Working alone ... my 4th week

My regular readers know that my colleague Dr. Yasser has gone on his annual vacation since the 25th of July 2013. I have, since then, been on call every single day, and although work has never been back-breaking, it is the sheer tension of being on call 24 x 7 that affects the solitary doctor who works without a replacement. 

My detractors would probably raise a flag and remind me that when I was in private individual practice in India, I was, even then, on call 24 x 7 every single day - at least as far as my patients were concerned. The difference is that when you are in your own homeland, you are with your family and the entire support system, whereas when you are working in a foreign land where the indigenous population is waiting to put you in the dock for perceived acts of omission or negligence. 

Even so, I have remained in good spirits generally. I have begun to have group discussions on Skype with a few doctors who are all going to appear for the final part of MRCPCH either later this year or the next year. This, "the final exam" as it is called, is a clinical exam where the Royal College judges the candidates on their clinical proficiency, their communication skills and their diagnostic and analytical abilities. As such, there are no standard online question sets or guidelines for passing this exam. One has to constantly practice clinical and interview skills with friends and try and smoothen one's difficult areas so that during the exams, one is able to confidently face the examiners. 

In other news, I discovered a Punjabi style Pakistani restaurant on the highway just a few hundred meters from the original North Pakistani Peshawari restaurant that I used to visit earlier (last year, that is). They actually make delicious food and also tandoori rotis the way I like them! I have begun to bring rotis, and occasionally some curries to eat with the rotis. 

On another level, I have begun to exchange food with some of the staff nurses in the hospital. They love my food, and in return, they bring something from their own kitchens! Thus, I am enjoying the experience. Last week, I made a mean spicy cashew chicken, and got some nice Chicken Adobo in return! (This is a spicy Filipino dish). 

One surprising thing that has happened in the last few weeks after Ramadan ended is the sudden spurt in deliveries. I think over 18 pregnant mothers came to the hospital in labour and have delivered their babies. This is a huge spurt, as usually, we have 3-4 deliveries every week, and about 15-20 deliveries in a month. Nowadays, there are 1-3 deliveries almost every day. This hasn't really taxed me as most deliveries are still NORMAL. However, it has added to my calls, as some of the deliveries are "high-risk" cases and some progress to a problem that needs a surgical delivery ( a Caeserean section or a C-section as it is called). 

I wish to end with a few asides. I watch Indian Idol Junior on Sony Entertainment Television, and the singing by the final 6 children has been fantastic. I was deeply impressed by all of them, but in particular by the 14-year old Debanjana and the 8-year old Sugandha who is truly prodigal. 

The other thing I wish to comment on is the abominable economic condition of my homeland. India is facing multiple problems, but the biggest one that is threatening to bring India on its knees is the explosive inflation, the rapidly depreciating Rupee vis-a-vis the U.S. dollar and the crashing stock markets. Already, credit agencies have downgraded India two or three times. the Industrial production index has plummeted to zero or even under this, and the Wholesale Price Index is at a hitherto unseen peak.

A week later

I completed a year and a half in Saudi Arabia last week. Now, I am a lot more here, and a little less in India when it comes to my mental state. I still watch Indian television avidly - so it's not that I don't care about my country, if you know what I mean - but I don't lose my sleep over whether Gurunath has bet money in IPL or whether Mumbai Indians are passionate or not about winning this season of IPL; I don't get overly concerned that there is a political and ideological divide between Sonia Gandhi and MMS; I hardly think about what will happen if Mr. Chauhan, the C.M. of Maharashtra has to go to the centre one fine day.

On the other hand, my heart still bleeds when there is a violation of children and women in New Delhi; I cry when I see what terrorists do when they attack innocents in some part of the country; I enjoy the shenanigans of the good people - like athletes, do-gooders, philanthropists, etc.; I am annoyed when I see cases of corruption in the execution of public welfare schemes like the MNREGA; I smile when I see a significant impact of some good planning on a measurable parameter of social improvement; I am thrilled to see a developmental project such as a much-needed flyover or a railway crossing being opened for the benefit of the common man.

When it comes to the bottom line, yes, I believe in India more than I did over a decade ago. Last month, I actually put my money where my mouth is, and have invested in a real estate project near Mumbai. Thus, my faith in India is alive and kicking.

A week has passed since I returned from Riyadh, where I had gone to appear for the second part of the MRCPCH exams. I was on call this week, and, thankfully, there weren't many calls or late night disturbances. I have begun walking for health once again, though I went only three or four times in the last seven days. On Thursday evening, two of my friends, Dr. Measser (a Syrian resident doctor) and Dr. Sheshtawy (an Egyptian resident doctor), and I, had a barbecue session in the garden of Al Muwayh. We went at six p.m. to avoid the strong heat of the sun, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable session where we barbecued some fillets of fish (prepared by me) and a whole chicken, which we had with Egyptian rice (made by Dr. Sheshtawy) and a lovely salad (brought by Dr. Measser). We stayed there till half past eight, and then returned home. I am publishing some photos of our experience. 

Starting a fire 

Fire is now almost ready to take the food

Fanning the flames to make the fish 

Barbecuing the fish

The ready fish (Dori fillets)

The vegetable salad

The Egyptian rice

In other news, an Indian Pediatrician by the name of Nandkumar Nenekar contacted me from a place called Nazran. He was given my number and name by my Peds friend Dr. Praful Shanbag, who is based in Mumbai, and with whom the good doctor is associated. He was basically touching base with me and I enjoyed talking with him.

Okay, so what are my plans? Currently, I am mulling the idea of working full-time to complete revising my Child Care book; once the MRCPCH results come, I will know whether to study again for Part 2 or go ahead with preparing myself for the final exam which I plan to appear for next year; I am thinking about registering for an upcoming Asian-Oceanic conference on Neurology in September in Riyadh (yes, Riyadh); I am continuing to walk as the only available means to get fitter; and finally, I am working towards  visiting more places in Saudi Arabia as a tourist.

That's it for now. 

In a couple of days, I plan to go to Ta'if and Jeddah for a well-deserved break.

A week-end Update

The year 2012 is on the verge of ending in a few days. 21st December, the date of apocalypse came and went without the end of the world as we know it, and everyone was, albeit secretly, relieved that the Mayan prophecy had not come true. I was watching the clock quite eagerly as the time in Saudi Arabia neared 4.46 p.m., the equivalent of 11.11 a.m. GMT (London), the time at which the final disaster was to annihilate planet Earth.

In the event, the big non-event proved to be a damp squid. After this, my spirits improved too. I have been enjoying myself greatly since then, and have either been trying to cook new stuff, or watching programs and news on the TV. Most evenings, I go for my walks, and sometimes, I even see serials and films on my laptop. 

Last week, I watched, with increasing anger, the story of the 23 year old Delhi-based physiotherapist who was gang raped in a bus as she was returning home from work. The spontaneous response of people of all ages, especially youth, was, by turns, gratifying, alarming, energising, disruptive, and finally, gratifying again. These reactions occurred, respectively, when the response began, when it swelled to huge numbers, when it began to unnerve the Delhi law makers and politicians, when it turned violent, and when it finally led to some solid actions by the administration. The drama unfolded hourly, with newer and fresher events; it was heart warming to see men and women marching on the streets of New Delhi, but not just there ---- also in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Lucknow, Jammu, Varanasi, and so on. When the Delhi police retaliated on the third day of the protests with repeated rounds of lathi-charge (caning), tear-gas shelling and firing of water cannons, I cried within. The response was totally uncalled for, although one can perhaps defend their action when one knows that a section of the protesters turned violent and started rampaging and throwing stones on the police, injuring many of them.

By the fourth morning, that is by Tuesday, the situation had improved, but even as I write this on Thursday, 27th December 2012, protesters are marching in New Delhi. Usually, I watch Times Now channel, but sometimes, I switch to Zee News to see what is happening, and the scenes in both the channels were nearly the same. However, Times Now is a much better channel, both visually and in content. Its executive editor is a very sharp, brazen but disciplined and articulate man (Abhinav). A recorded version of its evening telecasts is shown in Saudi Arabia after 2-3 hours (the actual time difference being approximately equal to the difference in the time zones, which is 2.5 hours. Among its varied programs, the late evening telecast in the form of "Newshour" is very interesting indeed. This is because the chief editor coordinates and chairs a panel discussion where several people relevant to the topic under discussion are invited and drilled till they speak the truth. 

What else is happening? Nothing much, as internet access has worsened in the last few months in Al Muwayh. I have been forced to wean myself from net-surfing, or to search for free Wi-fi hotspots wherever possible. Thus, I am seen less often on Facebook and elsewhere, and this has already provoked many comments from my friends. To all my readers, I ask to please bear with my situation. I am fine, thanks. If you wish, you may email me and I will definitely answer all your questions/doubts/queries.