Space Crunch

I went into the labor ward wearing slippers meant to be used only in the labor ward, leaving my shoes outside. I saw three patients in the ward and came out. Some woman had left her footwear parked right on top of my shoes. There was plenty of space around my shoes, but for some reason she had chosen my shoes instead. I am a little particular about cleanliness, and this act of someone putting the undersurface of her footwear on the upper surface of my shoes left me upset. It was quite obvious from the size, shape and design of the footwear that it belonged to a woman. I politely inquired who the footwear belonged to. There was no answer. Finally I called the sister-in-charge of the ward and asked her to find out who the culprit was. She asked all student nurses, and doctors in the ward. The answer was negative. The owner had to have entered the ward recently, since it had been left over my shoes in the ten minutes I was inside the ward, and it was quite warm, like one recently taken off one’s feet. I was further upset because no one would own up her mistake. I requested the sister-in-charge to keep one of the pair in a secure place, and the other right where it was, and to inform me when someone asked for the missing one. I went about my work. After an hour and a half, I rang up the ward and asked the sister if the owner had been found. She said no. So I left my number with her, and requested her to ring me if anyone asked for the missing one. She rang me up after half an hour and told me she had found the owner. It turned out to be a first year resident doctor called Dr. Queta (name changed for maintaining anonymity). I asked the sister to put that doctor on the line. Our conversation went something like this. I: Good morning Dr Queta. Dr. Queta: I am sorry Sir. (Bad manners! She did not wish me good morning when I wished her one.) I: Dr Queta, why did you leave your footwear on top of mine? Dr. Queta: Sorry Sir, it won’t happen again. I: That is for the future. But I want to know why you did it. It is not a very nice thing to dirty someone’s footwear. Dr. Queta: Sorry Sir. I won’t do it again. I: But how will I know that? I suggest you put your name’s sticker on your footwear. Then I will know it is yours. I am coming to the labor ward. I will check your footwear for that sticker that time. Dr. Queta: Sorry Sir. I: Which unit do you belong to? Dr. Queta: XXX unit (name masked for maintaining anonymity). I: Uh! I remember a time when the same unit’s registrar had thrown down my clothes from a hook in the operation theater and put hers there. When I asked her why she had done that, she had said she had not known those were my clothes. I had told her that she should not throw down anyone’s clothes, not just the department head’s. You shouldn’t put your footwear on top of anyone’s footwear. Dr. Queta: No Sir. I: OK, go back to work. I wonder what drives some of the residents to show total disregard for other people’s things. Is it a simple space crunch, is it the pressure of the work, or is it robotic behavior, or is it a feeling that there is no one more important than them?