Storytellers

Periya Doctor Vijay Gopichandran Yesterday’s clinic was particularly stressful and hectic. I sorely missed my colleague who usually sees patients along with me on these clinic days. She had somewhere else to be and so couldn’t make it. I had just returned from a foreign trip, mildly jet-lagged and was not at the top of my game. But here I was, in the clinic, seeing patients. Each patient who came after 10 AM had to wait for at least 3-4 hours to see me. Some of them were frustrated, some of them angry, but most of them were calm and happy. I was asking myself, “What am I doing here?” I am a community physician masquerading here as a “ periya doctor ” (in rural Tamil Nadu senior doctors with a few grey hair and lot of experience are referred to by this name). Am I a ‘ periya doctor ’? Yes, in certain ways, I am. I am 41 years old and have about 20 years of clinical work experience in my bag. When some patients start narrating their history, the pattern is so typical that I am of...

Rich medicine for the rich and poor medicine for the poor Vijay Gopichandran There is a question I fear asking myself on some days in our clinic. That is “Would I accept this treatment if I were to have this illness?” Many times, the answer is “no” and that scares me. As a doctor in training, we are taught “don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want to be done unto you” It seems logical to follow this dictum in the practice of medicine. However, this does not work out very well. Today, I saw four patients for whom we provided treatments that I wouldn’t take if had the illness. I have been doing this for more than 10 years now, but still, the confusion, uncertainty, and conflict rings loud, as it did the first time. I have changed the names of all the 4 patients for purpose of confidentiality, but the events are true. Mrs. Gangamma, a cheerful lady who always greets me with a very loud, “How are you doctor?”, came very sick today. She was breathless at rest and in obvious pa...