This fellow came to my office, with a broad smile on his face and his right hand extended forward to shake mine, like a friend who had come visiting me after ages. I was not taken in, because he came to see me only when he needed something from me, and always behaved like that at those times.
"We need cases to operate on in our live operative conference" he said. "Do you have any?"
"Not matching your exact requirements" I said. He had told me about this a few days ago and then repeatedly periodically since then.
"Now I will take 30 of your residents free" he said.
"But you were going to charge them 1000 INR each two days ago" I said.
"We have lots of funds" he said. "Why not do something for our own students?"
"You did not have funds two days ago" I said with surprise in my voice.
"I have lots of funds" he said. "Now about giving us cases to operate on ..."
So the offer was in exchange of patients to operate on, so that the delegates could see the operations they wanted to show in the conference!
"Will you charge these patients?" I asked.
"Of course not" he said with force.
"But you did, during the last such conference you held at Xxssxxx hospital. One nurse who had gone there as a patient for the workshop came away because you charged. The others paid the fancy five star hospital fees."
He ignored that one.
"I want you to be there as faculty on all days" he said grandly.
"But you have not put my name in the list of faculty on the brochure" I said. "You have put names of a lot of others who are not even good in the subject covered by your conference."
"I must have forgotten" he said. "Don't worry, I will tell everyone attending that you are faculty."
I ignored that one.
"Who is this Dr. XXXXX XXXXX in your department?" he asked
"She/he is head of a unit" I said. "One of our alumni."
"Then she/he should know me. When I called her/him and said I was Dr XXXX, she/he said 'Dr XXXX who?"" he sounded hurt.
"Well, when the nurse who went as a patient to your last conference after my referral as per you request, met you over the payment issue and told you Dr Shashank Parulekar had sent her, you asked her 'Dr Shashank Parulekar who?"
"I said so?" he said. He tried to look surprised, presumably at the content of the matter said rather than at the bad grammar.
"Yes" I said. "That happens. People forget things sometimes. You should not be upset our Dr XXXXX XXXXX asked you that question." Mentally I applauded Dr XXXXX XXXXX for doing something I would have loved to do, but could not because decency prevented me from doing so.
"We need cases to operate on in our live operative conference" he said. "Do you have any?"
"Not matching your exact requirements" I said. He had told me about this a few days ago and then repeatedly periodically since then.
"Now I will take 30 of your residents free" he said.
"But you were going to charge them 1000 INR each two days ago" I said.
"We have lots of funds" he said. "Why not do something for our own students?"
"You did not have funds two days ago" I said with surprise in my voice.
"I have lots of funds" he said. "Now about giving us cases to operate on ..."
So the offer was in exchange of patients to operate on, so that the delegates could see the operations they wanted to show in the conference!
"Will you charge these patients?" I asked.
"Of course not" he said with force.
"But you did, during the last such conference you held at Xxssxxx hospital. One nurse who had gone there as a patient for the workshop came away because you charged. The others paid the fancy five star hospital fees."
He ignored that one.
"I want you to be there as faculty on all days" he said grandly.
"But you have not put my name in the list of faculty on the brochure" I said. "You have put names of a lot of others who are not even good in the subject covered by your conference."
"I must have forgotten" he said. "Don't worry, I will tell everyone attending that you are faculty."
I ignored that one.
"Who is this Dr. XXXXX XXXXX in your department?" he asked
"She/he is head of a unit" I said. "One of our alumni."
"Then she/he should know me. When I called her/him and said I was Dr XXXX, she/he said 'Dr XXXX who?"" he sounded hurt.
"Well, when the nurse who went as a patient to your last conference after my referral as per you request, met you over the payment issue and told you Dr Shashank Parulekar had sent her, you asked her 'Dr Shashank Parulekar who?"
"I said so?" he said. He tried to look surprised, presumably at the content of the matter said rather than at the bad grammar.
"Yes" I said. "That happens. People forget things sometimes. You should not be upset our Dr XXXXX XXXXX asked you that question." Mentally I applauded Dr XXXXX XXXXX for doing something I would have loved to do, but could not because decency prevented me from doing so.
