On a happier note!

Today, I have some great news to share with you guys. After one year of idling away my time :-), job hunting, improving on my culinary skills, job hunting, travelling, taking care of my husband, job hunting again but this time with full vigour, I finally landed myself on a job. Yes, I am now officially a practising general dentist in Dubai.

When you want something really bad, you go chasing it rather than waiting for it to come to you.  At first, I was rather relaxed about the whole job thing and not giving it due importance. But as time passed I realised I couldn’t do this forever and have to take my profession more seriously especially because my eligibility period was nearing its expiry. Moreover, the dense population of doctors and dentists in Dubai made me frantic because supply was definitely more than the demand. I was getting out of touch as well. That is when I got a call from the Director of a clinic asking me if I was interested.

“Tom gave up the brush with reluctance in his face, but alacrity in his heart.”  

For a moment, I was transformed into Mark twain’s Tom Sawyer. It was already six months since I cleared the exam and I never got a good offer until then but I wasn’t going to tell him that. That is what everyone does, right? I went for the interview and after ten minutes into our conversation, it dawned on me the whole purpose of being a dentist. He was such a professional and also someone who valued his patients more than money. He genuinely wanted  to help them, to make them smile and I knew that he had it in him, the touch!  And when he explained to me his working ways and methods, I felt relieved mainly because it took all the pressure off me. The person I pictured myself to be 15 to 20 years down the lane was sitting right before me offering me a chance to work with him.

It has been one month since I  started working. Even though I wake up at 5 a.m everyday, travel for nearly two hours using two three different modes of transport to reach my clinic, work  for 8 hours and then get back home again after two hours of travel, I just love it. It feels like home and I am only happily tired. I respect and admire him and also feel blessed to be working under him. There are few doctors who really empathise and genuinely care for their patients.

I have seen the difference when people come to our clinic feeling scared, nervous and leave it smiling. Most of them, when asked to sit on the chair have just one thing to say, “I am sorry, but I hate dentists”, and that is when I believe the touch matters. We transform smiles, we transform people because after working here I realised how important a smile is to a confident person.

A new phase of my life starts here, my principles and beliefs reinstated when I found home at my workplace. All this was possible only because I got the opportunity to work under someone as great as the director of our clinic. He has without any doubt taken my professional life to new heights.

A foggy morning when I decided to walk to work.

Our clinic!

The view :-), beautiful isn’t it?

And that’s me! 😉

Change signifies that we’re moving forward, living better, and giving ourselves the chance to be the best we can possibly be. And the guys at housing love change! 🙂

Have a great week ahead, love you all!

Shruti

Magical Optimism

“ You are the one who calls the law of attraction into action, and you do it through your thoughts”

Rhonda Byrne, The secret

Optimism  flows through every vessel in my body. I believe that things happen for a reason, if not today the tide will definitely turn one day. This gives me courage to face all adversities that come my way and  be the last one smiling.

As a fresher tooth extraction scared the hell out of me. On days when I had to manage the clinic alone I made sure to steer clear of extractions mainly because at that time empathy weighed much more than optimism and I never wanted any fault of mine to cause harm. I also knew that as a doctor it was cowardice on my part, overcoming which was my only option. During one of those days, a man in his late twenties came to my clinic complaining of severe toothache. After prescribing medicines, he was recalled for extraction after three days. Unfortunately three days later when he came our senior dentist was on leave and it was just me, my hygienist and him.

He was young and well built, which made his grossly decayed tooth even more difficult to extract.

“ There is a very high chance of your tooth fracturing and it would be better if the other doctor is also present during the procedure”, I said in a vain attempt to postpone the extraction. My optimism had failed me completely. “ Do all that you want to do but I will not leave the clinic until you remove my tooth. You can do it, don’t worry”, those were his exact words and he said them with a smile that emitted positivity in such high doses that I found my courage returning.

“ Do all that you want to do but I will not leave the clinic until you remove my tooth. You can do it, don’t worry”, those were his exact words and he said them with a smile that emitted positivity in such high doses that I found my courage returning.

He seemed rather composed for a man who had just been informed by his dentist that she wasn’t experienced enough. Nevertheless,  I went ahead with the extraction. In order to make it easier, I began luxating(loosening) the tooth. Patience was never my virtue, but that day she was my best mate and gradually the tooth started moving. It was more of  instinct that came to my rescue when I found a spot to carefully raise the tooth and voila, I pulled off the extraction without even forceps.

It was one of the happiest days of my professional life and also a day when somebody else’s optimism worked wonders for me. After that day, I never shied away from extractions. As for him, he was so happy that he got me chocolates before he left. Now you don’t get that very often, do you? Nearly four years have passed since that day and I believe I  have come a long long way professionally. I will always be grateful to him for he showed me the magical effect of another person’s optimism and faith in me.

Being optimistic and having a positive outlook can take you as well as the others around you a long way in life. This is my story of optimism sowing it’s seeds in my life. As elusive as it may seem, optimism can be found all around – in the laughter of children, in the excitement on your pet’s face when you get back after a long day, and in the smile of your loved ones when you go back home after months of being away. Similarly, Housing envisions a world filled with positivity. Do check it out!

 

 

 

A conversation

Hi guys ,

This is yet another  post of mine from my student years . I was in the mood for writing a light post and this is what my brain  has come up with . Extremely light I suppose 😦

It was my first posting in the department of Oral Surgery . We were 6 in a batch and usually took turns to do the extractions . Only after an hour of viva every day were we allotted patients . Since we had a huge support system behind us I was never really worried but walking up to the patient each time did reduce me to a bundle of nerves . It was mainly because there was this list of complications  I kept thinking about  and  did not want to end up hurting someone .

And so it was my turn , my fifth extraction . Clutching the notepad to my chest I walked over to my patient . He was  in his teens and had a very badly decayed upper last tooth . I began taking the case history , we are supposed to take one before each case . It was then I asked

“Are you taking any medication or have you had any surgeries before ? ”

“No ” he said

“ Have you had any of  your tooth extracted before ? ”

Without batting an eyelid he shot back , “ no , have you done any  before ? ” …sarcasm screaming

“ Yes , four ” I said slightly embarrassed.

I quickly finished off the history and began the procedure , unfortunately I couldn’t complete it myself . I had to take my professor’s help.

It was just a conversation I had but I realised how important it was to be confident and and have it’s air surrounding you . Never let the world know of  your fears . You can achieve only when you have faith in yourself and when you believe .

Shruti

 

 

Benefits of being TOOTHLESS

                                                      picture courtesy Google images

Hi guys  ,

Our college had very few ‘ natural ‘ patients in some departments . If you had read my previous post in this category you would be knowing that already , if not , well I am telling you now 🙂 . We paid the ‘non natural’ ones and with each treatment they got richer .  For students in majority of the private dental colleges in India this is a crisis .

I was into the last phase of Prosthodontics posting (that is where we replace the missing tooth or teeth) when I realised that I needed one more patient and had only a week left  . We were 6 in a batch . Waiting for 6 new patients to come in that week wasn’t a good idea . It was final year and I was worried .That is when a senior mentioned David uncle .

And so it was David uncle , my saviour , my last complete denture patient for that year .

The next day as I walked to the department  he was there waiting for me . I never knew the amount of happiness a toothless smile could give till that very moment . He was a patient to the college since it’s first batch and we were the seventh . We paid him 500 Indian rupees per sitting and there were five . With the number of dentures he had , he could easily get a place in the Guinness Book of World Records if he wished . My work was just three dentures old but the knowledge he possessed I couldn’t imagine . It was time for  me to take the secondary impression and while I was taking the tray to his mouth, he said “ you haven’t mixed it right , my child ” . 

“ what ?” I asked quite surprised . 

He was right .

I did manage to complete the denture in a week’s time . There were lots of suggestions and tips from David uncle which I used though . One couldn’t blame the students for fighting to have him as their patient for the boards ( I was among them too ) .He would never let you down even if your work did . I wouldn’t be surprised if he were given a teaching post at our college either .

I graduated from college the next year ,a better dentist , it’s been 3 years now and the last I heard of him was that he was building a house ,at 85 that is , being TOOTHLESS was how he achieved it !!!

😉

How a diabetic foot can earn you money :-0

hi guys,

I have been having this idea of dedicating a category  for all those inspiring and amusing incidents i came across in the wonderful journey of me being a dentist . The posts in this category ” a doctor’s diary ” are of course on a broader perspective ,  including stories i have heard from my mother  and sister as well ( they are both in the medical profession  🙂 ) . Hope you find them interesting .

Today i want to introduce you to  a man from  rural part of south India ( that is where my college was ,it still is ). Though diabetes is commonly said to be a rich man’s disease, it can affect the poor man too but for him it can at times  come as a blessing 😦 well that is exactly how it was for our protagonist 🙂 . Now, i would also like to bring to your attention that my college due to its remote location,was known for its scarcity of patients and therefore the few who came were practically worshipped and pampered ,thanks to us 🙂

Our third year university exams were fast approaching and model practicals were going on. The day before general medicine practicals, our professor had set up clinical session to show us  some cases . That is when i first saw him, he was in his fifties , shabby and dishevelled yet very happy. He was flaunting his foot as if he had just been asked to give an interview . He was our first patient and we were all  standing nervously around his bed clutching pens and notebooks to scribble everything sir mentioned, that would come in handy . He just sat there enjoying all the attention his foot gave him 🙂 . Okay now let me show you something

This is a diabetic foot and  this was’nt how his foot looked like it was even worse . Would anyone in their right mind go around flaunting feet like these , he did . It was his boon , for people living in the rural India, in not so economically sound regions, earning 1500 rupees per day for nothing (don’t get me wrong , to him it  was ) and tips the doctors to be ( that would be us 😉 ) gave  was indeed an opportunity they wouldn’t miss . Food was provided too ,free 🙂 . There were treatments of course but he wasn’t willing to be treated even if it was for zero charge 😦 . Our professor informed us that he had been having it for a real long time ,the worse it got , the happier he was . I felt sorry for  his ignorance but that was how it was and no amount of health education would change that i suppose.

The only treatment he agreed to was daily dressings and occasionally would get himself admitted. Rest of the two years that i was in college i ran into him a number of times , the same him ,the same neatly dressed foot,walking around .Every time our paths crossed he had a smile on his face , only the satisfaction of  recognition can give  !!!