Doctors heal thyselves!

[Dr Rajesh Gopal]

Dear Friends,

We physicians have a privileged position in the society in this part of the world whether we are in the public or private sector.Professionals working in the 'health sector' are still considered with lot of respect which they naturally deserve for the great cause they all are supposed to serve.

Unfortunately there is a lot of mystification,exclusion from the community and sustenance of deliberate efforts to ensure that the 'profession' is kept at a pedestal through the use of jargons on the pretext that the technicalities of medicine are beyond the comprehension of the lay people.

We have always had a system where the 'patients' are made totally dependent on the prescribers of medicines.The language used in the prescription is not just Latin and Greek but akin to pure heiroglyphics intelligble only to the 'blessed few'.

We started a 'movement' induring my days in the medical school to use full sentences in the client's own language with drawings of tablets /capsules in the number they have to be taken in a day.There was a tremendous improvement in adherence( I don't prefer the word compliance) to the precribed drugs besides building up of good rapport with the physician who was seen as a friend ,counsellor and faciltator of medical treatment rather than just a Mr/Ms.treat all,heal all,a prescriber of panacea --almost a demi-god.

Community has a huge potential for playing a definite role even in the highly specialized healthcare.

My health is my concern and obviously our health is our concern too! We cannot compartmentalize the much needed family/community driven approach on the ground that health(wrongly perceived as synonymously with healthcare) should be left to 'experts'.

A mother may be the best person to work for the health of her child.An involved and enlightened community is obviously the expert for that comunity's health.

I would urge all in general and my brothers and sisters in the medical fraternity in particular to committedly work for the same.

Let us develop and strengthen an inclusive approach in our perspectives and pursuits.

Best wishes,

Dr.Rajesh Gopal,Gujarat,India.

[Dr Rajesh Gopal]

I agree with you.
Even about the insistence on the word'compliance' to the prescribed drugs (in preference to the adherence to a laid down treatment schedule which must be clearly communicated to the client and can thus be effectively ensured) by the physician with criticism of 'non-compliance'for failure of treatment may be reflection of that mindset which is pretty common cutting across geographical boundaries.
The counties in South Asia are obviously no exception.

We all have to work a lot on it in a dedicated and detrmined manner for quite some time.

[Kalana]

when I said an exact replica I meant what we see in Sri Lanka

[Kalana]

The tragedy is an exact replica of what you describe Dr. Gopal. It has been a "victim-blaming" approach that the doctors are taking in 'Healing" (as if we could) the "sick". Doctors would always blame the people for not adhering to treatment they prescribe, which the people do not know what, why or how. SALT it is, let's try it!

[Dr Rajesh Gopal]

I am sure SALT would prove to be of immense usefulness in both personal and professional lives!!!
We will have to forge alliances,strengthen linkages,build meaningful partnerships to ensure that SALT
and its community immersion into local strengths will become a normal practice for health care providers!!!
We have to keep pursuing that doggedly!!

[Jean-Louis Lamboray]

Dear Dr Gopal,
Yes, let us heal ourselves!
May I recommend SALT? I find it excellent for my own healing.
One SALT a month keeps the stress away!
SALT and its community immersion into local strengths should become a normal practice for health care providers. But how shall we get there?
Yours friendly
Jean-Louis