The Harsh reality of Medical PG Residency in India. This how your Family doctor, Surgeon & Pediatrician are made.
I am 100% sure you have no idea what goes inside this place.
And I am sure, even if you do, you would look sideways as swiftly as when a six-year-old beggar kid selling roses comes to you on the signal, even if you could, you end up doing nothing for her.
You do what, we all do best, ignoring and moving ahead with our own work,
with our own life.
Period. Everyone knows how much inhumane it is. Everyone knows how demanding it is. Everyone knows how cruel it can be. Everyone knows how depressing it can be. Everyone knows these.
Then why do they still do it? Then why do they still chase it? Then why do they still tail it?
They know they will be exhausted till they themselves drop dead on the bed.
They know they will be emotionally drained till they themselves find no satisfying reason for happiness.
They know they will be tired till the point they themselves feel lifeless.
And the saddest part is? Nobody cares.
Nobody cares that they slog like slaves. Nobody cares that they go to bed on an empty stomach. Nobody cares that the sheer stress drives many to depression and worse, suicide.
Everyone shouts at them. Everyone expects too much from them. Everyone kicks them left and right, up and down.
Yet nobody raises a voice. A voice saying something for them. A voice expressing their pain. A voice demanding a human way.
Well, this is the story of every Indian PG Resident doctor.
Did you know this? Even if you did, surely turned to the left and let it pass.
My mind still wonders, Why do people, MBBS doctors pursue PG? Even after all these
Were all those endless nights and early mornings worth it?
Was shouldering all those expectations from patients, professors & parents worth it?
When I look at those smiles, of pure innocence and unadulterated love, my heart whispers gently into the ears of my soul,
Han ji. Yes.
I have to admit as much as taxing it is to be a doctor, it is equally fun to be one. Especially if you are an extrovert or a people person, it is just the right profession for you.
Looking back at my 12th standard days, when I was learning biology in the lanes of Old rustic Chembur church, I couldn’t have thought of what an exciting journey it would be.
Catching the Mumbai local trains heading towards the Munna Bhai hall then the dissection hall for practicals, followed by lunch at our katta with the gang, then again dragging our lazy, sleepy asses for the rest of academic tortures, finally getting relieving at twilight, having special chai at gate no 2, chilling with friends, or organising events and fests, or winning some, breathing sessions at Hostel terrace at night, then heading back towards the pavilion, half exhausted, fully enigmatic.
MBBS does change you as a person. I can bet you, one doesn’t remain the same. Be it intentionally or unintentionally, one’s aura becomes softer and gentler more like the puffs of cotton tree gliding through wintry evenings.
I thank all the people, before I was born, after, and whoever has touched me, consciously or unconsciously, for what I have become today.
Thank you so much.
I am very much grateful.
It is a new day, a new morning for newer beginnings.
When you lay back, and remove your doctor’s coat, you realise that comfortable warmness wearing down. And you miss it, consciously or unconsciously.
As much as we deserve the respect and pat-on-the-back, we have been too habituated in seeking them, and we don’t even realise it.
It is as if, when we go out there, in the open society, when we look unto the eyes of fellow humans on our right side, we expect them to bow down and a give us that single look which says it all.
Like we yearn for people to give us appreciation and tell us how much they are grateful to us. On a basic level, it is very valid, considering the work, and the sacrifice we make. But what I feel is we go wrong, when we are misguided and attach it to our ego.
I may be completely wrong when I pen down this. But as a spectator, seeing from both the eyes of a layman and a medico, this comes to me.
I feel, as if, on a spiritual level, we have become an ego-feeding-machine-cum-healer.
Oh, my dear comrades of medicine, what do you think? What are your views?
Yours Only, Dr Dinesh Raja, The Wild Thinker. June 20, 2022
There comes a time in the life of an intern, when she or he thinks of giving up. Thinks she can’t do it anymore. Thinks she’s done with it. But when she raises her head to see the horizon, realises there are loads of laps to be run.
And it is okay to feel this way. It is okay to feel exhausted from the internship. It’s okay to feel not to want to do it anymore.
We all are humans after all. Just running and trying to save lives wearing the white cape. We all are literally babies who just got out of med school trying to walk on the path of being the Doctor.
You have done a great job doc! We all are super proud of you. The very fact that you are interning is an achievement on its own accord.
Going through the grilling obstacle course of NEET-UG->1st to 4th year->Internship is absolutely not an easy task. Mind you, not everyone can do what you have done girl! C’mon give yourself a pat on your back.
Just one more step. Just one more day. Just one more patient. You know right? We are in this together. Let’s see it through the end of the line.
You can do it. You can make it my friend. I believe in you. We believe in you.
While the battle is far from over. It is perhaps the end of the beginning. Soon we shall wear huge responsibility of being the Doctor whether in the form of PG or M.O or IAS. And it will be a lifelong one. It wouldn’t be a trial tussle of 365 days as this one. But one of huge magnitude, of stellar consequences. So my friend let’s strive to equip our arsenals and get ready for the holy war with the most heartwarming smile. Because that’s who it is won.
This war shall be won by three things.
It shall be won by Love.Warmth.Care.
And yes of course, I was speaking of life, not your profession.
Why you should watch this? 1. If you are GMCite! (GMCite=A passionate medico from Grant Medical College!) 2. To learn about Medical history. 3. To hear from the stalwart himself. 4. To listen to the heroic tales of doctors and bureaucrats. 5. To be ignited with the burning fire of becoming a good doctor.
Who’s who?
Dr. Sunilkumar Pandya sir
A well known GMCite and an eminent Neurosurgeon. Dr. Pandya joined GMC (Grant Medical College )Mumbai in 1957, KEM (King Edward Memorial) Hospital and worked as Neurosurgery Professor and HOD there. He is a proponent of the “Patient-centric model” as a solution to all the dilemmas faced by a physician or a medico. Dr Pandya is editor of Emeritus, IJME (Indian Journal of Medical Ethics), Journal Ombudsman, JPGM (Journal of Postgraduate Medicine) and is a member of the International Editorial Advisory Board of the Men’s Sana Monographs.
Likes
Questions. Good questions deserve great answers. Those were some pretty darn right questions asked.
Observation Haki
Like-minded people. As the popular saying goes, ‘If you want to walk faster, go alone if further go together.’ When he quotes the anecdotes of how Governor Grant and his personal physician Charles Moorehead worked on the project of creating a medical school together, you realise, you need like-minded people. You need people who believe in the same cause as you to create miracles, to create magic.
Teachers. For an institution to become great it requires both, the teachers and students to work hard to enable their institution to become national and international eminence.
Importance of history. History is meant to be taught in such a way that it inspires individuals. It incites the fire in the belly. It makes them dream wild.
Future of medicine? Oh, probably decay in clinical skills. We are already witnessing the degrading standards of clinical medicine.
About Charles Moorehead.
Devil is in the detail. It is fascinating how meticulous and detail-oriented he was. And how much he cared about the institution gnarly.
Heroic habits. Habits we can inculcate in our lives to make them richer and prosperous.
Want to convince a group of people to do something? Show them your homework. Show them the surveys. Bring the Big guns of statistics.
Things Indian medical schools can adopt.
Teach them medical history. Tell them about the scientists of medical science, the stalwarts of clinical sciences and the messiah of humanity. Whatever medical knowledge we have is the debt to them. We take it for granted. We are standing on the shoulders of thousands of people who have come before us. This a Medico should know.
The art of clinical skills. Emphasize it. Teach them gnarly.
Sunil sir’s advice on further reading. 1. Aequanimitas– Sir William Osler’s Aequanimitas was one of Sir William Osler’s most famous essays, delivered to new doctors in 1889 as his farewell address at the Pennsylvania School of Medicine, prior to transferring to Johns Hopkins.
2. Charles Moorehead Graduation speech.
The GMC Show. The entire team has done an amazing job. Right from the concept, to research, to video, to questions. They have done a commendable job. May God bless each one of them. We are looking forward to more such amazing podcasts of eminent personalities.
Take home message for all the medicos out there. Your main purpose to your patient is to help them. Be humble. Be humane.
Disclaimer: All credits reserved to the creator, thee and the one who spoke. The review is not meant to hurt any entity, person or thing. The ideas, phrases is duly credited to the author. This post is not meant to hurt anybody’s feelings, sentiments. This article was made so as to facilitate the greatness of learnings which can be gained.
The IkiGuy 