Exactly fifty years ago today--
Yes, an important day of my life. This was the first day of my work in the West.-- Royal South Hants Hospital in Southampton England where I started my first job as junior house surgeon. There were two surgical teams and two wards one female and one male The male ward's name was Aldridge and female's name ---I cant remember now.
First day was my team's intake- (all surgical emergencies to be admitted to our care)- my boss Mr. Richardson, a tall typical Englishman rather showy type who was considered (as he told me one day) a vascular surgeon. Had long fingers and fond of such quips like:
"Ahmad, we had summer last year on a Wednesday"
He was a pleasure to work with. My immediate superior called 'Registrar' was an Australian chap, He was of my size but a good energetic surgeon. In England anybody who has passed Fellowship examination of RC Surgeons turns into Mr. again from Dr. Because when the Royal College of surgeons was established traditionally the Barbers were the ones who did surgery, so they were called Misters and not Doctors. The College continued the tradition.
If you remember that in India/Pakistan the Khatna ( Circumcision) of male Muslim child is/was performed by Barbers (experienced in that procedure)= haha what a legacy for surgeons but back to Christmas celebrations.
Like here in US there was "Christmas-mania" all over the place by the time I got into the residential rooms of the hospital so that when I started work all the wards had already been 'decorated' for Christmas. Each ward had a 'theme' for decoration. Male surgical ward was "Circus" so there were all kinds of Circus pictures and big plaques of circus kind of things like a man standing bending an iron bar or a lion or elephant etc. They called it "Aldridge Circus" and I saw signs in the hospital pointing to "Aldridge Circus" that way. Of course, this was all very unusual and new to me. I did not know how Christmas is celebrated and that was my first experience. Even Mr. Green told me-- Ahmad, "they become crazy on Christmas".
I remember I had four surgical emergencies admitted that day all (probably) acute urinary retention (Prostate enlargements) and I learned from my Registrar a "non-touch" technique aseptic introduction of (soft) catheter for emptying the urinary bladder. Somehow I do not remember much about the female ward. On the second floor, right on top of Male surgical was the male medical ward and their theme of decoration was Robinhood. The house surgeon whose job I took over started in the male medical, and so I know more about male medical, also because my ultimate interest was medicine. I remember attending a case presentation by the medical consultant of that ward- a case of Temporal Arteritis- and I remember I was very impressed by his teaching.
Please visit my Urdu blog at http://saugoreebsc.blogspot.com/
Yes, an important day of my life. This was the first day of my work in the West.-- Royal South Hants Hospital in Southampton England where I started my first job as junior house surgeon. There were two surgical teams and two wards one female and one male The male ward's name was Aldridge and female's name ---I cant remember now.
First day was my team's intake- (all surgical emergencies to be admitted to our care)- my boss Mr. Richardson, a tall typical Englishman rather showy type who was considered (as he told me one day) a vascular surgeon. Had long fingers and fond of such quips like:
"Ahmad, we had summer last year on a Wednesday"
He was a pleasure to work with. My immediate superior called 'Registrar' was an Australian chap, He was of my size but a good energetic surgeon. In England anybody who has passed Fellowship examination of RC Surgeons turns into Mr. again from Dr. Because when the Royal College of surgeons was established traditionally the Barbers were the ones who did surgery, so they were called Misters and not Doctors. The College continued the tradition.
If you remember that in India/Pakistan the Khatna ( Circumcision) of male Muslim child is/was performed by Barbers (experienced in that procedure)= haha what a legacy for surgeons but back to Christmas celebrations.
Like here in US there was "Christmas-mania" all over the place by the time I got into the residential rooms of the hospital so that when I started work all the wards had already been 'decorated' for Christmas. Each ward had a 'theme' for decoration. Male surgical ward was "Circus" so there were all kinds of Circus pictures and big plaques of circus kind of things like a man standing bending an iron bar or a lion or elephant etc. They called it "Aldridge Circus" and I saw signs in the hospital pointing to "Aldridge Circus" that way. Of course, this was all very unusual and new to me. I did not know how Christmas is celebrated and that was my first experience. Even Mr. Green told me-- Ahmad, "they become crazy on Christmas".
I remember I had four surgical emergencies admitted that day all (probably) acute urinary retention (Prostate enlargements) and I learned from my Registrar a "non-touch" technique aseptic introduction of (soft) catheter for emptying the urinary bladder. Somehow I do not remember much about the female ward. On the second floor, right on top of Male surgical was the male medical ward and their theme of decoration was Robinhood. The house surgeon whose job I took over started in the male medical, and so I know more about male medical, also because my ultimate interest was medicine. I remember attending a case presentation by the medical consultant of that ward- a case of Temporal Arteritis- and I remember I was very impressed by his teaching.
Please visit my Urdu blog at http://saugoreebsc.blogspot.com/
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