Ever since I wrote on the perils and pleasures of WhatsApp in my last post there was not really a great discussion going on in the group due to the work pressure and prior commitments of group members. Then suddenly last night after I bid goodnight and slept my phone buzzed indicating a message and it was WhatsApp again.Some other day this would have been a customary goodnight message from one of the group members but yesterday it was different. It was posted by a doctor after a hectic day as usual and it read as follows..
Are you sure to justify:........
So many people die in road traffic accidents due to faulty roads...have you ever arrested any RTO ?
So many people get sick and some of them die due to polluted water..have you ever arrested any Public Health Department Official?
So many people evade taxes...have you ever arrested any Income Tax Returning Officer ?
So many students of government schools fail in exams... have you ever arrested any teacher ?
So many crimes take place in area of every police station...have you ever arrested a police officer for failing to prevent crime ?
So many ATM'S and banks get looted...have you ever arrested any manager for it ?
So many judgments of lower courts get reversed in higher courts...have you ever arrested any judge for delivering wrong verdict?
So many politicians make false promises before elections and later on don't fulfill them...have you ever arrested any politician for cheating public?
So many films fail to entertain us...Have you ever arrested any filmmaker for making such a crap?
Then, beloved nation how could you expect a qualified Doctor to save every life he deals with???
This message came in the wake of recent incident in Chattisgarh Sterilization Camp disaster where about 8 women died on the same day and more were critical because of a drug antibiotic ciprofloxacin which got mixed with rat poison zinc phosphide resulting in the arrest of Doctors without background check.If this was the story it wouldn't have triggered this message to reach a non medical chat group in WhatsApp...A reputed media outlet went ahead with a news report claiming the doctors were responsible and if the doctors of this nation could do this how could the common man believe in them? After the media had found next round of breaking news and this news was out of coverage there appeared a drug company politician nexus which was the reason for the death of patients.It came to light that one of the Doctors arrested was a reputed and experienced hand and was on the verge of retirement. Such a negligence had never happened in his entire career...But the damage had already been done. Just because someone is arrested for questioning that does not mean the arrested person is a convict. He/she is just a suspect until the judgement comes and the suspect enjoys the possibility of being innocent. But in a hurry to publish breaking news way ahead of others that channel had given immense mental torture and pain to the arrested doctors and their family and medical fraternity as a whole.
Do these media men carry moral compass and authority to put on trial every person they deem fit on national television ? If they claim that they were doing their duty and had no personal enmity with the person, what were the Doctors doing? Weren't they doing their duty with utmost devotion and belief in the medicine provided to them by the company? Does the same media outlet has the daredevilry to put on trial the drug company and politicians involved?? The answer is NO.
Every time an epidemic breaks out our Doctors respond to the call of duty putting aside their own family commitments and start working overnight to help cure people.They do so not because they are paid,It is the Hippocratic oath they have taken makes them respond to emergency. It has been internalized in their blood stream and they respond to any emergency at any time of the day just to see their patient getting cured. They are not personally involved with any patient.Every patient they come across is treated equally.
I am not keeping blind eye on genuine cases of medical negligence and exorbitant fees charged by hospitals.That has much to do with the greed of managements and a few greedy Doctors who malign the entire profession.
There are corrupt and criminal people in every profession..but it is a major blow to journalistic standards if they charge a person of wrongdoing without giving a fair chance of defense. The media has every right to report incidents but THEY DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO PLANT STORIES and pass it of as fact...The sword of media is sharp but it must be used to cut the obstacles of free speech and not the hands of freedom...
I will end this long blog with the concluding message forwarded by that Doctor...
DOCTORS
We who were always overachievers. Who missed the dusk of our adolescence solving multiple choice questions.
We who began our adult lives spending alternate days with corpses. Who carry bones in our bags and books that break our backs. Who spend the prime of our youth in the grime of wards. Who have already witnessed a lifetime’s share of deaths. Who learn about depression but fail to recognize it in ourselves.
We who have no definite college hours. Who don white coats even in the heat of May. Who are accustomed to the dead weight of stethoscopes around our necks. Who will pursue likely teachers for a lesson even into the night.
We who also study law, sociology, psychology, entomology, nutrition, sanitation and statistics. Who are always between exams. Who neglect the pursuit of our other passions. Who sometimes cancel our own vacations. Who covet amphetamines.
We who touch people slathered with stools, slime and psoriasis. Who have been sprayed by every infective fluid. Who are protected from a life with HIV by the flimsy rubber of gloves. Who tempt its prolonged death every time we draw blood. Who laugh off our chances of contracting tuberculosis. Who know batch mates who have.
We who study for four-and-a-half years but intern as peons. Who graduate after our peers have finished post graduation. Who are the last to earn first salaries. Whose parents must support us well into our twenties. Whose futures are thwarted by the government every step of the way.
We who sacrifice weekends to classes that propel us towards specialization. Who must compete with each other for expertise you desperately need. Who will slog for years to earn the letters you look for suffixing our names.
We whose friends have designated us perpetually busy. Whose presence at family functions is always greeted with surprise. Who are sick of the question, ‘what are you going to specialize in?’
We who have befriended no non-medical person since our course began. Who are no longer with our loves from before it did. Who date each other and discuss medicine. Who will advise you to procreate before thirty but who marry after it.
We who trawl PlayStore for medical apps. Who have spent more on medical manuals than meals and movies combined. Who believe that the real problem is unregulated fertility. Who associate the first rains with malaria. Who are disillusioned by the fact that there is no health without wealth.
We who are hunted and haunted by questions that have no answers. Who feel guilty when we know less than we should. Who fear that we will never be good enough.
We who cannot round off numbers. Who are forbidden shortcuts. Who are not allowed to be judgmental. Who must help even the dregs of society.
We who cannot ever abandon logic. Who are rational but must allow for prejudices. Who have no choice but to listen.
We who will never tell you any of this.
We who really need to step back and appreciate ourselves...
We who began our adult lives spending alternate days with corpses. Who carry bones in our bags and books that break our backs. Who spend the prime of our youth in the grime of wards. Who have already witnessed a lifetime’s share of deaths. Who learn about depression but fail to recognize it in ourselves.
We who have no definite college hours. Who don white coats even in the heat of May. Who are accustomed to the dead weight of stethoscopes around our necks. Who will pursue likely teachers for a lesson even into the night.
We who also study law, sociology, psychology, entomology, nutrition, sanitation and statistics. Who are always between exams. Who neglect the pursuit of our other passions. Who sometimes cancel our own vacations. Who covet amphetamines.
We who touch people slathered with stools, slime and psoriasis. Who have been sprayed by every infective fluid. Who are protected from a life with HIV by the flimsy rubber of gloves. Who tempt its prolonged death every time we draw blood. Who laugh off our chances of contracting tuberculosis. Who know batch mates who have.
We who study for four-and-a-half years but intern as peons. Who graduate after our peers have finished post graduation. Who are the last to earn first salaries. Whose parents must support us well into our twenties. Whose futures are thwarted by the government every step of the way.
We who sacrifice weekends to classes that propel us towards specialization. Who must compete with each other for expertise you desperately need. Who will slog for years to earn the letters you look for suffixing our names.
We whose friends have designated us perpetually busy. Whose presence at family functions is always greeted with surprise. Who are sick of the question, ‘what are you going to specialize in?’
We who have befriended no non-medical person since our course began. Who are no longer with our loves from before it did. Who date each other and discuss medicine. Who will advise you to procreate before thirty but who marry after it.
We who trawl PlayStore for medical apps. Who have spent more on medical manuals than meals and movies combined. Who believe that the real problem is unregulated fertility. Who associate the first rains with malaria. Who are disillusioned by the fact that there is no health without wealth.
We who are hunted and haunted by questions that have no answers. Who feel guilty when we know less than we should. Who fear that we will never be good enough.
We who cannot round off numbers. Who are forbidden shortcuts. Who are not allowed to be judgmental. Who must help even the dregs of society.
We who cannot ever abandon logic. Who are rational but must allow for prejudices. Who have no choice but to listen.
We who will never tell you any of this.
We who really need to step back and appreciate ourselves...
I don't know who wrote this originally but a brilliantly written piece it is...Let the media not be judgemental....
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