July 1 marked National Doctors’ Day. This day, in memory of the late Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, is dedicated to thanking doctors for their contributions, efforts, and sacrifices to save people’s lives. Here’s a list of some interesting reads about medicos and their lives.
Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond
Author: Sonia Shah
The prize-winning science journalist-cum-author has described all pandemics that have wreaked havoc in India. In this 2020-published startling book, from examining cholera to coronavirus, the author has enumerated how a pandemic develops and has given a detailed analysis of all the pathogens and viruses that the epidemiologists should be well-versed with, to prevent any future global health emergencies.
The Food Mood Connection
Author: Dr Uma Naidoo
In this 2020 book, this Indian psychiatrist and nutritionist expert has highlighted the importance of diet for good mental health.
Apart from stressing about weight loss, fitness, and cardiac health, the author has explained how the food we intake can have a profound effect on treating depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, OCD, and others.
Herbal Medicine in India: Indigenous Knowledge, Practice, Innovation and Its Value
Authors: Dr Saikat Sen and Dr Raja Chakraborty
This book encompasses the growing interest in traditional medicine by explaining the benefits of herbal medicines, herbal products and cosmetics, and food supplements. It also addresses problems in the quality of various herbal products across the world.
The 2019 book has an interesting chapter on the use of folk medicine in rural and remote parts of the country, which is currently less explored and investigated. The book also provides many elegant strategies and modern approaches for some amazing discoveries in medical drugs.
Dear People, with Love and Care, Your Doctors: Heartfelt Stories about Doctor-Patient Relationship
Author: Dr Aparna Govil, and Dr Debraj Shome
This fascinating book is a collection of heartwarming stories on the relationship between doctors and patients. In this 2019 book, there are chapters on triumph, loss, empathy, positivity, and failure.
The book has anecdotes of acid attack survivors, and parents and relatives of doctors who have urged to treat doctors just as normal human beings.
What Doctors Don’t Get to Study in Medical School
Author: Dr B M Hegde
The 2006 book points out the loopholes in the current medical practice in India. The author has suggested medical students read many thought-provoking journals apart from the content given in the prescribed syllabus. Drawing some resources from Sanskrit texts, ancient healers, and European philosophers, and by stressing science, technology, and consumerism, the book is both scholarly and easy to read.
The Ethical Doctor
Author: Dr Kamal Kumar Mahawar
The doctor in this 2016 book examines the importance of government, judiciary, and policymakers in the field of medicine.
The book mostly questions the ethics followed by the Indian Medical Association which need to be updated to modern times. Why is the medical profession plagued by scams? How will patients trust doctors? Can a doctor be ethical and honest in this deeply troubled system? — are some of the daring questions asked by the author in this 232-page book.