Mrs. Das smiled widely at her
beautiful baby girl. She held on tightly to her husband’s hand as the nurse
gently placed the newborn into her welcoming arms, and all of the onlookers –
two OBGYNs, three nurses, and two Yuva for Sewa interns – could see the
happiness radiating from this family.
For
the first time in my life, I witnessed what is oftentimes called the miracle of
life – the birth of a child. I observed the entire procedure, from the time
that the mother-to-be entered the active phase of labor to the health checkup
of the newborn baby to the introduction of the baby to the rest of the family;
each step is breathtakingly beautiful in its own way.
As an intern at
Rangadore Memorial Hospital in Bangalore, I have witnessed five natural births
and two C-sections and have had the opportunity to learn and observe as the
OBGYNs go about their daily routines. In the past five weeks, I have observed
various OT procedures and sat in on outpatient appointments in the Obstetrics
and Gynecology department at the reputable hospital. The doctors in the OBGYN
unit are extremely supportive of our efforts to learn from them, and they are
constantly teaching us and informing us about their patients’ issues and
proposed treatment plans.
I especially appreciate observing when the
OBGYNs interact with patients who are completely unlike themselves. Once while
in the outpatient department, I observed as Dr. Aruna Muralidhar treated an
elderly lady who had come from a rural village four hours away. She did not understand
Dr. Muralidhar’s Hindi or Kannada, so Dr. Muralidhar spoke to her in Telugu. I
was in awe of the doctor’s patience and compassion as she strove to make her
patient as comfortable as possible. In addition, because she knew that her
patient was coming from a great distance away, she prescribed various
procedures and tests all at one time so that the elderly lady did not have to
return to Bangalore many times. I later asked Dr. Muralidhar how many languages
she spoke and she listed off seven languages, saying that it is important for
doctors in Bangalore to know at least four languages in order to aptly treat
their patients. She also told me that the head OBGYNs of the department always
wear saris, instead of scrubs, to keep their patients at ease. She stressed that
patients are most relaxed when their doctors make an effort to be similar to
them. This is a very different mindset from the one of doctors in the United
States, who often have difficulty interacting with patients from different
backgrounds who speak languages other than English. Interpreters are used very
often in American hospitals, and such intrusion can make patients uneasy. Here
in India, I have seen that doctors make their patients’ comfort a priority. I
am extremely grateful to the hospital and to Sewa International for giving me
the opportunity to witness the inner workings of the Indian healthcare system.
In return, we, interns, are working to serve
the patients and doctors at Rangadore Hospital in any capacity. During the past
week, we painted the walls of the Pediatric Chemotherapy ward in order to
create a more lively space. We decided on a “jungle” theme, and within three
days we had painted a lion, an elephant, a giraffe, a zebra, and many birds and
trees. When we visited the ward a few days after finishing painting, we saw
that the children and the parents absolutely loved the paintings, a stark
contrast from the previous bare walls. The pediatricians informed us that we were
able to bring smiles to their patients’ faces; we were so happy to hear that.
In the next week, we will also be painting the labor wards. In addition to
painting, we are creating a curriculum to teach the nurses of the OBGYN unit
midwifery and creating informational fliers/brochures about diabetes and
maternal health. We are so glad that we can be of service to the doctors and to
the hospital administration, and we look forward to serving their patients in
the coming weeks as well.
Overall, we are
thoroughly enjoying our time as interns at Rangadore Memorial Hospital. We are
learning so much by shadowing the OBGYNs and we are also grateful that we can
give back by serving their patients. We are looking forward to our remaining
weeks in India and we hope to continue aiding the doctors and their patients.
