In the morning I went to the hostel and there I picked up a friend. Both of us went to the city hospital. We arrived at 9.15 am. I reported at the male outpatient department. There was a Madam sitting there. I told her that I was the new house staff, so she asked me to sit down and write prescriptions . She told me how to maintain records. Within ten minutes I was diagnosing and prescribing.
The other ten doctors were also doing their duty at the respective departments. But guess what, most of them were not lucky enough, as they were not given free hand as I was given. The other doctors who were supervising them were not allowing them to write prescriptions. So most of them were just maintaining records. Of course they did not have the willingness to serve at the hospital for the next four days. So I guess they were not given the opportunity to see patients on that day even. Maybe it was what they wished for.
I saw different types of patients, patients who cannot pay for the medical bills, patients who brought their whole family members to be treated. Most of the patients belonged to the nearby slums. Many of them were Muslims. Common cold, diarrhoea, skin diseases and fever were the most common ailments for which patients came. Government supply medications were prescribed. The medications are prescribed for five or 10 days, but the drugs are dispensed only for two days. The patients have to come the next day to collect medicines for next two days. Likewise they have to come if they are to receive government supply medicines.
The outdoor closes at 12 noon. The medicines representatives can consult physicians after 11.30 am. So some of the medicines representatives demonstrated their products and gave samples. I was the newest. I did not expect any medicines representatives. Still then one of them approached me and gave some samples, the physicians samples. I thought,” Well, I am in”.
This is how 8th November 2008 my first day in the city hospital ended. Stay tuned.
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joining in the City hospital was quite an ordeal in itself. On 7th of November we 11 doctors to cover joining letters to the Chief district medical officer’s office near the sales tax office in the Cantonment Road, Cuttack.
At 10 o’clock in the morning the office opened. Among 11 doctors only three have arrived including me. We handed over our joining letters to the head clerk who was at the office. Then gradually other eight doctors arrived at the office. Among the 11 doctors me and Dr Anshuman Singh were the only two male doctors. We 11 doctors were posted in the district of Cuttack. We were scheduled to work at the district headquarter hospital from 7th to 12th November 2008.
In the Chief district medical officers office there were some problem regarding the joining letters memo No. One lady doctor named Dr Rachita Pravalina remembered the memo No and submitted to the official. After two hours wait we were given our duty lists. We were supposed to report at the district headquarter hospital on the same day that is on 7th of November. By then it was 12 noon. I along with Dr Anshuman went to make 17 copies of the duty lists provided to us by the CDMO’s office.
At around 12.30 PM we reached the City hospital which is the district headquarter hospital of Cuttack district. It is situated in jail Road near big bazaar. We were shown the office of the additional district medical officer(medical). Dr Pratap Chandra Rath is the ADMO. We were assigned different outpatient departments. I was assigned the male outpatient department. The OPD starts at 8 o’clock in the morning and ends at 12 noon. So on 7th of November I was not able to join in the OPD, but I made my joining. Just like me all of my ten companion doctors were assigned different outpatient departments. When I came out from the chamber of the medical officer I was astonished to see some of the lady doctors were persuading the clerks that they will not come to do their duties.
At that moment I thought to myself these doctors were my friends and they will be getting salaries from the government on completion of each month. They only have to come out from the hostels and have to travel three km every day to see patients. But these people are unwilling to serve the poor. They know that the poor people will not give them money for private practice. In the meanwhile if the doctors will read for their postgraduate entrance examination there is increased the probability of their getting through the examination. So they don’t want to lose their precious time over these poor people. So who’s going to treat them. And I’m talking about people in Cuttack. What about the people who are in remote villages? Who is going to take care of them? Why we doctors need to be greedy?
Is money is the only reason that we have chosen this path? So I thought whatever happens I am not going to betray my job. As far as practicable and possible I will do my duty in the City hospital and in the remote villages wherever my postings will be. So I sighed and return to my home at Jagatpur
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