Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Etiquette tips for medical experts
Call me strange but I am a groupie around MDs. Doctors are my heroes. They are my rockstars. Other people chase the Khans or the Goslings,but I hear the word doctor in an introduction and I swoon. It doesnt help that when they hear of this particular affliction,they rush around examining my head and checking for signs of dementia. But tell me how can you fail to be impressed with someone whose job profile/KRA says saving lives?
But it seems that we were lucky enough to meet the exceptions. The majority of the medical fraternity is not obsessed with being better than the rest. Today,doctors no longer play god; they think they are god.
For a start,they watch the clock like hawks from the time you enter their clinic but have no such qualms when it comes to keeping appointments. When my mother was undergoing chemotherapy,my 70-year-old father would fly down to Mumbai to meet her oncologist before every session. The doctor would think nothing of making him wait for three hours at a time and then spend five minutes telling us there is no hope for my mother. Based on the look of despair on my fathers face,he would then adjust his charges to give him a few false assurances. Once,I have seen my father hand over Rs 10,000 for 10 minutes of talk time. The doctor in question,by the way,is a legend in cancer treatment.
Another time,we waited in vain for her brain specialist to come. For two weeks,we called. Several times a day. He never showed up. Not even at the funeral. Which was a good thing as I would be writing this piece from jail. Currently,I am watching a friend of mine rage on about the medical fraternity and the four-hour wait his 80-year-old mother is routinely subjected to for every consultation. This,at a fancy private hospital that charges for inhaling and exhaling! I know doctors are busy people which is why I am writing a simple three-step etiquette programme for them a simple prescription for the doctor on the go.
Point 1: Your patient is not an inanimate object who will do as told. They have the right to question and ask questions. The talk to the blank wall approach is neither expected nor appreciated. Its even uncalled for for the over-eager,over-zealous patient who has researched her ailment on the internet. A well-informed person actually makes for a good patient.
Point 2: You are also treating the family of the patient. So wipe the scorn off your face and extend your compassion. They are not hysterical,they are just very,very worried. Put yourself in their shoes before you dismiss them.
Point 3: Develop a bedside manner. The old-fashioned quality of reassuring a sick person is nearly as important as the Hippocratic oath. I will never forget my first mammogram. The radiologist terrified me so much,I have never returned. She kept referring to lumps that were never there!
Doctors have their defence. They insist that patients have no consideration for their time or space. I agree. But when you signed up for a medical degree,you volunteered to be a better man. So when people come to you at their most vulnerable,they come thinking you will be their saviour at that time,play god. Be the benign presence in their malignant moment.
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