Ego - The inevitable evil

           What I am going to share is something, everyone who has done a government job will understand. Not just a government job, any job for which you are paid without any feedback from the clients or any job which is not paid but done on compulsion. The ego, it is an inevitable part of human nature. It can be observed from the lowest level of hierarchy to the highest.

          Now a days I sit along with my consultant in the Out Patient examination room. I take history , examine the patient and discuss with him and take decisions. He is a very cool reasonable and experienced surgeon. More than just being a good doctor, he also have good observation skills and he has a great knowledge of human nature.

        One day a patient came to our room, he had a long standing perianal abscess, left untreated, it had become a painful collection. He needed a drainage of the collection. When we see patients who need minor surgical procedures on the same day, my consultant advices me to do it myself after the OP time. Other wise there are residents junior to me in the Minor OT to do these procedures.

       So I asked this patient to wait outside the room till the OP ends. It would take at least two hours for the OP to finish. But you know, patients are the most impatient. His wife came twice, to ask me how long they have to wait. I told them to wait till the OP ends. The third time she came, I was seeing the last few patients. Again I told her that they have to wait. Then she asked, whether I am going to one more hour? I didn't give a clear answer.( I was thinking, It is their problem to get drainage done, How they dare to ask me time?, Why cant she just see that OP patients are still waiting outside the room) I asked her to wait till I finish ( not in a soft voice). But after five minutes I was done with the patients and came out, but they were not there, I waited for another ten minutes. But they did not appear.

        After a moment I was feeling bad. This happens a lot of time. Why couldn't I speak a little more soft to that patient, why do I expect people to wait for me, without an explanation. Why do we take it granted that, as a doctor we can act bossy over the patient. It is not just the doctors, any employee in the hospital has this attitude except for very few. If the person sitting at the counter is playing 'candy crush' on phone, he will make the patient wait till that level is over. If the patient take an appointment for ten and reaches the counter at time, his card will take another half an hour to move and reach the doctors table.

        I don't think this is an easy thing to change this nature. To have control over ones ego and keep tight, not to loose the cool is a great character achievement. But this knowledge of human nature is essential. If you ask a office clerk 'can this be done', the first reply will be 'no'. But first 'no' is never the final answer. You have to probe again, why not, who does it, why you want to get it done etc. Then you will get a tip to how to start moving things for it. Now this is one thing I learnt being on both sides of the table.