“I need a doctor”

Hello people!

How is the new year treating everyone?

Before we move on to my this year’s first post; I wish everyone a wonderful and blessed year with loads of love, peace, happiness and success. Recently somebody told me (of course I have heard it before too); what happens on the first day of the year determines how your entire year ahead would be. Well then this 2011 I will be sick I suppose; because all through the new year (from the new year’s eve upto the last week) I was terribly ill- a bit of food poisoning with  intestinal infection.

The incident I am narrating today is not about my health but something related.

After days of being sick (supported with intense puking and diarrhoea), I finally decided to take an appointment and meet a doctor.

Operator: Good morning XXXX

Me: Hi, I want an appointment for today with a general physician

Operator: Please hold. I will connect you to the appointments’ desk.

(***tititintinti thithithi tititintinti thithi***)

Operator 2: Good morning, appointments’ desk.

Me: Hi! I need an appointment with any of the general physician for today.

Operator 2: Let me check for you ma’am. Hmmm.. ok! Maam all the doctors are booked except for Dr. abc. He is free from 1700 to 2000. He has a patient at 2000.

Me: Okay, can you please book an appointment for me with him at 1700?

Operator 2: Maam, do you have a file here?

Me: Yes. You can find it with my mobile number. it is 12354678

Operator 2: Hmm.. yeah I get it. But maam the doctor is iranian.

Being exhausted and tired; I really didn’t know how to react and all I could say was;

Me: So?

Operator 2: Nothing!  Your appointment is fixed for 1700, please try to be here at least ten minutes earlier.

Me: Thankyou!

Operator 2: Have a good day ma’am.

I had this conversation last week, but it still haunts me. Why was there a need to mention the doctor’s nationality as a word of caution to a patient before they book in?

In fact what has one’s nationality got to with their personality?

I am not saying that nationality is something that has to be completely overlooked; it does speak a lot about one’s culture and upbringing to a certain extend, but does it hold the same importance that it has at the emmigration counter (at the airport), at one’s workplace?

Actually I have to date not even understood the meaning of having separate counters for different nationalities at the airports when the world is preaching about a global village!

I have voiced my opinion on discrimination (of any sorts) in my previous posts and I still hold on to them.

My question here is, if she had to put across the doctor’s nationality to be before I could book for an appointment, then does that mean people are asking for it before hand?

My mom (while I was discussing this with her) had a (possible) valid point; in UAE there are people from different backgrounds and some are not comfortable communicating in English and might be requesting for a doctors who can speak their mother tongue. Possible!

But when I speak to her in english, why did she have to ask me this?

A slip of tongue? Possible!

Well with all respects to doctors around the world, I salute the efforts they undertake to save a life; even if it is a case of food poisoning like I had. But I am interested to know, if any of you put across special requests in such cases?

Starting everything on a very positive note for the new year, be good .. be safe and be considerate to the people around you!

God Bless 🙂