Doctor: A Noble profession or business?

Waking up fine had been a relief to me after 15 days lying in bed trying to figure out what actually happened to me.  Undiagnosed to any certain disease and long white bill of my expenses, I am now fine having my regular fine mornings without any aches in my body. However, the re-occurrence of the stomach pain makes me question the medical treatment I have been receiving over the years.

The pain on the left side of my stomach every time leads me in occupying the expensive bed in an emergency. The doctor keeps on telling me there is nothing wrong with my health but if it is so, why I get attacks and get admitted to the emergency? But after a Buscopan Injection, and some bottle of distilled water, I am stabilized back.

One time after several tests, my mother was carrying a bag full of medicine and antibiotic including a month supply of vitamin tablets. With the hope of getting better and strong faith on the prescribed medicine, I returned home. Surprisingly, half of my medicine was reduced when my cousin, who is a doctor, visited me and told that those are not necessary. It left me bewildered on whom to trust? And the faith that I had carried all along turned to mistrust.  

Just roaming around the Kathmandu city, we found a polyclinic in a gap of two blocks of the household. It is a good thing that medical service is available. However, the irony of the available health center is they make us take several tests like the routine, culture, blood test, MRI or CT again when we go to another hospital. Is this really a trust thing or has medical practice really become just a cash thing?  

We all trust doctors with our life. Doctors are the only person who is trusted to the point where patients will do anything even it is beyond their wishes. This is because patients have an inherent belief that the doctor always knows best and often leave the most important decisions about their own health to them.  

So, the person with medical background should sense the sensitivity and should feel the responsibility rather than just making the service a pure profit-making business. Also, we have seen in many critical cases, where a critical patient is under the supervision of a young doctor who has recently completed a year of internship.

Studying MBBS has just stuck into being a reputed name in the society but the one who pursues it seem to have forgotten that the study is not just about their living but is also about serving mankind. Why there is no choice of freedom for the pursuit of the academic degree? We all have dynamics to perform and have the best of it. One can equally excel and have reputation pursuing other fields.

Is it the state policy for having loopholes in governing a strict eye on health care system or is it the parents who rejoice the name of their child being a doctor or is it the student who pursues the degree without any interest or motive towards the subject. Because MBBS degree is not some other stream where you can make mistake and still get covered up, the single individual who enrolls into the medical system is responsible for the quality life of the other individual.

Anusuya Puri is Project Manager

(Center of Resilent Development)

She has a Masters Degree in Social Work with Specialization in HR and Psychology

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