Playing Private Practitioner

The recess between my second and the third blog would have been still longer if it was not for Pranjal, whose advice and writings inspired me to cut short this interval.

The past months had been busy and full of stress, as after acquiring the requisite skills to start my own dental setup, I finally stepped into the shoes of a private practitioner myself. Nothing was easy and the first few months were not only tough but had put me into a state of sleepless nights.

The stress is not only to perform well, but rather, taking care of all the equipments and materials so that they are there when you need them the most.

I was lucky enough to get patients right from the day of the opening and even though I must have rehearsed many times in my thoughts, how I would go about doing a consultation, I many a times felt it was not only difficult but rather impossible to put across your knowledge across patients who always had their own pre-conceived notions regarding dental treatment.

In this short span of time of five months and almost 100+ consultations, I can categorize patients in three groups. The first and my favorite group is the educated class. They come with a specific problem, would put their problem very clearly, listen to your advice and treatment plan, follow the appointment time and never argue about making payments, making it an enjoyable treatment both for me and themselves.

The second group, right from the beginning, will give an impression that they don’t care how much it will cost and they just want the best treatment, but in spite of your best efforts to put across their problems and the urgency of the treatment they’ll do a volte-face and leave the dental office with their orthodox line, “doc sahab, abhi to aap dawai likh do baad mein dekheinge.” :-)

And the third group, does not fail to treat even doctors like shop owners and without any hitch, would in the end, ask, “ aacha hamare liye kitna ho jayega…. Aare kuch to karo aap… aacha chalo theek hai itne mein kar do……aare sahab baat maano hum to hamesha unse karte hain wo to aap ka dekha to aa gaye.” :-) ha ha….

Probably these are the ones who have inspired many dental surgeons to offer discounts on special occasions.

I have had my own set of sweet and bitter experiences myself till date but the one I shall always remember occurred some days back in the mid of January. This fellow aged around 60 entered the clinic saying, “doc sahab, aapka 2min chahunga” I welcomed him and he started narrating his problem of recurrent loss of filling, naming all the dentists he had been to [though most of them famous quacks ] and wished that he needs to get it filled with the best material and best possible hygiene but first he needed all the estimates. It was difficult to tell what the problem was and so I told him that without a proper consultation it would be rather difficult to give him the estimate…but he was not willing for it…. To the best of my ability I explained him the different treatment approaches he might have to undergo. He listened patiently and showed some sanity…. Then broke my short lived myth by saying, “magar ek baat bataye… Aapko yeh saare EXPERIMENT karne ke liye main hi mila hun! “ I was speechless and stunned and somewhere deep in my heart I was laughing at what I heard just now.

The reflex reaction was certainly, “get out of my chamber!” but then restrain is what a doctor in private practice should have and that what I did diluting the matter by telling him, “agar aapka muze se treatment karane ka man ho to aap appointment le ke aa sakte hain nahi to jis par bhi aapko vishwaas ho aap wahan kara lein.” And I thank God that I didn’t see him again.

Having been worked in Govt. hospital also, I can see the huge difference in both the working cultures. In private setup you always have to be on your toes, good in skills not only in clinicals but also communication and soft skills… all thanks to my training at Dr. Rajkrishnan’s Dental Clinic in Cochin by Dr. Raj and Dr. Aarti.

Even a small restoration would give you a sleepless night if it was done on a patient who was too demanding and all possible complications would pass through your mind before you start with one of the most common procedure like extraction.

But slowly and slowly you learn to live in harmony with it and you become more realistic in accepting the fact that failures are in inherent part of dental practice. How well you manage them, shall decide your growth.

Few days back when I logged on to my orkut profile, the thought of the day read as, “Do right and fear none.” Its too early to say what destiny has in store for me but I certainly am trying my best to live by this short but brilliant thought.

Till next time…. Adieu :-)