“The Violin Lesson: A Story Every Indian Doctor Must Read” Part-I
Let’s normalize saying, "I need rest." "I’ll see you tomorrow." "My daughter has a violin class." My son has a cricket match. .
Dr Biswajit Mohapatra
6/26/20252 min read
The air was heavy with silence, the kind that follows a complicated case. I had just stepped out from a high-stakes surgery: the kind that drains your hands, your mind, and somewhere, a part of your soul too. While sipping a cup of lukewarm coffee, I overheard my CTVS colleague narrating a story. A story that shook me. Stirred me. And somewhere, it made me question everything I had ever accepted as ‘normal’ in our profession.
He spoke of his friend, Dr. Ashutosh, a brilliant cardiac surgeon now practicing in Frankfurt, Germany, at one of the top hospitals in Europe. There, his duty schedule was clear: 8 hours a day. Not a minute more. Not a minute less. The system was structured. Life outside the hospital mattered. People mattered. Family mattered.
A few months into his new job, Dr. Ashutosh was assigned the 2 PM to 10 PM shift. He reached the OT that day to find a surgery, originally scheduled for 11 AM, still awaiting commencement. It was nearly 3 PM.
Just then, the surgeon, who was supposed to do that operation, walked up to him and said,
“Dr. Ashutosh, my daughter’s violin class starts at 5 PM. My duty ends at 4, so I’ll have to leave. Can you take over the surgery at 3:50?”
Ashutosh stared at him in disbelief.
A surgeon leaving mid-operation for a violin class? His Indian brain couldn’t comprehend it.
“Have you taken permission from the chief?” he asked.
“Yes. Dr. Herman has approved it,” the surgeon replied with calm conviction.
Ashutosh was stunned. But he took over the case and completed the surgery with the chief, Dr. Paul Herman, by his side.
Later, as he walked down the hospital corridor, curiosity gnawed at his insides. He couldn’t hold it anymore.
“Sir, how could Dr. Victor just leave a surgery midway... for a violin class?”
Dr. Herman stopped in his tracks.
He looked him in the eye and replied, :....................
To be continued........
Dr Paul Harmen's answer will shake you...
His response is being evaluated in today's context of Doctors' Day on 1st July.
Dr Biswajit Mohapatra, MS, FMAS
Senior Surgeon, JP Hospital.
Chairman GSHER