Even as Doctor’s Day was celebrated on July 1, a social media post went viral which claimed that rising violence against doctors is discouraging young students from pursuing medical education.
TOI asks second and third-generation doctors whether they will advise their children against joining MBBS and why…Nagpur: “Doctor, you are God”, “Doctor, you arrived just like an angel for us!”.
We might have often come across such words of gratitude for doctors around us.
It always feels great to see a doctor relieving someone of agony with empathy and compassion.
But such praise comes after many sacrifices — sleepless nights, lack of me time, immense studies for years together, the long struggle for settlement, cut-throat competition and so on.
Above all, there is always a threat of getting beaten up by an angry mob at any point of career.
During the Covid-19 period, such incidents increased to such an extent that doctors started advising young aspirants not to prepare for medical course.
But the increased violence against doctors is just a small reason.
“Major change we have noticed over the years is that the doctor-patient relationship has been ruined.
The nobility, respect this field used to enjoy has been lost somewhere in the corporate struggle.
Society has started treating doctors like service providers,” said Dr Saurabh Mukewar who grew up seeing work of his father Dr Shrikant, one of the veterans in gastroenterology in Nagpur.“Once he was the only one from this super specialty in Nagpur.
Today, hundreds of postgraduates are coming out from colleges every year specializing in the same field.
It’s not at all easy for them to earn success like the earlier generation doctors,” said Dr Saurabh.
“If it’s your passion, no one can stop you from doing medicine.
But if you are joining the field for financial success, it is a strict ‘No’ from my side.
I won’t advise my kids to join this field,” he said.
Dr Amar Amale, a second-generation doctor, also said he will never suggest his children to take up medicine as career.
“When our friends were getting high packages, we, as residents, were struggling to raise our basic stipends.
This shows the apathy of the government towards the health sector.
We have to practice under tremendous stress which has brought down the average life expectancy of doctors.
Since there is hardly any silver lining, I don’t want my kids to suffer the same agony,” said Dr Amale.Dr Mukul Deshpande is still in medical college and experiencing the struggle of doctors first-hand.
“I have seen many singers including my father getting lost in responsibilities and not pursuing what they were really good at.
So, if my kid sees me and really wants to give it all for the field, I’ll help him.
But I won’t suggest him to take up this field,” he said.
“If you talk about money, there is no easy money for doctors.
Engineers easily earn more.
Money is never a motivation for most of the doctors,” he said.Young doctors from government medical colleges said that they lose peace of mind and standard of living too.
“Most hostels in government medical colleges are not worth staying for even a single day,” said another resident doctor from GMCH in Yavatmal.
“If the patient survives, they say God has saved the patient.
And if he dies, it’s the doctor who killed him,” he said.For interventional pulmonologist Dr Sameer Arbat, another second-generation doctor, medical professionals still command a lot of recognition and respect in society.
“If my son Noam decides to become a doctor, I will never discourage him.
It’s a profession which lets you serve the people.
The pandemic has highlighted the need for more doctors and specialists,” he said.
Major Dr Vaibhav Chandankhede has served in the Armed forces and he thinks the other way.
“Looking at the changing outlook of society towards doctors, sometimes I feel to advise the youngsters to opt for an easy and less complicated choice for their career and avoid all the mental and physical pressure,” he said.
He served as a Medical Combatant in Armed Forces.
“It gave the pleasure of serving the nation by saving lives and healing the fighting troops in tough situations.
Hence, I will prefer to suggest medical profession as a career choice to youngsters,” he said.Why ‘No’ to medical education – It’s a long way to become a specialist- Years of preparation, hard work, failure, frustration despair, and finally some success – Poor health infrastructure increases frustration – Long years of struggle for settlement even after a degree – Extreme competition in the field – No respect for anything you do- Often judged by unqualified people – The struggle phase kills creativity, enthusiasm to do anything else in life- No me time, no free time during a crucial period of life – And there is angry mob, petty politicians, pressure groups and weak legal provisions