A Day in the Life of a Common Pediatrician

The idyllic dream of me flaunting a chiffon saree in the midst of snow capped peaks at Mt Titlis  and feeling like a sensuous Yash Chopra heroine, is abruptly cut short by a shrill sound. Moaning and groaning I fumble to switch off my alarm and pull myself out from my haven. I remind myself I need to lose weight and set out for my morning exercise. After a refreshing brisk  walk admiring the beauty of Nature, I get to the daily grind of household chores. After ensuring the kids and family is well taken care of, I embark on the routine of a common pediatrician.

Morning rounds start with an infant admitted for Acute gastroenteritis with dehydration. An irate grandfather starts complaining, "admit thaya pachhi pan jaada chaalu chhe. Treatment barabar       nathi chalti.” I calmly start counselling about the intricacies of intestinal infection, how dehydration has recovered and some time is needed for healing of intestinal wall. I sigh after he says, "Pan mati to jase ne?"

Now starts the OPD with crying and sick children with the usual viral URI, tonsillopharyngitis, bronchiolitis, gastroenteritis etc. I particularly like the well baby and vaccination visits where I enjoy playing with the babies and chatting with mothers in addition to giving nutritional and general advice.

At the peak of OPD hours, I am aghast to receive a call from the obstetrician - "starting a CS in 5min,  come quickly". I have never been able to fathom why the obstetrician does not inform the pediatrician in advance when they call the anesthetist. How on Earth can I reach in 5 minutes (unless I fly over the traffic congested roads)!

When I hurriedly reach the OT, to my disgust, I see that the anesthetist has not yet arrived. I curse the obstetrician (in my mind) for my wasted time. Finally, a healthy baby girl comes live and kicking. After checking all is well and finishing the protocol, I call the relatives.

The grandmother comes and on seeing a female baby starts frowning and wailing (2nd gravida with first girl child). Now the feminist side of me surfaces and I give her a piece of my mind about  gender equality. But sadly it falls on deaf ears, as when the obstetrician asks for tubal ligation, the dadi promptly refuses.

I reach back to my clinic where irritated parents are arguing with the staff. I quickly get down to work- mother of a child with allergic bronchitis asking why he has been coughing for a month. And a patient of viral fever who was inadvertently started on an antibiotic on the second day by his over smart father. My academic gurus come to my mind and I explain about Atopy and Antimicrobial stewardship.

I reach home mentally exhausted, have lunch and lie down for my much needed afternoon siesta. Suddenly, the phone rings and a lady says, "Tame ketla vage sanje malso? Batava avu chhe." Grumbling I tell her to call on hospital number and once again regret printing my personal  number on the file and promise to delete it from the next lot.

I get ready for the evening session thinking why I gave up my BITS Pilani seat for medicine! I think of my brother (a BITS–IIM passout) sitting in his plush office, minting money and travelling the world for business.

My first patient, a cute 5 year old boy walks in with a handmade card and chocolates for me. This boy had first come to me at the age of 10 months with failure to thrive, severe constipation and recurrent respiratory infections. After some brainstorming he was diagnosed to have Hirschsprung's disease and a congenital heart disease which was missed due to lack of overt symptoms. After two surgeries and a harrowing postoperative period this patient finally pulled through. The parents had specially come on his 5th birthday to meet me. The mother says, "Doctor,  thanks for giving my son a new life" and hugs me. The gesture brings tears to my eyes and makes me forget the tribulations of the day.

We doctors are blessed with the power to heal and spread happiness. We pediatricians contribute our bit to society by advocating breastfeeding, vaccinating, giving nutritional advice and treating children, who are the future of the country.

At the end of the day, what matters is the appreciation and sense of fulfilment we get after doing our job well. It is important to identify that one patient among the common run of the mill cases who requires more attention and effort to diagnose and treat.

I end the day with gratitude for everything and go to sleep with a new dream - I am a diplomat working for the Indian Foreign Services and helping to evacuate stranded Indians from war-torn Sudan, only to start

Another day of a Common pediatrician...


-Dr Angelica


 



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