Year: 2010

Ignorance or Ineptitude

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Every Wednesday morning, physicians and medical residents in my department gather in the seminar room to discuss morbidity and mortality data of the previous week. Our residents tell us how many patients were admitted to our wards, how long did they stay, how many went home and how many couldn’t. A resident tells a story … Read more

CT in a Village

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Very soon, our teaching hospital, located in a village in central India, shall use a new computed tomography (CT) equipment for obtaining high-quality radiologic images. The previous CT scanner- it had served us well for 10 years – was living a borrowed life. The hospital, therefore decided to invest into a new CT scanner. The … Read more

On Missing Malaria

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Parsimonious. My teachers taught me this principle at the bedside during my residency. A single diagnosis should explain all symptoms and signs whenever possible. That was in 1980. Physicians relied on their brains and stethoscopes. They took detailed histories, examined patients thoroughly, ordered few tests, discussed differentials, and took pride in getting the diagnosis right. … Read more

Doctors and drug industry

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Are the medical professionals so poor, as a BMJ editorial asked long ago, that they cannot afford to buy their pen, pad or pizza? And are the doctors so ignorant about the new therapies and new drug discoveries that they need help from medical representatives and the drug industry? Very few doctors learn during their … Read more

1985 batch reunion

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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it … Read more