This National Doctor's Day Thank Them By Being Safe

Recently I finished the book “When breath becomes air” by the late Dr. Paul Kalanithi. The book is his memoir of the journey from being a neurosurgeon to becoming a cancer patient. After reading the book, I realized how ignorant we are of this profession. We only look at the fact that they spend their entire day in air-conditioned rooms and earn eight to nine-digit salaries all their lives, and live a luxurious life.

Indians have the tendency to compare everybody with their salary and accordingly we offer our respect. The stereotype is instilled within us so much so that our parents keep pestering us to become doctors since we step into the education field. The truth is becoming a doctor is not just earning loads of money or living a luxurious life but the intensity at which the doctors work. It is not easy to see wounds, talk about diseases, try every cell of the body’s energy to save a life, working tirelessly all their lives because a doctor never retires from his work.

In a difficult time like now, when the entire world is under the tight clasp of the pandemic, these doctors along with other health care staff are risking their as well as their family's lives to save the people because they have made a choice in their lives to serve the people and help them get rid of the pain. There are very few professions that go beyond money and luxury.

Imagine taking a decision in microseconds while doing surgery or while attending multiple patients in a single day. And when they lose a patient, one cannot fathom the amount of guilt or emotional trauma they must be going through. COVID-19 pandemic has caused havoc in everyone’s lives, there are cases rising every single day, imagine the mental pressure it is building upon the doctors and other healthcare staff. And even then these doctors are working day and night to save the lives of their patients.

This National Doctors’ Day, let's pay them our respect and prayers by not just banging thallus or lighting lamps on our balcony but by keeping ourselves safe from the pandemic to reduce their loads. Since the lockdown has been lifted people have come onto the streets like attending some fairs. So if you really want to pay your respect to the doctors make sure to follow all the necessary precautions and lead a healthy life.