Achievement of Modern Medicine-Part I

May 20, 2009

We often experience a paradox relating to the extraordinary achievements of modern medicine. While it has equipped us with an immense efficiency to cope with physical pain and suffering, it also devalues our humanness, and generates utter helplessness, the pathos of being objectified. Big hospitals with their characteristic anonymity, and doctors with their super specialization and absolutely incomprehensible medical vocabulary, often make us feel that we are at the receiving end; we seem to have lost control over their own bodies. It is in this context that I wish to share an experience with everyone reading this post. A close friend of mine has fallen terribly ill, and we took him to a renowned surgeon in the city: Here is a super-specialist surgeon who has been awarded by the state and is known for his remarkable skill in the operation theater. But when we finally met him, there is absolute powerlessness. The surgeon did not look straight at the patient. He did not investigate him, nor did he enquire about her symptoms. He just saw the medical report which he had brought from Bihar, and instructed her with a carefully planned economy of words, “Get yourself admitted and the surgery will be done”. There was no communication, no sharing, no human engagement with the patient. I know that an experience of this kind cannot be generalized. See more about this in the next post