Down the memory Lane

Volume 4 Issue 7 July 2014 The faithful old client A person peeped into my consultation room and said: “I have brought a friend of mine for your consultation. Will you be able to see him today?” I could recognize the person as an old patient of mine treated for alcohol dependence and had remained […]

Volume 4 Issue 6 June, 2014 A young man, an old patient of mine treated for an acute psychotic episode, visited my clinic to give me his marriage invitation. He insisted that I attend his marriage. On asking him whether he has told the girl and her family about having had psychiatric treatment he said […]

Volume 4 Issue 5 May, 2014 A RURAL ENCOUNTER After my post-graduation I was working in a rural health project ‘Major mental morbidity survey’ at a village. I hadto go on my bicycle to hamlets around for door to door survey. I had an updated list of all households in thecatchment area with the name […]

Volume 4 Issue 3 March, 2014 The “Art” of Interview On a busy OP day my resident reported that the patient, a bank employee, he was allotted for detail work up was not co-operative. He was reluctant to give family history and wanted to talk to me. After making him wait for some time I […]

Volume 4 Issue 2 February, 2014 Blunted Affect There was a patient admitted to the ward, may be 3rd or 4th time by then. He was around 45 years, married and without an offspring. During the rounds on several occasions I had commented about his shallow affect and even told my students that he has […]

Volume 4 Issue 1 January, 2014 The Accompanying Person A woman in her 50s was regularly visiting me for follow-up, accompanied by a man of around same age, for nearly a year while I was doing my postgraduation. She was handed over to me by my senior for the purpose. She was diagnosed as having […]

Volume 3 Issue 12 December, 2013 Stirring up a Hornet’s nest While doing my post-graduation, I had an interesting interaction with a person in the campus. He was an elderly man, probably in his sixties, who was running a small shop in the campus near the old psychiatry OPD, clad in khadi shirt and mundu […]

Volume 3 Issue 11 November, 2013 The Idiosyncratic Abbreviation During the PG days at NIMHANS, once we, my friend and I, were discussing some academic stuff in the ward. There was a junior PG sitting along. The junior remarked that she was unable to understand our discussion as we were using many abbreviations. We started […]

Volume 3 Issue 10 October, 2013 Wisdom to crosscheck the medications!! I think it is a common experience of most of us that our patients take lesser dose than prescribed. Most of them appear to believe that we prescribe higher dose than required. Once a patient of mine wanted me to suggest a substitute brand […]

Volume 3 Issue 9 September, 2013 The confused patient who convinced me! This incident happened sometime in early part of 1980’s, after I started working inManipal. When I left the OPD after the day’s work there was this gentleman waiting outside the OPwhom I had seen as patient that day. When I looked at him […]