I possibly can. Use that time to get the information and the process you need. Please don't answer the cell.
--James Dillard, MD, pain specialist, New York City

An excellent point. Banning cellphones from a doctor's waiting room and office would save a lot of time for the doctor as well as the patients. But I once saw a doctor who talked on her cordless phone for fifteen minutes while I was sitting next to her. She was swinging back in her chair, too. I learnt a lot about her family, their educational qualifications, their professions, the various countries they live in, and the climate in all those countries that day - General Knowledge! And I had my semester exam the next day – please, people, be considerate!

Many patients assume that female physicians are nurses or therapists. I can't tell you how often I've introduced myself as Dr. M. and then been called a nurse, therapist, or aide and asked to fetch coffee or perform other similar tasks. I have great respect for our nurses and other ancillary personnel and the work they do, but this doesn't seem to happen to my male colleagues.
--Physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor, Royal Oak, Michigan

My sister is a Civil Assistant Surgeon in the Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Tamil Nadu. You know what most of her patients, their attendants and other official visitors call her? “Sister!” It doesn't matter that she has an M.D in General Medicine, examines 150 patients every day at her morning O.P, and works 24 hour shifts as a duty doctor. She's female, so she's a nurse, whether she's wearing a doctor's coat or an apron and hat. And it seems this attitude is universal. Oh, good! There is also an assumption that all female doctors are “Lady doctors” or gynecologists.

Another point about the same comment - aren't good medical technicians and nurses worth their weight in gold? Why should anyone ask a nurse or therapist to perform a menial task? While most good doctors and paramedics are ready to do anything in an emergency, being told to do a task seems too much.

…. TBC

Perfectly normal crimes against women

It's been raining in Chennai for almost three weeks. There's one thing I love about the rains – I get to wear my raincoat! It's brown, thick, long and big enough to cover me with my handbag, and has a nice visor which keeps the rain off my glasses. I look like a witch in it – not a cute witch from Harry Potter but like a proper hag from Macbeth.

Obviously, when I wear my raincoat, I don't get wet. But you know what I do get? Totally non-creepy offers for lifts by men on two wheelers (which I can't accept), lower fares in autos, and a nice walk in the rain without any stares or catcalls. Why? It's a men's raincoat that I bought it to test out the 'men's clothes are comfortable while women's clothes just look good' theory, and only part of my face is visible when I wear it. It makes me look more like an adolescent boy than a woman. And that's the difference.

Till these things happened to me, I didn't realize why I saw only women stranded at the bus stops when the city goes underwater. And, I'd always ignored all the catcalls I got when I walked with an umbrella. Sometimes I blamed myself for getting my clothes wet and looking 'indecent'. Just like all women in Chennai. It's one thing to know that women are oppressed, but realizing that I was actually accepting some of society's perversions as normal...too much!