u/emkeee

Even though almost all the major textile shops, restaurants, and everything else are there, the traffic management in Polayathode is literally sh! t, and it’s so frustrating.

So, last day we had a meeting where we were discussing how patients keep demanding NSAIDs for a month or so and how frustrating the whole situation is, with our superior.

According to him, people who have completed “just” MBBS aren’t even eligible to put the prefix “Dr.” before their names.

And this dude has an MPH along with his MBBS. Great. 🙃

He was like, “Don’t be a fool who believes everything written in textbooks. I know patients who have been taking painkillers continuously for the last 35 years, and they’re fine. The patients will be fine. Just prescribe them what they want”

Tata byebye. 🫠

"Doctor, I think I'm going to get a fever very soon. Can you give me some antibiotics so I can stock up?"

Being shouted at and cursed because I refused to give injections and IV fluids to a 14-year-old who came alone, without a parent or guardian, for a fever that had started only that morning.

"You gave my neighbour (who has NCDs) a lot of medicines, but just because I'm poor, you gave me only three medicines for my fever."

Listening to a detailed explanation about antibiotic resistance and its harmful effects, only for them to say, "Yeah, I understood... but can you still give me some antibiotics?" — for a simple 1 cm knife cut on the tip of their finger.

An ex-councillor trying to teach me medical ethics because I document my case sheets properly.

A random old man lecturing me about how medical standards abroad are so much better, without realizing that doctors there usually handle only a fraction of the patient load we do.

Facebook warriors making "funny" comments about how government hospitals are useless—while happily collecting free medicines from those very same hospitals.

Drug shortages, yet still having to face allegations that we're in cahoots with pharmaceutical companies. Yeah... my bank account is crying in the corner.

Is anything going to change?

Hell nah.

"Doctor, I think I'm going to get a fever very soon. Can you give me some antibiotics so I can stock up?"

Being shouted at and cursed because I refused to give injections and IV fluids to a 14-year-old who came alone, without a parent or guardian, for a fever that had started only that morning.

"You gave my neighbour (who has NCDs) a lot of medicines, but just because I'm poor, you gave me only three medicines for my fever."

Listening to a detailed explanation about antibiotic resistance and its harmful effects, only for them to say, "Yeah, I understood... but can you still give me some antibiotics?" — for a simple 1 cm knife cut on the tip of their finger.

An ex-councillor trying to teach me medical ethics because I document my case sheets properly.

A random old man lecturing me about how medical standards abroad are so much better, without realizing that doctors there usually handle only a fraction of the patient load we do.

Facebook warriors making "funny" comments about how government hospitals are useless—while happily collecting free medicines from those very same hospitals.

Drug shortages, yet still having to face allegations that we're in cahoots with pharmaceutical companies. Yeah... my bank account is crying in the corner.

Is anything going to change?

Hell nah.

I couldn't file my ITR for the FY 2024–25 due to some circumstances. Is there any benefit to filing it now?

I work in a PHC. The other day, I had a patient who wasn't just shivering—he was literally shaking with a high-grade fever. He had a venous ulcer on his foot and had apparently used leeches on it. His urine output was also very low.

While I was taking the history, I asked my staff to urgently run a few tests. That's when the patient's son walked in. The moment he entered, he started shouting at everyone for no reason: "Why the hell are you pricking him?"

I could smell alcohol on him, so I documented in the case sheet: "Bystander is highly uncooperative and appears to be under the influence of alcohol."

Within five minutes of arriving, he started yelling that we couldn't do anything for his father and that he was taking him elsewhere. I still don't know what triggered that outburst. Since the situation was becoming threatening, and all my staff members were women, I immediately referred the patient to the District Hospital.

Later that night, the bystander went to my cleaning staff's house (she's a local) asking about my whereabouts. Apparently, someone in the District Hospital casualty told him that I had written in the referral letter that the patient was an alcoholic. Now he's threatening that he'll "deal with me" on Monday—which is tomorrow.

What frustrates me the most is that medical documentation exists for clinical communication. If I write something in the case sheet or referral notes, it's meant for the next doctor managing the patient and for everyone's safety. I clearly documented that the bystander appeared to be under the influence of alcohol—not the patient.

If someone can't take a minute to read the notes properly, why misinterpret them and then explain the wrong thing to an already aggressive bystander? We don't even have police aid posts in most PHCs. More than being afraid, I'm deeply frustrated. This entire situation could have been avoided if someone had simply read what was actually written.