Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Focus - A to Z Challenge

A tribute to letter "D"

Doctors

If you ask me if all the doctors are like Dr. Sanjay Gupta, I would say that most of them would like to be like him. I mean the dedication to his profession and the love for his work is not uncommon, it is just that a lot of them are not as lucky he is. Don't get me wrong, he is a great doctor but so are most of them.
The desire of helping human beings is the number one reason for any one to get into medical school. The wish that they could save lives or at least make people get better from a sickness makes a person take the MCATS.  Someone I know is very much upset that in spite of spending thousands of dollars they are not able to get their grandaughter to pass the test. I asked her if the girl is into medicine, the answer I got was that if her father is a doctor and mother is a pharmacist why wouldn't she? The thing is that one has to be into the subject because it is a hard road.

Once they get into a medical school, the students practically forget that they are people, with a need for a social life, the need to sleep and eat on time, the need to be able to make a mistake once in a while because those tests do not allow a single mistake as it is human body that they are studying.

They get out of the medical school tired, roughed out, and their spirit broken with the burden of student loans, which are so big that the monthly payment could easily be enough to pay on a good size, single family house.

So, they are out of medical school, now comes the matching programs for getting into a residency program where they work for peanuts, more than seventy hours a week and double shift majority of the time, made fun of by seniors and putting up with the brunt of the profession.

Now that they have emptied their wallets and piggy banks and used up all the checks and savings bonds given by their relatives, finally they are out of medical school.

So, are they like kings now? If you can call working at the finger tips of HMOs a royal job, then they are. Those who want to go on their own, get into such competition with the big Medical buildings that they are forced to pack up and work for some one any way.

Inspite of such hardships, at the end of the day, the only thing a doctor cares about is whether or not he was able to cure a patient's disease.

So, if you are with a doctor and you are dreaming of a huge palace of a house with nothing less than a Lenox or a Limoge in your curio cabinet it is not fair with him. He is already over burdened. And if you are the young high school graduate hoping for a "mini Cooper" for a graduation gift, think again. You do not want to give your dad a heart attack. He has to take care of his patients.

9 comments:

Vanilla Mama said...

Very well put - know that my family doctor lives very modestly and is always available! Most doctors are in it for the patients or were in some way inspired.

Lisa said...

At one point in my life, everybody wants to be a doctor, except me. I do have all the respects for them.

Hold my hand: a social worker's blog said...

What a nice, thought-provoking **D post!

I work with doctors all the time, and I hear about their personal challenges. Not every doctor is rich by any means. Plus, they have a lot stress, too much stress in my opinion. One doctor who is a good friend if mine struggles with his 25 year-old son who has alcohol abuse problems.

Doris

NormalToEatPB said...

I studied to be a doctor, it is a huge responsibility and it is true that some are in it for the money, but truly it is a profession in which you literally could be responsible for a total stranger's life - I found that thought overwhelming and changed professions.

PS, I think you have a crush Munir :)

Monalisa said...

Letter D now got a blast ;)

True, medicinal courses are growing more and more unbearable for one who would really wish to be serving doctor. Even in India, one needs to pay at least a 10 lac to earn a seat in a medical college, be it govt. or private. And to get thru graduation is still a hard job. Some doctors who get through all these turmoil at last serve to be paid back for all his investments.

I have a cousin who's doing her entrance for medicine. And i have my mother-in-law who is a doctor. My cousin is from a poor background. She receives financial aid to do her course, from organizations who are impressed by her performance. She can't afford otherwise. She was about to drop. Whereas, my mother-in-law says she didn't pay a penny for her course, after having got through entrance exam, but that was about 30 years ago.

We've gone a long way..

Monalisa said...

Btw, nice to see you've taken your blog to an interesting turn. A- Z challenge. That's interesting. I've note been shown up on internet for a week now. Now i see a lot of new things. I'm glad. and Best wishes :)

Misha Gerrick said...

Well done! My best friend is studying to become a doctor in my country, South Africa, where conditions can be described as bleak at best.

But it has always been her dream.

Life As I Know It said...

I have one doctor who I love - she somehow builds time into her day to sit and talk about what's going on with her patients. I don't know how she does it because I know most doctors have to deal with insurance and paperwork rather than their patients. It's not an easy job, like you say here.

Belle said...

I have always thought that interns and residents should be paid more and not given so many hours to work. It is easy to make mistakes when you are tired.