While taking a casual scroll in the online world a few days ago, I came across a very satisfying little nugget. The learned scholars of the past believed two kinds of knowledge to be beneficial and worth pursuing above all others – knowledge of the soul and knowledge of the body. The first, so that you can keep the inner self or the soul at peace and the other so that you can heal the body and keep it in good shape. The doctor in me broke into an invisible wide smile for having chosen the right profession. I must say at the outset that I have only just completed my MBBS. In practical terms I am still very much a learner and a long road lies ahead before I can claim some mastery over the skills that make a healthy doctor. Now that we have got the disclaimer out of the wayon this occasion, the Doctor’s Day, let’s look into what makes a doctor, what breaks it and the things that happen in between. Even today I chuckle when I hear young kids tell their elders that they want to be a doctor. They surely don’t appreciate the totality of what that means. There was a time when I was at the stage and all I thought of was helping the poor, service, big surgeries and terrible diseases. Not to forget, the immense respect and awe that came along with a title. There is quite a bit of truth in all of that but the reality is more nuanced, more heart breaking and heartening in equal measure. Look deep into a good doctor and you’ll see a lot of hard work and dedication to learning. That is just one part of the picture though – when one comes so close to seeing pain and suffering so often, it leaves impressions that come alive in moments of reflection. Some say you just get numb to the pain around, but there are times you feel it too. No other person is in a better position to appreciate having a normal body, a healthy mind and even so much as just a life than a doctor. I can’t help but feel the depths of how thankful we must be for so many blessings we take granted. In an ideal world, all doctors would fall into that mould. There are those who don’t and one can point out a lot many reasons why that is the case. A far from perfect education system, poor monetary incentives, healthcare being handled like just another business and to be honest, a limited set of choices. Parents that force their children into medicine, colleges that don’t ensure standards, bureaucracy that ensures progress remains a mirage, politicians with grossly misplaced priorities allocating a pittance of the GDP to healthcare and people at all levels who don’t mind the status quo and let things be as they are, are all part of the problem. The last group includes a good number of doctors. PARENTS THAT FORCE THEIR CHILDREN INTO MEDICINE, COLLEGES THAT DON’T ENSURE STANDARDS, BUREAUCRACY THAT ENSURES PROGRESS REMAINS A MIRAGE, POLITICIANS WITH GROSSLY MISPLACED PRIORITIES ALLOCATING A PITTANCE OF THE GDP TO HEALTHCARE AND PEOPLE AT ALL LEVELS WHO DON’T MIND THE STATUS QUO AND LET THINGS BE AS THEY ARE, ARE ALL PART OF THE PROBLEM. If you were to ask a doctor what his ‘limited choices’ are, this is what you’ll have as an answer: leave home and work abroad, work in the corporate sector back home, work in a government hospital or set up one’s own practice. All you readers would be aware, at least in part, of the kinds of compromises each of those options demand. In its bare essentials it comes down to a choice between a comfortable life away from home, a well-paid life in one’s own place, a principled life with lower pay and meagre resources that can’t treat patients optimally and a private practice that can pay but comes with its own set of competitive problems. It is not surprising that many doctors choose some or the other combination of the above. This should give you some idea of what happens behind the scenes. No matter where one is, personal integrity in the face of ethical, monetary and corporate challenges is what sets a desirable doctor apart from the rest. A rare breed of doctor may even compromise on morals even with his relatives – though it should be reassuring to you that selflessness and sacrifice is supposed to be the norm in our profession, rather than an exception. That is perhaps one of the reasons why doctors are held in higher esteem. Of course, it seems to be an innate trait that when you personally get well by a doctor’s treatment your respect for him increases by multiples without conscious effort. One untoward assumption that is prevalent among both doctors and the public alike is that we have gladly limited physicians to the physical body. That must be extended to the society too. This is not a new idea – the very celebration of Doctor’s Day is a tribute to Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy who was not just a great doctor, but also a pioneer in social service and not to forget the second Chief Minister of West Bengal. A doctor can, and if I may say, ought to consider being more than a mere practitioner. We all start out with idealism when we begin. Most doctors do too. But only the violent sea brings out the best captains. There is much that can be learnt from them, both by young doctors and the lay public. As for those who lie near the other end of the spectrum, may their tiny tribe decrease. Let not the popular perceptions taint your view of doctors on an individual basis. It would be plain self-serving to ‘demand’ respect for my tribe, but it is imperative to hope that the esteem associated with us is earned rightly and retained by actions. The tradition of physicians is millennia old, and as inheritors of this seemingly sacred vocation it is quite a responsibility we carry on our shoulders. The next time you meet a doctor perhaps you’ll be in a better position to see, assess and interact with them. As I was writing this article, a lazy recourse to social media brought me this – a post from one of the best surgeons of North India: “[On Doctor’s Day] No use thanking the entire Doctor community as a whole. People should not go overboard. Use your gratitude exceedingly selectively. Most of them (doctors) today, with very few exceptions, don’t deserve the honour stringed to the prefix ‘Dr.’! Most doctors in India, partly due to the erroneous training protocols…and mostly due to their own imperfections and casual attitude, are hardly worth their jobs.Experimentation, fleecing, overstepping skills, not keeping abreast of updates and revisions and placing their personal financial interests ahead of comfort and cure of patients are the ills plaguing our profession.” This insider’s view might sound too ominous, but it arises only from a zeal for being worthy of the standards expected of us. There is much to introspect and correct. Source
