Being a doctor is a blessing. Being a doctor means taking care of those who need you the most. Being a doctor means helping save lives. Being a doctor is a challenge every day; it is a continuous learning process. Human body is complex and just as you think you have known most of it in your specialty, more challenges appear. So, a doctor is always a student. Every day we get a bonus of helping people out of their misery, getting them to feel better again. The hardest part has always been to deliver the bad news to the patient his family. But then life is a mix of triumph, tragedy, happiness which one has to accept and perform our duty to the society. The most rewarding aspect of being a doctor: we can change the life of the patients; with our actions may it be surgery or through medicines; and to be able to put together all our experience to solving our patient problems. We deal with humans all the time and unlike another profession, people are dealing with machines most of the time. We deal with people and their problems. This is a very humbling experience. The patient comes to us with 100 per cent trust and faith and we do our best to solve their problems. Family life, holidays and social obligations can get cancelled at the very last minute due to some emergency situations. People put high expectation on us without realizing that we are not God but we are as simple and we are just trying to do our best by putting together of all our knowledge.
I enjoy being a doctor. There is nothing else that gives me so much pleasure and satisfaction. Focusing on chronic disease, my work combines the features of a super–specialty clinic and family practice. I am able to learn and practice cutting edge technology related to my subject, while maintaining the style and ambience of an old – fashioned general physician. This unique blend allows me to achieve global outlook while staying community –based and community oriented. All the aspects of the medical profession are rewarding for me. The most rewarding event, however, is when I observe the children with type1 diabetes who have been in my care for the last one and a half decades. Having grown into handsome men, and confident, beautiful girls, these healthy kids bring me joy and happiness.
I feel bad when patients, and their families, do not accept modern medication such as insulin. They prefer to repose their faith in alternative and complementary healers of dubious quality. This, I feel, is a slap on the face for me. I also feel incompetent when a communication gap arises with patient, despite of best efforts. At times, this irritation builds up, and I feel like changing my style of work, from a patient-centered, shared decision-making approach, to a didactic, ’the physician is always right ‘ method. But then, I take inspiration from the Bhagwad Gita, where Lord Krishna exhorts us to keep on working, without worrying about the fruits of our labour. Whatever I do, I do for Him: this makes every challenge seem simple, and this is my reward.
As a doctor, I am thankful to the Almighty to be given an opportunity to serve people who repose faith in me to alleviate their pain and suffering. It is extremely fulfilling for me to be a change-maker in society by initiating preventive, promotive and rehabilitative care. Small efforts in educating people about good health have a huge impact on the community. Practice of team medicine, high tech care for diagnosis and cure, willingness to promote quality care as well as great skill sets and competency are great boon in modern medicine.
For one thing a medical career never lets you feel you know it all. If anything, it fills you with the awareness of how little you know. The human body is marvelous and diseases are stiffest of challenges. Everyone is unique, yet there are fundamentals of physiology and disease processes to be understood and brought to the bedside. The vast ocean of medical knowledge makes you feel like a boy playing with its waves in its shores. It is a humbling experience to be part of an international fraternity that is constantly exploring, learning and improving itself- intellectually and in skills of the hands. Above all we learn from our patients. Not a day passes when we don’t witness the highs and lows of life played out before us. There is of course the thrill of watching people overcoming disease and suffering, the anguish of their suffering and pain, the magic of the power of faith and love and the complex range of emotions of the caregivers. There is also the personal challenge of getting ourselves to accept the daunting task of supporting patients and their families. We may be called upon to support them through their fear, panic, anxiety and depression. And to find practical solutions to their economic and social travails. I must confess many a time all this gets too much for me and wish for an easier job. But like a sailor who can’t keep away from the rough seas you want to return to the turbulent waters, to make a difference to the lives of others and to your own. One cannot be too objective in one’s assessment of an emotional job like this one. It has been a rewarding experience, of a rich value that eludes cold calculations. Many a time the ecosystem may seem biased against you, misunderstandings may frustrate you, and perceived threats may frighten you- but given another chance at a choice, I can’t think of anything better to do than to work to excel as a healer.