Wednesday 18 April 2007

These Doctors, I tell you...

These doctors, I tell you, are a weird breed,
True, they do good deed after deed.
But their calling takes over their entire life,
I’m telling you ‘cos I’m a doctor’s wife.
Living on campus, I’m surrounded by every kind
Of doctor that you could ever find…
Pathologists, radiologists, cardiologists, gastroenterologists,
Neurologists, nephrologists, oncologists, dermatologists,
Urologists, geologists – hang on, geologists? No, that doesn’t sound right
And, of course, the surgeons, whom I mustn’t slight.
There are older ones with tons of knowledge ‘n’ experience in their heads,
And younger ones bubbling with enthusiasm instead;
Unkempt ones, unshaved ones, crumpled-shirt ones,
Long-haired ones, sleepy-eyed ones, just-out-of-bed ones,
‘Maybe that one dozed off half-way though a book,
And got up and rushed off, without a care for his look!’
The most pitiable ones – pagers beeping – scurry off to respond,
By now I’m sure, of emergencies; they can’t be all that fond.
From ward to ICU to OT do they spend their day,
Jack’s quite active though it’s all work, no play.
Surgeons rushing off to operate on patients, make them good,
Just wishing they’d got as much sleep as they should!
Seeing line after line of the sick in the OPD,
If it weren’t for doctors, where would we be.
Morning rounds, evening rounds, to think makes my head spin round,
Ward to ward, patient to patient, bed to bed – to see if all’s sound.
And when they aren’t in the hospital, but on a coffee break,
Their real passion comes out, a passion you can’t fake.
Even in a 5-minute respite – it’s ‘patients’, ‘cases’, ‘operations’ and ‘medicines’,
‘Who had what’, ‘who needed what’, and ‘who delivered twins’.
It’s everywhere you go, this ‘doctors’ talk’,
At night, even in your dreams, does it you stalk.
All conversations, whether at breakfast, dinner or lunch,
Revolve around who had what complication, who took the crunch,
Who developed what condition, what miracle drug did its wonder,
Which junior doctor got screwed for what mistake or blunder.
And if you think over time a doctor’s ways you can dilute,
Let me warn you, that all efforts will be barren fruit,

It’s just a matter of time before the IV of ‘doctory’ finds its way into your veins,
And ‘doctors’ garble’ takes over and starts to hold the reigns.
In no time you’ll be rattling about meningiomas and corpectomies;
With a matter-of-factness that you would say ‘wood is made from trees’!!!
You’ll be able to pronounce ophthalmology and spell pediatrics;
You’ll know that ‘bone cement’ is the equivalent of quick fix!
You’ll be saying – I have to ‘suture’ a button on a shirt;
With phrases like ‘got an emergency’, ‘I’m on-call’ do you flirt;
You ask for a scalpel when you really need a knife;
You don’t remember how it was, without pagers in your life!
You aren’t startled anymore when in the middle of the night the phone does ring;
And emergency shunts at 2 AM are an ordinary thing.

You mistake me, good friends, if you think I am complaining,
No, no, these are but jottings of an idle mind wandering,
And wondering too
That if you…

Were to stick a needle into a doctor’s vein,
Any doc will do – sane or insane,
Pull out some blood and send it for a test,
To a laboratory, of course, one of the best,

The blood test would say –

Blood type: Not human, that’s for sure
Diseases: Undiagnosible, but looks hopeless to find a cure!

13 comments:

Ramya said...

Good one. Nice read. First blog haan? Keep filling up this space. :)

saipreeti said...

wow!!!! really nice... i nvr read blogs but read urs and its superb... mu fren jayasri asked to tell u too!!!

hey i will read ur everyday!!!!

westwind blowing said...

thanks guys! but dont expect posts everyday! i do work, u know :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Ms "Westwind Blowing"
nice work.. I gotta meet u someday.. looks like u hv a good control over language. .. :) n good understanding bout Docs..
u shd write more about them...say 101 days in life of a Doctor.. just wondering are you from India..?

westwind blowing said...

thx 'bird' - will keep that suggestion in mind for another post sometime!

Anonymous said...

Hey Westwind

y did u chose this name..?
ummm.. thinking..
ahaa.. may be u r from USA..
may be u want to go to USA
wht do u say

Bird

westwind blowing said...

the westwind blows like passing thoughts. thoughts - that's what my posts will be - my thoughts

Anonymous said...

What a lovely thought.. indeed your thoughts are a treat to read.. keep flowing ..keep moving.. I want to know more about u Westwind...

Bird said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Really portrays a Doctors life!!! Good job dearie... do fill in more and i will fill in my comments!!!

My hi to your lucky Doctor Husband to have got such an understanding wife!!

to-be-or-not-to-be said...

hey..i always knew tht u write bt had no idea it wld be os interesting. sweetheart u just got the "pulse' right of the dear docs.
grt stuff..kp going.

to-be-or-not-to-be said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
westwind blowing said...

thx guys!