'Doctors are chors, I dont need one' screamed one of my friends, when i advised her to see a gynae. Although this wasn't the first time I had heard something like this, it still surprised me. This girl had some very obvious hormonal problems, and was refusing to go to a doc juss 'coz she believed all docs to be 'mean money making agents'!!
This gave me some wonderful insights into our Indian mentality ( or is prevalent all over the world?). We Indians feel that we need to go to a doc, only if it is ABSOLUTELY necessary (read 'on the death bed'!!). Not only that, we then feel that we are doing a favour to the docs by going to them!! How hilarious is that?? But yes, most of us do feel that way... that we are doing them a favour... giving them business.
And the funniest thing of all... some people feel that docs know nothing, what can they possibly diagnose that grandmas and centuries old wisdom cannot cure!! What we forget is that, a MBBS degree takes 6 years to complete.. and even then you are considered just a general practitioner. In order to specialize, they need to study atleast 5-6 years more. Thats around 12 years of study!! All other degrees take only 2-4 years for completion. Take an MBA as example... it takes just 2 years (if you include the undergraduation, then a total of 6). But you wont need to tudy more ever. The amount of arrrogance these two years generate in an MBA isnt hidden from anybody.
Yet we have the audacity to tell docs that they know nothing, to question their treatment, to stop medication midway because we feel like!!
I agree that there may be some doctors who charge exorbitantly high fees and loot the patients... here is where you have to take your decisions... which doctors to go to, whether to go for a second opinion or not, what tests are absolutely necessary, which diagnostic centres provide value for money etc. Simply saying 'I wont go to a doc', is taking the easy way out, and the only person harmed is YOU... 'coz doctors have enough business without you anyway!!
This gave me some wonderful insights into our Indian mentality ( or is prevalent all over the world?). We Indians feel that we need to go to a doc, only if it is ABSOLUTELY necessary (read 'on the death bed'!!). Not only that, we then feel that we are doing a favour to the docs by going to them!! How hilarious is that?? But yes, most of us do feel that way... that we are doing them a favour... giving them business.
And the funniest thing of all... some people feel that docs know nothing, what can they possibly diagnose that grandmas and centuries old wisdom cannot cure!! What we forget is that, a MBBS degree takes 6 years to complete.. and even then you are considered just a general practitioner. In order to specialize, they need to study atleast 5-6 years more. Thats around 12 years of study!! All other degrees take only 2-4 years for completion. Take an MBA as example... it takes just 2 years (if you include the undergraduation, then a total of 6). But you wont need to tudy more ever. The amount of arrrogance these two years generate in an MBA isnt hidden from anybody.
Yet we have the audacity to tell docs that they know nothing, to question their treatment, to stop medication midway because we feel like!!
I agree that there may be some doctors who charge exorbitantly high fees and loot the patients... here is where you have to take your decisions... which doctors to go to, whether to go for a second opinion or not, what tests are absolutely necessary, which diagnostic centres provide value for money etc. Simply saying 'I wont go to a doc', is taking the easy way out, and the only person harmed is YOU... 'coz doctors have enough business without you anyway!!
P.S: I am not a doc... In fact I am a soon to be MBA ( and an arrogant one at that!!)
hey.. :) at the outset, let me assure u that ur posts are very nice to read and make quite some sense :)
ReplyDeleteabt this post although, i dunno if i disagree with you, but i do think a person's past experience with docs matter to an extent.. and typically, indians are gud at generalising! :P
nice meaningful post! keep them comin!