Education

Currently, there is a common trend among parents that one of their children should become a medical doctor at any cost. For some parents, it is a matter of prestige and honour. But, are their children inclined towards this noble career? Doctors are special human beings, composed of passion for service to humanity. Are our present doctors portraying such novel qualities? To be a doctor, it needs full commitment to the career and service, not merely on monetary gains.

I remember a friend of mine, a long-time physician who has such excellent work ethics that he treats all his patients as own family members. He even goes night rounds at midnight to visit his patients although his duty as physician ends at 5.00pm. He says he needs to monitor their progress. His patients always remember him. The personal touch with his patients makes him a well-loved doctor. Do our young doctors have such noble values? Today, most of our current doctors are working according to time. It is only office-hours. Even our private practitioners, engage locum doctors to treat patients in the evenings. They don’t go back to the clinic in the evenings.

It is reported that we have 28 universities offering medical courses in the country now, including the public and private universities. Surely, the number is too large for a small nation of ours. Besides, we have tens of students graduating as medical doctors from foreign universities from all over the world to serve in our country. I believe there will glut of doctors in the new future. The quality of these doctors are always questionable. We have heard stories on how doctors examine their patients with pencils and pens. They dare not touch their patients and practice a lot of restrain from the physical touch. I believe physical touch of doctors on patients is also very soothing act and another form of cure, perhaps psychologically.

Please, we do not want to produce doctors who are not fully committed to the career. There must be passion for service and if it is missing, the aspiring doctors and parents who want their child to be doctor should ponder over it seriously.