Why did I become an anaesthesiologist?

I would be lying to myself if I say, I wake up every day thinking "Thank God I am an anaesthesiologist". It does not mean that I hate my job. It is a little more complicated than that.
I have chosen to be an anaesthesiologist since I wasn't being offered anything better. I was desperate to get a specialty degree, this one came by and I was told that it isn't all that bad, there are many possible new avenues like critical care, pain management, ER etc, pays reasonably well, being an end-specialty( at least that's what I was made to believe ! ) there are no hassles of pursuing super-specializations like in surgery or internal medicine, you can finish your work and go home in peace to your family .. so on so forth. So, I sort of 'settled' for the specialty. I am sure quite a few of us out there are in the specialty for similar reasons.

After entering Anaesthesia I realised that there is this eternal, constant and totally unnecessary "cold war" between us and surgeons to make them respect anaesthesiologists, and there is this never ending dejection that no body recognises our efforts (including patients..) and that unfortunately most of the procedures that we do become just "routine" after some time. Anaesthesia is unique amongst all clinical specialties for being the only specialty where the practitioners feel an endless need to be recognized by their peers. In all others, either they don't give a damn or it happens naturally.
So, for me there was nothing appetizing about anaesthesia, rather, like you do for intoxicating beverages, I had to develop a taste for it. Once I did that, I realized it wasn't that bad after all.

I learnt to love the joys of anaesthesia. Making " the business of pain relief" an art form in itself, with patient as a canvass and your anaesthetic drugs and equipments as paints and brushes! And I must say, after I complete a case and a see a patient wake up completely painless and comfortable innocently asking "Doc, is the surgery really over?" the joy and gratification I get is no less than the one while watching a completed, magnificent painting.
Once I started to consider surgeon as a colleague in the OR with whom I have to spend considerable amount of time, who is not an idiot, who given the right circumstances behaves like a normal man, "Cold War" was no more than a petty nuisance.To my credit, I can safely say that I cannot recollect any instance of not being treated as a worthy co-worker inside the OR, though I must admit I have had my share of experiences with stupid, snobbish and dumb surgical colleagues.
I still ( after almost 8 years in specailty) love to put an IV line, to deftly maneuver the needle- cannula assembly into an ever so small a vein, still get excited when I can feel that I am near the Ligamentum flavum and will enter epidural space any moment, and even now I would be thrilled while intubating if had an hint from I pre anaesthetic examination that it could be difficult airway. So, I have realised procedures never really become "routine".
As for lack of acknowledgement from the patients, I found that it is extremely gratifying to participate in the care of the patient who is at one of the most stressful time of his/her life. I made it more bearable for them. So. I began wondering, does it really matter if somebody fail to understand this?

When coded for an emergency, to see that unmistakable sign of relief on faces of all those who have hurried there before as soon as I enter, and when I see them naturally accepting my leadership in the resuscitation process recognizing my superior ability in managing critical situations like that..I feel like God !

"Anaesthesiology", for me is not a passion, but an interesting profession. It gives me an opportunity to witness an exciting human drama with innumerable critical moments, near death situations, unmeasurable delights of vanquishing the eternal foe of mankind called pain.. that plays everyday exclusively for me.

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My Story..

I wrote this little poem while i was preparing for my PG entrance test.. Those days were one of the most horrible days of my life and i would never wish them on even my worst of enemies. I would like to sing this to all of you ... Ha

I am this lazy guy

Couch potato you can call me,

So I love this cable guy

Hey! Don't you get ideas about me !

If you don't know yet

You'll be pretty surprised i bet,

 That I'm this silly medical graduate

Afraid to call myself a Doctor,

Who's got to study day and sometimes even night

For this PG test to be a top scorer.

But, as I said I am lazy

With television giving me company,

It's crazy to be taking it all so easy

My head needs some scrutiny.

I wasn't always like this

Till something went amiss.

What it is I am still wondering 

Unable to spot the red herring.

Mediocrity, I used to hate,

Like it or not, it is about to be my fate.

I need somebody to show me the light

To infuse life back into me to make me alright.

So, I am waiting and waiting 

But haven't found the saviour yet..

Meanwhile it's friday

What's on Starmovies tonight !!

A Memorable Day

I completed my 31 years of existence on our beloved planet on 29th of August. I can surely rate it as one of the most memorable days of my life. It reassured me that I still have lots of thoughtful friends and I am after all not some irresponsible recluse that I was imagining myself to be. It was truly heartwarming to accept wishes from so many people, especially since it was happening for the first time with me. For at least a day I felt as though I am the most important person in the whole world. Of course there were many gifts too. To me, they are all priceless. I will guard it with my life for the rest of my existence here. I had been a little cynical about celebrating these special days.. father's day, mother's day, lover's day, birth day... Money spinning inventions of gifts and greeting cards mafia. But that day I realised that even if some intelligent entrepreneur makes a killing every time somebody celebrates a special day, it doesn't really matter. The amount of boost in morale, the extent of spread of infectious good will and the motivation to be good and do good and the feeling of being wanted and loved that the recepient feels during the celebration of his or her special day justifies every penny spent. It's an amazing feeling, trust me.

Bangalore to Pondicherry to Velankanni

When I was planning to drive down to Pondicherry from Bangalore for a holiday, I was really surprised to learn that there is actually very little useful information on the web. I found the information on the route, quality of roads, the correct distance of the destination and the places to see in around Pondicherry grossly incomplete and inadequate. Nevertheless, I did go for the trip and enjoyed it thoroughly. Though I saw most of the must see places in around Pondicherry, I lost lots of time in accomplishing it since the planning wasn’t very rational. So I am posting this so that if any body has similar intentions of going to places that I visited, they will have a good source of information to plan their iteinery.
Distances :
1. Bangalore (BTM layout) to Pondicherry - 290 Kms
2. Pondicherry to Velankanni – 170 Kms
Route :
1. Bangalore to Pondicherry -
Bangalore – Hosur(30Kms) – Krishnagiri(48 Kms) – Mathur (25 Kms)– Utharangai(18 Kms) – Chengam(30Kms) – Thiruvannamalai(35 Kms) – Gingee(20Kms) -Tindivanam(65 Kms) – Pondicherry(37 Kms)
a. The road from Bangalore to Krishnagiri is excellent ( NH 7). For a short distance of about 5 kms from Krishnagiri to the NH 66 towards Thiruvannamalai you will have to pay a toll of Rs.25. From the toll booth at Krishnagiri go over the firs fly over and take the side road before the second fly over and turn left at the signal. If you drive for about a km you will see a huge board overhead pointing to right towards Thiruvannamalai.
b. Even though it’s a NH(66) , its only two lane and the initial 40 kms has lots of potholes. There are lots of cross roads till you reach Thiruvannamalai with out any boards showing directions and even if there is one it will be in chaste Tamil. So I suggest you to stop at each cross road and ask the locals.
c. Jay walking by both humans and animals is the norm on this road. Drive carefully and be generous in the use of the horn.
d. But over all the road to Pondicherry is quite alright. You can comfortably make around 60 kms an hour on an average. So the journey shouldn’t take you more than 5 hours.
2. Pondicherry to Velankanni –
Pondicherry – Cuddalore – Chidambaram – Sirkazhi – Karaikal – Nagore – Nagapattinam – Velanganni
a. Though the distance is only about 170 kms it will take you a little more than four hours because of the mindless and chaotic traffic on this road. The people who live in towns along the road don't seem to differentiate between the road and their front yards. You will see them taking casual walks all over the main road being totally oblivious to the speeding traffic.
b. Quality of the road is good. It’s a two lane road, but reasonably wide.
c. Better to eat breakfast at Pondicherry and pack something for the lunch also if you are hygeinic type.
d.Must see places on the way..
Chidambaram - Natarajar temple here is breathtaking, an unparalleled example of Chola architecture. This temple is being run by Deekshitars for the last 800 years or so and doesn't receive any endowments or contributions from the government. While you are there let your hearts cry for the neglected temple cars, each one a master piece by itself , a sheer poetry in wood, exposed to the onslaught of elements.
Nagore - It has one of the most popular muslim shrines of south India. People from all religions offer prayers here
Karaikal(Thirunallur)- Temple of Shanishwar. Many celebrities from all parts of India visit this temple
Velankanni- Church of Arokya Matha, a 500 year old church. An example of faith overpowering religion. You can sense those divine vibes all over this place. Atleast I did.
Where to stay?
We stayed at Hotel Jairam. Its right in the middle of the city, very close to the main shopping area, J N Street. Its a very reasonbly priced hotel with an excellent vegetarian restaurant. The staff are courteous and service is prompt. I would certainly suggest this place to all those who are looking for value for their money.

I passed F.IACTA !

There was always a tiny little bit of insecurity in me for not having any recognised qualifications in Cardiac Anaesthesiology inspite of working in the specialty for close to two and a half years. In an age of progressively increasing awareness amongst the public and professionals regarding the need for superspecialty training in their health care givers, I had every reason to feel the way I was feeling. In an attempt to fill that lacuna in my credentials I decided to appear for Fellowship exams conducted by Indian Association of CardioThoracic Anesthesiologists( F. IACTA). This year the exams were conducted in SRMC Chennai. Let me tell you at the outset itself , it is definitely not an easy exam to pass. Only two years since its conception, the IACTA is striving hard to set high standards and credibility in this fellowship programme. This is being reflected in the percentage of successful candidates .. a miserly 30% last year and an even thrifty 25% this year!
And I passed this exam successfully. Period.

Anaesthesiology at Narayana Hrudayalaya

This is the title of another blog which I created a couple of days back. Being one of the few net savvy employees in the department the onus, I felt, was on me to do something like that. The response from my colleagues has been reasonably good I must say. I have managed to enroll few contributors already!
Basically I just wanted a forum to discuss, publish and display few of the interesting stuff we do in the hospital. I only hope it will be well nourished and taken care of.
Here is the link to the blog..