Stray thoughts of Dr. Y. V. Rao-6
Dr. Yerneni
Venkateswara Rao
M.Sc., Ph. D
Retired Principal
GUDIVADA- A.P
yernenivrao@gmail.comh.
B 2-27
From the Pinnacles of Glory to the
Depths of Degradation
వైభవ శిఖరాలనుండి అధోగతి / అగాధపు లోతుల్లోకి
(Vaibhava sikharala nundi
adhogathi/agadhapu lothulloki)
Justified
or unjustified, a widespread popular perception these days is that a class of
doctors of yesteryears who were genuinely interested in catering to their
patients’ needs have been replaced by a new tribe -- particularly today’s
specialists and super specialists with all their high cost and high tech
gadgets , crying out to be put to use—who are as genuinely interested, if not
more, in catering to their own greed . The charge , in other words, is that
whereas the former have almost always been sincerely interested in their
patients’ health status and in attending to genuine needs , the latter are as
sincerely interested in the patients’ financial status and in pursuing the
dictates of their self interests, often sacrificing their professional ethics
and social good at the altar of their get-rich-quick impulse, all because of
their narrow view of life sans perspective which their predecessors invariably
kept in view.
As if to complement this depressing picture
of the field of private practice , barring a
few honourable exceptions , the doctors in the state run hospitals as a
class are known to be bone corrupt who, treating their salaries , more as their
retention fee than remuneration for their services, attend to ‘their duties’,
only on payment of adequate bribes with neither a care for ethical values nor
concern for social responsibility. They tend to look upon these hospitals as
their own nursing homes for treating patients who can afford to visit them in
their private consulting offices paying exorbitant fees in spite of prohibition
against such practices. Thus, what ought to be havens of solace offering relief
from pain and sorrow have been converted by the corrupt doctors and their
equally corrupt minions into unclean , uncaring , unconcerned and highly
extortionist dens of gloom and despair.
Lately, with the entry of corporate entities
into this sacred domain, the doctor-patient relationship, that sacred bond of
trust and faith between the two already made weak by the deplorably steep fall
in the professional standards has become further eroded to the point of being non-existent,
replaced as it is by a purely business like relationship. In the absence of
person-to-person connection, the practice of medicine becomes sterile and
mechanistic. The doctor feels constantly rushed while the patient feels that he
is uncared for and is of interest to the doctor more as an illness or an organ
that a whole person. The patient’s dignity and humanity are eroded and even
erased completely.
The hope seems to be that wealth acquired
anyhow would somehow legitimize the sacrifice of social good and ethical
values. If true, it should sadden every conscientious medical practitioner’s
heart and cause grave concern and deep anguish to the society.
Another profession under similar severe
critical gaze/scrutiny is that of teaching. Those that have neither aptitude
nor love for teaching have of late, started gate crashing into the temples of
learning and are busily engaged in converting them into dungeons of darkness
radiating disharmony and despondency, spreading anti social and divisive doctrines,
which are corroding the society and jeopardizing the country’s future, all with
the sole purpose of achieving their narrow selfish ends.
Some others in the profession bitten by the
bug of consumerism resort to equally mean and obnoxious tactics to satisfy
their greed and lust for pelf. A few of them first deliberately underperform or
not perform at all in the classroom thereby sowing seeds of doubt in the
students’ minds about their ability to comprehend and master the subject,
unaided by special coaching, as also the possibility of the syllabus not being
covered fully in time for the examinations , and then through subtle and not so
subtle ways persuade them to take private tuition from them, while a few others
unofficially take up parallel jobs in private coaching institutions to the
detriment of their regular duties, in total disregard of the prohibitory orders
against either practice. What is even worse, they try to settle scores with
their colleagues for being critical about this unethical conduct or pre-empt
and if possible, prevent the administration from initiating any disciplinary
action against them by instigating some of their loyal tuition students and/or
their parents against either or both, as the case may be.
Thanks to such corrupt teachers , educational
institutions which ought to be the shrines of the Goddess of learning and
knowledge , where liberated minds are engaged in liberating young minds, are
reduced to places , where closed minds are busy liberating themselves from
their pedagogic duties leaving the learners to their own devices.
Thus , what used to a holy calling aimed at
moulding the mind and shaping the character of the younger generation through
knowledge, skill and personal example of the teacher has been reduced to a mere
career devoted to personal advancement and self enrichment as any cost by these
self seeking hedonists to the chagrin of their doyens and the dismay of the
discerning members of the public. Others who are some sort of buccaneers and
bounders and fly- by- night operators , out to make a fast buck and who are
total strangers to the joys of life -enhancing and soul-elevating activity of
teaching-learning have begun setting up shops or sweatshops vending wares and
offering services and facilities , at steep prices, of course for life-denying and soul-killing exercises of
purely mechanical nature in an ambience of military barracks for the ostensible
purpose of coaching or training students for this or that competitive
examination , but with the ulterior motive of converting popular fancies and
adolescent anxieties into money. In this pervasive environment of
commoditisation of knowledge and commercialization of education, it is sad but
true that the teachers allowed themselves to become mere carpet baggers with
not though for their traditional identity as repositories of knowledge, values,
virtue and wisdom, nor any care for their time honoured role as motivators and
facilitators in the teaching-learning process/ exercise.
Personal
rapport between the teachers and the taught , vital for the health of any
society , is conspicuous by its absence. Memories of dedicated teachers of
earlier and mid decades of the 20th century, who inspired successive
generations of students by their scrupulous adherence to the noble dictum of
plain living and high thinking are still fresh in peoples’ minds but such
teachers are few and far between these days.
In short, the general impression is that
doctors do not heal and teachers do not teach.
Thus ,
the two noblest vocations tracing their origins almost to the dawn of
civilization and providing unique opportunities to serve society are perceived
to have degenerated into the sorriest of trades and the crassest of commercial
propositions out to exploit peoples’ helplessness and anxiety for relief from
pain and the parents’ dreams and aspirations for their off springs’ future .
If these perceptions are true, can anything
be more perverse or ironical than this naked dance of selfishness to the tunes
of greed , choreographed by hypocrisy under the direction of cynicism for an
handful of pennies?
Popular perceptions, no doubt, almost always
err on the side of exaggeration and
hyperbole but they are never baseless nor are they devoid of truth ; there
is bound to be an element of truth in them. It is not as if fiends have
suddenly taken the place of fairies in these two professions. It only means
that what used to be an exception has become a norm calling for deep
introspection. Black sheep were always there and ever will be but their numbers
these days have assumed such alarming proportions as to make it difficult for
one to spot the others in the herd .
In an environment of pervasive apathy, rank
opportunism and corrosive permissiveness and woeful absence of ethics and
morals and concern for others where expediency guides behaviour, dictates
policy and sets goals and targets , greed and corruption proliferate /flourish
and infect every organ of the society sooner or later. This could be a possible
reason but certainly not a justification for the fall of these two professional
groups from the pinnacles of glory to the depths of degradation in the eyes of
the people , for they especially the teachers , have been looked upon and
rightly so as torch-bearers and guiding stars – lodestars, guideposts and
polestars – of the society at large down the ages. Society’s demand for the
highest standards of conduct , both professional and personal , in/among teachers and doctors like those in
judges, is exacting and absolute. No excuse or moral relativity implied in
arguments like “teachers and doctors do not come from another planet—they come
from the same stock as the rest of the society and hence are unable to
transcend the prevailing societal norms of professional ethics and personal
rectitude”, cannot condone the betrayal of society’s trust in them. A single
dishonest teacher or doctor like a dishonest judge not only dishonours himself
but disgraces his profession too. They should set standards and benchmarks for
others through their exemplary conduct in discharging their professional and
social responsibilities. Doesn’t the society have a right to expect this from
them and don’t they have the obligation to live up to it?
In the last analysis, it would not be all
that unfair to infer that such perceptions are not wide of the mark. The
picture is certainly depressing but the present bad phase could not go on for
ever .
Now, is it not clear as day that this
predicament has overtaken these oldest and noblest of professions because their
present day practitioners have forgotten their sacred duties and sublime
obligations and forsaken the one and only right way of measuring their true
worth in terms of the relief the doctors provide to the suffering souls and the
enlightenment the teachers shower on the eager young minds—the ultimate yard
sticks for professional fulfilment—rather than in terms of the wealth they
amass and the things they accumulate and started chasing mirages? When the yard
stick has thus changed from what is right to what is profitable , is it any
wonder that the question of what is ethically right or wrong ceases to be of
any consequence? A teacher , after all, is rich in proportion to the bountiest
love and loyalty he has evoked in his students and the doctor in proportion to
the sincere gratitude and regard he has evoked in his patients. I cannot agree
more with Cullen Hightower when he says that “A true measure of your worth
includes all the benefits others have gained from your success”.
It is time that teachers and doctors , like
any other conscientious professional , should indulge in a bit of self
introspection and not shrink from soul searching questions at least on
occasions like the ‘Teacher’s Day’(Sept 5, Dr S Radhakrishnan’s birthday) and
Doctor’s Day (July 1, Dr BC Roy’s birthday), the days earmarked for such
purposes among others. They should particularly ask If they have done
everything possible to those seeking their help and expertise? Have they been
diligent and vigilant in the discharge of their duties? Have they lived up to
the expectations of those whom they are meant to serve? Have they been true to
themselves and their professions always? Must they not stop indulging in
wheeling and dealing in which they find themselves mired neck deep these days?
Must the teachers forfeit their age old privilege of shaping society’s future
and the doctors that of securing its present by ensuring its well being for the
sake of a few questionable gains?
So even now, it is not too late to reinstall
these two vocations on their high pedestals of glory if the doctors and
teachers , the high priests of these professions shed a little of their love of
lucre by putting their conscience before commerce and get down in right earnest
to their prime job of healing the sick and enlightening the young ,and regain
their rightful place, the doctor as a respected and revered member of the
family, and the teacher as a friend, philosopher and guide of the society as in
the days of yore.
If this laudable objective were to be
achieved in any meaningful timeframe , professional bodies like the IMA at the
various state level and national teachers organizations too would have to play
a more vigorous, purposeful, goal oriented, pro active role. They should instil
in their members a passionate desire to take their professional duties more
seriously, inspire them to pursue perfection in the discharge of those duties
and promote respect for fellow humans as human beings. The entire thrust should
be to see that they cease to be strangers to selfless service that fetches no
immediate benefit , and start becoming pursuers of the ideal of personal pride
in providing excellent service and treating everyone as they would like to be
treated themselves. In short, they should ensure that the two fraternities shed
their later day lamentable and downright uncomplimentary images and start
wearing benign visages as benefactors of society which they so badly need and
which have always been theirs by right and hoary tradition. No doubt it takes a
lot of doing to accomplish this but the task is too urgent and too important to
be baulked any longer. Simply put, this is no time for humming and hawing
without coming to grips with the grim reality nor for deciding not to take a
decision, but time for acting and acting decisively. Indeed, what the present
moment demands is not a mere image make over but a genuine character change and
restoration of the lost prestige and dignity.
To say
that unless urgent steps are taken to rub off the unflattering image of these
two fraternities, they are sure to get frozen frowns , dirty stares or worse
still, face the ignominy of being jeered at or booed, may be an exaggerated or
overly pessimistic reaction to the existing sad state of affairs. What certainly
would be nearer the truth is that there is a compelling need for refurbishing
their image as fast as they can—which is intensely practical if tried earnestly
enough.
The problem indeed is not of image only but
of the core itself. So before reworking or rebuilding the image the core must
be repaired or spruced up by rededication to the enduring values and hoary
practices that had guided their predecessors and by recommitment to
professional ethics and moral standards that their predecessors had scrupulously
adhered to. In other words, the vision and the aspiration must be reshaped by
shifting the focus from the money they receive for the services rendered to the
job satisfaction they get. Life is short and man cannot wait. He should strive
to do and do fast what needs must be done. Thus it is said “Physician, heal
thyself ; Teacher, teach thyself.”
Conjointly
with this, the professional bodies should exercise genuine self restraint in
asserting their rights and agitating for their perquisites and privileges, and
show utmost concern in disciplining their members by insisting on their
following a common code of conduct, which , among others puts a premium on a
keen sense of commitment to one’s calling, dedication to one’s duty and
identification with one’s profession together with an aspiration for achieving
excellence in every facet of one’s behaviour and performance under threat of
remedial/punitive action against erring members , thereby supplementing and
complementing the individual efforts in replacing their badly tarnished
image with a human face and in regaining
their preeminent position among all professions as the architects of the
nation’s destiny and the guardians of the country’s well being—which position
has always been theirs by right and tradition—shouldn’t it actually be the
preeminent concern and sacramental obligation of such bodies to be ever alert
to the potential disrepute and loss of credibility of their professions or
calling on account of unscrupulous actions of the black sheep among their members and to guard against erosion of
professional ethics and standards at all cost?
The crying need of the hour is a thorough
overhaul of these two fraternities and not mere tinkering to repair a dent here and a scratch there and a
fresh coat of paint to cover up the patch work.
The teachers and doctors should set
themselves free from the entanglements they have woven around themselves and be
in a race for glory with each other. They should resurrect themselves as the
moulders of the nation’s character in the temples of learning and the guardians
of its health in the shrines of healing by burying their images as mere
voice-workers and gadget- wielders fathoms deep. In this endeavour they are not
to look too far afield for role models. Having said so, it would be unfair to
taint the entire lot ; there are still a few gentlemen doctors and
conscientious teachers who are loved, revered and respected for their
outstanding qualities of head and heart, and who are cherished , adored and
admired for setting standards of excellence through their professional
competence as well as exemplary character and conduct. It is they that make
these two fraternities scintillate with brilliance still. Though they are
generally averse to formal awards and ostentatious honours , professional
bodies would do well to reward them appropriately in recognition of their
unconscious contribution towards upholding the dignity of their professions by
their courageous adherence to professional ethics in an environment of fast deteriorating
standards and dwindling values, if for no other reason than to induce others to
follow in their foot steps.
My objective in penning these lines is not to
demonize nor even to malign these profession. Far from it. I want to see them
both basking in their former glory , occupying the Olympian heights ( from
which they have slid down in recent times) symbolizing the moral values and
ethical imperatives that must inform every profession. In short, I wish to see
them ‘stand tall’ once again.
Even when writing about corrective measures ,
it is not my intention to do others’
thinking for them. It is just that I want to share with them some
lessons I have learnt from the lives of my peers and superiors who have
mastered the fine art of striking the right balance between success and
accomplishment—acquisition of money , power , stature and positions – and
success as achievement of happiness – a satisfying lifestyle , love, health,
self actualization and leisure to enjoy the charms and beauties of life. The
lessons are eminently practical. What all is needed is the will to change.
After all, can anything be truer and wiser
than what the American poetess Amy Cassidy so succinctly put in these immortal
lines:
“If love
is what you give away,
love is
what comes back each day”.
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