iRADiX

for every student, where ever he may be, his teachers and his alma mater are the best in the world just like for every child his or her papa is the best papa in the world

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day
        Teach him to fish and you feed him for a life time.

Some technical teachers

Health care delivery systems are increasingly complex and require team work.The technicians who form an essential part of any medical team usually go anonymous, at least in the eyes of the outside world. Sometimes even people in positions of authority-doctors, directors even tend to overlook, forget or belittle the contribution of technicians without whom the giant-wheel of modern medicine will come to a standstill.

There are many such talented people who form an essential and indispensable part of a medical team and have been our teachers in their own multifaceted ways.

On a lazy Saturday afternoon, sipping tea on the katta with VJL, I discussed animatedly how green and beautiful some parts of our campus were. Surely, this must be one of the high points of living on the campus - especially on the third floor of the AD bungalow - for I see beautifully blooming yellow gulmohors at this time of the year as I sleepily open the living room door to welcome the milkman!

It was one of those hot but cloudy October afternoons. As I stood sipping a hot cup of coffee outside the canteen , I saw two senior professors -both known for their hot-headedness - animatedly arguing outside the library. I thought a punch would soon follow - but then some one joined me and I lost touch of the "Two Professors Action"

Days later, sitting in the cool of the MLT waiting for the Dean to arrive for one of those, now familiar, HODs meeting - I found both those professors - lets call then Professor O and Professor F -(that's 128 bit encryption) - sitting a few seats away. Curious as to what they were fighting about, I asked -
"Hey! What was it that the two of you were fighting about the other day outside the library"?
"YOU". Pat came the reply from "Professor O"
Generally known for my peace making rather than peace breaking nature, I was aghast.
"Now, what have I done?"
As Professsor O rambled on, the realization slowly dawned on me that the fight was not about what I had done; but, rather about what I had not done.
The argument , it turned out, was about how the head of the department of radiology could say that he knew next to nothing of ultrasound and get way with it and ask one of his junior colleagues to do the ultrasound examination of a very close relative of Professor F.
At this time, Professor F joined in His face was smiling - but , inside him , he was dead serious as he said:
"YOU can get away with it because you are RR. If any of us say such a thing we would get a "memo".
I did not know whether feel good or bad about it; but I did feel sorry for ProfessorF - I had let him and his relative down - or had I really?

Mornings, for me, are an assembly line.

Nothing seems to change .. well, most of the time. With the most important event of the morning - packing my son off to school behind me, I turn my attention to the more mundane things in life and generally look forward to the day at work. And even as I climb down the three stairs of the AD Bungalow and take a long walk lasting all of three minutes to reach the department, I spend a few brief seconds trying to organize the six things that I would have to do - first thing - on reaching the department (I have long since forgotten how to remember any list longer than six - that was always the limit of my DD – now, even that is becoming difficult!)

The number one thing is - check my mail – without this, my engine refuses to start. Even as I do this, once in a while, often, on a Monday, - I hear a hesitant voice behind me –

“I think we should add this case up on the “Interventional Case records” section of the KEM website; - the images are beautiful.. I’ve never seen anything like this before” I said to one of my colleagues who with a little bit of prodding, diligently and periodically gives me cases to put up on the internet. A hesitant nod of the head rather than an enthusiastic “Yes, Sir!” somewhat surprised me. And even as I was wondering why, one other faculty who was standing by said-