RIFLE RANGE BOY

Sir Robert Hutchison Father of clinical methods A friend, during our stint as house officers, told me about an incident that happened during his medical student days when he was studying in Manipal, India. An American elective medical student had joined the group's ward rounds. The old Professor of Medicine was showing them the correct technique of examining the respiratory system. He laboriously punctuated the teaching rounds by asking basic science questions and snarling occasional sarcastic remarks, for not understanding the basics. He was showing the green medical students the art of inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation. The American student, failing to see the point of such a laborious examination of a single patient, raised his hand. "Professor, wouldn't it be better if we just send the patient for a chest X-ray?" he quipped. That is the state of medicine now. We have lost the art of practising medicine. It is just about diagnostic proc...

Courtesy: Zee News Stemmed a mob in Kolkatta cracked the skull of a  doctor  when his 76-year-old patient with myocardial ischemia and  arrhythmia succumbed to his ailment.  Incidentally, the victim  is  from a minority group.  That makes it difficult for politicians  to make the  'correct' decision . There was a time when it was noble to treat the sick and downtrodden. People who had 'failed' in life, i.e., failed to live up to the expectations beset by the society, would find solace is serving the infirm. It was considered virtuous to live amongst and care for sick. Father Damien cared for lepers, contracted leprosy and was canonised. Florence Nightingale spent sleepless nights holding vigil in her ward to minimise morbidity. Mother Teresa left the comforts of her hometown to answer her call among the poor of Calcutta.   In public life, many non-religious individuals sacrificed time and energy to establish medical ...

Malay Magic Walter William Skeat (1900) There was a time many years ago when the Malaysian National Museum in Kuala Lumpur decided to go all out to make their exhibits draw more viewers. They curated an exhibition themed along the lines of 'Magic in Malay Land'. Just a few days into its starting, it had to be discontinued. The powers that be were not too comfortable as the reception was too overwhelming. Before this exhibition, the National Museum building was like Siberia; everybody knew where it was, but nobody wanted to go there. Rows and rows of hired outstations express buses were seen parking around the vicinity of the museum on a daily basis. The religious bodies did not realise that the interest amongst our community in knowing our ancient animistic past believes ran that deep.  So, as what a true-blue beholden of belief would do, to avoid confusions among its confessors, the religious authorities decided that the best thing to do would be to cancel the whole ...