The smallest of instances, the tiniest of actions prove to us how humanity and love for the fellow human being, is inherently present in us all. I am not gloating here, but I see it day in and night out among residents. MD students who pull trolleys, who open their purses and give money to patients, who donate blood for their patients, who believe that a part of their salary should always go to charity, these are the people who reinforce the belief in humanity and the ultimate power of the human heart, prayer and effort. I have seen residents say, " I will not let this patient die under my watch" with such conviction that it was no surprise that they kept their word, I have seen MD residents weep like babies when their patient, totally unrelated to them otherwise, expires. I have also heard Residents say, "What's the point, he is going to die anyways", and then work so hard, put so much effort, as if they are determined to prove themselves wrong. I have seen residents argue with their consultants about the unfairness of the system. Not the system that doesn't provide the residents a decent salary, definite working hours or decent food and accommodation. But against the system that makes patients wait hours to see the doctor, to wander for their investigation reports, against the system that doesn't provide drugs free of cost to the patients, against the system that doesn't care for its patients enough. Never a word against the system that treats them like sh&t. The resident doesn't care about what Aamir Khan says about them or what the J&K minister does to them, they don't even care what pittance the Tamil govt pays them, mainly because he does not have to think about all this, he is busy saving lives. I have seen residents shun all compliment goodies thrown at them by the MRs but use the goodwill in getting free/discounted medication for their patients. I have seen residents take leave from their free postings and voluntarily go to foreign countries affected by earthquake, live through pathetic facilities because they just felt they had to 'do their part'. I have seen and experienced countless times how the residents and staff work efficiently as a team to resuscitate a patient whose heart has stopped, and then walk away as if it's nothing exceptional when the patient is revived from the gateway of death. It's nothing new to them and least the resident wants, at any point, is the credit. I have seen residents gets scolded to tears not for their lack of knowledge but for the lack of commitment towards the patient. Because that's how the unit works, not just here, but everywhere, the seniors always ensure that the resident learns the most important lesson of them all, ie empathy.
I agree that my 10 year experience in the medical field doesn't make me an expert. I agree that our profession too has its black sheep and thorny bushes, but in the SAME frequency and proportion as all other professions, if not less. I agree that we too make avoidable mistakes, albeit rarely, and we have huge room for improvement, in ourselves and in the system. I agree that there are many other self sacrificing professions, people who work day and night selflessly so that we sleep safe, the policemen, the jawans at the border, train drivers, pilots etc etc. but one also has to realise that none of them are ever under litigation for huge sums for any mistake they may ever commit, few of them need a professional insurance that too for huge amounts. But again, like all the personal problems the doctor/resident faces, we just don't care because we are too busy saving the next life.
I'll conclude by a small scene I saw while I was passing by the emergency the other day. The emergency was crowded, as always, and the hall outside the Emg had patients on trolleys on either side that there was just space in between for people to walk through the hall
in a single line. There was this young female patient lying in one of the trolleys, and between her legs was perched her infant. The new born was probably less than a month old, judging by his size, but was unusually very calm, not shrieking but just lying relaxed gazing out with her big eyes at all the commotion happening around her. Each and every one of those who passed by the mother and the kid couldn't resist giving the infant a loving glance, and pause for a moment to absorb the beauty of the scene in between the chaotic emergency. The guy who walked in front of me, like all others, paused for a moment near the infant. He suddenly saw a housefly, fly in and land itself in the infant knee. He didn't think for a moment before using his hand to shoo the fly away. The infant seeing the fly and the shooing motion, got amused and gave him, her eye twinkling, toothless and wide smile, which the bearded sardarji promptly returned, as he walked away. The passerby sardarji by the sheer virtue of human nature, simply couldn't stand a fly sitting on some unrelated infants knee and vice versa, the infant, not yet destroyed by the the society, didn't hesitate to give the sweetest of smiles to the bearded stranger who was making weird hand movements at a fly. Because after all, every human being in the world, infant or elderly, Sardar or Mallu, knows deep within themselves, the inherent and unshakable knowledge, that the soul that lies within each one of us, is one and the same.
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