VAIDYO NARAYANA HARIHI

Dr. A. ASWINI KUMAR, M.D., FCCP.,

Prof & head of Medical College,

Vijayawada.

            “Medical profession also included under Consumer Protection Act” is the verdict of the Supreme court. The is a hue and cry by the doctors.

            Why the medical profession-considered as a noble profession has come down in th4 eyes of public. Why this sudden decline in the image of the doctors from the high pedestal of “Vaidyo Naraayano hrithi” to the present day when doctors are nt believed, distrusted, beaten and draged into courts of law?

            “Cristicism about doctors is not abot their clinical competence. Rather they seem to reflect a deficiency of the basic skills of handling sick people as hyuman nbeings. Poor communicationk, lack of kindness, thoughtlessness and in short all the facets of good interpersonal relationaship which the society has a right to demand of its doctors in missing today.”

-          JAMA

“It is astonishing that with how little reading a doctor can practice medicine and it is not surpsing how badly he may do it”.

-          William Osler

These above statements correctly put forth the present day doctors practing the medical profession.

            A few decades back doctors practised medicine with two main objectives. “Premum Non nocere-meaning whatever you do never harm the patient”. They believed that the care of the patient starts with caring of the patient. They were kind, sympathetic and took so much care of their patients, people considered themk as a god incarnaion if not God himself saying “vaidyo Narayano Harihi”.

            As late as 1960s, people respected the doctor and called him vidya Raja – equated him to the King because the doctors practised medicine with self imposed code of conduct..

            They believed that the patient is not a mere collection 9o symptoms, sign, diseased organs and disturbed functions, but he a humanbeing with fear, hope and seeking help and reassurance, They remembered that doctors prime duty is to cure sometimes, to relieve the suffering often but more than that  to console and comfort every day. And they never blamed the sick for being sick.

            Today, with rapic advances in technology and better diagnostic facilities, thigs have changes, bringing a change in the doctor’s attitude. Sympathy for the sufeing, care and concern for the sick have become a rearity. More often the patient is identified by his disease than by his name.

            The father of the medicine-hippocrates gave simple guide lines to follow to make the profression noble.

He  said there should be 4 ethical imperatives:

            To seek the patients benefit

            To avoid harm

            To be respectful and compassionate

            To preserve confidence and maintain competence

            He  also mentioned that social and financial influences are the counter forces for ethical traditions. And he gave his dictums.

            As to disease make habit of two things-to help or not to harm.

            If the patient can be made well by many ways choose the least troublesome

            If the diagnosis can be established by many ways start with the least distressing to the patient.

            Shri Bhagavan Satya sai Baba in his discourse to the doctor t Puttaparthi has said.

            If only the present day doctors practice medicine following the simple dictums of Hippocrates and with a smile and sympathy as preached by Bhagawan, and to the best of their ability with interest of the patient alone as criteria, will there abe a need to be afraid fo CPC or for that matter any law?

            If the present day doctors do nt practise medicine as mentioned above the Sanskrit sloka.

            So, it is upto every one in the profession to bring back thelost glory of the profession and to make it noble again.