......the Stage was set after the pre clinical yrs ....now was the time for the ward duties....the rapt attention at the lectures & thereafter a temporary respite as the Lecture Theatre is dismissed , at the gong of the Brass Bell....the newly aquired Stetho now well placed proudly around the Neck nd thr we step in to the realms of Reality of Clinical Practice....its a War like situation with the Wards overflowing .....a strong wardly smell...so very familiar ....The Chief is awaited nd thr we go jostling to get a good bedside view & straining to hear whtevr is being discussed .....awe struck must say at the quantum of Knowledge of the Chief , Sr Residents nd peers....appeared tht We r floating on an Ocean of Knowledge so so very difficult to sail upon ......the Medical ward rounds humbling you & a grim reminder of shallowness of one's knowledge.....every faculty of the Self straining & craning for a small space in the Realms of a fathomless Depth of Knowledge......now realize in toto how much it went to shape our personae as service providers .....awkward with the Clinical Methods with Mcleod & Hutchison as Gita & Bible round our Necks , the never to be found a proper " Finding", so ever elusive ....damn Confusing....!!!....never liked the idea of eliciting anything , as to , disturbing the Composure of the Patient ....but still had to learn ....had to go thru it ....all in your sole interest ...later on societal interest at large ......the Functional cases were hilarious as exam calendars of SSC & Matric board wud corroborate......& much effort in cracking the case , prior to the Chief's arrival gets wasted to the point of ridicule , as he brushes aside at one clean sweep & moves ahead......a Lady , supposedly "Aphasia" : unable to spk for a week , blurts out as the Tracheostomy tubes & intubation tubes r ordered by the chief.....estrangement was her ailment..........hurtling down for Lunch Post Meridien with mixed feeling of a feel of an enormity of the subject......this regular "Compression & Rarefaction " at the Medical wards went a long way to deal with patients in later yrs....the chronically abrasive exposure to all sorts of subjugation of one's shallow & hollow intellect ,came as an Eye opener........if your Baptism is by Fire.....let be it , as I feel now....nowhere you will find this Golden Opportunity whr the training makes u Fit enough......Good Enough...... as I learnt later.....The "Hathwa Ward " of PMCH with its sprawling wings was one real testing ground of acquiring professional Excellence.....still at this time, far far away shudder to brk any Clinical method & Rule as it will mean Blasphemy to the religion so acquired thru "McLeod " & "Hutchison"......!!!!!....& the day will be lost.....as I am , & I will , always remain mortgaged to tht haloed corridor of learning ......!!!.....as it turned out to be , the stint at the Central Casualty with people literally struggling with Lives....hardened my resolve of facing Death & Challenging it with so limited arsenal......thr were people Lt & thr were people Rt struggling ....& sometimes I thr sole help around, at very odd hrs of the nite......the forbearance & fortitude being stretched to a brk point........still, We survived this onslaught of Life & Death Stalking the Corridors ......Wht best can to start your Lives of a tender age thru these stark grim realities.......in tht we were hardened , emboldened to meet any eventualities of Life ....the properly trained Medical Fraternity is a class apart I feel whn it comes to Life's Tough experiences .....one of the silent teachings of the environs going a long way to establish the Service Provider ......!!!!
