During my inaugural visit to the hospital as a wide-eyed medical school student, I encountered an unforgettable lesson in the complexities of patient interactions. Assigned to diagnose an elderly woman with an ailment, I, along with my fellow students, attentively listened as she recounted her symptoms: persistent headaches, heart palpitations, numbness, etc. – she nodded in agreement to every question asked. We diligently recorded her complaints but found ourselves perplexed, unable to pinpoint a definitive diagnosis. As she shared her distressing personal story, tears welled up in her eyes ..read more

I was a doctor in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at the bustling government hospital. Every day brought its own challenges and joys, but one particular day would stay etched in my memory forever. It was a day when a tribal woman came to us, pregnant and ready to give birth. Little did I know that her case would test not only my medical skills but also the compassion and collective efforts of our entire team. The woman, a shy and reserved individual, was brought in by her worried family. Her swollen belly and anxious expression spoke volumes. As we conducted the routine lab investiga ..read more

Tragedy Strikes: A Night of Heartbreak and Reflection in the Pediatric ICU As an intern doctor at the Pediatric ICU, I had grown accustomed to the fast-paced and challenging environment that defined each night shift. However, one fateful night stands out vividly in my memory – a night that taught me the harsh reality of how a seemingly simple mistake can have devastating consequences. It was a cool, quiet night when the Pediatric ICU received an urgent call. The frantic footsteps of worried parents echoed through the corridors as they rushed in, holding a 9-month-old baby boy in their arms. Th ..read more

Sun disappeared behind the horizon, The silver of the moon has risen. Across the halls dance the shadow, Through the windows winds blow. The world is serene and hushed No sounds prevail till the dawn blushed. On the edge of sleep you drift, Wave of wakefullness swift. The heartbeat is the the tune, To which the shadows swirl and swoon. Into dreams you hope to leap, But hide and seek goes the sleep ..read more

Bright and vibrant is the world through the eyes of a tiny tot, We only find the color grey in our palette as our ages trot. Through the steep slopes, the deadly dips, the grungy glares, We realized that there are a lot of steps in the crystal stairs. Our young hearts were of spun glass, shattered in the blink of an eye, Hardened with time, our dreams wrought in steel would never die. Our determination could bend and bend, and maybe even crack, But it would stand the test of time, and never would it slack. We burn as bright as the Sun, our dreams taking flight, And though sometimes the clouds ..read more

India is one of the fastest growing countries in the world. In just the last few years, we have progressed in the fields of education, agriculture, technology, sustainable energy, and infrastructure by leaps and bounds, but accessible and quality healthcare still remains dream for a vast majority of the population. Often, a trip to a doctor is perceived as a tedious process for the rural people – it consists of travelling long distances to the nearest government hospital, waiting for hours in a long queue before the meeting the doctor following which the clinician gives a quick examination an ..read more

He sat there proudly atop a pedestal amidst an ornate shrine, A lamp of faith at his feet flickered as it fought to shine. All through the day, he watched with a stony gaze, As apprehensive souls went in after praying in his praise. From the teeming happiness of a mother as she welcomed her newborn, To the demise of a beloved with the gut wrenching sobs of family forlorn, The towering hospital was home to the tales of innumerable ill – Some needed surgery, others an injection, maybe even some advil. Then the atheist came – he scoffed at the temple as he walked in “Sentimental fools!” he grumb ..read more

During one of our rotations to the Department of General Medicine in our hospital, before the whole unfortunate Covid – 19 crisis, we were told by our professor to visit the ICU. The instructions were clear – just interact with the patients and find out why and how they landed up in one of the most dreaded wards in the hospital. I was looking forward to the visit as I had never gotten the opportunity to visit that particular ward and quite elated that it would break the monotony of our normal routine rotations to the general ward. But I was also apprehensive – the ICU would always be consider ..read more

Just as we breathe a sigh of relief that our final theory exams are over, our hearts are thrown into palpitations with the onset of viva. Sound familiar? Let’s walk down that memory lane. We skim through our dust gathered practical manuals and hastily completed records and try to cram all the principles, experiments, and case sheet pro formas into our uninterested brains. Let’s admit it – post exams, our mind is still on vacation and simply does not want to reach back in time for viva. All year round, viva is considered “piccha lite,” but just an hour before you walk into those doors, we keep ..read more