Autoimmune Medschool Malady 101
~ Taj Prabhugaunker
Final year MBBS, GMC-Goa
DOCTOR.
This prefix born from the auspicious union of unwavering willpower, smart-hard work, tolerance, compassion and love is likened to the birth of a baby. Having a minimum gestation of 5 long years, this journey is full of rollercoaster rides.
Like a parent, Medical school nurtures the UG fresher gradually, year by year, progressing from an intern to a medical officer, maturing into a resident , to a consultant! With your professors, patients, seniors and batchmates – the tools cutting, shaping and sharpening you to upgrade at every level.
And these experiences- pleasant AND unpleasant; words OR actions, mold the ultimate product. That’s YOU, the DOCTOR!
Right from the ages of Hippocrates and Shushruta- the pioneers of medical science, our noble profession is often said to be designed for the cream of the class, for those with the ability to think out of the box, to invent, to endure.
Cut to the 21st century, where being a part of this white army although still holds significant prestige, it is considerably plagued by the villain of violence and abuse against health workers, garnished with the dangerous plague of hierarchical toxicity within the medical fraternity- worst enemy is the one who was once the closest friend.
‘our youngsters must say, “This is my country. I’d like to work 70 hours a week.”‘
While this statement by Sir Narayan Murthy, recently made the headlines, resulting in an outrageous uproar, it’s no news for us medicos who’ve been socially and ethically expected to work way beyond the average working hours in any other profession. Amongst the lot, resident doctors face the major brunt of this demand across the globe- often resulting in irreparable burnout leading to unintended blunders which conspires to reactionary abuse and violence from the patients and their relatives further aggravating the shortage of resident doctors in clinical branches of healthcare from the fear and discouragement- A LETHAL VICIOUS CYCLE.
While I thought of our theme, Words can, what Medicine can’t, the motto of Lexicon, my first instinct was to put forth the unfair circumstances that junior doctors have to work through. While we have a notion that such near torture practices happen in remote medical colleges, the recent shocking account of a junior resident from Surgery department of the prestigious VMMC Delhi, was a major blow to the medical fraternity.
Is it the weak mindset of the new doctors? Is it being intolerant? Is it being unprofessional? Is it being disrespectful towards seniors? Is it the sadistic mindset of the seniors? For all, what really matters, is that the results of this practice are disastrous- not only for the doctor but for a proportionate significant number of patients as well.
When one joins an institution as a trainee at the bottom of the ladder, the superiors often tend to disregard the fact that the trainee has cleared and procured a score in various entrance examinations to reach residency- to make him/ her, worthy of the position- with a mind full of dreams and wishes to fulfill to soar high and achieve milestones in their career in healthcare.
Although uprooting the toxic hierarchic behaviour in medical field is not an overnight transformation, being a silent bystander/ victim/ perpetrator isn’t the right option! Just because this malpractice of seniors being professionally toxic to juniors has been going on since ages or Just because you went through it, doesn’t mean that you’ve to be the same to your juniors as it’s nothing short of an autoimmune malady. A very dangerous one, to cost lives, families, dreams and much more.
Supporting such behaviour not only decreases the working efficiency of one generation but hollows out the system as a whole. On a much larger scale- like the borer in wood that weakens the entire ecosystem.
The Medical Education is a dynamic area of study. A constantly developing field which has come a long way from conquering the menace of undergrad ragging in colleges to timely and efficiently empowering students with meticulous skills of healthcare services. While we strive to upgrade our medical knowledge and practical skills, one must remember to check on our colleagues. We are in a profession that thrives on the foundation of teamwork and the most successful team is always the one with all it’s players working at their highest peak. Just as our cars and machines need timely servicing and rest. So so we! And more so because we are human! Humans that heal 🙂
Be the change. Start with your classmates. Your college. Break the chain.
Because the people who are crazy enough to believe that they can bring about a. change are the ones that actually do……..
