Dr. Ismat Jahan Lima

She got a gold medal for her FCPS. Probably sitting in a drawer somewhere gathering dust. Dr. Ismat Jahan Lima is an associate professor now. MS in colorectal surgery. That means she deals with the stuff people are too embarrassed to talk about. Piles. Bleeding. Bad bowels. Patients usually whisper when they sit across from her. Looking at the floor tiles. She just asks direct questions. How many times a day. Any pain. No point being shy about it. She writes the answers on a blank pad. The clinic room probably smells like strong floor cleaner. She tells them they need more fiber. Eat some papaya. They nod. Probably will not do it anyway.

Up in the OT it is mostly messy work. Bowel surgeries take hours. She stands there under the hot lights. Cutting out bad sections of the colon. Or fixing fistulas. She uses those long stapling devices. Clicks them together to join the intestines back up. Sort of looks like heavy duty office supplies. The junior doctors just hold the retractors. Trying not to move. Her back probably aches by the third hour. She does colonoscopies too. Pushing that long black tube up there. Watching the screen for polyps. Snips them off with a tiny wire loop. She finishes the list. Takes off the heavy plastic apron. Washes her hands at the sink. Dries them.