Trick or Treat - a survival guide to health care
29 Over confidence leads to disaster The mule, the rooster, and the lion: A mule and a rooster lived in a farmyard. A lion sneaked in and was about to pounce on the ass, when the rooster, realising the
danger, rose to its full height, flapped its wings and crowed lustily. The lion was
scared by all the racket made by the rooster and beat a hasty retreat. The mule was pleased to see the fleeing lion and thought, "If a small rooster can scare him away, I can chase him too.� He pursued the lion to the fringes of the jungle when the lion suddenly turned around, pounced on the mule and devoured him.
Dr Prakash was a brash young surgeon who was rearing to start independent
practice. "Don't be an ass," advised his teacher, "you are not ready yet. You are protected
here so well that you don't even realise the dangers of independent practice.� But Dr Prakash replied, "Sir, in the past two months, you have just stood and watched me do everything. Not once did I need any help from you."
He left the institute and started his private practice. As ill luck would have it, the
first 'acute abdomen' he opened was a problematic case. The patient died and Dr Prakash was charged with manslaughter by the relatives. Comments
Many young enthusiastic health professionals suffer from the 'almighty syndrome'.
With the newly gained scientific information and skills they are ready to take on the world. However, converting mere information into useful knowledge takes time. Gaining
insight and wisdom by repeatedly applying one's knowledge takes even longer. Similarly, 87
