The last post was about the struggle to get through the Tamil language exam for my son.
He got through it and was very relieved that he would not have to face that teacher ever again.
We were sure about his getting accepted for French language. But the Principal din't think our son would manage French that well and asked us to continue him with Tamil or some other language. Our hearts sank. Though they gave permission for my other son to opt for French, for this son, they were reluctant. As usual, I wrote a letter requesting but it din't work.
The boys were segregated according to the language they opted for. My son was so crest-fallen that he began to sound desperate and promised that he would score high marks if he were allowed to prove himself. That is when I decided to meet the principal personally and convince somehow. Initially he would not listen to it at all. He showed me my son's marks in English (he would score an average of 76 or 77%) this was not good enough to learn French was the reply!!
I then kept assuring him that I would personally see to his performing well in French. The principal gave in finally. I was very happy and had high hopes for my son.
He went on to study French with such a passion and both sons scored similar high marks in French. The chance given was encouragement itself and my son proved me right after all.
What if he were denied that opportunity? He would have been discouraged for life. These matters are decided so arbitrarily by people sitting in high posts.
I am happy I stood ground and got him the option to study French.
Cheers!
Mahalakshmi.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
The Tamil Teacher's Punishment
The boys were 10 year olds and studying in 5th class. It was compulsory to take Tamil as one of the languages besides Hindi and English in school.
The Tamil teacher was not popular in that school. She had her young son studying in the same school and she would be concerned about him all the time. Like looking out for him during class hours. Her concentration was mainly on her son.
In this scenario, she would pay scant attention to her students in class.
Once she took the workbooks of all students to correct them. She did not return back the workbook of 3 students. Her son must have torn it and here she would be covering with some story of the boys not submitting their workbook at all for correction or she would reply that she had given it to them after correcting the same. Since the school was strict, the students were made to rewrite the entire workbook and re-submit to pass.
This was done by the students' parents pitching in to write the workbook for their wards.
The next time too the same thing happened. She lost a few workbooks of some students. One among them was my son. The school was quite strict about submitting books on time for corrections so we rushed through rewriting all the lessons and questions and answers. But there was an inspection at school and our boy got caught without his workbook. His teacher instead of telling the truth, pinched my son's ears so sharply with her big nails, that he bled from the nail injury behind the ear.
He had fever the next day. The doctor gave him injections as it turned into a full blown infection. It healed later, though.
We din't have the nerve to complain at that time. We were afraid of complaining. We wanted safety for our son during that year of schooling. The next academic year, our son could opt for another language. He was interested in taking up French over other regional Indian languages. We wanted peace to prevail at any cost. Accusations, fights, questionings and counter-questioning will harm the student more than help him get justice. The trauma of going through all this while having to face the teacher in his class everyday made us just accept all this as bad karma for all of us and get on with finishing mid-school successfully.
The teacher never knew we were monitoring her every move towards our son. We took special care in Tamil until he was declared pass in the subject. He opted for French and shone through scoring top marks in that language. He was so relieved and happy from that time onwards.
We consoled that we had to go through the trauma but had the wisdom not to make a public issue and spoil the atmosphere for our son, his Tamil teacher, for us and for the school management. We have spared two parties from going through what we ourselves went through. This is a peaceful way of dealing with a problem. Many may disagree with this method, yet the problem ended with us.
We did not agitate it into something big and land our son and ourselves into bigger worries to take on. Finally it died a peaceful death. But these memories, one among the many which are a mix of good or bad, remains with us.
Mahalakshmi.
The Tamil teacher was not popular in that school. She had her young son studying in the same school and she would be concerned about him all the time. Like looking out for him during class hours. Her concentration was mainly on her son.
In this scenario, she would pay scant attention to her students in class.
Once she took the workbooks of all students to correct them. She did not return back the workbook of 3 students. Her son must have torn it and here she would be covering with some story of the boys not submitting their workbook at all for correction or she would reply that she had given it to them after correcting the same. Since the school was strict, the students were made to rewrite the entire workbook and re-submit to pass.
This was done by the students' parents pitching in to write the workbook for their wards.
The next time too the same thing happened. She lost a few workbooks of some students. One among them was my son. The school was quite strict about submitting books on time for corrections so we rushed through rewriting all the lessons and questions and answers. But there was an inspection at school and our boy got caught without his workbook. His teacher instead of telling the truth, pinched my son's ears so sharply with her big nails, that he bled from the nail injury behind the ear.
He had fever the next day. The doctor gave him injections as it turned into a full blown infection. It healed later, though.
We din't have the nerve to complain at that time. We were afraid of complaining. We wanted safety for our son during that year of schooling. The next academic year, our son could opt for another language. He was interested in taking up French over other regional Indian languages. We wanted peace to prevail at any cost. Accusations, fights, questionings and counter-questioning will harm the student more than help him get justice. The trauma of going through all this while having to face the teacher in his class everyday made us just accept all this as bad karma for all of us and get on with finishing mid-school successfully.
The teacher never knew we were monitoring her every move towards our son. We took special care in Tamil until he was declared pass in the subject. He opted for French and shone through scoring top marks in that language. He was so relieved and happy from that time onwards.
We consoled that we had to go through the trauma but had the wisdom not to make a public issue and spoil the atmosphere for our son, his Tamil teacher, for us and for the school management. We have spared two parties from going through what we ourselves went through. This is a peaceful way of dealing with a problem. Many may disagree with this method, yet the problem ended with us.
We did not agitate it into something big and land our son and ourselves into bigger worries to take on. Finally it died a peaceful death. But these memories, one among the many which are a mix of good or bad, remains with us.
Mahalakshmi.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Medical Lab and Tests
This episode took place 18 years back.
I had been for a medical check-up in a well known city hospital in Chennai.
The doctor who checked was the chairman of the hospital.
He knew I had qualifications to suit a post in his hospital at that time and I was also in search of a job.
He directed me to meet his wife, who was the Managing Director.
I met her and landed a job of manager, who will assist her in running day-to-day affairs which meant I attended all the meetings and followed up on them.
Just a week into my job, I got the shock of my life.
At a meeting of all doctors, both senior and junior, she went through all the accounts. Then asked all doctors present, why they were not writing enough tests for their patients!
The lab, though opened an year ago, did not show healthy income generation!!
She then asked all of them to write some tests at least, to tide over this situation. She wanted to see recovery of capital invested on purchase of costly laboratory equipments for her hospital.
I left the job a little later, but with very heavy feelings about the running of all hospitals. Whether the patient needs a test of not, it is prescribed just to keep their home-labs generate incomes. It is treated more as a profit centre than dedicated to better diagnosis of a disease. The patient loses hope of good medical care. The doctor prescribing tests, loses his reputation. But the income pours for the hospital management.
I became cautious after that experience. Whenever tests would be written for me or any family member I would question the doctor gently about the tests he recommends.
Despite this, I got trapped into shelling out Rs.23,000/- last year, just for a battery of tests (MRI, sugar, etc) to rule out sugar complaint and to find out why there's constant pain in the neck area just above my right hand shoulder.
Though I kept pointing out the spots near the neck and below the right ear, the doctor wrote out spinal and shoulder MRIs for me in such bad handwriting that only the staff at the lab could understand!! When they ask us to deposit the charges in advance, we feel an additional pain near our heart area or maybe that is what an induced heart attack is all about!!! A nerve pain below the ear can have connection to my entire spine was what I learnt but this lesson cost me a lot.
The pain has not gone even now, but a huge chunk of my money is gone :D
This type of lab test charges are not reimbursible by any insurance company either, unless one gets admitted into a hospital for emergency treatment, etc. and goes through these tests recommended by the hospital doctor.
Though I have a medical policy (which we keep alive and kicking every year), we never get reimbursements for many medical bills which is another story altogether. But can we afford to remain without some kind of medical insurance cover? That is impossible, so we try not to fall sick yet pay for all these insurance policies and lab tests just to comfort ourselves that all is well with our organs from time to time :D
Mahalakshmi.
I had been for a medical check-up in a well known city hospital in Chennai.
The doctor who checked was the chairman of the hospital.
He knew I had qualifications to suit a post in his hospital at that time and I was also in search of a job.
He directed me to meet his wife, who was the Managing Director.
I met her and landed a job of manager, who will assist her in running day-to-day affairs which meant I attended all the meetings and followed up on them.
Just a week into my job, I got the shock of my life.
At a meeting of all doctors, both senior and junior, she went through all the accounts. Then asked all doctors present, why they were not writing enough tests for their patients!
The lab, though opened an year ago, did not show healthy income generation!!
She then asked all of them to write some tests at least, to tide over this situation. She wanted to see recovery of capital invested on purchase of costly laboratory equipments for her hospital.
I left the job a little later, but with very heavy feelings about the running of all hospitals. Whether the patient needs a test of not, it is prescribed just to keep their home-labs generate incomes. It is treated more as a profit centre than dedicated to better diagnosis of a disease. The patient loses hope of good medical care. The doctor prescribing tests, loses his reputation. But the income pours for the hospital management.
I became cautious after that experience. Whenever tests would be written for me or any family member I would question the doctor gently about the tests he recommends.
Despite this, I got trapped into shelling out Rs.23,000/- last year, just for a battery of tests (MRI, sugar, etc) to rule out sugar complaint and to find out why there's constant pain in the neck area just above my right hand shoulder.
Though I kept pointing out the spots near the neck and below the right ear, the doctor wrote out spinal and shoulder MRIs for me in such bad handwriting that only the staff at the lab could understand!! When they ask us to deposit the charges in advance, we feel an additional pain near our heart area or maybe that is what an induced heart attack is all about!!! A nerve pain below the ear can have connection to my entire spine was what I learnt but this lesson cost me a lot.
The pain has not gone even now, but a huge chunk of my money is gone :D
This type of lab test charges are not reimbursible by any insurance company either, unless one gets admitted into a hospital for emergency treatment, etc. and goes through these tests recommended by the hospital doctor.
Though I have a medical policy (which we keep alive and kicking every year), we never get reimbursements for many medical bills which is another story altogether. But can we afford to remain without some kind of medical insurance cover? That is impossible, so we try not to fall sick yet pay for all these insurance policies and lab tests just to comfort ourselves that all is well with our organs from time to time :D
Mahalakshmi.
Hospital Routines
Its an yearly ritual to have my mother admitted into a hospital for some complaint or the other for a few days and then we come back home. She is 84 now.
Each time I find a disturbing trend in the name of routine check up of patients by the nurses.
The patient is checked for BP and temperature. Every 3 to 4 hours is understandable. But checking every hour means disturbing the patient and the attendant. I can understand if the patient were admitted in the ICU (intensive care unit) for some emergency and needs to be monitored every hour.
Most often, the patient falls asleep nicely and she or he is woken up from deep sleep to record the BP and temperature every hour. I find this funny. Maybe the hospitals want to justify their charges, so this is done very regularly and promptly, besides so many tests whether they are useful for diognizing the problem or not. Scans, MRIs, blood tests, X-rays all fall under this category. Tests have become a racket and forms the major portion of any hospital bill.
The doctors' visits are far and few in-between and even if he does visit, it is not more than 5 minutes he spends with each patient. Does not even bother to listen to what the patient wants to convey. Doctors are impatient and try to walk towards the next patient as if in some great hurry.
Last year I felt it was a sheer torture to keep waking my mother up every hour for this. She said she wanted to go home and sleep undisturbed and get some real rest. In 24 hours there were 24 jottings made. Its terrible at nights to disturb a patient who is resting well with all medicines taken for the night.
We know the body rests during sleep to heal itself in many ways. We need that rest. We need no one to disturb us from a good night's sleep even if one is admitted into a hospital for treatment.
Mahalakshmi.
Each time I find a disturbing trend in the name of routine check up of patients by the nurses.
The patient is checked for BP and temperature. Every 3 to 4 hours is understandable. But checking every hour means disturbing the patient and the attendant. I can understand if the patient were admitted in the ICU (intensive care unit) for some emergency and needs to be monitored every hour.
Most often, the patient falls asleep nicely and she or he is woken up from deep sleep to record the BP and temperature every hour. I find this funny. Maybe the hospitals want to justify their charges, so this is done very regularly and promptly, besides so many tests whether they are useful for diognizing the problem or not. Scans, MRIs, blood tests, X-rays all fall under this category. Tests have become a racket and forms the major portion of any hospital bill.
The doctors' visits are far and few in-between and even if he does visit, it is not more than 5 minutes he spends with each patient. Does not even bother to listen to what the patient wants to convey. Doctors are impatient and try to walk towards the next patient as if in some great hurry.
Last year I felt it was a sheer torture to keep waking my mother up every hour for this. She said she wanted to go home and sleep undisturbed and get some real rest. In 24 hours there were 24 jottings made. Its terrible at nights to disturb a patient who is resting well with all medicines taken for the night.
We know the body rests during sleep to heal itself in many ways. We need that rest. We need no one to disturb us from a good night's sleep even if one is admitted into a hospital for treatment.
Mahalakshmi.
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