By Kate Wallace, 1/21/2015. I met with my first doctor last night. It was not at all what I expected. She was a young girl doing her residency in Bangalore. She graduated top 5 in her class in medical school, but talked about wanting to become a model and Bollywood actress. She asked me to keep her name private after the interview because we touched on some pretty unexpected topics.
She is getting ready to pass her exams and apply to be an MD. If you don’t pass your exams you can still train to be an MD but it costs 20 million rupees. She comes from a from a more liberal family. She lives in Bangalore while her family lives elsewhere which is unusual. In Indian culture it is typical to live with your family even after you get married. Her family encouraged her education, which she says is common in middle to upper class families whereas in lower income families and rural areas girls are expected to get married instead of going to university. She works at a private clinic, aka. a clinic where people have to pay for the full treatment as opposed to a public clinic which is subsidized by the government. She described what life is like interning at a hospital, and said she’s seen some pretty crazy things, such as:
One day they brought seven people into the ICU, and there was some sort of infection that broke out in the ICU and they all died. Doctors are at risk for getting sick from these diseases, particularly HIV. Every patient must go through blood work that tests for diseases such as HIV so the doctors can prepare before surgery and take extra precautions.
Part of the internship is working in every department. Her least favourite department is gynaecology, particularly when delivering babies is involved. The first time she saw a baby delivery she passed out into the waste from the birth.
I am learning fast that India is full of contradictions. While she is training to be a doctor and is clearly very smart, she is also a party girl and does modelling on the side, a combination that would be hard to come by in America. She describes delivering a baby while still high from cocaine. I was not expecting that.
I spoke to a local man about healthcare in Goa and he said it was very good because there were many teaching hospitals here. I am starting to notice a pattern between the educational opportunities in a region for doctors and their level of healthcare provided. He said the facilities of the hospitals were good, but we went to check out one and I was surprised by how shabby it was. I keep comparing everything to Canada, where health care is free and am surprised by what we would consider to be an ok hospital and what is considered an ok hospital here in terms of size and cleanliness. It will be interesting to go check out the private hospitals in Delhi and compare them to what I saw here.
On a walk through Goa last night I was shocked at all the signs from companies I recognize from back home, such and Baskin and Robbins and Dominos. The Baskin and Robins was particularly interesting because two doors down from it was a local Indian ice cream shop. Baskin and Robins advertised having 23 flavors whereas the Indian store was advertising having 24. I thought this was an interesting blatant example of local businesses trying to stay one step ahead of foreign companies moving into India.
We were sitting on the beach when young children, all girls, came up to us and started begging for money. They were very aggressive about it, putting their hands in my face. My friends starting telling them to go in Hindi and in one case the girl started shouting back at them, spitting and (I was later told) cussing. My friend said they were being taught these words at home, but I wondered first of all what sort of home would teach a young girl to behave so aggressively at night on a beach, or then if this girl even had a home.
We walked through Goa, exploring without any direction just trying to take it all in. We ventured into a big white church. It was interesting to compare the churches in Canada to the churches here. We went up to a Hindu temple, it was beautiful. One of the things I didn’t know about India that I find most interesting is the different religions here. My friend tells me you get so many holidays here because they take off every religious holiday, but to make up for it they work most Saturdays.
I did a lot of exploring in Goa and was surprised by a number of things. I didn’t get sick like everyone said I would. The kids on the beach begging for money was hard to see, I think I’m so used to homeless people from New York but only just realized that you never see children who you know don’t have a roof over their heads. There were a lot of Russian people here. I was told they were travelling for Christmas, but a few conversations with local people told me there is also a large Russian and Ukranian population living here who make their money from smuggling drugs.
Overall I am really enjoying my trip. All the things I was expecting to find shocking have been fine, and there have been some unexpected surprises. Right now I’m amazed at all the contradictions and complexities of India and am looking forward to learning more. It feels like I’m trying to absorb so much and it’s only the first week. More to come!