The Female Surgery Resident

An academic JR left soon after joining the Surgery department of AIIMS, New Delhi, leaving his seat vacant. This increased the workload of the other JRs. They approached the unit head who got the post of locum resident sanctioned against the vacant academic PG JR post but there was no hope of anyone joining it due to the heavy time-consuming schedule of the surgery department.

For Non-Medicos, A little background: After doing the basic graduation in medical sciences, MBBS, the young doctors usually opt for further studies in the form of Post-Graduation (PG) in various branches of medicine and surgery. The admission to the PG courses is through an entrance exam. During the PG course, the MBBS doctors study and also do the various patient and academic work and are known as academic junior residents (JR). 

If the number of JRs is less as compared to the workload or if some seat remains vacant in the department then some MBBS doctors may be hired to work against the vacant seat, to do the departmental work and are known as a locum or non-academic JRs. They get salary equal to the academic JRs but do not have academic work. 

Those MBBS doctors, who do not get selected in the PG courses, join this non-academic post to earn some money while they are preparing for the next PG entrance exam. As their main target is to secure a good rank in the next PG entrance exam, they generally choose to do locum resident jobs in non-clinical or other departments, such as laboratory medicine, etc., where the workload minimal with limited timing, leaving them plenty of time to study.

To everyone’s surprise, a female MBBS doctor joined as the surgery locum resident. On her first day in the AIIMS surgery ward, the new female JR got the shock of her life. 

The female JR was from an all-girls/women MBBS college. The hospital attached to their college was also an all-woman hospital. The situation has much changed now, but earlier there was very less number of female surgical patients in general. The all-female surgery ward in her hospital was usually half empty, with limited work for the interns and resident doctors working there. Also, there was a difference in the complexity of cases being operated in AIIMS, which was further increasing the AIIMS workload.

Since she had already joined, she decided to give it a try to work in AIIMS. After the morning round, on finishing the work allotted to her she went home. 

The next day, the senior resident, asked where she had disappeared after the morning round. The JR replied that she had left for home after completing the morning round work. The senior resident told her, as she was getting a salary equal to other residents, she has to work like other residents and not to get any special treatment. He asked her to stay in the ward and go only after completing the ward work after the evening round. (The evening rounds used to start around 6.00 p.m. but end in the night at around 8.30 p.m.)

The female JR became crestfallen. There was the problem of staying in the ward the entire day and then completing the evening ward round work which used end in the night and then going back home in the night alone as a security risk. 

With almost tears in her eyes, the JR pleaded with the senior resident, that she has to study for the PG entrance exam and there is the risk of traveling alone in the night. She made the counteroffer of staying in the ward in the day and attending any call while the other unit doctors were busy in Operation theatre or OPD but be relieved in the evening.

The senior resident got adamant that she has to work like other junior residents and to make arrangements to stay and work after the evening round from the next day.

The female junior resident did not turn up for work the next day and left the job at AIIMS.

On hearing this, the senior resident responded, ‘The trouble with female residents in surgery is that if you handle them roughly they cry, and if you handle them softly, they make you cry’. 

(Not my personal feeling and counterpoint is given below.)

The same position in name can have vastly different workloads, responsibilities, timing, etc. depending on the organization/company/institution. Before joining/taking any new position/job/responsibility, please find out the actual working conditions, timings, expectations, etc. 

And vice versa, before hiring someone, give him or her, an idea about the job, the hours of work, responsibilities, etc., explicitly and not just assume that they have the knowledge as they have applied for the job. This will avoid surprises and disappointments on both sides.

How someone work is just not based on his/her salary but his future plan. The academic JR course is of three years after which they have to appear in an exam, on passing which they get their PG degree. The academic JRs generally work far beyond normal workers, as they want to get maximum experience by doing maximum work which will help them in becoming a better specialist in the future. There is also the factor that the department’s faculty gets to decide who passes or fails in the final exam, so creating a good impression by hard work is important to secure a good rank in the exams. 

So if a person is planning on staying in the same field or subject and wants to create a good impression on his superior, then his motivation is going to be much more than otherwise. This was the primary reason between the difference in work of the normal surgery residents and the locum resident and not her being female, as erroneously assumed by the senior resident. There had been very good, hard-working female junior residents in surgery, like Dr. Jayanthy, who had come for the 3 years MS Surgery course.

When someone new joins your organization, think of the cold swimming pool or bath situation. When faced with the prospect of swimming in a pool filled with cold water or taking a bath with un-heated, cold water, people usually adopt two different approaches. 

Some take the slow gradual approach, first dip or wet their feet, then immerse of wet their legs, then thigh, pause in between, then start once again and dip/wet their lower body, upper body and finally their head. This approach may be slower and gradual but safer.

In contrast, some just brace themselves and jump quickly in the pool, dipping them completely in a single go. This approach is faster, exciting and impressive, but may sometime cause cardiac (heart) shock and even death due to sudden exposure to the cold temperature.

Similarly, if someone new joins your organization, you may give them the full workload in one go or increase their workload gradually. The full, sudden shock approach is suitable if there are other candidates waiting to take the job if the present person leaves. The sudden shock approach will show you whether the candidate can survive and bloom in your setup or force him/her to leave quickly, allowing you to search and fill with a more suitable person.

The gradual approach is more suitable and sometimes necessary if there is no other candidate waiting to take the job if the present one leaves. Remember, a half worker may be better than no worker.

If the senior resident had agreed to the reduced work hour and responsibilities of the female junior resident, she would have stayed and relieved at least some work from the other unity doctors. Some people consider this approach, especially if someone other, in this case, the government, is paying the salary.

 (Based on an allegedly true incident)

— ND

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DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purpose. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use the information herein is at your one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Practice should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost. 

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purpose. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use the information herein is at your one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Education should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost and according to MCI and other Board’s norms.