Doctor blessed with the gift of the gab
No matter how ill the patients, they and their family never forget to greet the doctor before proceeding to mention the symptoms.
Due to my experience as a clinician, I believe that the exchange of the first few words, a friendly smile and eye contact with the patient go a long way in building trust. The patient reposes faith in the prescription of the doctor.
As a physician, I ensure I don’t lose those initial moments to establish a rapport with the patients and their kin. I can vouch for the fact that the treatment of a patient begins well before one starts writing the prescription, if one uses those precious moments well.
Sat Sri Akal, namaste or good morning/evening doctor, are the common form of greeting, and I respond with equal respect and clarity, instead of merely nodding my head.
Amritsar, being an important tourist destination, attracts people from across the country and this has given it a cosmopolitan character. The surge in the hospitality sector has brought people of diverse cultures, traditions and languages from near and far. E-rickshaw and taxi drivers who have faith in me keep bringing national and international tourists for medical help, if they are taken ill during their stay in Amritsar. I make it a point to respond to their greetings in a similar fashion to make them comfortable.
Patients from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar smile widely when I respond with Ram Ram ji. Tamilians are taken by surprise when I welcome them with ‘vanakkam’ instead of the conventional namaste. Keralites are pleased to hear namaskaram. Similarly, Muslim embroiderers and tailors have made this part of the country their abode to eke out a living. They are stumped when I answer their namaste with: ‘As-salaamu alaykum’. They lose no time to reply with a pleasant smile: ‘Wa-alaykumu as-salam’, before settling down to detail their sufferings.
The proximity of my clinic to the army cantonment and Northern Railway workshop gives me ample chance to interact with people from every corner of India. Patients from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha and West Bengal have added to my knowledge about their culture. Though soldiers prefer to greet me with a crisp Jai Hind, their families feel at home when I wish them in their mother tongue.
Before they leave for the place of their next posting, they don’t forget to present me a framed picture or an idol of the god they rever, as a parting gift. As a result, my clinic is home to pictures and idols of gods and goddesses and almost resembles a multi-faith temple! A friend who was at my clinic recently to catch up, remarked, “If there’s a prize for the most secular clinic, yours would be a top contender.”
Sir William Osler, the most influential figure in the history of medicine, rightly said: “There are only two sorts of doctors: Those who practise with brains, and those who practise with their tongues.” I have no qualms in admitting that I belong to the second category and would like to remain one.
MY CLINIC IS HOME TO PICTURES AND IDOLS OF GODS AND GODDESSES AND ALMOST RESEMBLES A MULTI-FAITH TEMPLE!