Things I wish medical school had taught me before this pandemic
The whole word has been taken a storm by the ‘c — — -’ word, and to be honest at this point my whole view about this situation is kind of hazy. Having been in medical school for nearly 2 years and having a slight notion of the medical community, and its interaction with society at large this pandemic has made me evident of some big loopholes in the system. Let me start by saying that I know that the issues that I am going to be addressing are entirely complex and not nearly as simple as my 19-year-old self thinks they should be, so forgive me for the naivety that you may find in some of my arguments.
1. Learn to understand people along with diseases
This entire pandemic is not only a healthcare crisis but a humanitarian crisis, there are 7.5 billion of us and each one has been impacted in an entirely different manner. Until now I have heard from a few consultants in the wards that treat the patient not the disease, rarely have I have seen it in practice though. I am aware of the age-old argument that doctors in a healthcare setting like India are highly strained and you can’t hold them up to such high standards, I agree with this.
I do not believe in any way that doctors are ignorant emotionless robots in white coats who don’t flinch at someone dying, but the normalizing of a restrained doctor-patient relationship is something that the medical community should think about working on.
But in uncertain times like these where people everywhere are highly anxious maybe a simple gesture to comfort someone may go a long way. Reading reports of doctors having taped their photos over PPE just so that patients get to see a smiling face, shows that after all, we aren’t in such bad hands.
2. Medicine might not be the answer every time
Rarely are we ever made aware of the fact that you will have a patient that even with all the knowledge and training that you might have you will not be able to save, even if we are made aware of this fact it’s usually in the context of very rare diseases that you may rarely encounter. With a disease like CoVID-19 doctors are faced with a very real possibility of having a pile of dead bodies in hospitals and there is nothing they can do about it. It personally makes me very anxious that a situation like may end up arising. Then again, I believe that this something that is something that is difficult to teach and is more about having experience in the field.
3. Don’t believe that some specialties are more important than others
The majority of my peers since the day they entered medical school dreams of becoming great clinicians and surgeons, very rarely have I heard anyone aspiring to be a great pathologist or microbiologist.
Right from testing to drafting public health measures and vaccine development, it is the microbiologist, epidemiologist, and various other fields who are not acknowledged enough for the contribution that they make, who are playing an integral role.
I believe that this should be an eye-opener for medical students that a doctor is not simply the one who sees hundreds of patients a day or does miraculous surgeries.
4. Don’t always expect a ‘Thank You’
No doubt that healthcare professionals along with other essential workers are at the front line, but have we ever thought that these individuals are simply ordinary citizens who have stepped up to help at the time of crises. We may call them heroes now or bang thalis and clap for them, but who is to guarantee that once all this is over we will give them the respect that they deserve? Many may even argue that they signed up for this, but ‘signing up’ to working in the frontlines shouldn’t come with such behavior from the very people that you mean to serve. Even today, we hear countless cases of attacks on doctors and police personnel simply because they are trying to do their jobs and save lives. You may say these are just a handful of individuals but I believe that we as a society are simply complacent in holding people accountable for such actions.
After all what message are we sending out a generation of incoming essential workers that you will be expected to work at the best of your abilities and don’t even think about faltering, most importantly don’t get the idea in your head that the society is going to be grateful to you.
I don’t mean to imply in any manner that doctors should stop treating patients due to such behavior of a few, but we need to understand that this problem is multifaceted with neither the patient nor the doctor to entirely blame. This was wonderfully talked about by Dr. Anand Krishnan at TEDx AIIMS, New Delhi last year.
Many of you might have found all that I have talked about is very pessimistic, but even if we live in a world full of uncertainties, in time like this we must not forget that it is also in such situations that true human ingenuity and determination comes out.
