anonymous
8th September 2018
To Err is Human - 1
TO ERR IS HUMAN - 1
DR G.S. AMBARDEKAR
Way back in the twenties, I was aspiring to become a surgeon
and had duly registered myself for the surgery course of Bombay University.
After graduation, it was mandatory to do a three months' stint- the Incoming
Period, as it was known in subjects allied to surgery like anaesthesiology,
pathology, medicine etc., prior to the specialised training in my chosen field.
Of the three months, I opted one month for anaesthesia posting because I
thought that every surgeon should have a basic knowledge of this subject.
During my one month stint in the Anaesthesia Department of the K.E.M Hospital,
I had the pleasure of working under a very enterprising and dare-devil 'boss',
my Registrar. During the first fifteen days he taught me how not to panic in an
emergency. He also taught me the importance of brisk reflexes which a good
anaesthetist must possess, as also the basics of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation
(CPR) to be exercised during a cardiac arrest.
The Registrar was habituated to taking a very sumptuous
Indian breakfast which he was unwilling to share with anyone. One day he asked
me if I would like to conduct a case independently. The suggestion came out of
the blue and I was quite taken aback. I had hardly been in the Department of
Anaesthesiology a fortnight and that, too, on an incoming basis. I suppose the
Registrar saw hesitation written all over my face, whereupon he took great
pains to explain that what I would learn by accepting his offer would stand me
in good stead in my future surgical practice. He even expressed willingness to
let me share the breakfast he enjoyed every morning for the remaining
fortnight. That was ample persuasion!
Over the next fifteen days, after an elaborate breakfast, I
toiled the whole day conducting independently the routine as well as the
emergency anaesthesia procedures. Did the breakfast contain some magic potion
that kept me out of trouble? There was fear deep inside me on two counts: one,
of being found out, in which case I would certainly have been rusticated. The
other fear was of getting embroiled in a medico-legal hassle should an
anaesthetic mishap occur.
But all went well. Importantly, I found this branch of study
so fascinating that on completing my house post of six months' duration in surgery,
I switched over my specialisation to anaesthesiology. I was make a career out
of it. And what a rich streak of human experience and mine over the years!