Make no assumptions
During a patient consultation, the squirmiest moment an Indian doctor goes through is asking a patient if she is pregnant, especially if her marital status is not known.
This week, I visited the Orthopedic doctor's office. As he was shooting his questions about height, weight, age, etc. I was waiting for the cringe moment of the consultation. And it arrived moments later --
Doctor: er, (looking away outside the window), are you married?
Me: No, doctor
Doctor: (back to looking me in the eye) Ok then no problem. . We can get the x-rays done (pregnant women shouldn't be exposed to x-rays).
The truth is that most Indian doctors are unprofessional enough to acknowledge that an unmarried woman may be pregnant. Not only is this common sense (duh, did the doc learn anything at med school?) but as further proof, the popular national weeklys (India Today, Week, etc.) have published surveys that it is quite likely that the urban 20-30-something woman is sexually active without marriage. When are they going to get their act together and simply ask "Do you think you could be pregnant?". My friends and I have come across this even when we were living abroad where Indian doctors couldn't face up to the "immoral character" of their Indian patients.
After the doctor's consultation, I went on to get my x-rays. The technician took all the details to get me under the machine when he suddenly went, "Are you Miss or Mrs.?".
Sigh.
The x-ray process is a whole other story. They tell me to get behind a flimsy curtain to change into a ratty, smelly robe. "All garments off", get naked. I was uncomfortable (the door was closed) and my defenses shot up. However, I told myself to get over it (hopefully he's professional enough not to peek) and changed into the robe only to realise there are no buttons, velcro strips, or strings to secure this damn robe. This was just not cool. For a society that is prudish enough to assume that in India "not married equals not pregnant" it doesn't seem to give a second thought to the idea that it could be uncomfortable for an [indian] woman to strut around the x-ray room naked.
I created a stink and a half and insisted on changing into my garments.
This week, I visited the Orthopedic doctor's office. As he was shooting his questions about height, weight, age, etc. I was waiting for the cringe moment of the consultation. And it arrived moments later --
Doctor: er, (looking away outside the window), are you married?
Me: No, doctor
Doctor: (back to looking me in the eye) Ok then no problem. . We can get the x-rays done (pregnant women shouldn't be exposed to x-rays).
The truth is that most Indian doctors are unprofessional enough to acknowledge that an unmarried woman may be pregnant. Not only is this common sense (duh, did the doc learn anything at med school?) but as further proof, the popular national weeklys (India Today, Week, etc.) have published surveys that it is quite likely that the urban 20-30-something woman is sexually active without marriage. When are they going to get their act together and simply ask "Do you think you could be pregnant?". My friends and I have come across this even when we were living abroad where Indian doctors couldn't face up to the "immoral character" of their Indian patients.
After the doctor's consultation, I went on to get my x-rays. The technician took all the details to get me under the machine when he suddenly went, "Are you Miss or Mrs.?".
Sigh.
The x-ray process is a whole other story. They tell me to get behind a flimsy curtain to change into a ratty, smelly robe. "All garments off", get naked. I was uncomfortable (the door was closed) and my defenses shot up. However, I told myself to get over it (hopefully he's professional enough not to peek) and changed into the robe only to realise there are no buttons, velcro strips, or strings to secure this damn robe. This was just not cool. For a society that is prudish enough to assume that in India "not married equals not pregnant" it doesn't seem to give a second thought to the idea that it could be uncomfortable for an [indian] woman to strut around the x-ray room naked.
I created a stink and a half and insisted on changing into my garments.
posted by apoorvi at
9:21 AM
3 Comments:
Good to see you writing again. I miss both Thailand and Singapore and have been looking for jobs in Singapore.
Keep writing and definitely keep in touch.
Such a crisp and witty post It made me smile. Old age is tough isn't it?
by chance, stumbled upon this blog of yours.
by choice, leaving a 'kudos' for sharing some below-the-skin insights. unlike many other blogs, it has honesty and a purpose.
shine on!
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