After reading a few comments on my last blog I am really perplexed, but thanks, it motivated me to continue further.
This is neither justification nor defence of my profession in any way, I just would like to change the perspective in general, in my own small way, if I can.
I am going to restrict myself strictly to the way I became Doctor, that is on pure merit. I myself don't like, neither I am party to any other ways of admission to Medicine or for that matter any other course where merit must count.
The boys and the girls who shine in their 12th, are the cynosure of all the eyes before they enter the Medicine but as soon as they come out of Medical school, they become Money sucking leaches without any morals and responsibilities towards society, in the eyes of the society which itself is sick to the core. I have a strong objection to this very thinking. These are gifted lads and lasses coming from good families, with good family values and with their heads firmly on their shoulders where they should be. Overnight they can not become Shylocks.
This profession is mostly maligned due to bad publicity by the presstitutes. In all Medical schools, say KEM of Mumbai for example, thousands of patients are treated every day with exemplary results but one bad case and right from the Politicians with dubious past and morals to the press that's always hungry for sensationalism rather than the true facts and the common man who does not understand the intricacies of Medicine as science with all its shortcomings, jump into the fray relentlessly and ask for their pound of flesh even if the Doctors are not at fault. It's just a statistics and it is applicable to Medical field like any other, that 100% results can not be guaranteed. On the contrary, Medicine is not mathematics, so one plus one could be from two to eleven, with so many factors operating on the human body many of which are still unknown to mankind. Unfortunately, this is the way the things are, which neither politicians nor presstitutes explain to the Indian patient who is more gullible, illiterate than his counterpart from the developed countries. On the contrary, they exploit the feelings of the deprived to their benefit and make the matters worse for everybody. Because in the end if the doctors are right, mostly they are, the one who suffers the most is a poor patient or his relatives. But to start with the doctors suffer unnecessarily. Their morale gets affected and the hospitals come to standstill because every other day doctors are getting bitten up left, right and centre for no fault of theirs irrespective of the law, that at the most is like a toothless tiger existing only on the paper.
It's not that the ball is never in the Doctors' court but the law of averages that applies to the society, in general, applies to the doctors too. If 10% of the society is bad then you will definitely find 10% of doctors on the wrong foot. But those who are caught are projected so much that we lose the perspective of the entire scenario.
Nobody, nobody in India feels that sickness is part of life, part of living and one must make necessary provision for the same. Even those, literate ones, who opt for Medical insurance feel, it's a waste of money if they don't get the money back what they have paid as premium. I have got so many requests from such individuals to get them admitted only because they are medically insured just to claim the monetary benefit by inflating the bills. Those who shout against the Medical profession should work on this thinking first.
It's a law that needy should get the treatment if required in an emergency until the further managements are made. But it's not clear who is going to foot the bill for disposables, medicines, services that are used when nothing comes free for the Doctors or their institutions. On the contrary Electricity, boards count even small hospitals as commercial ventures and charge accordingly. No concessions for Humanitarian work! As Government thinks it is in an emergency .
The medical bill in its entirety mostly comprises of 1. Cost of the Medicines 2. Pathological Investigations 3. Bed charges and so many other mundane things, with doctor's share amounting to not more than 10%, but it's the Doctor who takes the flack.
When the Government asked to dispense the drugs/medicines under generic names, it were not the doctors who objected but the pharmaceutical companies who cried the wolf. Should it happen, simple paracetamol that is costing Rs Three at present would come down to thirty paise? Nobody seems to be fighting for this cause, including the government, the pharma companies, the chemists and druggist till the last shackle in the chain, the consumer bodies. Unfortunately, I have seen it many times that the patient who pays for these drugs through his nose, haggles for the doctor's fees, in fact, which should not be negotiable. Many a time I have felt like a vegetable vendor on the corner, fighting for his last cent. In such cases, I just give up on my fees rather than lowering my self to the level of cheap bania. [ Caste and profession not intended, attitude is what I mean. ]
As of now, no science is perfect, it's only change that's constant. Medicine is no exception. With the explosion of knowledge Doctors themselves are finding it difficult to cope up with the splurge of knowledge, so the advent of super specialities. A development common man on the street is failing to understand. Maybe because he has a shoestring budget but that's not the fault of the doctors. If the ailment requires further intervention, it has to be carried out. period!
A dictum, which is applicable to every walk of life is, ' If you want quality you have to pay for it.' So if you don't have monies in your pocket, treatment in hospitals like Hinduja or Jaslok is not available for you, period. You have to go to the public hospitals where it may not be possible simply because of sheer numbers. But isn't it applicable to every walk of life? Tea available on a street-side cart is no different in a big way than the one offered at Taj, but nobody has created any ruckus about the pricing, to my knowledge at least. All Indians want Hinduja like treatment, if possible free of cost, thanks to our socialistic attitude that has spoilt us beyond repairs, but if not, at the lowest possible Municipality rates. That too may be possible theoretically but then what about the bed strength, qualified staff, equipment, ultra-modern gadgetry, medicines and so many other things that do not come cheap! Who should pay for it, even if the minimum? Think about our needy over-sized population too, at this juncture.
A society that accepts, no welcomes the likes of Salman Khan or Sanjay Dutt is a sick society. And it's heinous to compare the doctors with these criminals [ one proved, other on the anvil ] Are we not observing the decay in the moral fibre of the society all around us? A noble profession like 'Education' is grabbed by the thugs who proclaim to be Kings of Education, and the real teachers are reduced to lowly paid pawns. The nomenclature Social worker has become a mockery of the real one. Goons have captured all the legislative bodies and nobody can raise even an eyebrow for the fear of life. Inept morons dream to hold the highest post in the country and we can do nothing!
In such a situation how can one expect only doctors to be above all, it's unfair.
This is neither justification nor defence of my profession in any way, I just would like to change the perspective in general, in my own small way, if I can.
I am going to restrict myself strictly to the way I became Doctor, that is on pure merit. I myself don't like, neither I am party to any other ways of admission to Medicine or for that matter any other course where merit must count.
The boys and the girls who shine in their 12th, are the cynosure of all the eyes before they enter the Medicine but as soon as they come out of Medical school, they become Money sucking leaches without any morals and responsibilities towards society, in the eyes of the society which itself is sick to the core. I have a strong objection to this very thinking. These are gifted lads and lasses coming from good families, with good family values and with their heads firmly on their shoulders where they should be. Overnight they can not become Shylocks.
This profession is mostly maligned due to bad publicity by the presstitutes. In all Medical schools, say KEM of Mumbai for example, thousands of patients are treated every day with exemplary results but one bad case and right from the Politicians with dubious past and morals to the press that's always hungry for sensationalism rather than the true facts and the common man who does not understand the intricacies of Medicine as science with all its shortcomings, jump into the fray relentlessly and ask for their pound of flesh even if the Doctors are not at fault. It's just a statistics and it is applicable to Medical field like any other, that 100% results can not be guaranteed. On the contrary, Medicine is not mathematics, so one plus one could be from two to eleven, with so many factors operating on the human body many of which are still unknown to mankind. Unfortunately, this is the way the things are, which neither politicians nor presstitutes explain to the Indian patient who is more gullible, illiterate than his counterpart from the developed countries. On the contrary, they exploit the feelings of the deprived to their benefit and make the matters worse for everybody. Because in the end if the doctors are right, mostly they are, the one who suffers the most is a poor patient or his relatives. But to start with the doctors suffer unnecessarily. Their morale gets affected and the hospitals come to standstill because every other day doctors are getting bitten up left, right and centre for no fault of theirs irrespective of the law, that at the most is like a toothless tiger existing only on the paper.
It's not that the ball is never in the Doctors' court but the law of averages that applies to the society, in general, applies to the doctors too. If 10% of the society is bad then you will definitely find 10% of doctors on the wrong foot. But those who are caught are projected so much that we lose the perspective of the entire scenario.
Nobody, nobody in India feels that sickness is part of life, part of living and one must make necessary provision for the same. Even those, literate ones, who opt for Medical insurance feel, it's a waste of money if they don't get the money back what they have paid as premium. I have got so many requests from such individuals to get them admitted only because they are medically insured just to claim the monetary benefit by inflating the bills. Those who shout against the Medical profession should work on this thinking first.
It's a law that needy should get the treatment if required in an emergency until the further managements are made. But it's not clear who is going to foot the bill for disposables, medicines, services that are used when nothing comes free for the Doctors or their institutions. On the contrary Electricity, boards count even small hospitals as commercial ventures and charge accordingly. No concessions for Humanitarian work! As Government thinks it is in an emergency .
The medical bill in its entirety mostly comprises of 1. Cost of the Medicines 2. Pathological Investigations 3. Bed charges and so many other mundane things, with doctor's share amounting to not more than 10%, but it's the Doctor who takes the flack.
When the Government asked to dispense the drugs/medicines under generic names, it were not the doctors who objected but the pharmaceutical companies who cried the wolf. Should it happen, simple paracetamol that is costing Rs Three at present would come down to thirty paise? Nobody seems to be fighting for this cause, including the government, the pharma companies, the chemists and druggist till the last shackle in the chain, the consumer bodies. Unfortunately, I have seen it many times that the patient who pays for these drugs through his nose, haggles for the doctor's fees, in fact, which should not be negotiable. Many a time I have felt like a vegetable vendor on the corner, fighting for his last cent. In such cases, I just give up on my fees rather than lowering my self to the level of cheap bania. [ Caste and profession not intended, attitude is what I mean. ]
As of now, no science is perfect, it's only change that's constant. Medicine is no exception. With the explosion of knowledge Doctors themselves are finding it difficult to cope up with the splurge of knowledge, so the advent of super specialities. A development common man on the street is failing to understand. Maybe because he has a shoestring budget but that's not the fault of the doctors. If the ailment requires further intervention, it has to be carried out. period!
A dictum, which is applicable to every walk of life is, ' If you want quality you have to pay for it.' So if you don't have monies in your pocket, treatment in hospitals like Hinduja or Jaslok is not available for you, period. You have to go to the public hospitals where it may not be possible simply because of sheer numbers. But isn't it applicable to every walk of life? Tea available on a street-side cart is no different in a big way than the one offered at Taj, but nobody has created any ruckus about the pricing, to my knowledge at least. All Indians want Hinduja like treatment, if possible free of cost, thanks to our socialistic attitude that has spoilt us beyond repairs, but if not, at the lowest possible Municipality rates. That too may be possible theoretically but then what about the bed strength, qualified staff, equipment, ultra-modern gadgetry, medicines and so many other things that do not come cheap! Who should pay for it, even if the minimum? Think about our needy over-sized population too, at this juncture.
A society that accepts, no welcomes the likes of Salman Khan or Sanjay Dutt is a sick society. And it's heinous to compare the doctors with these criminals [ one proved, other on the anvil ] Are we not observing the decay in the moral fibre of the society all around us? A noble profession like 'Education' is grabbed by the thugs who proclaim to be Kings of Education, and the real teachers are reduced to lowly paid pawns. The nomenclature Social worker has become a mockery of the real one. Goons have captured all the legislative bodies and nobody can raise even an eyebrow for the fear of life. Inept morons dream to hold the highest post in the country and we can do nothing!
In such a situation how can one expect only doctors to be above all, it's unfair.
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