You might know me as your neighbour’s daughter who has been away for almost five years when my parents claimed that I’m doing medicine in one of the top ten institutes of India. And come on! Admit it; you’re jealous of all the weary nights that I spend in my school years to score this institute that I’ve become a part of. And trust me these fine doctors have been more welcoming than you’ve ever been. Even on those so called ‘parties’ you threw to basically brag about the achievements your son acquired. You might know me as that quiet girl that used to sit alone in your classroom and answer all the teachers’ questions and save you from getting picked on while you ruthlessly made fun of her for not caring about the way she appeared as a little ‘hideous’ abomination in the gentler gender. Trust me man, I used to think you were just put on Earth to repopulate it if ever the Gods decided to drown then entire civilized human race. Or you might even remember me as the female colleague who used to do your odd jobs in med school and to whom you effortlessly said, “The OBGYN ward is down there, this place is for real doctors.” Guess what mister (well, in my mind a doctor never insults another one, thus mister) when your wife will be giving birth to your 8th child, I’ll be the one saving her from child-birth injuries once again. I guess you see me now. I’m that female medical graduate who has just started taking pride in the fact that she can now legally change her name to something else and which will be of her choice, this one time lest she should take up whatever settlement she’s married to. Many believe that the only reason why I got into medicine was because my father wanted to brag to his colleagues that his daughter was a doctor. Thus he sent me to an ‘expensive’ institute to ‘buy’ a degree. Well, apart from the big drain in my father’s fortunes, here’s what I invested. A series of festivals away from home working every waking hour to keep my sanity and increasing my skills and knowledge while your daughter ravished in the material comforts of your home. The might needed to deal with the endless lines of people who think are superior to me just because they were born with an extra appendage. And lastly, everything a male undergoes in the heat of medicine. And I never regretted any part of it. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MEDICINE. Plus, I would rather be debriding the wounds of a RTA than cleaning the utensils of my husband’s house or for that matter monitoring the amount of vomit my cancer patient produced than to attend the ‘gossip mandals’ and brag about my father’s income. And when at the long haul I stand at just the beginning of my career, I’m faced with these questions. I know no one wants to hear them, but these are the answers that I want to give. Q: When are you getting married? Your ‘younger’ cousin just did! You know later they may not find a groom for an old girl. A: First of all, I don’t even know why I speak to you at all. She got married because she finished her education and she had a job. Whether you like it or not, I’m going to be at my parents’ home, educating myself and living on their expenses a lot longer because you will not want me to treat your family member unless I’m a specialist. While we are on it, how is that illiterate son of yours treating his wife? Q: I guess that’s another obstetrician and gynaecologist for us! A: Okay first of all, a female doctor is not equal to an OBGYN. She can be anything right from the dermatologist who treats your skin to the neurosurgeon who cuts your brain or the cardiologist who treats your heart. So before you put me in a gender-role of the medical world, ask me if I’m stopping myself from cutting off your carotids because Hippocratic Oath binds me. Q: Nurse, may I please speak with the doctor? OR I need to see the senior surgeon here! A: Not all male people in the hospital are doctors and not all female staff is the nursing staff. Learn to identify the person treating your son wounded in a gang-fight. And trust me ‘good’ sir, I’m far better than any of the ‘senior’ male doctors here. Q: I’ll be a surgeon, why don’t you become an anaesthetist? A: Was I drunk when I agreed to marry you? Just because my husband/fiancé/boyfriend is in some field it shouldn’t oblige me into getting into a field that complements him. As far as I know, no two people can complete each other. How are you supposed to be a couple if you’re not even an entire individual? Q: So you’ll be having kids anytime soon? A: Absolutely! As soon as God sends you some brain matter. Yes, I know I’ll be at least in my 30s when I have my first child and yes that may pose a problem to my health. But before that if I bring a child into this world, I might just hate it because it would have curbed my life-long dream of treating people. Q: How much ever you study, one day you’ll be brought down to being married and birthing kids, isn’t it? A: Receptionist, please put this fine lady on the ‘never ever give an appointment to’ list. I thought why not make a pledge (you know apart from the Hippocratic Oath) today? “I solemnly pledge To do justice to the seat of medical college that I took by indeed practicing medicine and not use my degree just to decorate my living room, To choose the field of practice that best suits my abilities and give my best to it, To help in the progress of medicine and not let gender role define my place in this Holy institution, And To not let society overcome my power and might as doctor over me being a woman.” View attachment f8e090481fed29286f4af6c3bfd845f8.jpg Source
