Diary of a Doctor

Please note that this post is not related to mental health.

This is a write up post NRSCH incident where a young doctor was beaten up badly for not being able to save a 75 year old presenting with a heart attack and with prior multiple comorbidities.

Though the whole incident seems to be politically driven, the harsh reality that has come to forefront after this gruesome incident is still alarming. Got to know the stark opinions of different sections and different professionals towards medical fraternity.

This post is not intended to blame anyone nor to clarify anything, it is just to mention what I have come to realise as a doctor in the recent times.

Foremost, doctors are not united even at this moment of extreme crisis! It is certainly sad and surprising too! It also explains why other professionals are not coming to support the medical fraternity, which in itself, is divided and biased.

Secondly, I have come to realise that there is a general mistrust towards doctors which has led to common public’s indifference towards the violence doctors face day in and day out. I am not sure whether this general mistrust is media driven, politically driven or personal experience driven. Whatever it is, public is not able to judge the gravity of the current situation, nor understand the consequences of the same.

As a part of medical training, doctors are taught to go beyond books, think beyond the obvious and act beyond their capacity to save a life. This is apparent if one meets a young budding doctor, who puts in every effort to learn the tricks and tips of the trade to be able to do justice to his patients. However, when one doctor is mistreated like this, thousand others are reluctant to go out of their way in dealing with high risk patients, thinking that it is only going to backfire in case something undesirous happens. The risks he takes seem to be much higher and it seems much easier to just let it be.

The only point I am making here is, if the people who save lives are not comfortable in their position, they would much rather say it is beyond their scope than to risk their reputation or life.  And this will eventually lead to the downfall of the entire healthcare system because it operates on not giving up in the first place! This is a heavy price we all will pay for not having faith in our doctors!

I don’t disagree that some patients may have had bad experiences with some doctors. We all have had bad experiences all the time in all the professions, why leave medical fraternity aside. After all doctors are not Gods, they are also human beings, they have their virtues and vices. They have their principles and temptations. But generalising the mistrust on every doctor or blaming a doctor when the desired outcome in not achieved is not only immature but foolish too!

Lastly, I have realised that doctors, despite whatever good they do, will remain the most exploited professionals. Remember that one distant friend who only calls when they want a free consultation. Not to forget the innumerable relatives who would call or message at all odd hours to seek some medical advice which they will not even follow because they already are following someone else, or they are just checking whether they are being treated properly or not.  To add to the list, patients who don’t follow the prescription entirely and put the blame on doctors for not being able to treat them.  And the worst of all is when people trust google more than their doctors!

Concludingly, if someone is dissatisfied with a particular doctor or consultation, there are ways to deal with it.  Basic law and human respect must be followed at all costs. Violence is anyways a primitive form of communication. Animals attack each other because they can’t communicate their inner feelings. Humans are gifted with mature ways of communication. Logic, reasoning, common sense, emotional bonding with and respect for another human being together with healthy communication should be able to sort out most of our conflict and grudges. And this applies to all professions and relationships.

Having said all this, it is important for every doctor to be open, frank and true to his patients. It is also prudent to acknowledge the limitations of medical science at every step and guide the patients truthfully taking them into confidence after sharing all the available information.

Lastly, doctors are not Gods, nor do they want any special favours from their patients. They just want to be trusted. They just want to be paid and respected like any other professional. They spend the prime years of their life in undergoing rigorous training which costs them a lot of years, effort and their own health. Not just this, despite so much hard work, they have to fight their own professional inadequacies because medical science still does not have answers to all the questions all the time. Moreover, no professional deserve to be a victim of violence at their workplace. Its high time we followed basic law and human respect while dealing with the people who save our lives!

Wishing you the best of everything today and always,

Dr Apala