Respect, all that our doctor needs for selfless service

Of late, the community of doctors has been much maligned. Doctors are often labelled as being “heartless”, “commercialised” and “arrogant”. I have been in this noble profession for almost two decades now and I find these observations rather painful.

My thoughts take me a couple of years back when I happened to travel with my son from Delhi to Jalandhar by the Shatabdi Express. Two hours into the journey, the guard informed on the public address system of the train that a passenger in coach C-2 needed medical attention and requested for the services of any doctor on board. I immediately got up, requested the fellow passengers to look after my son while I was away examining the patient, and made my way to C-2. I must confess that not once did the thought of being paid for my services cross my mind. The overwhelming feeling was to help a patient at a difficult time.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a cardiologist and a plastic surgeon by the patient’s side when I reached the coach. The patient was experiencing extreme anxiety, shortness of breath and restlessness. He was examined by the cardiologist, while I looked up at the treatment record. The cardiologist informed me that the patient did not seem to have a heart problem and requested me, a psychiatrist, to intervene. The patient was already under treatment for an anxiety disorder and had apparently forgotten to take his medicine in a hurry to catch the train. I gave him an anxiolytic medicine and soon enough, he started to feel a lot better. His wife quipped that it would have been virtually impossible to get the expert opinion of three specialist doctors in such a short time anywhere else. She, along with the guard of the train, expressed gratitude to us and we made our way to our respective seats.

A few days later, one of my classmates was travelling on a flight from Toronto to Delhi when one of the fellow passengers lost his consciousness. He was given CPR and the requisite medicines by my classmate, thus saving his life and, in the process, preventing the aircraft from making an emergency landing.

A couple of days ago, in a muchlauded gesture, Union minister of state for finance Dr Bhagwat K Karad, rushed to the help of a co-passenger who took ill on a flight. The incident happened on Indigo flight 6E171 from New Delhi to Mumbai around an hour after take-off.

These are not isolated incidents. Almost every doctor has had similar experiences many times in his/her career wherein the patient was given appropriate emergency treatment without considering the financial aspect even once.

We, doctors, may not be angels but are humans just like our patients. We have empathy, sensitivity and concern for people around us. Nothing gives greater satisfaction than to see a patient get well on the basis of our knowledge. It’s time we, as a society, give doctors their due respect.

I MUST CONFESS THAT NOT ONCE DID THE THOUGHT OF BEING PAID FOR MY SERVICES CROSS MY MIND. THE OVERWHELMING FEELING WAS TO HELP A PATIENT AT A DIFFICULT TIME.