and more unwell; the fact that I had not planned our next holiday and was desperately in need of one.
âHis blood pressure is very low. Are you pressing on any major arteries there?â asked Gomez.
âNo. He hasnât bled much, either,â answered Jacob.
âI might just transfuse him to be safe,â said Gomez.
âWhat are your plans for next year?â Jacob asked me.
It was a cruel question, because he knew that I was ready for a consultancy position and ideally an academic position, but if I appeared too keen it might prejudice my chances: I might look too immature. On the other hand, if I appeared too nonchalant, it might seem that I wasnât interested.
âWhat do you think I should do?â I asked.
âWell, there might be a resignation here, and you could get a job, probably. It depends how you get on with Jim. But youshould go overseas and do some more training. I regret not going myself. Itâs a great opportunity to get skills in one particular area and deepen your research base.â
I already had a job lined up in Switzerland as a fellow in Urology. This was a senior position in between being a registrar and a consultant. But it wasnât my preferred next step, as in the long term I wanted to work at the Victoria Hospital, and this was a place where the saying âout of sight, out of mindâ applied. Several of my senior colleagues had gone overseas for training and returned to find there were no jobs for them. One of the most gifted of my colleagues found himself assisting for almost a year before a job at a peripheral hospital opened up for him. My plan was to get the Victoria Hospital job first and then go overseas.
Jacob knew I wanted nothing more than to be considered for a job at this hospital. However, there was a distinct possibility that the Urology department would choose not to replace the retired surgeon, to reduce competition between surgeons. The fewer there were, the more patients for each.
âHave the review committee interviewed Urology yet?â asked Gomez. The Victoria was one of the problem hospitals of the stateâs health department, so every aspect of it was now under review.
âNo, not yet. But I think itâs a waste of time. I noticed the hospital being cleaned the other day. What hypocrites. Now that the minister has appointed the review committee, it seems the hospital ought to be clean. Why wasnât it clean before?â
Gomez had led protests regarding the sad state of the Victoria Hospital. Now the administration had him in their sights. Every request he made for funding for his department was rejected. His expense account was whittled to zero. His conference travel was denied. You cannot speak out against the bureaucracy and get away with it.
Finally, the operation was nearing an end.
âDo you want to close?â Jacob asked me.
âYes, sure,â I answered, happy that at last I would be doing something. While I was certainly capable of doing the whole operation, this â the simplest part â was all I was given to do that day. Jacob guarded his patients jealously.
I closed and placed dressings on the wound. The patient was to be sent to Intensive Care for close monitoring overnight. If he survived the next week, he could have a good life, for what was left of it. Of course, he would have to learn to change the bags that were now a permanent fixture on his abdomen, draining the urine that would have gone to his bladder.
Not long afterwards, I was up on the wards with Jacob. A woman was smiling away at the news that he had cut all of the cancer out of her kidney. She was essentially cured. Her husband had tears of sheer joy running down his cheeks.
âSo, does this mean it hasnât spread anywhere, doctor?â he asked.
âYes, thatâs correct. The pathologyâs really good. Obviously, weâll have to keep a very close eye on your wife for a few years, but I am
âHis blood pressure is very low. Are you pressing on any major arteries there?â asked Gomez.
âNo. He hasnât bled much, either,â answered Jacob.
âI might just transfuse him to be safe,â said Gomez.
âWhat are your plans for next year?â Jacob asked me.
It was a cruel question, because he knew that I was ready for a consultancy position and ideally an academic position, but if I appeared too keen it might prejudice my chances: I might look too immature. On the other hand, if I appeared too nonchalant, it might seem that I wasnât interested.
âWhat do you think I should do?â I asked.
âWell, there might be a resignation here, and you could get a job, probably. It depends how you get on with Jim. But youshould go overseas and do some more training. I regret not going myself. Itâs a great opportunity to get skills in one particular area and deepen your research base.â
I already had a job lined up in Switzerland as a fellow in Urology. This was a senior position in between being a registrar and a consultant. But it wasnât my preferred next step, as in the long term I wanted to work at the Victoria Hospital, and this was a place where the saying âout of sight, out of mindâ applied. Several of my senior colleagues had gone overseas for training and returned to find there were no jobs for them. One of the most gifted of my colleagues found himself assisting for almost a year before a job at a peripheral hospital opened up for him. My plan was to get the Victoria Hospital job first and then go overseas.
Jacob knew I wanted nothing more than to be considered for a job at this hospital. However, there was a distinct possibility that the Urology department would choose not to replace the retired surgeon, to reduce competition between surgeons. The fewer there were, the more patients for each.
âHave the review committee interviewed Urology yet?â asked Gomez. The Victoria was one of the problem hospitals of the stateâs health department, so every aspect of it was now under review.
âNo, not yet. But I think itâs a waste of time. I noticed the hospital being cleaned the other day. What hypocrites. Now that the minister has appointed the review committee, it seems the hospital ought to be clean. Why wasnât it clean before?â
Gomez had led protests regarding the sad state of the Victoria Hospital. Now the administration had him in their sights. Every request he made for funding for his department was rejected. His expense account was whittled to zero. His conference travel was denied. You cannot speak out against the bureaucracy and get away with it.
Finally, the operation was nearing an end.
âDo you want to close?â Jacob asked me.
âYes, sure,â I answered, happy that at last I would be doing something. While I was certainly capable of doing the whole operation, this â the simplest part â was all I was given to do that day. Jacob guarded his patients jealously.
I closed and placed dressings on the wound. The patient was to be sent to Intensive Care for close monitoring overnight. If he survived the next week, he could have a good life, for what was left of it. Of course, he would have to learn to change the bags that were now a permanent fixture on his abdomen, draining the urine that would have gone to his bladder.
Not long afterwards, I was up on the wards with Jacob. A woman was smiling away at the news that he had cut all of the cancer out of her kidney. She was essentially cured. Her husband had tears of sheer joy running down his cheeks.
âSo, does this mean it hasnât spread anywhere, doctor?â he asked.
âYes, thatâs correct. The pathologyâs really good. Obviously, weâll have to keep a very close eye on your wife for a few years, but I am
Similar Books
