THE WORKING DAY OF A DISTRICT DOCTOR
Our district doctor’s working day begins at 9 o’clock in the morning at the polyclinic. He sees about 10 and sometimes even 15 out-patients during his consulting hours. In the afternoon he usually makes his daily round of visits to the district. He examines all those patients, who are seriously ill and can’t come to the polyclinic. These patients must follow a strict bed regime.
That day the first patient was a young man. He was in a poor condition: his hands and face were damp with sweat, his pulse was accelerated and faint. He was running a high temperature. Making the physical examination the doctor applied a stethoscope to his chest and listened to his lungs and heart. The patient’s respiration was accelerated. Some moist rales could be heard. The doctor made the diagnosis of lobar pneumonia and said that the patient had to be admitted to the hospital. It was necessary to arrest the process in the lungs to avoid any possible complications.
A woman of about 45 entered the consulting room next. She complained of a sore throat and a bad pain in her back. When the doctor examined her thoroughly it turned out that the woman suffered from quinsy. He prescribed to her an antiseptic mouth-wash to gargle her throat. As her condition was rather bad the doctor put her on a sick-leave for several days. The doctor also advised her to apply mustered plasters to the back.
The next patient complained of a sharp pain in his stomach. The doctor made the initial diagnosis of ulcer of the stomach and directed the patient to be X-rayed. He prescribed to the patient a light diet and tablets before meals to relieve the pain.
After the consulting hours at the polyclinic the district doctor made several calls to his patients. One of his patients suffered from angina pectoris. Before examining the patient the doctor washed his hands, put on his white gown and only then entered the patient’s room. He asked the patient: “How are you feeling today? Do you feel any pain in your chest?” The patient couldn’t say that the medicine gave him any relief. The pain in the substernal area was particularly sharp on physical exertion. The doctor asked the patient to strip to the waist, listened to his heart and lungs, took his blood pressure, felt his pulse and palpated his abdomen. After five days of home treatment the patient didn’t feel any relief and the doctor decided to hospitalize him.
The district doctor usually deals very carefully and attentively with every case and tries to calm those who are excited. In some cases his words seem to act better than any medicine.
It’s no wonder that all his patients love and respect the district doctor.