The Sambar Curry Lesson

Non Medicos version

Dr. Dev (Fictional Name) joined as a junior resident in the Department of Surgery, AIIMS, New Delhi. One of the duties of the junior resident was to assist the faculty members, such as the Professor, in the operation theatre. 

The senior surgeons were not satisfied by the level of assistance of Dr. Dev. Dr. Dev wanted to be a good assistant but did not know how to improve his performance.

Professor (Dr.) Rajinder Prashad, was an Assistant Professor in the surgery department when Dr. Dev joined there as a junior resident. Seeing that Dev did not have a clue about what he was doing wrong and how to improve himself, he took pity on Dev and gave him an example to illustrate his point.

Dr. Rajinder told, ‘Listen, Dev, you must have gone to restaurants and ordered and eaten a Masala Dosa (south Indian dish) with Sambar (a liquid curry accompaniment) there?’

(Masala Dosa is a south Indian dish eaten with Sambar, a liquid curry accompaniment to the Dosa)

 ‘Yes sir’ replied Dr. Dev, wondering what eating Masala Dosa has to do with surgery.

‘Frequently the sambar runs out before the dosa is finished’ said Dr. Rajinder. ‘With some waiters, you have to call them, and then ask them to refill the sambar. You have to stop eating and wait while the waiter gives your order in the kitchen and then bring the sambar after some time, spoiling your mood by the break.’

‘In contrast, some waiters keep a careful watch on your table, continued Dr. Rajinder. They notice that you sambar is about to run out and they bring the extra sambar before you can call them. They anticipate your need and fulfill it without you saying anything. You are able to enjoy your food without interruption with this type of waiter,’

‘You are going to appreciate the second type of waiter and are more likely to visit the place in the future and even leave a larger tip to the second type of waiter.’

‘Similarly, when assisting in the Operation theatre, observe carefully what the operating surgeon is doing, anticipate his next step and be ready to help him appropriately and promptly.’ 

Dr. Rajinder further explained, ‘For example, the surgeon is going to hold a bleeding vessel with an artery forceps. You know the next step is that he will tie the end of the vessel with a suture (thread) to stop the bleeding. While is the surgeon is holding the vessel, the vigilant assistant keeps ready the suture in his hand and hands it to the surgeon before he even asks for it. 

After tying the suture, the next step is to trim the ends of the thread. Again the vigilant assistant takes the scissor in his hand while the surgeon is still tying the thread, and cuts the end promptly as soon as the surgeon finishes tying the end, without any delay.’ 

‘This intelligent observation, anticipation, and preparation of the next step, and prompt action without making the operating surgeon wait, is the hallmark of a good assistant.’

As expounded by Professor Rajinder Prashad, intelligently observe your superior/boss/head/senior, anticipate his/her next step or need and be ready to fulfill it before he asks you to create a good impression and open the path of success for you. 

Life lessons and good practices can be seen and learned from anywhere and anyone and can be applied everywhere. For example, the behavior of a waiter, a low education qualification job in a restaurant can be applied to the surgical practice of the highly qualified surgeons in the operation theatre of AIIMS. 

So observe carefully the people around you with an open mind regardless of their job and educational qualification to learn something new or good that can be applied to your job or situation.

(Based on an allegedly true incident)

— ND

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DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purposes. 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 purposes. 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.