Mid-Way: Internship

( Places and comparisons are strictly related to CMC,Vellore)

It is 6 am. The sun has just woken up from it's slumber, the dark clouds have drifted away and a sublime breeze rushes past the fallen leaves as it signals the Advent of another day.

Flocks of people would soon storm past the busy corridors of the hospital. The peace and quiet at this hour of the day is a mere farce. If you could listen carefully you could hear the storm coming.

If you look closely, you could see something more. Someone rather. To be more specific a certain faction of the society.

You can't not see them. They are always there. Striding up and down the stairs, walking furiously. Unkempt hair, untucked shirts, loose footwear and an air of ' I don't give a damn about what you think' emnating from them with each breath they take.  In their minds are thoughts which are at constant war with each other: love and hate, fear and freedom, sleep and beg bugs, ringtones and hallucinations.

2 more hours into the day you will see them everywhere, forcing that smile and waking up with an air of positivity to push themselves forward.

Well, the life of an intern in CMC isn't a walk in the park.

                   ----- A briefing -------
Species: human
Sub species : Intern
Classification: Efficient, capable of spontaneous mood shifts. Health hazard Dangerous.

Definition : (verb)To confine someone  as a prisoner for political or military reasons.

How do we spot one:  

This article will hopefully serve as a guide to the same. We shall take it a step further by trying to place them with their departments.

Let's start with the best: The frustrated one. Any conversation with this dude will be unwillingly dragged to the chaos in the ward. A random call on the bleep would be your only escape coz you just don't need that much negativity. Theh are pissed on the  morning, noon and at night . Seen these guys around? That would be an intern in OG

If you see one walking around with a writing pad carrying a bundle of multicolored papers,  no steth and an air of recklessness, beware.
He/ she would be seen all over hospi, walking briskly. The blood bag is their fashion statement. That, my dear friends, is the Ortho intern.
You don't mess around with these guys. NO CASUAL TALK. They deal with deep shit.

One can't forget the anesthesia interns. They keep the coffee shops in business after the medicine interns empty the stocks in the morning. Quite casual, they often have the audacity to ask you about how your day was knowing well that it wasn't that great.

The ones in medicine and surgery invariably lose weight, have unkempt hair, with bloodshot eyes and an ever ringing duty mobile adoring their day. The hideous blast of music hilariously features like a background score to spice up their lazy walk.

Then there are the Instagram interns. You never see them in reality but only on Instagram. Often as a group, rarely with their best friend from college but an assorted mix of people. These are the ones in the minor postings who silently meet up and travel to the beautiful places around Vellore.

When the tired surgery intern wakes up on one Sunday morning in the ward after a busy on call, he often sees these pictures on Instagram. What follows is a sense of betrayel and then a feeling of longing. A longing for the minors. A longing for a better life.

Then there are the ones who lead a life that is often unspoken of. The woes of intership get passed down but the 2 month wonder in the middle is a story never told. Its only fitting that the posting in CHAD brings back the better memories from college and the beauty of the campus essentially soothens your senses. The anger and beg bug rage no longer exist.

Wait for a few hours at ASHA stairs and you will see a hoard of interns descend from the ISSCC stairs.
A pair of frustrated ones ( you know where they belong) would first storn down the stairs.
Then come the happy bunch. With child like happiness and eyes filled with the joy of life, a sense of completeness and the bliss of a solid one hour lunch break at the minimum,Pediatrics interns dont really have reasons to complain. Some of them walk around with a name sake writing pad in an attempt to look busy to avoid that unnecessary question from the anesthesia dude waiting at ASHA stairs to spread the unwanted sunshine.

As the day edges to a close most of them retire for the evening. A solemn gathering of one medicine, one surgery, one casualty intern and one free dude ( often anesthesia) next to the FSH is a custom. Different groups of people fulfill this tradition each day without realizing it.

On some rare occasions, the group becomes bigger as unexpected people join : an Ortho intern on the way to a ward,  the Instagram team on their way back, the  unlucky opthal intern who has come for consults and rarely a transfer intern from CHAD.
Amidst a few sips of coffee, the latest gossip is exchanged. Smiles and insults are freely dispatched and a customary selfie follows. That's when the bleeps ring and they leave one by one, never certain of when they would see each other again.

And as I spent my time trying to figure out interns, reality struck me hard.
Life after college is the never the same as it was before. Make the best out of it while it lasts.

The sun had set and the moon was creeping out. Another day was fast approaching. Battle on.