I started working as a teacher in the department of surgery
at a private medical institution in my home state. A month has passed and I
understood two things, relevant to situations, which I never encountered previously.
First thing is related to my views about teaching in medical profession. Second
thing is about hospitality and patient communication in a private setup.
Regarding teaching as a profession, this short period has opened
my eyes wide. The difficult part of teaching is not transferring the ideas, but
maintaining discipline and motivating. Sometime before, I had written, that
education is about making people capable of thinking at a higher level. I developed this clarity about my profession
only after some years after entering college. It is very difficult to make a
young man or woman open up their mind. They remain unfocussed even after
repeated advices. Taking classes for the undergraduates is very easy. I know
what I am teaching. I have the experience of treating patients. I know how to
conduct a good session on any topic related to my practice. But guiding the
students to think out of the box, or motivating the house surgeons to go to the
bottom of a treatment plan, is a herculean task. Teaching is easy, but
educating is not easy. That is the feature, which keep some teachers apart from
the rest. It also requires being strict with the rules. Students and house
surgeons are in the constant process of thinking how to avoid responsibilities
and how to disappear from the duties. The capability to motivate the students,
the capability to make the students think of their own; It’s like starting a
campfire from damp wood. Until it gets going by its own, one has to struggle a
lot. I now realize why teaching is considered as one of the greatest
professions in the human civilization.
Second revelation was about the hospitality, while
practicing in a private setup, where the patients pay for the treatment by
themselves. Except for a short period as a casualty medical officer, I had
always worked in government run hospitals. I had developed a reasonably good
communication skill and I considered myself good at explaining about diagnosis
and treatment plans to the patients and relatives. I remember most of the patients
were happy with my communication. But there used to be some patients, mostly
patient relatives who are unsatisfied with the logistics or discontent with the
functioning pattern of the hospital facilities or staff. In such situations, I
used to defend the hospital and staff pointing out how good we cared for the
patient regarding the disease management. But in a private hospital a whole new
realm is added to a doctor’s practice- hospitality. Now sometimes, I have to
keep my pride away and talk like a customer relations manager in a showroom. I
have to make them feel like; the staff in a hotel or some kind of tourist
center treats them. We are not supposed to fight with them. We are not supposed
to make them correct. Only thing we can do is to make them happy, make them
feel they are served right and decide what they want. Now I am working on it.
