No. I am not Salman Khan. And this is not about a footpath and the " driverless" car that ran over it. It is, though, about being simply human, despite the world expecting you to be otherwise. A white coat and a stethoscope does not make me a Saint, and definitely not Satan. I remain, at my core, a person, trying to figure out life just like a million others out there.
Does my job get to me? On some days, yes it does. When I haven't been home for the better part of the year, when I see people of my age discover new experiences, when my friends and family get married or have kids and I can't make it and all I do is spend hours among the sick and miserable, its hard not to get demotivated. Infact, its impossible not to. But I am not even allowed to voice this, since I am told I apparently signed up "to serve humanity."
While that particular claim still remains debatable, let me tell you what I DID sign up for. I signed up for the adrenaline rush I get when I need to make split second decisions, the sense of responsibility I enjoy when dealing with a patient, the realisation that I actually make a difference (however big or small) in peoples' lives every single day at work, and above all, the sense of satisfaction in knowing that I did the best I could, and my patient is now better as a result of that.
But at the end of the day, I, like the thousands of doctors across the world like me, am only human. Mistakes happen. A miscalculated judgement there, a missed diagnosis here. The fluid drip I couldn't check because I was busy with another patient, a drug I gave too late because it didn't occur to me sooner. The consequences, sometimes, are huge. Irretrievable, irreplecable losses. A life lost, a family shattered, a world collapses.
In a world where social media justice is swift and unforgiving, I have lost count of just how many stories I encounter where people share tragic stories about how they lost someone because of their doctors error. Their anger is understandable and somewhat justified, but their vicious hatred, definitely isn't. The apparent transformation of a doctor from a saviour to the scheming devil in such cases is horrifyingly swift, and the calls for punishment are even more so.
No doctor is out to kill. Working in a country where the doctor patient ratio is ridiculously skewed, the chances of such errors multiply manyfold. But lets not use statistics to shield our mistakes. While each one of us tries to do their best for our patients, we all do fall prey to judgemental errors. Just like all other people do. In every single profession.
Its not like we do not realise the possible outcome incase we mess up. Its not as if we do not realise what's at stake. As we draw our skills from nearly a decade of training, we try every day to minimise that little margin of error which may end up costing us a life. But that is something, which I have come to realise, is simply impossible. Inspite of overwhelming odds, I see doctors striving to perfect the art of practising the science of medicine, however elusive that perfection may be.
A hesitant doctor who refers you to a senior specialist does not mean he or she is incompetent. It simply means he realises the decisions he makes will decide the course of a life, and has the humility to accept that he may not be fully equipped to make those decisions on his own. A doctor who missed a diagnosis is not the murderer you have made him out to be; on the contrary, he will carry the
burden of the uncomfortable knowledge that he unknowingly lost a patient that could have been saved. The doctor who didn't attend to you the moment your patient was wheeled in is not always an arrogant devil, he may just be someone on a 24hour shift with hardly any food,definitely no sleep and just between attending multiple casualties.
As the laws against Medical Negligence get stricter by the day, the noose tightens around a profession that is revered when things go right, and crucified when it gets awry. Unfortunately, like all other professions, we too have a few amongst us who do grave injustice to humanity and should be rightly punished. But how fair is it to label a genuine error of judgement as "gross negligence"? How does it help anybody when a doctor who did the best he could, is labelled a selfish,cold blooded murderer?
The way I see it, all this makes doctors all around the world hesitant. Their drive to do all they can is somewhat hampered by the fear of litigations and court cases. The need for self-preservation is increasingly overtaking the want to save a life. The paranoia of medicolegal hassles has resulted in doctors investing more time in paperwork and less time in patient care. The distance between a doctor and a patient is increasing everyday, and as this chasm widens, it can only make things worse for both parties.
Maybe someday, they will understand. Maybe someday, they will realise we did our best. Maybe someday, they will not hate us as much. And maybe, just maybe, someday they will acknowledge the fact that we too are, only human.
Does my job get to me? On some days, yes it does. When I haven't been home for the better part of the year, when I see people of my age discover new experiences, when my friends and family get married or have kids and I can't make it and all I do is spend hours among the sick and miserable, its hard not to get demotivated. Infact, its impossible not to. But I am not even allowed to voice this, since I am told I apparently signed up "to serve humanity."
While that particular claim still remains debatable, let me tell you what I DID sign up for. I signed up for the adrenaline rush I get when I need to make split second decisions, the sense of responsibility I enjoy when dealing with a patient, the realisation that I actually make a difference (however big or small) in peoples' lives every single day at work, and above all, the sense of satisfaction in knowing that I did the best I could, and my patient is now better as a result of that.
But at the end of the day, I, like the thousands of doctors across the world like me, am only human. Mistakes happen. A miscalculated judgement there, a missed diagnosis here. The fluid drip I couldn't check because I was busy with another patient, a drug I gave too late because it didn't occur to me sooner. The consequences, sometimes, are huge. Irretrievable, irreplecable losses. A life lost, a family shattered, a world collapses.
In a world where social media justice is swift and unforgiving, I have lost count of just how many stories I encounter where people share tragic stories about how they lost someone because of their doctors error. Their anger is understandable and somewhat justified, but their vicious hatred, definitely isn't. The apparent transformation of a doctor from a saviour to the scheming devil in such cases is horrifyingly swift, and the calls for punishment are even more so.
No doctor is out to kill. Working in a country where the doctor patient ratio is ridiculously skewed, the chances of such errors multiply manyfold. But lets not use statistics to shield our mistakes. While each one of us tries to do their best for our patients, we all do fall prey to judgemental errors. Just like all other people do. In every single profession.
Its not like we do not realise the possible outcome incase we mess up. Its not as if we do not realise what's at stake. As we draw our skills from nearly a decade of training, we try every day to minimise that little margin of error which may end up costing us a life. But that is something, which I have come to realise, is simply impossible. Inspite of overwhelming odds, I see doctors striving to perfect the art of practising the science of medicine, however elusive that perfection may be.
A hesitant doctor who refers you to a senior specialist does not mean he or she is incompetent. It simply means he realises the decisions he makes will decide the course of a life, and has the humility to accept that he may not be fully equipped to make those decisions on his own. A doctor who missed a diagnosis is not the murderer you have made him out to be; on the contrary, he will carry the
burden of the uncomfortable knowledge that he unknowingly lost a patient that could have been saved. The doctor who didn't attend to you the moment your patient was wheeled in is not always an arrogant devil, he may just be someone on a 24hour shift with hardly any food,definitely no sleep and just between attending multiple casualties.
As the laws against Medical Negligence get stricter by the day, the noose tightens around a profession that is revered when things go right, and crucified when it gets awry. Unfortunately, like all other professions, we too have a few amongst us who do grave injustice to humanity and should be rightly punished. But how fair is it to label a genuine error of judgement as "gross negligence"? How does it help anybody when a doctor who did the best he could, is labelled a selfish,cold blooded murderer?
The way I see it, all this makes doctors all around the world hesitant. Their drive to do all they can is somewhat hampered by the fear of litigations and court cases. The need for self-preservation is increasingly overtaking the want to save a life. The paranoia of medicolegal hassles has resulted in doctors investing more time in paperwork and less time in patient care. The distance between a doctor and a patient is increasing everyday, and as this chasm widens, it can only make things worse for both parties.
Maybe someday, they will understand. Maybe someday, they will realise we did our best. Maybe someday, they will not hate us as much. And maybe, just maybe, someday they will acknowledge the fact that we too are, only human.
Great piece...well written..but the dilemma is people read sympathize and then forget..they forget then it's human to err and doctors are human too!!
ReplyDeleteFew best lines I read at last!!!
ReplyDelete