JOIN USThere have been times when Mukul Das* has questioned his own sanity. The stress that came along with his demanding job was too much to handle for him on several occasions.
“I would often ask why did I join this profession?” he recollects. And he would get the answers immediately when he would save the life of a person by doing “run-of-the-mill” job, but that was no less than a “miracle” for the patient’s kin. “It is something that we do everyday. But when you bring smile on people’s face, you know you are in the right field,” he says.
A senior resident doctor at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Das agrees that the pressure with the medical profession can often be overwhelming, but it is a “part of our job” and “can be rectified” if the concerned authorities pay attention to their demands and find a common ground. At the same time, he candidly admits the “expertise” and “hands-on” experience that state and centre run hospitals offer to the doctors in the making are “priceless”.
“Why is it that people still prefer institutes like AIIMS over corporate hospitals when it comes to treatment? And why is it that all top medical students rush towards AIIMS residency?” asks Dr Anand N Malaviya, former professor at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and one of the pioneers of rheumatology in India. “I quote my friend here. ‘Young mind, inquisitive, learning the intricacies of medicine, doesn’t have interest in money but his interest is to become an intellectual who understands medicine’,”
says Malaviya.
“So that is why residency training by itself is most important because you have a senior and a mentor who is guiding you and this is done best in government medical institutions. It indeed is very hectic, but this grilling is important,” he says, adding
doctors should lead a disciplined life to tackle stressful situations.
A career in medicine, like journalism, requires a person to be on the job, all the time. Like news can break at any point of the day, an emergency case also doesn’t announce its arrival. And with this uncertainty comes undue pressure.
The arduous drill that the doctors go through during their formative years exposes them to interesting cases and prepares them for the future. “You can’t train a surgeon from books. You have to have practical knowledge and should master the ability to focus in every possible situation,” Dr Shankar Acharya, spine surgeon, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, tells Metrolife. “There is no special method to train your mind, it comes automatically in this profession,” he adds. Practicing since 1999, Acharya now performs 40 surgeries in a month and claims that he hasn’t taken an off since he was 17. “When you do what you like doing, everyday is a holiday. So, I am on a holiday for the rest of my life.”
Similar sentiments were echoed by Dr Sanjiv Kapoor, senior consultant Rheumatologist, whose work begins at nine in the morning and finishes not before two past midnight, everyday. “There is no off on Sundays as well. We have to be cautious about phone calls because the life of a patient matters the most to us,” he tells Metrolife, adding anyone with a ‘steely’ will can overcome all obstacles in this field.
While Dr Acharya practices yoga to stay calm and fit, Dr Kapoor hits the treadmill every morning for 15 minutes to prepare for a long day ahead. “Lunch is extremely hectic. But breakfast is heavy. That helps me to sustain during the day,” admits Kapoor.
Moreover, the most important thing these senior doctors echoed was that “tiredness is a state of mind, if it can be battled diligently, then everyone will excel in their profession.”
Another important factor, Dr Kapoor, feels is that if doctors start treating the patients as their own family, they will never be burdened by the thought of tiredness.
“If only you are satisfied with your profession, you love what you are doing, you talk to your patients and see how they are improving... then you will never be tired,” says
Dr Kapoor, adding doctors should treat their patients affectionately and this would in turn take away the toll from their mind.
*Name changed on request.