Doctors are considered to be highly knowledgeable but there
are some doctors who prove this wrong. My analysis is that a false sense of
pride is instilled in the mind of a student right from the time he/she gets
admission for an MBBS course. The parents begin to call the person as doctor
sahib. Right from the first day in the medical college, the student begins to
feel that he has achieved everything in life and there is no need to try for
further improvement. This incident is related to such mindset.
In many big hospitals, a junior doctor always accompanies
the senior doctor. Such junior doctors usually come from nearby medical
colleges and are serving as house surgeons. This is like apprenticeship for the
junior doctor in which he learns to understand the manifestations of different
diseases by observing live patients.
Once I was calling a general physician in a government
hospital. There was a junior doctor sitting beside him. Two x-ray plates were
suspended from the backlit rectangular boxes which doctors use to see the x-ray
plates. Both the x-rays were of chest of a patient who had been suffering from
tuberculosis. Pointing to those x-rays, the senior doctor asked the junior doctor,
“Do you know doctor sahib that this patient has been completely cured of
tuberculosis? In fact one of the x-rays is from the time when the patient came
to us for the first time. Another x-ray shows the situation after the treatment
was complete and the patient was cured of his disease. Looking at these x-rays,
can you tell me which one shows the condition before treatment and which one
shows the condition after treatment?”
The junior doctor was looking dapper in his pin-striped shirt.
The white apron, stethoscope and non-rimmed glasses further added to his
intelligent looks. Normally, most of the doctors appear neatly dressed and
appear to be highly knowledgeable. The junior doctor wanted to impress his
senior with his quick thinking mind. Prompt came the answer, “Yes sir. The one
on the left side shows the pre-treatment x-ray while the one on the right side shows
the post-treatment x-ray.”
The senior doctor was highly experienced and must have
groomed many such junior doctors in the past. He further asked, “Great! This is
the right answer. Can you give a suitable explanation for your answer?”
The junior doctor chirpily said, “Yes sir. It is very easy
to find. The x-ray on the left side shows the serial number followed by 1998.
You will also notice that the x-ray on the right side shows the serial number
followed by 1999. It is clear that the x-ray on the right side was taken at a
later date and hence it must be a post-treatment x-ray.”
Hoping to get a nice pat on the back, the junior doctor was
expectantly looking at the senior doctor. The senior doctor fumed in anger and
shot back, “This type of clue can be easily given by even a medical
representative from any XYZ company. It appears that you were never serious
about your studies. You need to go back to the classroom instead of wasting
your time and my time.”
