WHY ONLY DOCs !!!!!!
It was doubly sad to read the article 10 Common Most Medical Mistakes (India today,Feb 16,2009) ,firstly because it highlighted the faux pas of my profession,and secondly or rather more intensely,since all the blame was put on the fragile shoulders of the Doctors!
In spite of being a very ardent believer and preacher of the principle,that every doctor should respect the faith ,that the patient,imposes on him or her,specially in a surgeon,in handing over one self,in a state of anesthesia to be cut(operated) ,I cannot resist but put forward my views ,to defend the doctors.
We should all understand that,the doctor is,just a very small part of any medical set-up,be it private or government,and is often as helpless and harassed as the patient,if not more,by the system.Long queue,nonavailabilty of drugs,non functioning equipment,inadequate and inefficient para medical staff,improper care by nursing staff,waiting lists for surgery and bed crunch,are all well beyond most of the doctors,most of the times.
Leaving an instrument inside the body,during surgery,removing the wrong organ and at times prescribing wrong medicine,are mistakes,that should not happen by anyone,but as human as a doctor can be,they do happen,in spite of all checks for prevention,like any other mistakes that occur in any filed be it engineering,marine or driving! We are human too,and liable to err,though we should try our level best to avoid such unwanted mishaps.
Doctors are there for providing medical help,but they have never claimed to be and are not Magicians! If your lifestyles swings from one end of overexertion to a totally mechanical and sedentary life leading to severe bodyache,or if the stress of your life turns you into an insomniac,the doctor has no alternative but to repeatedly prescribe pain killers and sedatives,even if you become an addict,specially if you are not willing to change your lifestyle.The Doctor can advice,but cannot,exercise,diet or change a lifestyle for you,even if you can afford a personal phycian for yourself !
Doctors are as human as anyone else,and hence besides having all the human follies,have desires and ambitions and commitments too.If a 20 year old undergraduate,with just a 3-6 months on the job training,can charge 200-300 rupees just to look up a TV,comp or a washing machine,why cant a 35 year old post graduate specialist charge a fee of Rs 500?Life of a pilot is tough,but there is no profession which is more taxing ,in physical,mental,emotional and financial stress,as medicine, and an average doctor is minimum ten years behind his counterparts in any field,in terms of designation,earning and comfort.And most of the doctors do not earn as much as most people think they do,and the earning is definitely less than,the others at that age and stage,in any other career.
Medicine is a noble profession,and we all respect the faith of the patients in us,and though we must all ensure to avoid any situation that may endanger the life of a patient or worsen the condition,we need a little more compassion from the clientele ,in recognition of the stress under which a doctor works normally,and at least of a common man,who wants to earn a living and can err too!
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Lucknow