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The story of an uncooperative child
"..... Oh, why is the baby crying? Can't you hold her properly?", yelled the doctor.
The mother, holding her infant widens her eyes anxiously, and pulls the baby closer to her. Meanwhile, her two palms move over the thighs of the baby and eventually stiffen around the legs of the baby lest they hit the "busy doctor" again.
"..... Oh, can't you hold your own child properly", said a visibly fuming physician. He then stared the spouse of the woman, who is equally perplexed as the woman. The doctor eventually has to be more explicit regarding what he expects from the husband.
"Hold her head! Fix it, so I can peep in his eyes!"
The husband tries to do as directed.
But the baby has his own way: he tries to relentlessly shake off the the shackles so that she can settle the score with the physician herself.
OK, I will see the child later! Never seen such an uncooperative child....", the doctor leaves the chamber and subsequent words are not heard.
The parents have no inkling as to how much time they need to spend before the doctor can see the child again.
The parents come out in the waiting lounge. The child is happy in the cosy comfort of her mother's lap. The husband mulls, look around and then manages to slip the sheet that had the questions he wanted to ask the doctor.
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Indian doctors the world over imbibe the local medical culture effectively and efficiently. Back home, however this kind of scenes are not uncommon.
Who needs to be trained, the doctor or the child? or, the hapless parents?
As a doctor, who has provided and required medical services and has been on either side of the doctor's table, I feel, many Indian doctors have de-sensitized.
What if your child has *%#@* % or any other major illness, I see hundreds of these kind, even worse! That is the undeclared statement.
The doctor easily forgets that the parental anxiety doesn't have to be proportionate to the gravity of the diagnosis! ... or the prognosis thereof.
I agree, an Indian doctor back home sees more patients than his western counterpart. Mostly he has no control over the number he has to see. But there are also others who may not be as busy, but still continue to frown.
Trust me, as a health service seeker, I have felt uncomfortable asking questions pertaining to a dependant's health. It may look strange since I am a doctor: there ought to be no communication barrier between me and my professional colleagues, you would say.
But the communication between two doctors may not always be unhindered.
I would keep in mind, the number of appointments he has. His body language may give a clue to it.
Then there is the Hippocratic oath.
"Thou shall not accept any fee from your colleagues", implies the oath.
Sometimes this means, the colleague has limited freedom to access the doctor. I wonder if it would be better to access the health system as an ordinary person who knows nothing of medicine! ... Who pays the consultation fee and walks away.
I am sure I am not the only one who has occassionally felt uncomfortable seeking a medical consultation for a dependant. This is evident because many of them who visit my clinic want to pay off in other ways.. may be through gifts...
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Back to the scene in the begining of this post:
Do you think, a child as old as 1 or 2 year can be "un-cooperative" (or co-operative for that matter)?
A child as young as that can be ignorant, but un-cooperative.....? Does your own child always co-operate, when you give him pills or syrup?
The onus to examine an un-cooperative child is upon the "experienced" doctor that you are.
Need feedback from you.
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Epilogue:
The above incidence actually happened few months ago in an Ophthalmic clinic. I identify with the plight of the couple because, we have been through similar circumstances as parents. I take this opportunity to thank the colleagues who have been extremely patient while answering our queries.
No insult is intended to any particular physician in person.
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