Friday, August 10, 2012

Boss Knows Zilch?

"Sir, that application of the resident doctor has come back from the office. The Academic Boss has written the certificate asked for cannot be given."
I remembered the case. This resident doctor had been our postgraduate student. She needed a certificate that she had observed obstetric ultrasonography, because the local civic medical officer was sealing ultrasonography machines of doctors who were MD but did not have such a certificate. It was blatantly illegal, but civic employees in a position of power often harassed people who could be harassed. I had got her claim verified and sent the application to the Big Boss that the certificate could be issued. He had attested it. Now it was back to us.
"Let me see" I said. The clerk handed the paper over to me.
"Observing ultrasonography is not a part of Obstetrics Gynecology curriculum" it was remarked. "This office has never issued a certificate like this before. So it will not be possible to issue one now.” It was signed by the Academic Boss.
“It is funny” I said. “I must find out how this happened.” I called the office, and traced the head clerk who had drafted that letter, and had got the Academic Boss to sign it.
“I am new here” she said. “The clerk met the Academic Boss and got it done.”
Please put him on the line” I requested. He came on line after a delay.
“How do you understand something is not in the obstetric and gynecological curriculum, or how does the Academic Boss do so, being from a different specialty, when I as the head of obstetrics and gynecology have certified that it is?”
He had no answer.
“And if the Big Boss has consented to issue a certificate, how do you get his junior officer to cancel the decision?” I asked.
“The Big Boss does not understand anything!” he said. “He signs on any letter.”
I was aghast. A low level clerk thought he knew much better than the chief of the institute and controller of many other major hospitals and medical education. Not only that, but he had the expertise to manipulate the Academic Boss to reverse a decision of the Big Boss. I only hoped that no one would tell the Big Boss what one of his clerks thought and said about him. “But it is known. Was it not a mere clothes washer (there were no launderers then) who had maligned Lord Ramachandra and Goddess Sitamai in Ramayana?

प्रशंसा करायचीय, नावे ठेवायचीयेत, काही विचारायचय, किंवा करायला आणखी चांगले काही सुचत नाहीये, तर क्लिक करा.

संपर्क